When Media Succumbs to Rising Authoritarianism This book provides a transversal scholarly exploration of the multiple changes exhibited around Venezuelan media during the Chávez regime. Bringing together a body of original research by key schol- ars in the field, the book looks at the different processes entailed by Chavismo’s relationship with the media, extending their discussion beyond the boundaries of the specific cases or examples and into the entire articulation of a nearly-perfect communicational hegemony. It explores the wide-ranging transformations in the national medi- ascape, such as how censorship of journalistic endeavors has impacted news consumption/production in the country to the complexities of Venezuelan filmmaking during Chavismo, from the symbolic post- mortem persistence of Chávez to the profound transformations under- gone by telenovelas, from the politically induced migration of online audiences to the reinvention of media spaces for cultural journalism as forms of resistance. Allowing readers to engage not only with the particular case studies or exemplars presented, but with the underlying cultural, economic, political, societal, and technical aspects that come into play and which allow the extrapolation of this body of research onto other national or international contexts, this book will be an important resource for scholars and students of journalism, communication, media studies, and politics. Ezequiel Korin is Assistant Professor at the University of Nevada – Reno. Paromita Pain is Assistant Professor at the University of Nevada – Reno. Routledge Focus on Journalism Studies Metro Newspaper Journalists in China The Aspiration-Frustration-Reconciliation Framework Zhaoxi Liu Drones and Journalism How the media is making use of unmanned aerial vehicles Phillip Chamberlain The Rise and Fall of the British Press Mick Temple Toward a Theory of True Crime Narratives A Textual Analysis Ian Case Punnett Peace Journalism in East Africa A Manual for Media Practitioners Edited by Fredrick Ogenga Discourses of Legitimation in the News The Case of the Economic Crisis in Greece Vaia Doudaki and Angeliki Boubouka Australian Sports Journalism Power, Control and Threats Peter English When Media Succumbs to Rising Authoritarianism Cautionary Tales from Venezuela’s Recent History Edited by Ezequiel Korin and Paromita Pain When Media Succumbs to Rising Authoritarianism Cautionary Tales from Venezuela’s Recent History Edited by Ezequiel Korin and Paromita Pain First published 2021 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Ezequiel Korin and Paromita Pain; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Ezequiel Korin and Paromita Pain to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-0-367-61616-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-10572-5 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by codeMantra Contents List of contributors vii Introduction: entering the forest without noticing the trees 1 EZEQUIEL KORIN AND PAROMITA PAIN 1 Two films: a rhizomatic connection 7 ARTURO SERRANO 2 Short-form documentaries, cyber activism, and resistance by Venezuelan filmmakers 20 CONCEPCIÓN CASCAJOSA-VIRINO AND BÁRBARA BARRIOS BARRETO 3 Asymmetrical information warfare in the Venezuelan contested media spaces 32 IRI A PU YOSA 4 Rebellious audiences: information platform migration and use of WhatsApp in a tyrannized society 46 CARMEN BEATRIZ FERNÁNDEZ 5 From riches to rags: the decline of Venezuelan telenovelas 61 CAROLINA ACOSTA-ALZURU 6 Status of institutional advertising in Venezuela during 1999–2018 77 AGRIVALCA CANELÓN S. vi Contents 7 The return of the Caudillos in the digital age – changing hegemony and Media Caesarism: continuities and changes in the news media landscape under the Chavismo 90 JAIRO LUGO-OCANDO AND ANDRÉS CAÑIZÁLEZ 8 Chávez’s eyes: an iconic presence in the Venezuelan political communication 106 MAX RÖMER-PIERETTI 9 Between resistance and reinvention: cultural diffusion in Venezuelan media 120 MORAIMA GUANIPA Index 137 Contributors Carolina Acosta-Alzuru (Ph.D., University of Georgia) is Professor in the College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the Univer- sity of Georgia, USA. She is the author of three books and multiple academic articles about telenovelas – a genre she has been studying since 1999. She is the recipient of the 2015 Scripps Howard Founda- tion Journalism and Mass Communication Teacher of the Year for the United States. In the last four years, her research has taken her to Istanbul as she examines the tensions between the domestic and global markets for Turkish dramas. Bárbara Barrios Barreto holds a bachelor’s degree in Audiovisual Me- dia (with a Magna Cum Laude distinction) from Los Andes Uni- versity ( Venezuela). A freelance filmmaker, she holds a master’s degree in Advertising Communication at Carlos III University (Spain), where she is currently a Ph.D. student researching about short films festivals as a launching platform for Latin American female directors. Agrivalca Canelón S. (Ph.D., Universidad de Málaga) is the Director of the Master in Strategic Communication of the Faculty of Com- munication of the Universidad de La Sabana, Colombia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Communication (Print Journalism Mention), a master’s degree in Social Communication (Organiza- tional Communication Option) by Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Caracas, Venezuela, and a Ph.D. in Organizational Com- munication by Universidad de Málaga, Spain. Her research areas include government communication, electoral advertising, public diplomacy, diaspora, and Venezuelan migration. Andrés Cañizález (Ph.D., Universidad Simón Bolívar) is a senior re- searcher at Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Venezuela. He is an author of several books and other publications on news media, viii Contributors political communication, and freedom of expression in Venezuela. Over the years, he has combined academia with the defense and promotion of human rights in Venezuela. His weekly analysis ar- ticles are published in five Venezuelan newspapers and news por- tals. He cooperates with projects of the People in Need NGO in Venezuela. Concepción Cascajosa-Virino (Ph.D., Universidad de Sevilla) is Senior Lecturer at Carlos III University of Madrid, where she is a member of the research group TECMERIN and the director of the MFA in Screenwriting. She has written or edited nine books and more than 50 papers, including articles in Studies in Hispanic Cinemas, Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies, Catalan Journal of Communi- cation and Cultural Studies, Television and New Media, and Feminist Media Studies. Carmen Beatriz Fernández is a researcher and doctoral candidate at the Center for Internet Studies and Digital Life of the School of Communication at the University of Navarra (UNAV). She teaches Political Communication at IESA (Venezuela and Panama) and UNAV. She earned a Master in Business Administration (IESA, Venezuela) and Electoral Campaigning (University of Florida, USA). Mrs. Fernandez is the president of DataStrategia and co- founder of the Organization of Latin American Political Consult- ants OCPLA. She has been recognized with international awards such as: the Aristotle Excellence Award 2010 for her work in cyber- politics, being part of the “Global Dream Team,” the Eikon Re- gional 2013 for the best viral campaign, as well as several “Victory Awards” (2014–17) for influential women, academic excellence, and the best social network campaign. Moraima Guanipa is Associate Professor and chair of the Journalism Department and a Humanities doctoral candidate at Universidad Central de Venezuela. Her research agenda is centered around the study of cultural information in print and digital media, the com- municative expressions of art in cyber culture, and the challenges of professional development of journalists. Ezequiel Korin (Ph.D., University of Georgia) is Assistant Professor of Spanish Language Media at the Reynolds School of Journalism of the University of Nevada, Reno. After many years of profes- sional experience in various areas of communication in Venezuela, he joined academia upon completing his doctoral degree. His re- search addresses two areas: the use of digital technologies from the Contributors ix theoretical approach of critical and cultural studies and representa- tion and identity of Spanish-speaking populations in American diasporas. Jairo Lugo-Ocando (Ph.D., University of Sussex) is a Professor in Residence and Director of Executive and Graduate