The Press and Society Institute (Ipys Venezuela) presented its report on Wednesday Yearly about him Informative Freedoms Study through which it was determined that the practices of government silencing and persecution have been naturalized, for which “caution, fear and omission, out of tune the conditions of the journalistic exercise in Venezuela throughout 2021.”
The result of surveying 534 journalists, from 24 states, revealed that restrictions on access to public information and fear were the categories that led the way in terms of restrictions on freedom of expression in the country during the past year.
According to IPYS, it was determined that “state controls aimed at making it impossible for journalists to work were accentuated, and in turn have led to a more hostile and risky environment for actions of denunciation and social control,” since the right to access public information, for the sake of exacerbating the opacity in the handling of relevant data for citizens.
“A few years ago this was a state practice, but today it has spread to other actors whose interests do not want to rival those of the government,” highlights the report of the organization.
Regarding censorship, the instructions issued by the supervisors persisted to restrict the informative work of the reporters, as well as the prohibition to cover topics related to health, crime and other topics of public interest.
Even 53.7% of those consulted stated that they had omitted information of public interest during their informative work for fear of reprisals against them or against the media outlet where they work.
For their part, 30.52% of those surveyed stated that attacks or threats to physical integrity and against life have affected their work, while 17% have suffered interventions into personal accounts on digital platforms.
It was even recorded that, in at least 55.7% of those in which a situation of gender violence occurred, the perpetrator was a public official.
Despite these outrages, 58.2% of those consulted stated “they did not report to state agencies or non-governmental bodies when they suffered some restriction in their professional practice.”
In this way, on a measurement scale, where 100 points represents an optimal situation with extensive information freedoms, while 0 is the most serious level, Venezuela obtained a rating of 62 points.
“Bearing in mind the changes in the situation in Venezuela since then, this appreciation also shows regular guarantees for the coverage of information, and when disaggregating the categories, the different tones of gravity that distinguish the reality of the journalistic profession in the nation can be seen” , concludes the investigation.
What have the journalists done
The IPYS report assures that “the censorship practice has been established as a reason for communicators to leave their work spaces”, some due to dismissal or resignation, so that “the web has not ceased to be an alternative to circumvent the silencing mechanisms imposed against traditional communication platforms» and freedom of information.
In this way, it was observed that the majority of press workers have concentrated on joining to collaborate in digital media and radio (70.78% in total), while, barely, about 17% of respondents work in newspapers and television.
In addition, it was observed that the majority of journalists (64.79%) work in small organizations, with 40 workers or less, with these media outlets being the ones that can most easily adapt to circumvent government censorship and manage sustainable business models.