[Media-watch] Independent accused of falsifying Venezuela electionresults - narcosphere/Belfast telegraph - 16/08/2004

[Tim Gopsill]

might be worth finding out who Hannah Baldock is. The name is unknown to the NUJ

-----Original Message-----
From: Julie-ann Davies [mailto:jadavies2004 at yahoo.co.uk]
Sent: 16 August 2004 17:50
To: Media-watch
Subject: [Media-watch] Independent accused of falsifying Venezuela
electionresults - narcosphere/Belfast telegraph - 16/08/2004


Forwarded from a friend - of possible interest, although admittedly I have
not been following this one closely.
JA
_______

More info, copies of emails sent to the Independent and responses to this
can be found at: http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2004/8/15/205259/595

UK's Independent Newspaper Falsifies Venezuela Election Results!
By Ron Smith,
Posted on Sun Aug 15th, 2004 at 08:52:59 PM EST

In a big way. For shame, Hannah Baldock. How did you violate the rules? Let
us count the ways.

"The Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, looked to be losing his grip on
power last night as exit polls showed him to be trailing the opposition by
almost a million votes."

"The figures were early indications that, for the first time in the
country's history, the President may have his term in office cut short by a
referendum."

"The mid-morning results showed that the opposition, already boasting an
enormous 1,758,000 votes to Chavez's 798,000, is well on its way to reaching
the target of 3.76 million votes it needs to oust the authoritarian,
left-wing President. Turn-out for the referendum was high, with millions of
Venezuelans queuing from the early hours at polling stations all over the
oil-rich country to decide the political fate of the firebrand Mr Chavez."

Let's talk about lousy, lazy, yellow journalism, and in a left-leaning
paper, too. First, it's a bit early for such predictions, no? Second, it's
still 8:15PM on the 15th here in Caracas, too early to legally release
results, hell, the polls are still open for four more hours! Third, let's
have a source for these numbers, Hannah. There are no "mid-morning results"!
The only source, and I use the term loosely, to claim to release early
results was Enrique Mendoza, a premiere member of the opposition group
Coordinadora Democratica [sic], hardly an unbiased source, and he was shot
down when the government banned early results.

Perhaps you refuse to provide a source because none exists, or perhaps
you're using the usual "reliable" source of the escualido opposition. Either
way, you're blemishing the record of the Independent by presenting a
prediction as a truism. The government has strictly and explicitly forbidden
any early release of polling numbers. When the figures are released, they
will be in the form of percentages, not hard numbers.

Fourth, "Left wing authoritarian president?" What the hell is that? Is it
because you're still working under a racist premise about Latin America that
you can disparage a democratically elected leader? I'd humbly suggest that
after tonight, we'd find that Chavez has more popular support than Tony
Blair. I'd like to see you describe him in such a way!

Independent, you need to be more careful in your reporters' screening
process. And enough with the "firebrand" bullshit already! I've come to
expect more, much more, from the Independent and the Observer. Get your
facts straight before you lose your credibility.

The Independent has removed the original story from here:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=551867

But it can still be read here:
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=551954

and is as follows:

Venezuela's Chavez on brink of referendum defeat

By Hannah Baldock
16 August 2004

The Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, looked to be losing his grip on power
last night as exit polls showed him to be trailing the opposition by almost
a million votes.

The figures were early indications that, for the first time in the country's
history, the President may have his term in office cut short by a
referendum.

The mid-morning results showed that the opposition, already boasting an
enormous 1,758,000 votes to Chavez's 798,000, is well on its way to reaching
the target of 3.76 million votes it needs to oust the authoritarian,
left-wing President. Turn-out for the referendum was high, with millions of
Venezuelans queuing from the early hours at polling stations all over the
oil-rich country to decide the political fate of the firebrand Mr Chavez.

The Venezuelan people are tensely awaiting a close-run and disputed result.
In the capital, Caracas, government vans equipped with speakers drove
through the poor residential districts in the east of the city at 5am,
playing a military wake-up call before piping out popular pro-Chavez songs
to voters, some of whom had in any case been up all night letting off
fireworks, anticipating victory.

"Our commandante has already won," said Eric Caldera, a student queuing to
vote against Mr Chavez's recall. "The rich people and TV stations are the
only ones who say the opposition is going to win. They want to regain the
power and privilege they had before, and loot the country. You can count the
rich people on your hand, the poor you can't. They are too many. And they
are with Chavez."

A clamorous cluster of opposition voters in Parroquia El Recreo voting
station, central Caracas, rejected the pro-Chavez voters' arguments against
them. "If Chavez wins we will paint the walls with 'No Future'. As no one
will have a future, not us nor our children. We don't want a Cuba here,"
added Elsie Billar, 54, an accountant.

If, as looked likely last night, Mr Chavez loses, Vice-President Jose Rangel
will take over until general elections are held in a month's time.

________________



_______________________________________________
Media-watch mailing list
Media-watch at lists.stir.ac.uk
http://lists.stir.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/media-watch