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What it's like being a journalist in Venezuela:
In Venezuela, if you step over the line, you'll soon realize the government has tapped your phone ... mainly hoping to overhear (or in the case of a smartphone, see) something that will ruin your life.
...
And this is a game with no margin for error whatsoever. "What happened was that a friend called me while he was drunk." Alberto said. "He asked me if I remembered the time when we sniffed cocaine at my ex-girlfriend's house. I said I didn't and hung up, but the next day, I received another phone call in which I was told to not publish anything related to the government, or I would be charged with drug trafficking."
...
A similar incident happened to "Mariana," a newspaper reporter. "I was sexting with my lover and I [sent] him some very sensitive images," she said. "Next day, I got a call in which the Intelligence Service identified themselves, and ordered me to stop my investigation about a corruption case, unless I wanted my naked body [shown] on Twitter and TV." She stopped.
...
"I published an article criticizing the government's corruption," said "Dolores," a Venezuelan newspaper columnist, "and I received an anonymous call in which an unknown person told me that I was going to get my head cut [off] if I kept writing those things. Next week, I published another article of the same kind, and I received another call where the guy told me my house address and my son's name."
...
She told us about a sports writer ("one of the best sports journalist[s] in the country"
who applied for a job, only to have Human Resources ask him "if he was enrolled in the government's party, and if he was willing to give his life for the revolution." That's a pretty heavy goddamned question to get if you're applying to work at the CIA, let alone a job covering fucking baseball scores.
"The guy said that he only was a reporter and a sports fan, and the secretary told him that in this media, we only need militants who want to fight against the 'information war,' which is the name that the ruling coalition has put to the news that explicitly explains the nation's reality," she continued.
...
"I was going back to my car after interviewing one of these protesters," Alberto says, when "two guys wearing [black helmets] suddenly appeared and asked me if I supported these guarimberos terroristas." That is, "road-blocking terrorists" -- their rather inflammatory term for the protestors. "After saying that I was just a journalist, one of them took a bat and hit me in the stomach, while the other guy grabbed my recorder and stuffed in his pants pocket, laughing at me."
...
This was similar to what photojournalist "Antonio" went through some years ago, when he was taking pictures of a riot near his vacation home. "I took some photos of the event, and some guys from a famous newspaper told me to go with them to the newsroom in order to sell the photos for a very good price," he said. "Once I was in the car, those guys told that they were from the Intelligence Service, and I literally pissed my pants, which cost me several punches in my face." For the next 48 hours, things amazingly went downhill from there.
...
And this is a game with no margin for error whatsoever. "What happened was that a friend called me while he was drunk." Alberto said. "He asked me if I remembered the time when we sniffed cocaine at my ex-girlfriend's house. I said I didn't and hung up, but the next day, I received another phone call in which I was told to not publish anything related to the government, or I would be charged with drug trafficking."
...
A similar incident happened to "Mariana," a newspaper reporter. "I was sexting with my lover and I [sent] him some very sensitive images," she said. "Next day, I got a call in which the Intelligence Service identified themselves, and ordered me to stop my investigation about a corruption case, unless I wanted my naked body [shown] on Twitter and TV." She stopped.
...
"I published an article criticizing the government's corruption," said "Dolores," a Venezuelan newspaper columnist, "and I received an anonymous call in which an unknown person told me that I was going to get my head cut [off] if I kept writing those things. Next week, I published another article of the same kind, and I received another call where the guy told me my house address and my son's name."
...
She told us about a sports writer ("one of the best sports journalist[s] in the country"
who applied for a job, only to have Human Resources ask him "if he was enrolled in the government's party, and if he was willing to give his life for the revolution." That's a pretty heavy goddamned question to get if you're applying to work at the CIA, let alone a job covering fucking baseball scores.
"The guy said that he only was a reporter and a sports fan, and the secretary told him that in this media, we only need militants who want to fight against the 'information war,' which is the name that the ruling coalition has put to the news that explicitly explains the nation's reality," she continued.
...
"I was going back to my car after interviewing one of these protesters," Alberto says, when "two guys wearing [black helmets] suddenly appeared and asked me if I supported these guarimberos terroristas." That is, "road-blocking terrorists" -- their rather inflammatory term for the protestors. "After saying that I was just a journalist, one of them took a bat and hit me in the stomach, while the other guy grabbed my recorder and stuffed in his pants pocket, laughing at me."
...
This was similar to what photojournalist "Antonio" went through some years ago, when he was taking pictures of a riot near his vacation home. "I took some photos of the event, and some guys from a famous newspaper told me to go with them to the newsroom in order to sell the photos for a very good price," he said. "Once I was in the car, those guys told that they were from the Intelligence Service, and I literally pissed my pants, which cost me several punches in my face." For the next 48 hours, things amazingly went downhill from there.
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