Versión Español
EspañolJournalists from the Argentinean state-owned channel Public TV have accused department heads of “politically and economically attacking journalists and their trade-union representatives.” In addition, they have accused the news outlet of manipulating sources to “serve political and partisan interest.”
In a statement signed by the Buenos Aires Journalists Union (UTPBA), the channel’s employees indicate that “they were given orders to not cover, or cover and edit in a biased manner, all stories with major political implications. This was justified under the premise that these stories could potentially ‘hurt’ the national government, its members, or joint interests.”
The letter identifies Victor Taricco and Carlos Figueroa, heads of the channel’s news section and members of the youth political organization La Cámpora. They are allegedly responsible for the “systematic silencing of political voices in the union sphere or social movements that are seen as ‘opponents’ merely for disagreeing with the government’s policies.”
“In this regard, they have gone to the extreme of excluding people they have interviewed who are supporters of the party in power for merely expressing different opinions.”
The journalists mentioned that “Figueroa and Taricco also [prohibited], among other things, any mention of the ticket resale scandal during the World Cup in Brazil to protect the Argentinean Football Association.”
On that same Thursday afternoon, Public TV made an official response and denied the accusations: “Public TV considers all accusations from numerous media outlets of censoring and politically manipulating the newscast of Visión 7 to be false and unfounded.”
At the beginning of last year, Kirchnerista Representative Andrés Larroque blasted then-Public TV news anchor Juan Miceli for asking him why donations for flood victims in the city of La Plata were distributed by people wearing political-party vests. After the official got so bothered, the channel fired the journalist.
Source: La Nación.
