Alternative community media gets one over on mainstream rivals

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Friday, May 30, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Venezuelan mainstream media jumped for delight when they discovered 23 de Enero website www.el23.net showing four photos of masked men carrying firearms in the 23 de Enero district ... instant spin had it that 23 de Enero-based Tupamaros and Carapaicas groups were responsible for last Saturday's armed skirmishes with Accion Democratica (AD) goon squads, Bandera Roja (BR), Metropolitan Police (PM) and National Guard (GN). 

In an editorial clarifying its position, the community website denies that it is the official organ of either Tupamaros, Carapaica, Coordinadora Simon Bolivar or Bolivarian Circles (CBs), all of which operate in the 23 de Enero district. 

The editorial hammers home the unequal struggle between mainstream and alternative media in Venezuela, complaining that since the page was set up 70% of news items are community- based and mainstream media sources have shown absolutely no interest in community stories, such as the efforts of a local schoolteacher and police officer organizing teenagers to deal with emergencies ... a young man in Sucre Barrio engaged in an anti-drugs campaign to protect 30 local children ...  two ladies struggling to get a library afloat in La Canada sector. 

• Tupamaros representative, Jose Pinto has said publicly on Televen that the website does not belong to the organization. 

The editorial ends reporting that the mainstream media are beginning to  right the wrong  and wryly concludes ... "in the beginning, the temptation for the media was too big and they couldn't resist it."