Paper short abstract:

In state propaganda, Venezuela's 'Bolivarian revolution' is described as 'a revolution in consciousness', and as a process that results in the country 'now belonging to everyone'. Drawing on ethnographic vignettes from a range of media industry contexts, I assess how a sense of collective policy ownership is sold and unsold in contemporary Venezuela.

Paper long abstract:

In state television, newspaper and billboard propaganda, Venezuela's 'Bolivarian revolution' is described as 'a revolution in consciousness', and as a process that results in the country 'now belonging to everyone'. If bringing about '21st century socialism' is the administration's intent, then media policy and programming have become the front line in the fight to maintain popular support amidst ongoing capital flight, stalled social programs and institutional corruption. The government has emphasised a need to democratise access to and representation in radio, television and the press, and there has been a concomitant explosion of community media providers. Nonetheless, many continue to feel excluded from the inclusionary intent of the media democratisation, and of social programs more broadly.

This paper examines the relationship between Venezuelan media policy and the behaviour of media protagonists engaged in a war for access to and influence over the Venezuelan mind. I draw on ethnographic vignettes from a range of media industry contexts, including a pro-revolutionary urban television station, the film set of a nationalist romantic comedy and a series of forums on press freedoms and media terrorism to assess how a sense of collective policy ownership is being sold and unsold in contemporary Venezuela. Analysis of the process of selling collective policy ownership leads to the presentation of metaphors for understanding tensions at the heart of the Bolivarian revolution.