SPIKE LEE TALKS FREEDOM OF PRESS IN VENEZUELA: Filmmaker also discusses Michael Jackson during visit to screen 'Do the Right Thing.'
(July 28, 2009)
*Spike Lee supported the concept of a free press during a visit Friday to Venezuela, where broadcasters are under pressure to avoid criticizing President Hugo Chavez’s leftist government.
Without specifically referring to the dispute in Venezuela, Lee said there are “no circumstances” under which news media should be silenced.
The filmmaker was in the country to screen his 1989 film “Do The Right Thing” and met with fans to discuss race relations, his career and the late Michael Jackson, as well as the importance of free speech, of which he said he is “a firm believer."
“It’s my opinion that there are no circumstances where the media should be shut down,” he said to loud applause, according to the Associated Press. “I’m not talking about any country specifically, but globally.”
Chavez has increasingly clashed with Venezuela’s private media, endorsing plans to revoke the licenses of 240 radio stations after officials said they didn’t update their registrations. Regulators also have begun a series of investigations into Globovision — the only strongly anti-Chavez TV channel on the open airwaves — that could lead to its closure.
As for Michael Jackson, Lee reminisced about making the music video “They Don’t Care About Us” with the King of Pop in Brazil. In the video, Jackson performs in a Rio de Janeiro shantytown as the Brazilian group Olodum beats drums in the background. Street vendors in Venezuela’s capital have been playing the video regularly since Jackson’s death June 25.
“I’m one of the billions of people who miss him dearly,” Lee said.
Without specifically referring to the dispute in Venezuela, Lee said there are “no circumstances” under which news media should be silenced.
The filmmaker was in the country to screen his 1989 film “Do The Right Thing” and met with fans to discuss race relations, his career and the late Michael Jackson, as well as the importance of free speech, of which he said he is “a firm believer."
“It’s my opinion that there are no circumstances where the media should be shut down,” he said to loud applause, according to the Associated Press. “I’m not talking about any country specifically, but globally.”
Chavez has increasingly clashed with Venezuela’s private media, endorsing plans to revoke the licenses of 240 radio stations after officials said they didn’t update their registrations. Regulators also have begun a series of investigations into Globovision — the only strongly anti-Chavez TV channel on the open airwaves — that could lead to its closure.
As for Michael Jackson, Lee reminisced about making the music video “They Don’t Care About Us” with the King of Pop in Brazil. In the video, Jackson performs in a Rio de Janeiro shantytown as the Brazilian group Olodum beats drums in the background. Street vendors in Venezuela’s capital have been playing the video regularly since Jackson’s death June 25.
“I’m one of the billions of people who miss him dearly,” Lee said.
Speak Out
Currently, 0 comments have been made on this story.
...
