TeleSUR

La Nueva Televisora del Sur (Spanish for "The New Television Station of the South"), named teleSUR, is a pan-Latin American terrestrial and satellite television network headquartered in Caracas, Venezuela. teleSUR is intended to be an instrument toward the "concretizing of the Bolivarian idea" through the integration of Latin America, and as a counterweight to what the leftist governments that funds it consider a distorted view of Latin American reality by privately run networks that broadcast to the region such as CNN, the BBC, TVE and Deutsche Welle.

Legal status, funding and structure

teleSUR is, according to its website a public company which has Latin American governments as its shareholders. Its shareholders are the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Venezuela. The channel's news agenda is dictated by its Board of Directors with the aid of an advisory council, which is formed by many international and regional leftist intellectuals, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, poet Ernesto Cardenal, writers Eduardo Galeano, Tariq Ali, Saul Landau, editor-in-chief of Le Monde diplomatique and historian Ignacio Ramonet, Argentine film producer Tristán Bauer, free software pioneer Richard Stallman and US actor and activist Danny Glover. The network carries no commercial advertising. Paraguay's government will be one of teleSUR's shareholders after then-recently installed chief of state Fernando Lugo signed cooperation agreements with Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez on August 18 2008.

History

Origins and US reaction

teleSUR began broadcasting on a limited schedule on July 24 2005, on the 222th birthday of Latin American leader Simón Bolívar, and began full-time broadcasts on October 31 2005. A week before the network began broadcasting, the United States House of Representatives included an amendment to Resolution 2601 introduced by Connie Mack IV, a Republican of Florida's fourteenth congressional district. which tentatively authorized the initiation of radio and television broadcasts of "balanced, objected and comprehensive" news programming to Venezuela for at least 30 minutes a day. The Venezuelan government replied the US reaction through its embassador in Washington DC, Bernardo Álvarez saying that "in Venezuela there are 48 channels of free access to anyone with a television set and a small antenna. Only two of them belong to the government. You can also receive more than 120 channels from four continents."

Controversy

Uruguay and teleSUR

Though Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez signed on March 3 2005 several agreements with then-recently installed Uruguayan chief of state Tabaré Vázquez regarding the energetic and communicational integration of both countries, being one of them the joint creation and financing of teleSUR, the process has not been exent of controversies. Uruguay's Chamber of Senators approved the bill that would ratify the agreements on August 8 2006 by votes of the legislators belonging to ruling party, it has not been ratified by the Chamber of Deputies as of 2008 . Some rumors indicate differences regarding the networks' editorial line between both governments as the reason the Uruguayan government stepped back from the original agreements. Uruguay is no longer mentioned as member of teleSUR in the networks' website.

Programming

teleSUR's programming is defined, according to its website by a 'Strategic Programming Committee', and is based mostly of educative and news-related content. The network started in February 2008 to broadcast some programming to Brazil in Portuguese . It has no business or markets-related programs, contrary to other international TV networks. Some of its programs are:

Noticias desde el SUR ('News from the South'): Latin American news from the network's headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela with 10 correspondents and collaborators in several countries throughout the region.
En vivo desde el SUR ('Live from the South'): Live individual interviews related to the most important news of the day, hosted by Colombian journalist Patricia Villegas.
Mesa Redonda Internacional – Political and social analysis program, broadcasted on Thursday nights, live from Havana, Cuba.
Memorias del Fuego: Documentary program which broadcasts independent documentaries about contemporary Latin America.
Contravía: Documentary program about social and political situation in Colombia, hosted by journalist Hollman Morris.
Videoteca contracorriente: Interviews with conteporary Latin American leaders and personalities, developed with a critical and progressive view.
Maestra Vida: Biographies of Latin American personalities.
América, Tierra Nuestra: Documentaries about Latin American culture and folklore.
Destino Latinoamérica: A series of programs about Latin American tourist destinations.
CineSur: Latin American independent cinema.
Sones y Pasiones: Documentary program about Latin American music and its performers.

Cancelled programs

Resumen 'Aló Presidente': An abridged version of the program hosted by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez in State TV Venezolana de Televisión.
Agenda del Sur: Live morning news and talk show.
Visión 7 Internacional: International news and analysis broadcasted Saturdays live from Buenos Aires on Argentina's Canal 7. This program was also aired simultaneously on teleSUR.
Mediotanque: A program about culture and folklore of Uruguay, produced by hachaytiza
De este lado: Political and social analysis program produced in México and hosted by journalist Blanche Petrich.