In an article written by Juan Nagel from The Foreign Policy Group. Nagel discusses how Venezuela's newspaper companies are slowly dying. The problem is not stemming from the market but because of the government. Citizens in Venezuela need their news. I think this is another example of how print is dying and not just in the United States.
Over the years Venezuela has been very critical of the government. multiple television channels, and commercials showed how much they were against President Hugo Chavez. Newspapers were the most difficult thing to calm. the reason why is because one came out every single day and everyone read it. So now the government started limiting advertising space in Venezuelan newspapers, refusing to place certain ads. According to Monitoreo Ciudadano a President named with Non Governmental Organizations in Venezuela
"President Nicolas Maduro has averaged 28 minutes everyday of mandatory simultaneous TV and radio broadcasts, locally known as "cadenas," or chains." -Monitoreo Ciudadano
Citizens of Venezuela believe that the government cut down reporters access to government sources, and have set up pro-government newspapers to compete with established newspapers. This situation is getting worse because now the government is cutting important content out of newspapers. Which means eventually they will just stop the selling of newspapers and when you do not sell papers, you will not have enough money to pay for the paper you print them on. It is not fair to the citizens trying to get their news, and now they are being deprived of that right.
One of the oldest newspapers within Venezuela announced on January 29th that it had to cut down the content in their paper called El Nacional and was a company since 1943. Cutting out content means that soon their will be no content at all. As I see it, it is a warning to the citizens that the government has officially taken control over your newspapers. El Nacional is not the first paper in this domino effect. There is another paper called El Impulso is starting to limit their content as well. Most of the smaller newspaper companies have closed. It is now said that Venezuela's allies in the region frequently put pressure on multiple newspapers.
Not only are newspapers fading away in Venezuela. Internet speeds are at an all time low. Citizens feel that television news does not give them reliable news they need. How are these people going to listen or learn to anything if they have no access to any type of news? Most Venezuelans got there news from newspapers in the first place. This is just another unfortunate story of how a region is getting there freedoms and media taken away from them. It shows in the end that the goverment in any given region has control over everything you hear, and print as we know it may be dead soon.