Venezuela Hits a New Low

FoxNews:
"Venezuela's oldest private television station went off the air just before midnight Sunday as thousands banged on pots and pans in protest against President Hugo Chavez's decision not to renew the license of the opposition-aligned channel."

Every country has its useful idiots:
"Fireworks exploded across Caracas as crowds of Chavez's supporters celebrated the expiration of Radio Caracas Television's license and the birth of a new public service station."

Turning off the lights:
"The studios of RCTV — the sole opposition-aligned TV station with nationwide reach — were filled with teary-eyed people who applauded, embraced and shouted "freedom!" in the final minutes on the air."

"They bowed their heads in prayer, and a presenter declared: -"Long live Venezuela! We will return soon." Then the national anthem was played and the screen turned black. Within seconds, it was replaced with the insignia of TVES, the new state-funded channel assigned to the frequency."

This should remind us how important free-market news stations are. This is why FoxNews is more important than our public broadcasting company, Yle. During the sixties Yle - which was a legal monopoly back then - served the government's interests by spewing out left-wing propaganda. To avoid such infringements of freedom of speech and opinion (forcing tv owners to pay an annual tv fee that is used to promote certain views) Yle needs to be privatized.