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This week's show:
Broadcast dates: 8/20/04-8/26/04

Guests:
Mark Weisbrot on Venezuela's Chavez referendum
Jonathan Rintels on digital broadcasting

This week on CounterSpin: Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez resoundingly defeated a referendum aimed at recalling him from office this past week. But will that change U.S. media's consistent portrayal of Chavez as an unpopular dictator? We'll hear from Venezuela-watcher Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Also on the show: Broadcasters and cable companies are fighting over what should be done with the airwaves, or spectrum, freed up by the changeover to digital technology. Who's missing from the discussion? Well, everybody else. We'll talk with Jonathan Rintels of the Center for Creative Voices in Media about the closed-door meetings deciding the future of your TV.

LINK:
Venezuela's Referendum Should Be a Wake-Up Call for the United States, by Mark Weisbrot (Knight-Ridder, 8/18/04)
Broadcasters Must Be Made To Serve the Public Interest, by Chellie Pingree and Jonathan Rintels (Seattle Times, 8/11/04)

CounterSpin is FAIR's weekly radio show, hosted by Janine Jackson, Steve Rendall and Peter Hart. It's heard on more than 125 noncommercial stations across the United States and Canada.

CounterSpin provides a critical examination of the major stories every week, and exposes what the mainstream media might have missed in their own coverage. Combining lively discussion and a thoughtful media critique, CounterSpin is unlike any other show on the dial.

CounterSpin exposes and highlights biased and inaccurate news; censored stories; sexism, racism and homophobia in the news; the power of corporate influence; gaffes and goofs by leading TV pundits; TV news' narrow political spectrum; attacks on free speech; and more.

CounterSpin staff:

Host/Producer:
Janine Jackson (jjackson@fair.org)
Host/Producer:
Steve Rendall (srendall@fair.org)
Host/Producer & Distribution:
Peter Hart (phart@fair.org)

CounterSpin is recorded and engineered at Mercer Media.