El Universal (Caracas)

El Universal is a major Venezuelan newspaper, headquartered in Caracas with an average daily circulation of about 150,000.[1] El Universal is part of the Latin American Newspaper Association (Spanish, Periódicos Asociados Latinoamericanos), an organization of leading newspapers in Latin America. Its main rival is El Nacional.

This article is about the Caracas daily. For other similarly named newspapers, see El Universal (disambiguation).

El Universal
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Epalisticia S.L.
Founded1909
Political alignmentConservatism
LanguageSpanish / English (digital version only)
HeadquartersCaracas, Venezuela
Websitewww.eluniversal.com
El Universal Building, Caracas

History

El Universal was founded in April 1909 in Caracas by the Venezuelan poet Andrés Mata and his friend Andrés Vigas, being the oldest of current Venezuelan newspaper.[1]

Political stance and editorial opinion

The newspaper was previously considered to be a pro-opposition newspaper, maintaining an editorial stance that was conservative, business-oriented and critical of the policies of former President Hugo Chávez.[2][3][4][5][6] On the morning of 13 April 2002, when the removal of Hugo Chavez in what later came to be referred to as the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt appeared a success, the paper headlined ¡Un Paso Adelante! (One Step Forward!).[7][8]

On 5 July 2014, it was announced that after 105 years of ownership, the Mata family had sold a controlling stake in the newspaper to a Spanish investment firm linked to the Venezuelan government, Epalisticia S.L., a firm that "was created with the purpose of acquiring" El Universal.[9][10][11][12][13] According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, El Universal "cozied up to Venezuela's socialist government" following the purchase and reported that staff complained about self-censorship and firings occurring.[14]

See also

References
  1. Browning, Mark (2003), "Venezuela", World Press Encyclopedia
  2. "High stakes in Venezuela's municipal elections". BBC News. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  3. "Soldiers storm Venezuelan protesters' stronghold". Reuters UK. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  4. "Rumors over Chavez absence reach frenzy in Venezuela". Reuters. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  5. "Maduro vows no let-up in Venezuela business crackdown". Reuters. 14 November 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  6. "Seeing through Transparency International". The Guardian. 22 May 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  7. (in Spanish) Kaiser, Patricia (2003), "Estrategias discursivas antichavistas de los medios de comunicacion", Revista Venezolana de Economía y Ciencias Sociales 9 (3)
  8. Gottberg, Luis Duno (2004), "Mob outrages: reflections on the media construction of the masses in Venezuela (April 2000–January 2003)", Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies, 13(1). The front page is reproduced on p120.
  9. López Maya, Margarita (2016). El ocaso del chavismo: Venezuela 2005-2015. pp. 367–368. ISBN 9788417014254.
  10. "A new era has begun for El Universal". El Universal. 5 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  11. "In Venezuela's latest media shift, El Universal newspaper sold". Reuters. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  12. "La desconocida empresa española Epalisticia compra el diario venezolano 'El Universal'". El Mundo. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  13. Shadowy sale of Venezuela paper raises fears of slow-building news blackout
  14. Otis, John. "Venezuela's El Universal criticized for being tamed by mystery new owners". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 8 January 2015.


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