Venezuela: cyber attacks, covering elections & BBG’s regional affiliate collaboration
Venezuelan media representatives attended a three-day BBG affiliate conference in Washington, D.C. They met with BBG, VOA, and Congressional Staffers, as well as Department of State representatives and NGOs, including Freedom House and International Republican Institute. The conference included a discussion on the role of international news in Venezuela, cyber attacks, training and support from VOA and BBG to cover elections and increased collaboration between the BBG affiliates in the region.
Participants:
– El Nacional, Eduardo Ponte, Managing Editor
– La Patilla, Jesus Ramirez, General Manager.
– La Patilla, Gabriela Perozo, News Director.
– VPI, Leonardo Trechi, Director of Marketing
– VPI, Fabiola Colmenarez, Director of Content
– VPI, Freddy Wetter, Director of Operations.
– VIVOplay, Gabriel Bastida Parra, Managing Editor.
Conference takeaways:
1) VOA content adds value to their websites in Venezuela.
2) All participants agreed to receive training on cyberattacks, cybersecurity, editorial skills, story selection and news coverage in general.
3) They want more human stories about the Venezuelan’s crisis.
4) El Nacional suggested VOA should also focus more on storytelling techniques of the human stories in Venezuela.
5) The dynamics of the meetings also formed a bond of friendship and understanding, and respect for the editorial and human values of the VOA as an organization.