A surreal first-person account of Venezuela's state-controlled media shows the President suddenly seizing the airwaves to stifle critical coverage. As Hugo Chavez pre-empts footage of a massive throng of demonstrators, the TV stations rebelled, and broadcast footage of demonstrators on a split screen with Chavez's announcements of calm.

The police later fired on the crowd. But government censorship in 2007 has to contend with the internet. "A YouTube channel continues to post....footage of protests that no other TV channel here is showing." You can't stop news on the web, and "It has had more than 71,000 views in just two days — an enormous number when you consider that Internet penetration here is below 15%!"