Media Battles in Honduras

Political upheaval continues in Honduras, after liberal leader Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a military coup in late June. Zelaya and his replacement, Roberto Micheletti, have now agreed to talks mediated by the president of Costa Rica, as competing protests divide Honduras. It is a battle that has played out not only in the streets of Honduras, but also on television screens and over radio waves across the world. Some, including U.S. President Barack Obama and the Organization of American States, have condemned the ouster of the democratically-elected president, saying it was unconstitutional, illegal and a threat to democracy. Others point out that Zelaya was pushing ahead with a referendum on term limits that Honduras’ Supreme Court had ruled unconstitutional, and consider his removal the result of healthy checks and balances. The Honduran military has clamped down on pro-Zelaya channels in the country and blocked the signal of Telesur, a left-leaning television network based in Venezuela. Other state-run media across Latin America have broadcast programs in support of Zelaya. Worldfocus.org’s weekly radio show on Tuesday, July 14 at 6:30 p.m. EDT will explore the coup in Honduras and how Latin America’s media industry — from state-run stations to independent websites — has become a political battleground.