INSIDE STORY SPECIAL EDITION: A HOUSE DIVIDED {NICARAGUA} (TV)
Summary
A special presentation in this series of programs that examines the news media. Hosted by Hodding Carter, this program examines the post-revolutionary Nicaraguan press under the regime of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). Carter interviews the editors of the three major newspapers: Xavier Chamorro of the pro-Sandinista El Nuevo Diario, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, Jr., of the anti-Sandinista La Prensa, and Carlos Chamorro of the official government paper Barricada, all close relatives of anti-Somoza martyr Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, Sr. The program includes a brief history of political unrest and U.S. involvement in Nicaragua, and a discussion with Violeta Chamorro as she gives a tour of her late husband Pedro's study. Mrs. Chamorro expresses concern about Sandinista policies and voices support for the current editorial position of La Prensa. Anti- Sandinista activist Enricque Bolanos calls present-day Nicaragua a totalitarian state, adding that FSLN land programs are exploiting peasants. In a look at the issue of government censorship, Chamorro family members and various citizens offer opinions and viewpoints, and government censor Nelda Blandon is interviewed. It is shown that there is government censorship of all print and broadcast media and that there are times when so much of La Prensa must be deleted that the paper is not published. In another portion of the program, Carter visits a barrio in Managua with Minister of the Interior Tomas Borge, who later infers that La Prensa is manipulated by the CIA. In his concluding remarks, Carter talks about the uncertain future of freedom of the press in Nicaragua, but suggests that the Chamorro family will play an important role in the fight for its preservation.
(This series ran regularly on PBS from 1981 to 1984; occasional special editions aired thereafter.)
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: October 13, 1983 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:42
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:03878
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Barricada (newspaper); El Nuevo Diario (newspaper); Freedom of the press - Nicaragua; Journalism; La Prensa (newspaper); Managua (Nicaragua); Nicaragua - Politics and government; Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN); U S - Foreign relations - Nicaragua
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1981-1984
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Chris Koch … Executive Producer
- Susan Udelson … Associate Producer
- Hodding Carter … Chief Correspondent, Reporter, Host
- Nelda Blandon
- Enricque Bolanos
- Tomas Borge
- Carlos Chamorro
- Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, Sr.
- Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, Jr.
- Chamorro, Violeta Barrios de
- Xavier Chamorro