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Chavez: Government to obtain minority TV share

President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday that his government will obtain a minority ownership share in Globovision, raising the stakes in his long-running battle with Venezuela's sole remaining opposition television station.

Chavez said the authorities have determined that 25.8 percent of shares in Globovision belong to one of the owners of the Banco Federal, which the government took over last month citing financial problems and irregularities.

Chavez said the shares of Nelson Mezerhane will be seized by the government as it covers the deposits of bank customers.

With that minority ownership stake, the government will have a right to name a board member of Globovision, Chavez said. "We're joining the business," he said.

Globovision takes a consistent anti-government stance, and its broadcasts have been a frequent target of the president's wrath.

In a dig at the channel, Chavez proposed as the new board member late-night talk show host Mario Silva, who uses many of his programs on state television to vilify Globovision's coverage. Chavez said it's the government's right to have a board member to "defend the shareholder's interests."

Chavez also suggested the government could take over an additional 20 percent stake that belonged to a shareholder who recently died, which would raise its ownership to 45.8 percent. "If someone receives a concession and dies, the state recovers that concession," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100721/ap_on_bi_ge/lt_venezuela_anti_chavez_tv