(Fortune Magazine) – PROTESTERS TOOK TO THE STREETS in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, over a decision by President Hugo Chávez not to renew the broadcasting license of Radio Caracas Television (RCTV), the country's oldest and most popular station. Until the government's action on May 27 to turn the station over to state-backed programming, RCTV featured news and entertainment, including telenovelas. For demonstrators, like the one above, the issue is one of freedom of the press, not protecting favorite shows. Several Latin American governments, as well as Brazil's Senate, condemned the station's removal. But Chávez said the privately owned station violated laws by airing calls for his ouster five years ago, declaring RCTV "coupist." He also called its primetime content immoral. Two other stations that also provided coup coverage had since toned down their criticism, but RCTV had not. A third, Globovisión, is the only remaining station to air criticism of government policies. While renewing the licenses of all three, the government called for an investigation of Globovisión, accusing it of reshowing images of the 1981 attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in order to incite an assassination of Chávez, who recently nationalized the oil industry. Whether Globovisión will face the same fate as RCTV—thus muzzling all opposition voiced over Venezuelan airwaves—remains to be seen. Meanwhile, a dramatic "last five minutes" of RCTV, along with segments of daily newscasts, can be viewed on YouTube.