{{Short description|Venezuelan tabloid newspaper}} {{Infobox newspaper | name = Últimas Noticias | image = File:Últimas_Noticias_logo_2.png | type = Daily newspaper | format = | founded = 16 September 1941 | ceased_publication = | price = | owners = Robert Hanson<ref name=burrell>Ian Burrell, '[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/robert-hanson-his-dad-was-thatcher-s-favourite-tycoon-but-now-he-s-accused-of-selling-out-venezuelan-9864133.html Robert Hanson – his dad was Thatcher's favourite tycoon, but now he's accused of selling out Venezuelan newspaper to socialists]' in ''The Independent'' online dated 16 November 2014, accessed 11 May 2017</ref> | publisher = | editor = | circulation = 300,000 (2013)<ref name=LN2013/> | headquarters = Caracas,<br />Venezuela | ISSN = | website = [http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve ultimasnoticias.com.ve] | chief_editor = {{ill|Eleazar Díaz Rangel|es}}{{update inline|date=August 2023}} <small>(until 2019)</small> | deputy_editor = Danisbel Gómez Morillo | political_position = | sister_newspapers = El Mundo Economía y Negocios, Líder en Deportes }}
'''''Últimas Noticias''''' is a tabloid newspaper in Venezuela founded in 1941 after pro-freedom measures implemented by President Isaías Medina Angarita and was the largest circulated newspaper in Venezuela prior to 2014.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Minaya |first=Ezequiel |date=2014-09-08 |title=Venezuela's Press Crackdown Stokes Growth of Online Media |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=http://online.wsj.com/articles/venezuelas-press-crackdown-stokes-growth-of-online-media-1410136494 |access-date=2023-08-13 |issn=0099-9660}}</ref> ''Le Monde''<ref name=LeMondeFiredJournalist/> and Reuters<ref name=ReutersJournalistReleased>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelan-journalist-released-after-being-charged-with-terrorism-union-says-2024-08-26/|work=Reuters|date=26 August 2024|access-date=26 August 2024|title=Venezuelan journalist released after being charged with terrorism, union says}}</ref> described it in 2024 as a "pro-government" newspaper. The newspaper became more critical of chavismo in the late 2000s and early 2010s. After it was bought in 2013 by British financier Robert Hanson, its editorial line became less critical of the government.<ref name=Independent2014/><ref name=Phillips2019>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/24/venezuela-opposition-fears-crackdown-maduro-threatens-arrests |work= The Guardian |date= 24 March 2019 |access-date= 25 March 2019 |title= Venezuela opposition fears crackdown after Maduro threatens arrests |author= Phillips, Tom}}</ref>
== History == ''Últimas Noticias'' was founded in Caracas on 16 September 1941 after the pro-freedom measures implemented by President Isaías Medina Angarita. It initially bore the name ''Diario del Pueblo'' (the people's newspaper), and was created by Víctor Simone D'Lima, "Kotepa" Delgado, Vaughan Salas Lozada and Pedro Beroes. Miguel Ángel Capriles Ayala acquired the majority of the shares in 1948.<ref name=TalCual>{{cite web|url=http://www.talcualdigital.com/Nota/visor.aspx?id=58656&tipo=AVA |title=70 velitas |publisher=TalCualDigital |access-date=16 September 2011 |language=Spanish}}</ref> He was the president of ''La Cadena Capriles'', until his death in 1996. His son, Miguel Angel Capriles López assumed that position in 1998 until 2013, starting a modernization process that lasted more than 12 years. On 16 October 2000 it was relaunched, adopting a more colloquial tone and aiming to be more of a guide to daily life.<ref name=TalCual/>
In June 2002, ''Ultimas Noticias'' began printing in colour on every page and launched its Sunday edition aimed to a more middle class audience.<ref name=TalCual/> From 2004 to 2006 it launched four regional editions (for different areas of Greater Caracas) in addition to the national one.<ref name=TalCual/> In 2009 it started the integration of all its newspapers with digital platforms and moved to a state-of-the-art facility, the most modern newsroom in the country, in 2012. In 2013, the newspaper was sold to an "investment group" that was allegedly more sympathetic to the Venezuelan government for $160–180 million.<ref name=LN2013>{{cite news|last1=Lozano|first1=Daniel|title=Otro avance chavista: se queda con el diario más vendido del país|url=http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1588241-otro-avance-chavista-se-queda-con-el-diario-mas-vendido-del-pais|access-date=18 January 2015|agency=La Nación|date=4 June 2013}}</ref>
''Ultimas Noticias'' was described as a tabloid in 1958 by ''Time magazine'',<ref name=ThePress>{{cite magazine |title= The press: dangerous liberty |magazine = Time |url= https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,862928,00.html |date= 17 February 1958 |access-date= 12 August 2023 |quote= La Esfera (The Sphere) and tabloid Ultimas Noticias (Latest News), earned a hazardous reputation as two of the few sheets that proved most staunch in defiance of Pérez Jiménez. }}</ref> in 2007 by ''The New York Times,''<ref name=ChavezMove>{{cite news |title= Chavez's move against critic highlights shift in media |last= Romero |first= Simon |work= New York Times |date= 27 May 2007 |page= 1.6 |id={{ProQuest|<!-- insert ProQuest data here -->}}|quote= ... Ultimas Noticias, the Caracas tabloid with the nation's highest circulation, recently helped sponsor a series of forums on ''21st century socialism,'' Mr. Chavez's catch-all concept for the changes sweeping Venezuela.}}</ref><ref name=MovingClocks>{{cite news |title= Moving clocks ahead, reaching back in time |last= Romero |first= Simon |work= New York Times |date= 26 August 2007 |page= WK.3 |id={{ProQuest|<!-- insert ProQuest data here -->}}|quote= ... Ultimas Noticias, the most widely circulated daily in Caracas. The tabloid, sympathetic to President Hugo Chavez, ... }}</ref> and in 2019 by ''The Guardian''.<ref name=Phillips2019/>
BBC Monitoring stated in 2019 that ''Últimas Noticias'' has "a predominantly pro-government stance";<ref name="BBCMON">{{cite news |date=2019 |title=BBC Monitoring – Essential Media Insight |work=BBC Monitoring |url=https://monitoring.bbc.co.uk/product/c200pqkj |quote=Also taking a predominantly pro-government stance is the daily Ultimas Noticias, which originally belonged to the Cadena Capriles media group but was sold in 2013 to a business group reported to have ties with the government}}</ref> in the same year, ''The Guardian'' characterized the paper as a "pro-Maduro tabloid".<ref name=Phillips2019/> In 2007, ''The New York Times'' said the "tabloid [was] sympathetic to President Hugo Chavez".<ref name=MovingClocks/>
==Changes in the newspaper== Until 1999, the visual format of Últimas Noticias did not follow any particular formula and according to one commentator, the newspaper looked disorganized. But as of October 2000, certain new parameters were laid down in an effort to make the layout simpler and better organized. At the same time the newspaper adopted a more colloquial tone and aimed to be more of a guide to daily life.<ref name=TalCual2>{{cite web |url=http://www.talcualdigital.com/index.html |title=Title unknown |publisher=TalCualDigital |accessdate=2011-09-16}}</ref>{{failed verification |date=March 2013}}
In mid-2002 the newspaper began printing in colour on every page.<ref name=TalCual2 /> Between 2004 and 2006 it launched four regional editions (for different areas of Greater Caracas) in addition to the national one.<ref name=TalCual2 />
In 2013, the British financier Robert Hanson bought ''Ultimas Noticias'' for his private company Hanson Family Holdings for a figure reported as US$98 million.<ref name=Independent2014>{{Cite web |date=2014-11-17 |title=His dad was Thatcher's favourite tycoon, but now he's accused of selling out to socialists |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/robert-hanson-his-dad-was-thatcher-s-favourite-tycoon-but-now-he-s-accused-of-selling-out-venezuelan-newspaper-to-socialists-9864133.html |access-date=2023-08-12 |website=The Independent}}</ref><ref name=Reuters2014>{{Cite news |date=2014-11-05 |title=Socialistas venezolanos y magnate de medios londinense, extraños compañeros de negocios |language=en |trans-title=Venezuelan socialists and London media tycoon, strange business partners |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/latinoamerica-medios-venezuela-idLTAKBN0IP18N20141105 |access-date=2023-08-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-11-08 |title=¿Esta es la cara del dueño de Últimas Noticias? |trans-title=Is this the face of the owner of Últimas Noticias? |url=https://elestimulo.com/venezuela/2014-11-08/esta-es-la-cara-del-dueno-de-ultimas-noticias/ |access-date=2023-08-12 |website=El Estímulo |language=es}}</ref> In 2014, he was accused by newspaper staff of turning it into "a Socialist Party mouthpiece", but the editor, Héctor Dávila, replied that his only instructions from Hanson were "to run a balanced and profitable newspaper".<ref name=burrell/> Following censorship by the newspapers director during the 2014 Venezuelan protests, Chief Researcher Tamoa Calzadilla along with others resigned.<ref>{{cite web |title=Renuncia Jefa de Investigación de Últimas Noticias por censura |url=http://cnpcaracas.org/2014/03/noticias/renuncia-jefa-de-investigacion-de-ultimas-noticias-por-censura/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025039/http://cnpcaracas.org/2014/03/noticias/renuncia-jefa-de-investigacion-de-ultimas-noticias-por-censura/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 |accessdate=18 January 2015 |website=Colegios Nacional de Periodistas}}</ref> Nathalie Alvaray, the first woman Media VP in the country and leader of all the innovation and convergence projects resigned a week before.<ref>{{Cite web |title=In Venezuela, online news helps journalists get their voices back – Committee to Protect Journalists |url=https://cpj.org/blog/2015/06/in-venezuela-online-news-helps-journalists-get-the.php |access-date=2017-11-18 |website=cpj.org |date=June 2015 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cadena Capriles |url=http://ipysvenezuela.org/propietariosdelacensura/cadena-capriles.html |access-date=2017-11-18 |website=ipysvenezuela.org |language=en-US}}</ref>
In January 2015, Venezuelans responded on social media to the controversial headline, "Maduro's Tour Was a Success", portraying that President Nicolas Maduro's meeting with Saudi Arabia was successful despite other outlets saying otherwise.<ref name=":0" /> During the 2017 Venezuelan protests, Últimas Noticias reported that protester Juan Pablo Pernalete was killed with a captive bolt pistol and dismissed the theory that he was killed with a tear gas canister by security forces, causing outrage among readers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Zambrano |first=Francisco |date=2017-04-28 |title=Últimas Noticias o las informaciones que a Maduro le gusta leer |url=https://runrun.es/investigacion/306993/ultimas-noticias-o-las-informaciones-que-a-maduro-le-gusta-leer/ |access-date=12 August 2023 |website=Runrunes |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title="Basura": La portada de Últimas Noticias sobre Pernalete que generó indignación (+Foto) |work=El Cooperante |url=https://elcooperante.com/basura-la-portada-de-ultimas-noticias-sobre-pernalete-que-genero-indignacion-foto/ |access-date=12 August 2023}}</ref>
=== Criticism of Venezuelan government === ''Últimas Noticias'' published investigative journalism that placed it at odds with the administration of Hugo Chávez in the August 2011 exposé by César Batiz of Derwick Associates, a firm accused of bribery and overbilling and the target of several lawsuits in the United States.[http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/ciudad/parroquias/ipys-reconoce-investigacion-de-periodista-de-un.aspx] [http://www.eluniversal.com/2011/08/15/oposicion-exige-revisar-plan-de-inversion-electrica] [http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/ciudad/videos--serie--trampas-electricas--de-un-premiada.aspx] [http://ipys.org.ve/alerta/autor-de-investigaciones-periodisticas-sobre-sector-electrico-es-citado-por-presunto-funcionario-de-policia-de-inteligencia-e-intimidado-por-empresa-contratista-2/] [https://www.wefightcensorship.org/tr/node/203html.html] [http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Calculan-sobreprecio-plantas-supera-millardos_0_245375679.html] [http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/09/05/actualidad/1378389465_768430.html] [http://www.americasquarterly.org/content/venezuelas-electricity-deficit].
=== 2024 Venezuelan political crisis === During the political crisis following the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, ''Le Monde'' wrote that Carmela Longo, a journalist at the "pro-government" newspaper said she was fired shortly before she was arrested.<ref name=LeMondeFiredJournalist>{{cite news|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/08/26/fired-venezuelan-journalist-and-her-son-arrested-by-police-press-union_6721585_4.html|work=Le Monde|access-date=26 August 2024|title=Fired Venezuelan journalist and her son arrested by police: press union|date=26 August 2024}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == * [http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve ''Últimas Noticias'' on-line] {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ultimas Noticias}} Category:Spanish-language newspapers Category:Newspapers published in Venezuela Category:Publishing companies established in 1941 Category:Mass media in Caracas Category:Spanish-language websites Category:1941 establishments in Venezuela