Time was when you could have a proper, no holds barred, content heavy political interview on Venezuelan radio. Thirty-five years ago!
Renny Ottolina was way ahead of his time in 1977…he’d still be ahead of his time if he was around today.
[Hat tip: Led Varela]
Caracas Chronicles 
He sounds like he would be pretty much pro chavez today.
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Why?
He was a populist but that is not, per se, bad, even if I’d rather see another style.
He was a threat to AD and COPEI because people wanted to vote for him. What he said about the partidocracia was very real.
Chávez is completely against meritocracy. Chávez is about royalty and paternalism.
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I get the “if you are not with me you are against me”, “that question is a stupid question and I don’t answer stupid questions”, “that person is not qualified to ask me questions”. I don’t know what were his intentions and he sounded arrogant, same as the dark lord.
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OK, that’s true. He did sound very arrogant. I don’t want to minimize that, but I have recently wondered if that is not really a very widespread treat in Venezuela, where debates are almost totally unknown.
Capriles has been a great advancement in that, he has been able to keep his cool.
Who was the one who said “a mí no me vas a joder” to the journalist? Pinerua? Lusinchi?
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He’s being arrogant, although he’s been somehow attacked, so the arrogance its at sometimes his guard. The way he refers to the woman as mi amor reminded me of HCH. But his analysis of the way you got a job with a letter from the AD CEN and how that festered resentment on the population is dead on.
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It was Lusinchi
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Renny’s arrogance comes through frequently throughout the questioning by various journalists of the time. As a result, we begin to see a different persona than that of the producer and centre of attention on el Show de Renny.
Our vision is aided by the hindsight of history, now having exprienced 13 years of extreme narcissism in Chavez.
I’d have to say that this interview of Renny frames him as a budding autocrat, in love with his ideas (some very good), but unwilling to reflect upon the ideas of others.
In sum, I get the same impression as vsalomon, that Renny is saying: “If you’re not with me you’re against me”. Or, put another way (osea): “It’s me, or the highway.”
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He would’ve been merely 70 years old by the time Chavez became a candidate, so perhaps he would still have had energy to support him as most of the media establishment did from 1992 to 2000. Then he would’ve become virulently anti-Chavez, perhaps leading some of the radical opposition actions between 2001-2004. Lesser colleagues have fled because of that, so he probably would have died in exile.
I sincerely doubt he would’ve won in 1978: he would have received a number of votes in Caracas -as an electoral flash in the pan- which would’ve led to an AD victory at the end.
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Agree. Didn’t Diego Arria try to capitalize on Renny’s death with his ill-fated “Causa Comun” candidacy in ’78? If I’m not mistaken, he ended up getting about 1,500 votes. Granted, Renny would have gotten many, many more votes than Arria (like Uslar a decade before him), but not enough to win.
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Reading about this I remember Jorge Olavarría, Would Renny have been someone like Jorge Olavarría? First total support for Chavez, and later total opposition until death?
One thing clear, Renny would no have support any form of marxist Socialism.
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One thing clear, Renny would not have supported any form of marxist Socialism.
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Indeed. At worst he would have stepped down in 1999 like Olavarría did.
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What struck me most was the dialogue across a wide ideological divide. Here was Renny fielding deeply hostile questioning from people on the other side of the 1977 talanquera. They invited him, they didn’t treat him with kid gloves, and he gave as good as he took.
That kind of confrontational interviewing seems like something out of another planet these days. 35 years ago, though, it was possible.
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Un momentito. You make Renny sound like a victim. He accepted to be interviewed, knowing this was a political requirement / opportunity. Renny undoubtedly knew that there would be few, if any, softballs from journalists whose party sympathies we don’t really know.
Otherwise, I agree. The spirit of confrontational give-and-take was alive and well, pre-Chávez.
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You make Renny sound like a victim. He accepted to be interviewed, knowing this was a political requirement
My take on what Quico said was that Renny was willing and able to field hostile questions, in contrast to a certain President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Not a victim, but someone who has confidence he can handle any hardballs throw at him.
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Yes, for all the talk about what an effective speaker the President is, it would appear, from what I have seen, that he is pathetic when he is questioned on camera by a half decent journalist (that would not be Barbara Walters, IMHO). Hence, the rarity of such an event. Years of being around people who only say yes just make him more transparently insincere and petulant in the face of simple questions. I don’t know if many venezuelans know about Jimmy Swaggart and his ilk, but the whole style oddly brings to mind all of that. Now complete with ridiculous architectural signature-piece.
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He was extremely charismatic. But yes, he sounds like a “strong man” : a Chávez or a CAP from the East of Caracas with an italian look.
Funny, I was a student at the USB that year and I don’t recall any story about students publishing anything against Renny. It would be nice to ask the then chiefs of the USB student movement what is the story. Actually, I think Roberto Smith was the president that year.
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Actually: a caudillo from Valencia, you Caraqueña, you!
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I’d swear I saw Maria Alejandra Lopez as one of the dancers behind Renny…she was hot then
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I was a kid back then so I don’t remember much about his campaign.
One thing I do remember is that he dared to point out the bad things about Venezuelans, and maybe do to shame, a lot of people reacted positively. Remember the ad with the cows in a cross walk? I do, and I also remember people yelling at those who dare to stop at the cross walk after the ad was out.
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Yup… those much-admired and remembered ads were financed by the CAP government.
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I think the concept of these ads are to remind people not to be like cows, to use their intelligence, and to respect the white lines on the road. But I’m not sure. Whatever the case, the concept for this ad should have been much better developed, especially by a serious showman. #wasteofadmoney.
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Syd – you are maybe evaluating with today’s standards. Back then these were pretty strong ads.
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No Carolina, I’m evaluating the ad in two ways:
One, by the simplicity of the message.
As the simple person that I can sometimes be, a condition shared with many, I hope, I related much more to the low-cost PA announcements of the Caracas metro which would repeat, at intervals: “se les recuerda a los señores pasajeros de no cruzar la línea amarilla.” There was no need for visuals nor a fancy show, and it seemed like everyone got it, when they went down several meters below street level.
Two, by the clarity of the message. The measure of an ad’s effectiveness, in my opinion, is based on how much the message is remembered by the viewers. Not through collateral chatter about the ad, but by comprehension after viewing the ad one time.
Sometimes ads are so clever that the viewer gets lost in the details and does not remember the reason for the ad.
I think RO could have been less cryptic. I also think that it doesn’t do much good to roll out a TV spot,seen in people’s homes, at night, in order to educate the public on a major street issue (involving multiple aspects), by day, when there is little or no input, say from the government, to ensure that the proposal is adhered to.
Finally, here’s my take on highly expensive TV advertising, including from the 1970s. When a company rolls out a TV ad, they better have ironed out the wrinkles in their product and in their packaging, as well as the procedures for shipping, handling and distribution of that product, and the associated print ads and related publicity junkets. It all has to be coordinated to ensure best economies.
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Worst ad ever. I saw it three times and still couldn’t figure it out. I think it’s something about our future being to teach cows to cross at the zebra…
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For those of us that were already teenagers in the 70″s this add was very clear!
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And we remember it very well, right Maria? I guess that makes it a very good ad!
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BTW, I think there was another one. Do you remember it?
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I really don’t know if you can qualify the add as good or bad by today standards, but do remember everybody talking about it. Today when I go to Venezuela Renny’s adds come to my mind specially I have to “torear los carros” when the light green for meand my 80 year old mother to cross the street or when my friends excuses to not respect a light at noon is becuase the crimen rate.
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If people commented the ads, if it actually changed the behaviour of some people and you girls actually remember it, then it was good because it was created to be understood when released y obviamente tocó una tecla de la gente que lo vio, regardless of the fact that we are making fun of it right now. Kind of remind me of this hilarious ad though
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Quico, really? Are you joking or you were just not in the picture back then?
The ad targeted abuser drivers in intersections, calling them cows for not thinking. A lot of people actually responded positively to this ad and started respecting crosswalks.
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I didn’t understand it either! I guess that thanks to Chavismo we are a generation that its immune to to subtlety in political ads.
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nos han embrutecido!!!
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Caarolina, se nos cayo la cedula!
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Ha ha ha!! Yeap.
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El anuncio no tiene mucho sentido si se ve fuera de contexto (además el spot de YouTube está incompleto). Este mensaje era parte de una campaña para educar a los ciudadanos sobre el significado del rayado para peatones y vehículos. Renny creía que la TV podía ser usada para cambiar actitudes y comportamientos. Esta idea correspondía a una cierta visión “desarrollista” propia de los años 70, que postulaba que los medios de comunicación podían ser una vía rápida a la “civilización”. Sabemos que la cosa es mucho más complicada. Lo que sí está claro hoy es que la prograpanda chavista sí tiene un gran impacto (nada nuevo, que lo diga Goebbels), pues hay una parte de la población que se deja “comer el coco” por la nueva “hegemonía comunicacional”.
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What the hell was that? Looks like a gentle version of those No al abuso ads from the early 90s. Those ads were really good. I still remember them vividly.
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“Les vamos a echar flix?” (3:44)
Oh, my! Those were other times.
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No estoy seguro que Renny podría ser calificado como “anti-político”, pues al final decidió meterse en la candela política (algunos creen que eso le costó la vida, pero eso forma parte de las teorías conspirativas). Su discurso es muy político, pero también muy anti-partido, lo que también capitalizó Chávez en su momento. Otra cosa: Renny era ante todo un hombre de medios, especialmente de televisión, medio que dominó y al cual hizo contribuciones importantes, especialmente por la calidad de sus producciones. Probablemente lo que más lo acerca a Chávez no es su “populismo” (no me parece que Renny asuma una posición populista en la entrevista, recomiendo escuchar las otras partes que están en YouTube). Lo que más los acerca es la clara comprensión que los dos tienen de la influencia de lo mediático en nuestra sociedad y en el proceso político. Chávez desarrolló un instinto mediático sin ser un profesional, mientras que Renny fue todo un profesional de los medios que creyó que su capacidad retórica y su dominio de la imagen podrían traducirse en una victoria electoral. Es cierto que en esta entrevista hay una combatividad entre periodistas y entrevistado que no vemos con frecuencia en los medios hoy en día. Me recuerda también el tono confrontacional y muy profesional de otros grandes entrevistadores de la televisión que fueron Sofía Imber y Carlos Rangel.
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Exactly, and Renny probably knew and dealt with these reporters for a long, long time before that exchange.
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“Poner en marcha la recuperacion de los recursos humanos de Venezuela ”
“Yo quiero igualar para arriba, no para abajo”
“El que este fregado…la unica manera de salir de abajo debe ser con formacion y trabajo”
…creo que eso lo separa de el caudillo que ha governado Venezuela por 13 años!
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Yes, the best part starts at 06:41 when the incisive Sofía Imber asks RO: Qué harías tú en este momento si tuvieras poder para hacerlo?
Among his answers, RO points out the reality of Venezuela: la mitad del país desgraciadamente es un país subdesarrollado … del triste tercer mundo. La otra mitad del país somos venezolanos en vía de desarrollo. …
RO later says: Quisiera que el país sintiera, a nivel humano, qué significa vivir mal, qué significa subir y bajar una escalera, lleno de tierra y polvo … Me preocupa enormemente, a nivel humano el estado del país y no en una forma paternalista …
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La periodista no es Sofia Imber, sino Miriam Fletcher.
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No acuerdo de Miriam Fletcher. Acaso también era delgada y rubia como la Sofía? Whatever the case, it’s curious to see a cigarette in hand, while interviewing…
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La periodista que lo entrevista en la radio es Miriam Fletcher. Sofía Imber aparece en una foto sentada al lado de Renny en lo que parece una entrevista en TV. En los 60 y los 70 era normal que presentadores y periodistas fumaran en cámara. El mismo Renny lo hacía, además porque uno de sus patrocinadores era la entonces famosa marca de cigarrillos Viceroy.
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Syd y el problema es que el pais sigue partido por la mitad…lo malo es que ahora una mitad cree que el Papa Gobierno le va a resolver todo los problemas y la otra mitad cree que cuando Chavez no sea mas presidente ( porque pierde o se muere) los problemas en Venezuela se van acabar…en Venezuela todo el mundo tiene que poner su granito de arena…sea rojo, amarillo, blanco, azul o negro. hay que meterse en la cabeza que hay que trabajar duro por uno y por los demas. Hay que erradicar la viveza criolla!
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verdad que sí. tantos años después, y no hemos progresado, ni antes de Chavez, ni ahora con él … a medias.
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Cuando vi el doc-add de Capriles (last posting), senti lo mismo. Como estudiante de Biologiaa en la Central 1977-1983 vi lugares iguales a losque Capriles visito en muchas partes de Venezuela…y parece mentira que con el precio del petroleo a $100 todavia estos problemas existan ( no hay luz, los huecos, las carreteras y puentes, los ranchos)…otra evidencia que no hemos avanzado mucho y que hay que echarle la b… pareja!
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Renny Ottolina “was way ahead of his time in 1977…he’d still be ahead of his time if he was around today.” That is not really that long ago. [I was a young(er) boy then-ha.]
I believe that Renny was great in his time period-and would not “fit in” at all now.
Most everyone on TV and Radio were blancos, looked like gringos then..And, look at the workers in the city and in the classroom. THey all looked white to me.
Every other word -“democracy” -el pueblo has been brainwashed now to be “socialismo”..
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In the department of strong man diagnostics, the australian press is reporting robert Mugabe in singapore either for the treatment of life threatening cancer, or to enroll his daughter in university there (the latter being the position of ZANU PF his party).
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Hugo missed the clues, when he thought out loud that the CIA was behind the cancers of several leaders. It’s the ‘espada de Bolívar’ that’s cursed. Bad idea to be giving the sword to his pals, and to have it dangling from his belt as he swaggers about, from room to room, in Miraflores.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/robert-mugabe-said-to-be-fighting-for-life-in-singapore-hospital/story-e6frf7lf-1226322442125
Mugabe’s daughter is enrolling in grad schoo. Therefore, there’s; no need for Daddy to accompany her to school. More of the MSM are reporting the newsnot sure whether they’re simply copying the Aussie lead.
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