Government control differs between Brazil and Venezuela when it comes to their media systems. Even though the media systems are more free in Brazil than they are in Venezuela, both have had laws or acts passed that restricts their media in one way or another.
In 1967, the Brazilian Press Code was passed. Even though it ensured freedom of the press, it would clamp down on anyone who went against the dictator at that time, which happened to be the military regime. It is interesting that Brazil had passed an act to ensure freedom of the press, when it was only freedom of the press to a certain extent. It seems like the Brazilian Press Code was purposely passed with the intensions that the government would still be allowed to victimize anyone who threatened them.
The Law of Social Responsibility in Radio, Television and Electronic Media was passed in 2004 in Venezuela. According to Freedom House, this law limits the freedom of media in Venezuela because it censors any content that goes against the government, that is inappropriate or provocative for kids to see, and forces the media to show government broadcasts. This act reduces the amount of content available for Venezuelans. By reducing the adult and violent content, the broadcasting in Venezuela seems to be controlled by the government to an extent because they only allow certain content on the airways when they think it is appropriate.
It is interesting to compare and contrast the media freedoms between Brazil and Venezuela by looking at how much the government controls their media systems. After analyzing these two media systems, it is interesting to see that the censorship in media has to do with who was in power at the time the law or act was passed. Both had authoritarian rulers at the time the laws were passed, so it makes sense that they both have to do with censorship in some way. Even though there have been laws and acts passed throughout history that advocate freedom of the media in both countries, there seem to be some inconsistencies when it comes to how free they really are.
Sources: http://www.pressreference.com/Be-Co/Brazil.html
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2013/venezuela#.VIniVSiG_G6