QUITO (Dow Jones)--Ecuador's government is expecting "strong reactions" to a report that will determine which television and radio stations will revert to state control.
Antonio Garcia, chairman of Ecuador's National Radio and Television Board, said Wednesday that a report will be issued next week on which stations the government will take over.
President Rafael Correa's government has alleged that a number of stations received their broadcasting concessions illegitimately and said that "many" would revert to state hands.
Correa's announcement came on the heels of the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the Ecuadorian president's close ally, shutting down 34 privately-owned radio stations last weekend.
An initial report by an Ecuadorian government commission last year found that 236 of 1,637 frequencies had obtained their concessions illegally.
Garcia brushed off what he called "alarmist accounts" that all radio and television stations will revert to state control and that the government is looking at them on a case-by-case basis."
He said that some media outlets, however, are "trying to misinform" viewers and listeners.
Bernardo Nussbaum, president of the Broadcasters' Association, said Ecuador's government has no right to revert the frequencies as they were licensed by the state.
In the event of any irregularities, the media outlet owners should have the chance to defend themselves with due process, he added.
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