Why do papers collaborate with the government in this way? I don't see what they would have to gain, it's not like they're getting paid.
Secondly when they made the wrong call, I bet at least part of the reason was 2002 was a less connected time, and there was more trust in government. So if a bunch of government offficials tell the journalist Chavez is a terrible regime. And you happen to know a handful of anti Chavez individuals in Venezuela the journalist could easily make the wrong call.
Research "the Fourth Estate".
When it comes to military operations, either covert or overt, the media coverage actually has to be considered as part of the operation. For this reason intelligence has to have influence with major media and draw hard lines with respect to certain required propaganda.
People are going to dismiss that as a conspiracy theory especially with regard to the US, but before you do think about it.
Have you ever read about a war where the soldiers were describing their motivation and they talked about strategic objectives? Do soldiers go to war to chanting about "20% More Oil Reserve Control Hoorah!"? No. Because wars involve risking your life and killing others. Because of that, military personnel need moral causes to fight for. If they turn on the news and they start saying that three oil executives are predicting an immediate five percent rise in oil prices if the Venezualan nationalization continues into 2019, is that really going to motivate them to shoot people? No. They need a bad guy. They need to know they are fighting against a bad system and for freedom. It needs to be cut and dry.