Messages of hope and democracy for Cuba

Posted on Thu, Jan. 04, 2007

Messages of hope and democracy for Cuba
OUR OPINION: CREDIBLE EFFORTS BY RADIO, TV MARTI TO WIDEN AUDIENCE

Recent experiments by Radio and TV Martí in buying time on two Miami stations are credible efforts to deliver information to audiences in Cuba. These attempts, however, must prove to be: 1) cost effective and 2) within the bounds of a U.S. anti-propaganda law.

The issue is not about Radio and TV Martí's mission. We fully support the goal of providing independent news and information to the Cuban people, who have been bombarded with only the Cuban regime's message via state-controlled media for 48 years.

Cuba jams signals

To achieve their goal, the Martís' programming must be balanced, engaging and widely accessible in Cuba. This is no easy task. Since Radio Martí began broadcasting in 1985, followed by TV Martí in 1990, both have been subjected to aggressive jamming by Cuba. Still, Radio Martí's broadcasts to Cuba can be heard in much of Cuba, while the TV shows are seen only in certain areas, mostly outside Havana. Audience polls are unreliable in Cuba, where repression is relentless, and people are reluctant to admit using an illegal medium. Even so, at least 100,000 Cubans are thought to hear Radio Martí weekly. Fewer Cubans seem to view TV Martí.

The Martís aim to expand their Cuban audience by buying limited air time on Radio Mambí 710 AM and WMFP-TV 38, which can be seen in Cuba via satellite dishes that appear to have mushroomed in Havana and elsewhere. One hitch is that Miami audiences can tune in to the programs, too. U.S. law generally bars domestic consumption of U.S. government broadcasts aimed at foreign audiences. The danger is that such broadcasts could disseminate propaganda to U.S. audiences.

Legal transmissions

However, provisions in Radio Martí statutes allow transmissions through domestic stations when needed to thwart jamming. Curiously, TV Martí provisions don't include the same exemption, but allow broadcasts when domestic ``dissemination is inadvertent.''

Some critics say that these local transmissions violate the spirit of the law. The Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Martís, and Congress must ensure that the transmissions are legal. The Martís must provide fair and objective programming, and their operations should be free of patronage and partisanship. For the experiment with Miami stations to succeed, they must be cost effective and expand the Martís' reach. Ideally, the TV transmission would be a viable alternative to expensive broadcasting via U.S. airplane flights.

The Cuban people are starved for credible information that isn't filtered by the regime. A window to the outside world, the Martís offer hope and a sliver of democracy to people trapped in a totalitarian society.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/16378715.htm

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