Dear Miami Herald Editors,
Given the fact that with your recent indictment of several Miami reporters for accepting payment for appearances on Radio Marti and TV Marti your editorial policy is obviously now all about integrity and journalistic ethics, when can we expect a front page story on how the Miami Herald manipulated, censored, controlled, omitted, ignored and twisted the facts in the Elian Gonzalez case to sway public opinion and set policy and which led to repatriation of the boy to the island prison and the resignation of several Cuban-American reporters from your employ?
You just set the standard, now let’s see if you can live by it.
Thank you and I look forward to the future article cited above with much anticipation,
Valentin J. Prieto
www.babalublog.com
Hoisted by their own petard. I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for an ethical response from The Miami Herald, however. The word “ethics” is not in their lexicon.
Keep the Herald’s “feet to the fire” xe xe
(Assuming everything in the Herald story is accurate)….
As much as I would love to see the Herald (and oh so many other publications, TV programs, etc) issue statements about how they manipulated facts in the Elian case (and oh so many other cases), I don’t think we can really fault them for putting out this story.
As terrible as it is to see it happen and to accept the fact that this really does hurt the cause, the simple fact in this particular instance is that the journalists involved should have known much, much, much better.
It’s even more disheartening that so many of these people had very genuine dedication to the truth and the role it could play in liberating Cuba. It would be silly to think that a check from Radio or TV Marti made Juan Manuel Cao’s (just to name one) views more anti-Castro. But as a veteran journalists these people should all have known the consequences that this would have – not just to them professionally, but to all of us in this half-century old struggle.
Long story short: even though they have been so many times in the past, the MSM (specifically the Herald) are not the people to be upset with right now. Neither is Oscar Corral, who wrote the story.
But that’s just my take…
Bombillo:
Notice the radical leadership of the Democratic Party, is now demanding censorship of new ABC series on pre-9/11 period.
Hello!!!! This is all Public Records…. The Miami Herald HAS KNOWN ABOUT IT FOR A LONG TIME and didn’t consider it unethical until NOW. What we need to ask ourselves is what’s the Miami Herald’s NEW AGENDA…. and how are they going to benefit from it?
What we need to ask Mr. Oscar Corrales is why did the “Cuban Mesa Redonda” IN CUBA was talking about this same article weeks ago. Mr. Corrales how come Cuba knew about it before it was published on the Herald?????
Larry: In that case, certainly it is despicable. However, the Democrats using their influence to alter the 9/11 piece has very little if anything to do with this Herald thing.
Not only that, but in that case, you’re talking about Disney executives making the unethical moves. They’re not journalists. They don’t claim to follow the same ethical guidelines. Obviously there is right and wrong, but this was not at all surprising coming from a body like Disney.
Besides, if you’re going to compare ethics, the two parties to do it with would be US journalists and Cuban journalists. Bringing the Democrats (or the Republicans or any other party) into this to justify breaks with ethics just doesn’t make sense.
Firefly: The fact that it’s public record doesn’t mean the Herald has known all along. I’m not saying they did or they didn’t, but their story is entirely plausible. The request for those recodords was put in back in August, they got the records some time later, and spent a significant, but not ridiculous amount of time researching and contacting the journalists in question before they went ahead and put all this in print.
Even if the Herald and everyone else knew that these people were getting money from DC, that doesn’t mean they realized that (for example) Juan Manuel Cao got a whopping 11 grand over the course of a single year. Consider that he doesn’t do ALL his work for them, and that journalists don’t necessarily get to roll in the dough, except for some exceptional cases.
Like I said, none of us like it, but the cause just took a little blow from the inside, even if that wasn’t intended.
Firefly,
EXACTLY!!! Radio and TV Martri have been around for how long? And in that time, they’ve had how many reporters and journalists on? And these reporters shouldnt expect to be paid for their expertise?
Who the hell here works pro bono? Oscar Corral collects a paycheck every week. Why? Because he works for the Herald and thus MUST ABIDE BY THE HERALD’S EDITORIAL POLICY. So he, too, is a paid mercenery.
So Carlos Alberto Montaner got paid by Radio Marti which is an entity of the US Government. SO WHAT? Does that make what he states less true? Are you going to stop reading his columns now? Because if you do, you’re only hurting yourself.
The reasoning behind the herald publishing of this story isnt journalistic ethics or integrity. This story is front page news TO SELL NEWSPAPERS with the added cherry on top of fucking the REPUBLICAN Cuban-American community once again.
Integrity and ethics my fucking ass. The herald editors wouldnt know integrity if someone shoved it straight up their asses.
bombillo,
I disagree. The cause didnt take a blow from this ridiculous article. In case youve forgotten, we live in America, where capitalism reigns supreme. These reporters were paid for their services, just like every single Miami Herald reporter is paid for his.
This really is a non-story and a blindingly pathetic one at that. For the Herald to have plced this on the front page, above the fold, speaks volumes to one thing: ULTERIOR MOTIVES.
And one more thing:
We have heard year after year about how the US Government has granted another bunch of millions for Radio and TV marti.
What the hell does everyone think that money is for? Fucking pastelitos and coffee?
Juan Manuel Cao, of America TV (channel 41) has a newscast everyday at 5:00P. I’m certain that during his newscast, Mr. Cao will shed some light on this new saga.
To me this whole thing is a joke. Dan LeBatard writes for the Herald, he also works for ESPN that broadcasts many of the sports and athletes that he writes about. Are there any ethical questions about that? ESPN has itself been the story on occasion like when they ran that show about a fictional pro football team and the NFL didn’t like it. I don’t know if Lebatard wrote anything about it but then again maybe he didn’t because there’s a conflict of interest. The point is that if you dig deep enough everybody is linked to everyone at some point. That’s why you have to take all media reports with a grain of salt. Hell, Reuters’ correspondent in Cuba wrote thousands of articles for a communist newspaper in the states. Isn’t that a bigger conflict of interest than moonlighting for TV or Radio Marti?
I think with someone like Montaner or Ninoska there is no story whatsoever because they are not reporters. They are paid to give their opinions.
Val,
The cause didn’t take a blow from the article. It took a blow from the journalists’ oversight. No matter how sure you are that you are not being biased, they ALL ( I promise you they ALL new) what the rules of their game are. You just do not take money from the government. Especially the one that it is your JOB to COVER. When you do that, you rob yourself of all kinds of credibility, because (like it or not) how much credibility you have is defined not by your own integrity, but by how much integrity other see you as having.
The cause took a blow because these guy weren’t just members of our comunity – they were our ambassadors to other communities. They communicated the truths we’ve known all this time to those wwho’d never heard the story before.
And now, more than before, that story’s going to be doubted.
The Herald pays it’s journalists and it isn’t unethical because (except in cases like this) those people don’t cover the Herald. A sports writer can be a registered Democrat, a food critic can be a card-carrying dolphins fan, and a reporter or political analyst can own a restaurant.
But you can’t have the government paying those who report on it, a food critic reviewing his own food, or Daunte Culpepper writing about yesterday;s game.
And these guys ALL knew this.
Conductor,
I believe moonlighting is not a problem when SOMEONE ELSE does it… It only BECOMES a problem when a Cuban-American does. The MSM always MEASURES us with a DIFFERENT yardstick!
Bombillo, you’re naive about The Herald’s motivations; Firefly is right on the money when he writes that “moonlighting [at the Herald] is not a problem when SOMEONE ELSE does it… It only BECOMES a problem when a Cuban-American does.” Different yardstick, different set of rules. I have run out of pejoratives to use when describing The Herald, so use your imagination.
But take the sports example. Cote reports on the games (news) and opines about them too. They don’t allow other news reporters to do that? Why? It seems like they make up the rules as they go along.
There would be a conflict of interest if the money the federal government paid them (through radio/TV Marti) was used to influence coverage in the Herald. But all of these personalities are known to be anti-castro. Nobody bought them off. On the other side there are plenty of castro agents and people sympathetic working in media and in government in this country.
bombillo,
let me ask you one more question, then, since you still believe the reporters are at fault here. We’ve already established that Radio/Tv marti is a media entity established to counter the absolute propaganda in Cuba. Now, it is operated like any other radio and tv station and they hire people to fill positions needed like reporters, editorialists, panelists, etc… just like any other media operation.
And, given the fact that the station’s primary goals are to provide information about Cuba, who are they going to hire? people of cuban origin that actually know cuba, or others who dont? Do you think hiring a Herbert mathews type guy from out of state is a prudent thing to do?
Sorry man, this is a smear campaign by the Miami Herald. Nothing more, nothing less.
Is it a coincidence?
The two Miami Herald Journalists Wilfredo Cancio and Pablo Alfonso, whose employment were terminated yesterday, wrote the following editorials for El Nuevo Herald (Spanish language version of The Miami Herald).
By WILFREDO CANCIO ISLA
wcancio@elnuevo.com
BROTHERS TO THE RESCUE SHOOTDOWN
Tape suggests Raúl Castro ordered Brothers shootdown. A recording purportedly of Raúl Castro suggests he gave direct orders for the shootdown of Brothers to the Rescue planes.
This tape can bring about the indictment of “el fidelisimo hermanito” raul castro.
PABLO ALFONSO
El Nuevo Herald
Possible Dengue Epidemic in Cuba
PABLO ALFONSO
El Nuevo Herald
REMEMBER: According to the castro bros. in castroland THERE IS NO DENGUE EPIDEMIC… IT WAS ERADICATED. Originally after the story broke the Cuban government denied it.
Has The Miami Herald been called to TASK?
Are they now trying to make peace with the castro’s? Is the Herald negotiating a possible DESK in Habana?
Is the “conflict of interest” story used as a “means to an end.? Why now?
Up to now they haven’t given a rat’s ass about this so called conflict.
the herald (no caps for these cretins either) are anti Cuban and anti-Radio/TV Marti. They relish sticking it to us. every chance they get.
Hell, they make opportunities. None of us should buy that stinking liberal rag or advertise in it as a matter of conscience.
these reporters were fired because their ideology didn’t fit into the herald politburo’s official position. now they’re free to hire real open minded non-intransigent cuban americans (read anti-american). I’m sure there’s plenty to be found crawling under the Florida limestone.
PBS and NPR are also funded by the government and no reporter would ever get fired for spewing anti-american venom on either of these outlets.
(not that anybody watches or listens but that’s a different story)
And the “government” doesn’t fund NPR or PBS or Radio Marti. We do. We fund it with our taxes. and we Cubans play plenty of taxes.
jeez, sorry for “the descarga”
This seems to be an ideological purge
“Ariel Remos: “I liked being on those panels because we could say what we wanted. For example, we didn’t have to call Fidel Castro the president of Cuba. I could call him what he is, a dictator.””
e.g. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/15466195.htm
Apparently the new direction of the Miami Herald are bedfellows with the those radical members of the Democratic Party who want to censor the ABC movie on what led to 9-11
I’m not an expert on the Herald, but I sure haven’t noticed much in the way of pro-democracy for Cuba articles or editorials. We all know about the Cuban dissidents. Why doesn’t the Herald publish their stories? They certainly wasted no time with that Miriam Leiva letter criticizing the U.S. Bias? You bet.
Val,
To answer your last question for me:
I’m not saying that the conflict lies in these people’s DOING WORK for those bodies. I’m saying the problem is that they accepted money for the work.
When you contribute your work, that’s one thing. But when you accept money for it, your loyalties come into question. Are you loyal to the citizens or the government?
I have zero issue with these guys doing reporting for TV Marti. Zero issue with them doing commentary for them.
I see something wrong with them accepting (in some cases as cited by the Herald article) about half the average salary of a reporter for their work (Cao got 11 grand, the average salary in almost every facet of journalism is between 20-30)
I think a lot of you guys are missing the point. It;s not that they worked for TV Marti. That;s not news. It;s that all the money changed hands.
It wouldn’t even be that big a deal if these guys had worked at TV Marti for pa, then left TV Marti and gone to their Herald jobs (or wherever else)… It’s that the two were happening simultaneously.
And as for the Pastelitos and coffee…
How about equipment, the payed staff (non journalists), website, editing, technical crap that goes into producing TV and radio shows, facilties, etc.
We all know the exile community. We know how passionate people are.
Is it really that hard to imagine the possibility of these CUBAN EXILE journalists doing their work free of charge for an organization that works toward the end of a FREE CUBA?
Call me naïve…but does the herald mean that all those that appear or broadcast from TV and Radio Marti regularly should do so “free of charge�. If Radio and TV Marti have been created specifically for the purpose of bringing down communism in Cuba then it needs to employ people who will do that…employ being the operative word.
So does this mean that the herald will never employ anyone who has had anything to do with Radio or TV Marti?
I wonder if the herald would have been ok with Aruca being paid by the government.
This is utter hypocrisy!
Oh, but Aruca is paid by the government. The Cuban government.
“Aruca is paid by a government. The Cuban government.”
Moneo, I think, has nailed it (albeit possibly unintentionally).
The staffers of Granma, and in fact, all of the “MSM” in Cuba are paid by “a government”. No one here, methinks, would argue that this is a good thing. In fact, I think everyone here would likely vehemently agree that any journalist (or for that matter, any person) employed, in business with, or paid by the Cuban government is beholden to the Cuban government. As such is it not reasonable to believe that the opinions of anyone on the Cuban government’s payroll are compromised (o si prefieren, que solo cotorrean lo que le dice el patron en jefe) and to be viewed skeptically?
Another example, a reviewer of automobiles who is paid by GM to make appearances on a GM sponsored radio show, is he/she not beholden to GM (or gives the impression that he/she is). If one were his/her publisher, would one risk the credibility of the publication by continuing to have this person cover automobiles?
Those in the group mentioned by Corral whose profession is journalism and cover Cuba (Alfonso being the best (and, unfortunately for him, best paid) example) have compromised their credibility by being on the payroll of the US government. As such, they are their opinions are and will forever be open to the same sorts of questions raised above.
No media outlet that is credible (or wants/needs people to believe it is credible which is the case for pretty much all of the MSM), can *afford* to employ these individuals to cover/opine on Cuba.
3bilin
Tribilin…then how is Radio Marti going to operate? If no credible journalist can work there who would do it?
I think this is just a big show by the Cuban government because they are very angry that Radio/TV Marti is actually doing some damage within Cuba.
These people were chosen because they are talented and because they have certain opinions. That is the entire purpose of Radio Marti. What would it serve if what was being sent to Cuba was the same crap that they hear from inside? This is a war of ideas and they need the best people to send it in. Would you have them do it for free? We need to be clear about what the goal is.
Oh also what are you saying about credibility when we see Juan Williams on Fox News and George Stephanopolis as a political commentator? Are they any less credible for working for NPR and having worked for Clinton? Would they be more credible if they did it for free?
Then you would also have to question the credibility of all MSM because they take money from sponsors. Does that then imply that they could never criticize these sponsors?
The fact that these Cuban journalists know the Cuban situation makes them credible. Why would the mere fact that they expouse democracy in Cuba discredit their opinions?
Tribilin, I wrote that intentionally to point out the blatant hypocrisy of the Herald. I don’t find one thing wrong for a journalist or writer to get paid for the work. If their employer objects to a specific type of work, then that has to be made clear in their employment agreement. But the Herald is being collossaly disingenuous when they cry “ethics!” and clean house of reporters and opinion pundits who sell their work. (Work, I might add, that is in direct conflict with the vile editorial policy of the Herald.) Could this be the first effort at undermining the (nominally anti-castro) editorial policy at El Nuevo Herald to bring it more in line with the leftist policy of the parent?
I don’t see why some of you guys miss this point:
The issue is NOT that these people took money from the government and covered it.
It is that they did those to things SIMULTANEOUSLY.
That’s why George Stephanopoulos is not in violation of any code. That’s why it’s OK for a press secretary to be FORMER journalist.
These are not the kinds of things that should be in an employment agreement, George.
Rather, they are the kinds of things that are drilled into the minds of any freshman journalism student… anywhere (such as myself). I guarantee you that it was beyond understood in all those newsrooms
Bombillo,
In the case of Radio Marti, is your opinion that they should just hire full time people and not bring in anyone else.
I agree with you in a “normal” situation. But, what would you suggest in this case? That anyone that has contributed once in a while should do so for free. I’m really just trying to understand since 1)I am not a journalist and 2) I think that this is a very unique case because the goal is not the same a a regular media outlet.
Mavi,
I don’t see a reason why these people can’t contribute occasional work, appear on a panel, etc every now and then free of charge. Most of the people involved are drowning in Cuba news. They spend their lives talking about it an immersed in it nonstop. If every freedom-loving Cuban exile jouralist gave just a little bit of free time to Radio and TV Marti, they’d be set (and I’m sure most would be willing to give more than “a little time”)
The point I’m making here is that the conflict of interest lies NOT in the fact that they did work or associated themselves with Radio/TV Marti. Theproblem is that they accepted money. As soon as there is even a possibility that you feel you owe something so tangbible to anyone, you can’t cover them. Those are the rules. The journalist’s number one loyalty has to be to the citizen. In this case, thes journalists accepted mone andd in doing so made it possible to make a VERY strong case that (even if just subconciously) their loyalties lie with Radio/TV Marti (and, in effect, the federal government).
As for Radio/TV Marti hiring their own full time people, I think it’s a bad idea in terms of the effectoveness of Radio/TV Marti. For credibility’s sake, I think the ideal thing would be to have a lot of guests on, and limit your payroll to the people who organize, produce etcetera. Leave the reporting and journalism to the people who can truthfully deny even the possibility of loyalty/debt to the government.
And YES, I know: hipocrisy… look at this case here or that case there of liberals doing it or Commies doing it or Cuba doing it…
You know what? Since when does that excuse anything?
People on this site (myself included) berate people all the time for justifying their actions with the “well, if he can do it then I should be able to as well” argument.
I think the hipocrisy would be in using that argument ourselves to support a clear break with journalistic ethics, rather than take the high road and admit that these guys made a mistake.
Again, a journalist cannot accept $$$ from an organization that has economic and/or political interest in the area that he/she covers and expect to remain credible.
That the US government has economic and political interest in the matter of Cuba is obvious.
The reader’s expectation (trust) is that a jounalist provides his own personal and independent assessment/opinion and not those of the interests/sides of an issue he/she covers. Any violation of this is considered universally to be most serious.
As an example…Rick Bragg of the NYT (who some of you might recall from the bias in his coverage of the Miami Cuban community during the Elian affair), was terminated for passing on work done, mostly background stuff by an assistant, as his own.
The action of some of the Corral 11 is clearly a violation of mainstream journalistic ethics (as was Bragg’s). The Herald’s response is justified on that basis. It is also, I think, a matter of economics (no one who considers the role of the press to be that of an independent entity (as in independent from GM or the goverment, will spend a dime to purchase a product which they suspect is tainted/biased/slanted).
These two things, ethics and/or economics, and not the tired old “the big bad Herald hates Cuban-Americans and Cubans and if they could, everyone there would piss on Marti’s statue en el Parque de la Palomasf” canard, is what’s going on here.
If some of the Corral 11 were covering GM and being paid by GM and hadn’t divulged it, their ass would also be grass.
No pro-GM person with an ounce of sense would make it all about the Herald’s decades long anti-GM crusade “Ever since 1972, when they published the articles that stated that the Chevy Vega was an unsafe piece of shit, they’ve been after us!” (it was) “Did you see what they said about the Escalade’s gas mileage? The commies want us all to ride bicycles!” (the gas mileage does suck and given it doesn’t snow in Miami, it’s hard to see what folks use 4WD).
So…give it a rest…these guys, consciously or not, did it to themselves.