SPECIAL Live Blogging
7:00 AM
Show intro, “Latin style” music, with video collage including old cars, etc. Open on Matt at El Morro.
Mention of the embargo at the topic. “A hot topic of debate” in both countries. Salary in cuba is 50 cents a day. But “no taxes” and housing is “guaranteed and free.” Literacy is high but “virtually no freedoms” no political opposition [is allowed].
7:10
Andrea Mitchell mentions that castro will appear on TV tonight for the first time in an interview setting but controlled conditions. Taped piece mentions young generation whose future won’t be centered on castro. Talks about the embargo with the typical soundbytes. No in depth explanation of why it exists. Secretary Gutierrez says trade with Cuba will cement that system but the some Democrat politician, Arkansas Rep. Marion Berry, was given the last word simply promising that the quickest way to democracy in Cuba is to trade and travel.
Back at ell Morro they discuss the exiles and the property claims. Mitchell is clearly anti-exile. She also says that both governments are secretly talking to avoid Cubans from both sides “hitting the boats” but offers no proof of that statement.
7:18
Taped piece: pre-castro Cuba. Casinos, Ricky Ricardo, the Godfather
Mentions crumbling buiildings but calls the embargo a “blockade”
Special Period, tourism, farmers markets. High literacy, and education.
Cubans ke out a “hard scrabble” life. Black market needed to subsist. Housing is guaranteed but sub standard. Transportation is lacking No political dissent. “No es facil.” Lauer says that’s said “not with resignation but with pride.” The implication is that Cubans are united in their resistance to the United States and its embargo.
7:29
Matt and Anne discuss the embargo. It’s a actually a “tease” he mentions that the issue is a divisive one and that UN has condemned the embargo every year for years. Says many exiles don’t want embargo lifted until castro is gone and democracy.
Embargo piece from Kerry Sanders. It’s getting hard to keep up but a lot to beef with the coverage. Sanders shows a bottle with a black paste in it that’s supposed to be crude oil that could be a “game changer”
The general POV on the embargo is that American companies are already doing business their but with restrictions. No explanation of what those restrictions are and why they exist. No mention of Cuba’s credit history.
Interview with Cuban official from “Alimport”. This fluent English-speaker denies the accusation that food doesn’t reach the people, his proof is that his wife buys the rice and beans and bread at the store.
Senator Bob Menendez (from Wash) and some Kirby Jones Pres. of US Cuba Trade Assoc. debate the embargo. Lauer asks why Cuba and not China. Menendez says there’s no one-size-fits all policy. Jones says that every country in the world is there and we aren’t so sanctions won’t do anything. Menendez gets the last word and says the embargo legislation has language that permits its lifting when Cuba is free.
What he haven’t seen or heard from Matt Lauer yet
Political prisoners
Any explantion of how dissent is supressed (he says its supressed but not the mechanisms of how)
There was a passing mention of reporters without borders but no real discussion on the independent journalists. None of the opposition in Cuba or the political prisoners has been mentioned by name,
7:54 Tease next segment by showing hooting Americans that are in Cuba sitting at a cafe wearing red t-shirts, they are “students, and religious groups”.
OBSERVATION
WTVJ is just as clueless on Cuba as its mother network. Characterized “La Mesa Redonda” as Cuba’s version of Meet the Press. Said that Castro looks better than before but nowhere “near the condition he was in when would parade around in Cuba’s 90 degree weather” ???????? What’s that supposed to mean?
7:59
From in front of the Cathedral, Matt says that Cuba was atheist but now secular with a percentage in the high 40s being Catholic Matt actually says that “Tourism Apartheid” exists in Cuba. That money goes to tourist areas but not to where the citizens live and work. Doesn’t go any deeper than that.
OBSERVATION
Of course we can’t have a meaningful explanation of anything because we need to give the Crocodile Hunter’s daughter, Bindi Irwin, 8 minutes to talk about her multiple new TV shows.
8:22
Obligatory puff piece about “three B’s” (see how clever we are): Baseball, Boxing and Ballet. Matt gives away some Yankee and Red Sox hats at Parque Central. Interview with Cuban ballet dancer.
8:32
Juan de Marcos, producer of the Buena Vista social club talks about Cuban music. He said the BVSC sold 12 million albums. I wonder how much of that money went to the musicians. Matt didn’t think to ask. de Marcos claims that for Cubans music is like food. Perhaps it’s a substitute for food.
OBSERVATION
At this point, 1 hour and 35 minutes into the broadcast, I know more about David Hasselhoff and his book, Bindi Irwin and her THREE new TV shows, and Jerry Springer and his new show (on NBC, of course) than I do about any of Cuba’s dissidents or political prisoners.
8:44 Uh oh, Anne teases a piece about Elian Gonzalez.
8:48 Performance from Los Van Van. Happy Cubans dancing, despite they “hard scrabble” life the lead and the fact that “opposition is not permitted”.
8:51 Matt talks about the travel restrictions and Elian and makes a couple of gross errors. First he says that journalists can go to Cuba “on special occasions” which is not true. Journalists are permitted by THE US GOVERNMENT to go anytime they want, but they must be legitimate full-time journalists. It’s Cuba that restricts the entry of foreign journalists. A way of maintaining leverage over them. In fact Matt does not discuss the 18 months of negotiations that went into getting permission for the Today Show to do this broadcast.
Then on Elian, he says that Elian’s father sued and won his case. Which is not true. Elian had a pending case in a family court and the Clinton administration, for political purposes, decided to invade the Gonzalez home and retreive the child on the grounds that he was an “illegal alien.”
More alarming however was how Matt responded to Anne when she mentioned that it was sad that Elian’s Miami family hadn’t seen him since. He said that it’s part of this “divide between Cuba and the US.” It doesn’t compute in his head the issue here is between fidel castro, his gang of thugs and the Cuban people NOT the US and Cuba.
9:00 AM Matt talks briefly with a Guayabera designer who gives him a guayabera. Matt says he needs to check if it’s a violation of the embargo. Again, he shows his complete ignorance of the actual rules of the embargo, the subject about which he is supposedly reporting.
More analysis later.
It’s all about the benjamins, Im afraid.
I tuned in just in time to see the Lauer/Mitchell segment talking about the Miami exiles invading and wanting to reclaim their properties. I’m not watching any more. Thanks for the updates.
Okay folks, we’re 40 minutes into the show and already despite sometimes careful wording with statements about the lack of freedoms inside Cuba, Matt Lauer has OF COURSE already mentioned the Cuban universal healthcare which is “the envy of much of the world” and the great educational system with high literacy rates. Andrea Mitchell was on and she gave an unbalanced report where what seemed like a highly edited interview of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez was given, while she–on the other hand– rambled on about the embargo and how Americans are missing opportunities as a result. Something that irked me tremendously was when they were talking about pre-Castro Cuba and Matt Lauer made an allusion to the Godfather II which after all was a travesty and complete distortion of the reality. Also, at one point, Lauer used the word, “blockade”
The one saving grace so far was the interview to Cuban American Senator Bob Menendez who in a matter of seconds summed up why we should not lift the embargo.
Yes! Omar, I saw that too! That really pissed me off. Lauer actually said that the Cubans in Miami were waiting to invade Miami and take back their properties!
Henry, I’m more apalled with Bob Menendez not being able to answer the embargo question correctly.
There was also a passing mention of Cubans not being allowed on the hotel beaches and not having internet.
I watched the first hour at home and more than once just about threw something through the screen, starting with at that idiot Ann Curry swaying to the music on the intro. It got worse from there, with every other comment from Lauer about how Cubans had a hard life because of the “embargo.” Most telling in the first hour, the only dissident voices to the castro/NBC line about the embargo came from politicians in Washington – Menendez, who at least mentioned the independent journalists, and Guiterrez
The worse had to be Andrea Mitchell, as mentioned by Henry – especially her “interview” with that lying SOB Alarcon. Notice his non-answer to the question: Who’s in charge now?
My blood pressure can’t take this.
The worst transition had to be when Ann Curry said, “Switching gears, we’ll have the latest on David Hasselhoff.” Or something like that.
Geez, she is an idiot
I guess that’s why they were unable to slip in an interview with Marta Beatriz Roque or Oswaldo Paya or Guillermo Farinas or any other Cuban who doesn’t think Cuba is such a wonderful place.
Val I have not screamed at my tv set that loudly since 1984 when the Raiders were kicking my Redskins ass in the Super Bowl.
Did you guys see the secret police standing behind Matt Lauer when he was reporting in front of Habana Cathedra. Most American won’t thing anything about a group of men standing behind a newscast, but we know better don’t we?
I cant believe We are wasting our preciuos time in mundane things such as the today show in Cuba..
it is really a joke….
I saY LIFT THE SUSPENSION TO RCTV WHILE NOT RENEWING THE TODAYS SHOW PERMISSION TO BE ON THE AIR EVER ..WHERE IS HUGO WHEN YOU NEED HIM? ..POR INCOMPETENTES ..THEY ARE A BUNCH OF JUST RATING SEEKERS..THEY GIVE CRAP ABOUT CUBA
Wow! Look at all those carefree happy Cubans dancing to Los Van Van!
Elian! Because no report from Cuba would be complete without the poster boy!
I almost drove off I-75 listening to these idiots !!
Keep tuned in , I just got word Marta beatriz, Paya, Manzano and the ladies in white will be live with Matt… Also they will do a piece on Biscet jail conditions and 500 tips how to get rid of castro new today show segment , live from havana cuba
You know, had I been one of those UGA students studying in Cuba, I would’ve attempted to show a sign saying “Free Political Prisoners” or something rather than the typical “Hola”.
NBC – Nothing But castro
Seems to me as though Today’s treatment of the so-called “property” issue goes a long way in exposing the true feelings of the network and it’s lackey hosts.
This issue is gettin rather old. Sure, it’s an issue – an issue among dozens and not even close to being the main impulse for pushing for the regime’s end. By presenting the issue in the manner that Today apparently did, they are overtly towing the party line, assisting in the dissemination of misinformation for the governemnt and – MOST IMPORTANTLY – blowing off the real issues here, namely:
Lack of Basic Freedoms
Political Prisoners
Summary Execution
Government Corruption
Forced Exile
The “Surveillance Society”
Get to the real fucking issues already – for crying out loud!
-Anatasio
PS: Sorry for the language – I’m just so bloody tired of this nonsense. “Quick, cut to 1957 Chevy!”
This was nothing but an anti-embargo, Cuba Travel, communist loving, infomercial.
Why oh why did I think it would be different?
TONITE ON LETTERMAN
10 REASONS WHY THE TODAY SHOW WITH MATT WAS A TOTAL FAILURE IN CUBA
Actually, I was surprised that Matt even mentioned “Tourism Apartheid” and the lack of freedom… but then again, I don’t have a very high opinion of NBC nor Matt Lauer to begin with!
roland,
I too found the “mention” of tourism apartheid a bit odd, given that todays companion piece at the Today show website is basically a “how to get around the sanctions and travel to Cuba” article.
The people at NBC have absolutely no moral fiber whatsoever.
I think those of us in LA or New York should be picketing NBC studios. Marta, and others, what are you doing Sat?
Ziva, you radical, you. (I’m there! =D)
Actually, you can’t really blame Matt for this travesty. After all, he’s just the pretty boy they have in front of the cameras. The blame for all this faux reporting goes to the right-out-of-a-leftist-university NBC interns who most likely did the “research” for the sound bytes.
Matt is just as “informed” as anyone else in this country. Sad, but true.