Editors at odds on Radio and TV Marti appearances

Posted on Tue, Oct. 03, 2006

Editors at odds on Radio and TV Martí appearances
BY DOUGLAS HANKS
dhanks@MiamiHerald.com

The editors of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald disagree over
whether reporters should appear on U.S. government programs aired in
Cuba, the two executives said Tuesday morning.

The comments from Miami Herald Executive Editor Tom Fiedler and El Nuevo
Editor Humberto Castello came at a staff meeting following the
resignation of Publisher Jesús Díaz Jr., who oversaw both papers. Díaz
said he resigned over the firing of three El Nuevo reporters who were
paid for their appearances on Radio and TV Martí.

Fiedler told staffers he saw a ''bright'' line between
government-controlled media and independent newspapers.

''We would be lending our talent and experience to a U.S. operation,''
Fiedler said. ``The U.S. government is on one side. We really hold to
the standard that we are the watchdogs of government.''

Though he opposes journalists accepting government money, Castello said
he considered unpaid Martí appearances to be consistent with his paper's
''mission.'' ''I have no conflict with Radio Martí, and El Nuevo
journalists [going] to their station and participating [in] informing
the Cuban people what is going on, what is happening,'' said Castello,
the editor of the Spanish-language daily. ``Because they have no idea.
They have no free press. They have no other opportunity to listen and to
be informed.''

The comments revealed an ongoing debate within the corporate structure
of the Miami Herald Media Co. -- and its parent, Sacramento,
Calif.-based McClatchy Co. -- over journalism ethics and
government-controlled programming.

Radio and TV Marti, with a $37 million budget, are regularly jammed by
Cuban authorities and are aimed at promoting an end to Fidel Castro's
rule on the island and promoting democracy there. Federal
anti-propaganda laws bar the broadcasts from being aired in the United
States.

New publisher David Landsberg and Howard Weaver, McClatchy's senior
executive for news, said they have not decided whether it is appropriate
for journalists to appear on Martí broadcasts without pay. Landsberg
said he will make a final decision on the matter in the future. For now,
all staffers will be required to seek permission before appearing on
other media or for speaking engagements -- both paid and unpaid,
Landsberg said.

He said no staffers will be allowed to accept payment for Martí appearances.

The two papers share content but are produced by separate staffs on two
different floors of The Herald's Miami office.

The firing inflamed Cuban radio in recent weeks, prompting a noticeable
drop in El Nuevo circulation and calls for Díaz to resign.

At the meeting, Díaz declined to elaborate on his reasons for resigning
or McClatchy's role in his resignation or the decision to invite the
fired El Nuevo staffers to return to the paper. In a front-page letter
to readers Tuesday, the Cuban-born publisher said the firings created an
``environment that no longer allows me to lead.''

Frank Whittaker, a top McClatchy executive, said they supported his
initial decision to dismiss the El Nuevo staffers and his recent move to
offer them reinstatement.

In the letter, Díaz said six other El Nuevo staffers accepted Martí
payments but that El Nuevo did not have a consistent policy in the past
against such paid appearances. Those inconsistencies, Díaz said,
prompted him to reinstate the reporters.

Landsberg called the reversal ``ugly, sloppy, embarrassing. But I think
it's the right thing to do.''

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15668872.htm