Miami Herald Publisher Jesus Diaz Resigns in Cuba Flap

Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006 9:35 a.m. EDT

Miami Herald Publisher Jesus Diaz Resigns in Cuba Flap

The Miami Herald's publisher resigned Tuesday, citing the recent
revelation that some journalists with its Spanish-language sister paper
El Nuevo Herald were paid to appear on U.S.-government broadcasts aimed
at promoting democracy in Cuba.

Jesus Diaz Jr., the papers' publisher since July 2005, had dismissed two
El Nuevo Herald reporters and a freelance contributor over the scandal.

"I realize and regret that the events of the past three weeks have
created an environment that no longer allows me to lead our newspapers
in a manner most beneficial for our newspapers, our readers and our
community," Diaz wrote Tuesday in a letter to readers announcing his
resignation.

Diaz said the company would rehire the two reporters and the freelance
contributor he had dismissed for getting paid by Radio Marti and TV
Marti. He said six others who took payments would not be disciplined.

He also resigned his position as president of the Miami Herald Media Co.

David Landsberg, a longtime Herald employee who served as general
manager, took over immediately as company president and publisher of the
two newspapers, said The McClatchy Co., the papers' parent company based
in Sacramento, Calif. McClatchy acquired the newspapers in June when it
bought Knight Ridder Inc.

"While we are sorry to see Jesus leave, we couldn't be happier about
having such a talented and experienced leader perfectly poised to step
into this important job," said Gary Pruitt, McClatchy president and CEO.

Diaz said he believed the journalists' acceptance of payments "was a
breach of widely accepted principles of journalistic ethics." But he
added "our policies prohibiting such behavior may have been ambiguously
communicated, inconsistently applied and widely misunderstood over many
years in the El Nuevo Herald newsroom."

He said no one would be allowed in the future to accept money from the
U.S. government-run broadcasters, and conflict-of-interest policies
would be strengthened.

The Miami Herald, citing government documents, had reported early last
month that 10 South Florida journalists had received thousands of
dollars from the federal government for their work on radio and TV
programming aimed at undermining Fidel Castro's communist regime.

Pablo Alfonso, who wrote an opinion column for El Nuevo Herald, was paid
almost $175,000 since 2001 to host shows on Radio and TV Marti, U.S.
government programs that promote democracy in Cuba, according to
government documents obtained by the Miami Herald.

Olga Connor, a freelance reporter who wrote about Cuban culture for El
Nuevo Herald, received about $71,000 from the U.S. Office of Cuba
Broadcasting, and staff reporter Wilfredo Cancio Isla, who covered the
Cuban exile community and politics, was paid almost $15,000 in the last
five years, the Miami Herald reported.

The dismissals caused a furor among members of Miami's Cuban-American
community, which responded with canceled subscriptions and attacks on
Diaz and some of the newspaper's editors and journalists in letters and
e-mails. Critics also said Diaz reacted too quickly and harshly.

The Herald's internal probe revealed that with four El Nuevo Herald
employees who accepted payments, the relationships with Radio Marti and
TV Marti had been approved by Carlos Cantaneda, an El Nuevo Herald
executive editor who died in 2002.

While head of the Herald's operations, Diaz oversaw the ownership
transition from Knight Ridder Inc. to McClatchy and through several
hurricanes that strained production schedules.

He joined The Miami Herald in 1993 as vice president and chief financial
officer but departed three years later. He returned as general manager
in 2002 and succeeded Alberto Ibarguen in 2005 as publisher.

Diaz said he planned to seek an opportunity to become CEO of a company.

© 2006 Associated Press.

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