The Tagline, Putative Mother of Censorship

The Tagline, Putative Mother of Censorship / Rebeca Monzo
Posted on July 16, 2013

It all started very early, at the beginning of the seventies. Soon the
Maximum figures of the triumph of the 'fifty-nine revolution, realized
that they if they wanted to install themselves in power, firmly and
indefinitely, they are going to have to take over the mass media of
communication, in the then flat press, radio and television.

Soon the pressure started on the major newspapers in the country, still
with their current owners. Then came the infamous "tagline," a kind of
explanatory note, that accompanied the news that the regime considered
it ideologically dangerous, and it was imposed, supposedly, in the name
of the workers of the daily in question (although no one ever consulted
them). This was the apparently "innocent" but the germ of the iron
censorship that would come next, and that continues to the present day.

That's why the congresses of the UPEC (Union of Journalists of Cuba) are
very striking, an organization created to replace the previous
association of journalists and control and impose official criteria,
where there are never inconsistencies, and the "suspicious unanimity" is
which ensures all decisions taken in them. Always ignored in these
meetings, are alternative journalism, civic and independent filmmakers
whose creators are considered by the regime as "mercenaries of the empire."

All this happens in a new universal context, where technology is almost
uncontrollable by dictatorial regimes that still persist in controlling
the mass media. That is why it is extremely sad and old-fashioned to
talk about journalism in a country like Cuba, where Internet access is
still very restricted and controlled by the government, as is the
acquisition of foreign newspapers and magazines, and the possibility of
listening to short wave radio without interference, to certain specific
news programs about our country.

All this makes it increasingly difficult for the vast majority of the
population, immersed in the tasks of survival, to know the reality in
which we live. We hope some day soon to rescue our country and our
culture, a free press, like that when Cuban had true masters in this
important and beautiful craft.

15 July 2013

Source: "The Tagline, Putative Mother of Censorship / Rebeca Monzo |
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