OFFICE OF CUBA BROADCASTING
Radio, TV Martí meeting goals
BY PEDRO V. ROIG
www.martinoticias.com
Iam profoundly disappointed in the errors contained in Sen. John Kerry's
Senate Foreign Relations Committee report on Radio and TV Martí
broadcast operations.
First, the audience issue: The report mentioned that ``less than 2
percent of Cubans listen to Radio Martí, and TV Martí has virtually no
viewers at all.'' I should note that the General Accounting Office (GAO)
report calls into question the validity of that telephone survey since
only about 17 percent of Cuban households have telephones and because in
Cuba ``they might be fearful of responding to media surveys.'' This is
based on the respondents' fear that the survey was being conducted by
the Cuban government.
By contrast, surveys of hundreds of recent arrivals from Cuba conducted
from 2007 to 2009, indicate that the Radio Martí audience ranges from 30
to 45 percent, and the TV Martí audience ranges from 4 to 21 percent.
With regard to the allegation of fraud and mismanagement at the Office
of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), which oversees Radio and TV Martí, there has
been only one case of fraud. That investigation of possible malfeasance
was initiated by my administration, leading to a conviction. The GAO
report found that ``other allegations had not been substantiated.''
On the management issue, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in
2007 noted: ``Over the past four years, the director is widely credited
by officials of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the International
Broadcasting Bureau and the Department of State with using his strong
leadership and managerial skills to significantly improve OCB
operations. The OIG team concurs with this assessment. . . . The quality
of programming has significantly improved. The organization is also more
efficient, thanks to a major reorganization that combined Radio and TV
Martí's programming and news operations.''
On the issue of objectivity, the Senate Committee report noted that less
than half of respondents in a 2007 survey of recent arrivals thought
Radio and TV Martí broadcasts were ``objective.'' The report fails to
mention that the same survey stated that ``only 7 percent felt that the
newscasts were ``biased.''
The same 2007 survey noted ``with regard to the perception of the news
broadcast by Radio Martí, 74 percent reported that Radio Martí's news
broadcasts were ``excellent'' or ``good,'' while only a very small
percentage (5 percent) rated them ``poor.''
On the issue of nepotism, regarding Alberto Mascaro, in 2003 the
broadcasting board (BBG) stated that his appointment as OCB chief of
staff followed the strict hiring guidelines of the Office of Personnel
Management. The OPM advised that Mascaro's appointment did not
constitute a federal law violation. After leaving OCB in 2008 to rejoin
the private sector, Mascaro was hired by Voice of America in 2009
through an open, competitive process and selected based on his
qualifications.
For seven years I have had the privilege of serving the cause of freedom
and democracy as director of Radio and TV Martí, sharing this difficult
task with a group of reporters fully committed to the highest
journalistic standards. They have made Radio and TV Martí a highly
dependable and objective source of news and information. I will always
be grateful for their professionalism and dedication to the OCB mission.
Pedro V. Roig has been director of Radio and TV Martí since 2003.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/07/1617485/radio-tv-marti-meeting-goals.html
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