The objectivity test
The controversy surrounding the decision by the Castro regime to effectively expel at least two and possibly three foreign correspondents in Havana continues.
The correspondent for The Chicago Tribune, Gary Marx, was told his work was “too negative”, while the Spanish-born correspondent for the Mexican daily El Universal, Cesar Gonzalez-Calero, was told that his work was “not convenient”.
The third journalist believed to be affected is Stephen Gibbs from the BBC.
The bad news was delivered to the correspondents by the innocuously sounding International Press Centre (CPI), a body set up supposedly to accredit foreign correspondents and assist them with visas, travel, etc.
In fact, the CPI is much more than that – it’s an arm of the Castro regime.
As the Spanish daily ABC reports, its principal task is to keep a close eye on all foreign correspondents and what they write – and to occasionally threaten them with having their accreditation taken away if they step out of line.
According to the paper, officials from the CPI read every single report filed by the correspondents, and then rate them on whether they are “objective” or not.
In the case of the three journalists targeted, it seems they were all warned over time that their reports had failed to meet “journalistic ethics” and told to mend their ways.
Now you know what happens to those who fail Castro's objectivity test.
The correspondent for The Chicago Tribune, Gary Marx, was told his work was “too negative”, while the Spanish-born correspondent for the Mexican daily El Universal, Cesar Gonzalez-Calero, was told that his work was “not convenient”.
The third journalist believed to be affected is Stephen Gibbs from the BBC.
The bad news was delivered to the correspondents by the innocuously sounding International Press Centre (CPI), a body set up supposedly to accredit foreign correspondents and assist them with visas, travel, etc.
In fact, the CPI is much more than that – it’s an arm of the Castro regime.
As the Spanish daily ABC reports, its principal task is to keep a close eye on all foreign correspondents and what they write – and to occasionally threaten them with having their accreditation taken away if they step out of line.
According to the paper, officials from the CPI read every single report filed by the correspondents, and then rate them on whether they are “objective” or not.
In the case of the three journalists targeted, it seems they were all warned over time that their reports had failed to meet “journalistic ethics” and told to mend their ways.
Now you know what happens to those who fail Castro's objectivity test.
posted by Luis M Garcia at 11:36 am
3 Comments:
As of yesterday the BBC web site made no mention of the expulsions in general, or of their correspondent in particular.
I guess they don't think it's news. The BBC just took a big credibility hit in my opinion.
Any news outfit that agrees to operate under such obvious censorhip is simply not credible, and shows highly dubious journalistic integrity. Agreeing to cater to a totalitarian regime in exchange for having a news bureau in its midst is essentially a form of prostitution.
Any news outfit that agrees to operate under such obvious censorhip is simply not credible, and shows highly dubious journalistic integrity. Agreeing to cater to a totalitarian regime in exchange for having a news bureau in its midst is essentially a form of prostitution.
Post a Comment
<< Home