Talk about biting the hand that feeds you...
José Alejandro Rodríguez, a regular columnist for Juventud Jose Rebelde,
has written a scathing j'accuse "against the demons of sequestered
information," as he titles his latest article. The object of his ire is
trickle-down information.
"The problem, and we in Juventud Rebelde are living it," he writes, "is
that information does not escape the excessive centralization of our
economy and society in general. [...] Very often, decisions are made way
up top about what to say and inform and what not to say about the major
topics of society..."
Officials refuse to answer reporters' questions, claiming that they've
explained everything in appearances on the radio-TV program Round Table,
Rodríguez complains. "The hyperbolization of the Round Table as the
stage for supreme information is an assault on the necessary versatility
and variety that distinguish good journalism," he
scoffs."'Round-Tableization' is a major contribution to the
bureaucratization of journalism."
Announcements are made about socioeconomic tactics being undertaken but
no one explains HOW they'll be accomplished, Rodríguez says. For
example, after the distribution of idle land in usufruct was announced,
the subject "could not be talked about, not even mentioned. In this
newsroom, I was told the decision came from above."
The press is asked to help promote the decree that created a
results-based salary scheme, but "the bureaucrats refuse to complicate
their lives with the [new] rules and the sliding wage scales. It's
easier to be egalitarian, to pay the usual dues. And nobody explains why
merit pay has run into a wall in Cuba."
Another example. A reporter goes to the Ministry of the Economy, asking
for confirmation of a rumor that dining halls for workers are going to
be eliminated. "The minister turns him over to the vice minister; the
vice minister tells the reporter that he should check with the minister.
Back and forth goes the ball, until the vice minister confesses that an
experiment is being studied but there is no intention to report on it
'for now.' One week later, an article on the subject appears in Granma
and the reporter feels deceived. Could that be the concept of
'Granmatitis'? Could it be that only in Granma can information acquire
supreme majesty?"
"There is no shortage of examples of the many functionaries who assume
the right to decide what information can be given out, after looking
upward to receive the blessing for a news item that's already cold dead.
Almost no one dares to inform the press and maintain horizontal
relations without the approval of his superiors. And often the chain of
genuflection extends for several levels and institutions – until the
news is buried by life itself."
"Information is public property and we mustn't replace it with timed,
allotted information, with virtual information, with
information-propaganda, or convenient information, information extracted
with tweezers, or however you want to call it," Rodríguez writes.
"Information is information."
The column – which is long and at present is published only in Spanish –
is notable for the bluntness of its frustration. It makes for
interesting reading.
Click here for it.
http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/cuba/2009-10-16/contra-los-demonios-de-la-informacion-secuestrada/
[UPDATE: On Saturday, the column had disappeared from the online edition
of Juventud Rebelde. Fortunately, Spanish blogger Jorge Ferrer
downloaded it before it was removed. Click here.]
http://www.cubaencuentro.com/jorge-ferrer/blogs/el-tono-de-la-voz/juventud-rebelde-y-la-informacion-secuestrada
–Renato Pérez Pizarro.
Cuban Colada (18 October 2009)
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/cuban_colada/2009/10/a-cuban-reporters-frustrations-boil-over.html
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