Ten anti-Castro "journalists" in South Florida on US government payroll

[Jcrowley]

Ten anti-Castro "journalists" in South Florida on US government payroll
By Luciana Bohne
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Sep 15, 2006, 00:48

During the Mercosur summit in Argentina, WJAN-TV South Florida reporter, Manuel Cao, asked Cuban President Fidel Castro why his government didn't allow a prominent doctor and dissident to leave the country. Quick as lightning, Castro shot back, "Who pays you?"

Now we find that Cao's paymaster was the US government: he received $10,400 in payments so far this year. Cao is one among 10 South Florida journalists to have been found accepting money in exchange for touting propaganda intended to undermine the Cuban government via Radio and TV Marti (both bankrolled by the US government to the tune of $37 million to broadcast anti-Cuban propaganda from the States onto Cuban soil).

The news mercenaries' covert employer was exposed by documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Three were fired from El Nuevo Herald, the Spanish-language sister paper of the Miami Herald: columnist Pablo Alfonso, staff reporter Wilfredo Cancio and freelancer Olga Connor.

Pablo Alfonso, who wrote an opinion column, received $175,000 since 2001.

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1207.shtml

[joemurphy]

1. Who paid them and why?

Journalists should be incensed at this. However, I expect the same sort of shoulder shrug from the media that we got in the Jeff Gannon episode.

Journalists need to police themselves, just like lawyers, accountants, and the medical professions do. This breeds disrespect for their profession. They should care. Will they?

[originalpckelly]

2. While I myself don't like Castro much...

I think it is TOTALLY unethical for the journalists to accept the money, and for our government to push it in the first place.

This certainly wasn't a free exchange of ideas at the cost of $175,000. This sounds like something Castro would pull in his country.

Boy'o'boy whether it is terrorists or communists this administration doesn't care how much we become like the other side.