Broadcasts from U.S. to Cuba criticized

MIAMI — Radio and TV Marti are plagued by “bad journalism” and “ineffective propaganda,” according to an internal audit requested by its supervisors at the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

The audit, made public Tuesday, followed a report on the station, branded as anti-Semitic, that described U.S. billionaire George Soros as a “non-practicing Jew of flexible morals.”

The auditors concluded that the stations, designed to broadcast unbiased news to Cuba, are “an anachronism.”

Radio and TV Marti are financed by the U.S. government, with Congress approving an annual budget of about $29 million.

“The problems are in the radio and television news programs, especially the daily and constant offerings of political debate and investigative programs. They are plagued by bad journalism. And they were also ineffective propaganda,” the audit noted.

The auditors added that the radio, television and online content of the Marti operations are far from meeting the ethical standards and declared mission of the stations: “a trusted and authorized source of precise, balanced and complete information for the Cuban people.”

Radio and TV Marti director Tomas Regalado acknowledged the results of the audit and told Radio Marti that “reforms will be put in place.”

“We’re going to put them in place because our mission is to inform the people of Cuba about what’s happening in Cuba and the world, as well as to create the road for democracy on the island. You will continue to receive precise information,” Regalado said.

He added that he and the stations were committed to delivering “balanced and precise” news to Cuba.

The audit was carried out by a group of hired independent experts who reviewed 20 hours of radio and television programming as well as 40 written reports from the Marti website. All the experts believe in liberal democracy and individual freedoms and none sympathizes with “the Cuban dictatorship,” the report said.

The report described the atmosphere at Radio and TV Marti as “hyper-partisan and emotional.”

“From the technical and aesthetic point of view, the quality of the production of Marti radio and television is mediocre. In a large majority of the radio programs bothersome background noise can be heard. On television, the quality of the camera work, lighting and graphics is irregular, which reflects an apparent lack of experience and professionalism,” said the audit. It concluded that “many of the productions appear to be obsolete and old, if not embarrassing.”

The broadcasters governed by the U.S. Agency for Global Media are legally banned from airing propaganda or becoming an instrument of the U.S. State Department. But the auditors found evidence of both in the Marti stations.

“Marti openly carries out propaganda and promotes the foreign policy of the current administration, in this case toward Cuba (as well as Venezuela and Nicaragua),” the report noted.