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[HCDX] TV/RADIO MARTI BOOST THEIR VOLUME TO CUBA, EXPANDING THEIR SERVICES
TV/RADIO MARTI BOOST THEIR VOLUME TO CUBA, EXPANDING
THEIR SERVICES
http://uscpublicdiplomacy.com/index.php/newsroom/pdblog_detail/0701
04_tv_radio_marti_boost_their_volume_to_cuba_expanding_their_servi
ces/
JAN 4, 2007 - 6:59PM PDT
Posted by Alvin Snyder
All posts by this author
MIAMI, Fla. -- TV and Radio Marti may have finally come of age. They
are now beamed into Cuba by Miami's runaway powerhouse Spanish
language station, and on DirecTV to circumvent the Castro
government's broadcast jamming. With Fidel Castro's decline from
power, could expansion of the Martis throughout Latin America be on
the horizon?
You've got to be kidding, you say? Not so fast.
It was an ignominious debut for the U.S. government's broadcast
services to Cuba in the mid- and late 1980s, when program offerings
were often laughable and embarrassing, especially on the TV side.
Through the intervening years I have attempted, as objectively as
possible, to chronicle the Martis' efforts in several articles and a book.
Programs on TV Marti in its formative stage included re-runs of old
sitcoms such as Spanish-language versions of the "Gong Show" and
"Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous." The broadcasts were beamed only
from a helium balloon nicknamed "Fat Albert," that would deflate into
Everglade mangrove swamps. Radio Marti has been frequently tagged
by critics as being in the pocket of Miami's Cuban exiles.
But a fair observation in 2007 is that the new Martis have emerged from
their elongated, painful learning curve of some 20-years, and are now
producing news and information programs in expanded formats that
rate placement on commercial broadcast facilities, and big ones, that
want programs that attract audiences.
Two local Miami stations have begun to transmit news programs from
the U.S. government-sponsored Radio and TV Marti services to Fidel
Castro's Cuba, just 90-miles off the southern tip of Florida.
An hour of Radio Marti's news programs are carried each night,
midnight to 1:00AM, by Miami's most popular Spanish language station,
Radio Mambi (WAQI-710AM), which blankets the island of Cuba with
its 50,000 watt signal, although it's jammed in Havana. A low-power
Miami TV channel, WPMF-TV, Channel 38, carries TV Marti's half-hour
early and late evening newscasts, but the channel is also carried on
DirecTV, which is pirated by many Cuban civilians. The Marti news
programs fit comfortably into the formats of the commercial stations,
with the attractive young anchors who were born long after Castro
came to power.
The Martis pay fees through the U.S. government's Office of Cuba
Broadcasting to have their programs carried. In six-month contracts,
Radio Mambi receives $182,500, and WPMF-TV $195,000. The two
distributor stations can receive additional revenue through the sale of
commercial spots.
Some observers suggest that the arrangement with the Miami stations
may violate the 1948 Smith-Mundt Act that prohibits U.S. government-
funded broadcasts meant for overseas audiences to be carried
domestically. Representative William Delahunt, D-Mass., the incoming
chairman of a sub-committee of the House International Relations
Committee, is to launch an investigation of the Martis and hold hearings
soon.
But the domestic availability of the Martis in Miami is incidental to the
Marti mission of bringing all the news to Cuba. Now for the first time the
Martis have private sector help to cut through Castro's jamming to
increase audience, and play a greater role when Cuba must adjust to
life after Castro.
Smith-Mundt was also enacted after due pressure from US commercial
stations in 1948, who convinced Washington lawmakers that the tax
supported Voice of America should not compete with domestic private
stations, which no longer seems to be the case.
Additionally, a 2005 modification of this act permits the leasing of
commercial broadcast facilities when a sufficient level of signal
jamming occurs to prevent stations from reaching their intended
audiences, and Castro's government jams incoming signals full time.
U.S. government broadcast spokesperson Larry Hart tells Worldcasting
that "Castro has gone to extraordinary lengths to jam broadcasts some
writers have said are useless.
"Engineers estimate the electricity poor country utilizes 8.5 million watts
(8.5 Mw) an hour to jam both radio and TV, enough to power a small
industrialized city. Also, the charge in some stories that the contract
with Radio Mambi is some kind of political payoff is ridiculous. This is
the only Spanish language AM that has a 50,000 watt nighttime signal."
The next logical step for Radio and TV Marti, after Castro, would be to
expand their program services throughout Latin America, a vast region
long-neglected by U.S. international broadcasting. Everything is in
place: a broadcast headquarters in Miami, the recognized U.S. gateway
to Latin America, from state-of-the-art broadcast facilities, a production
and news staff trained by world-class consultants, and a sound footing
in signal distribution from private sector broadcasters.
The first order of business would be to take on Venezuela's dictator
Hugo Chavez, who started a TV satellite channel of his own called
Telesur, that can be seen throughout Latin America, and plans to
shutter a competing opposition station.
Discussions regarding such innovative tasks for the Martis along with a
serious rewrite of the Smith-Mundt Act would make for productive
sessions at the upcoming congressional hearings.
http://zlgr.multiply.com (raidio monitoring site plus audio clips )
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/302315/ (Litohoro) 321199/Tinos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zachgr pictures upload
.
on my main : www.geocities.com/zliangas
-tty-px.html : test of various TTY programs
-ethics.htm : greek ethics , days and institutions
-frape.htm: the greek way of cofee !!!
Zacharias Liangas , Thessaloniki Greece
greekdx @ otenet dot gr ---
Pesawat penerima: ICOM R75 , Lowe HF150 , Degen 1102,1103,108,
Tecsun PL200/550, Chibo c300/c979, Yupi 7000
Antenna: 16m hor, 2x16 m V invert, 1m australian loop
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