Critical reporting on prime-time TV

Cuban Radar                                                                            Read Spanish Version

Critical
reporting on prime-time TV 

A
news service from the Havana bureau of Radio Progreso Alternativa

During
the Oct. 29 broadcast of Good Morning Magazine, a news program on
Telerebelde, shown daily from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m., a report was aired
on the work being done at General Calixto García Hospital in
Havana. 

The
physical state of this center, built more than a century ago, is
depressing.

"There
are wards that were built 70 or 90 years ago and lack a system of
regular maintenance," the hospital director said.

Some of
the repair work has been done but the hospital director acknowledged
that "there are some problems with the work already done, such
as leaks." He expressed dissatisfaction with "some of the
finishing."

The
director said that this year he hopes to complete 52 projects of
construction and repair. However, "the years of neglect multiply
the cost of the investments. After the building and furnishings have
been build or repaired, they can be affected by social indiscipline,
erratic maintenance, or the poor quality of the materials used."

Good
Morning host Raúl Isidrón said that one news report
"would not be enough to comment on or attest to this problem,
which affects the whole country."

Cultured
cadres wanted

The
National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) will hold its
congress in November. 

Prior to
the congress, the various associations that form this institution are
debating the topics of content, to eventually make them part of the
UNEAC’s general policy. 

During
the Music Association meeting, on Oct. 25, issues were raised that —
while normal within the artistic and cultural sector — generally are
not reported in the media, much less in TV newscasts.

Topics
on the table ranged from differences between the Association and the
Music Institute to the percentage of earnings that musicians must
turn over to the state. At present, the share is 50 percent.

On Oct.
25, the Cuban TV newscast reported that day’s meeting of the Music
Association and, in a news clip, showed Tony Pinelli (musician,
musical producer and composer) saying: "The cadres
[administrative leaders] in the culture sector must be cultured
people. You cannot direct culture without being cultured." The
burst of applause that followed was included in the news clip.

The news
is remarkable because most people in the world of culture criticize
TV and radio precisely because of the shortage of cultured cadres. 

Demand
for electricity grows

On
Sunday, Oct. 28, Cubans set back their clocks one hour, ending the
so-called summer schedule. With this habitual change, night will fall
earlier and energy consumption will increase by 500 megawatts per
hour, the newspaper Granma reported. 

An
expert at the National Electrical Union told the newspaper that this
increase represents a daily cost of "110 additional tons [of
fuel] with an approximate value of US$66,000."

Granma
has called on citizens to use electricity sensibly, especially
between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., which is considered to be the peak period
for electrical consumption.

New
power-generating groups

A new
power plant with low-consumption elements was inaugurated on Oct. 26
in the city of Güines, province of Havana. 

The
plant utilizes fuel oil and will initially generate 28 megawatts. It
consumes less fuel per kilowatt/hour than the plants that are being
replaced by the national program called Energy Revolution. 

Thanks
to the Energy Revolution, Cubans now have a generation capacity of
3,500 megawatts, which exceeds the demand, estimated at 2,600
megawatts per hour. 

Special
U.N. envoy arrives in Cuba

Jean
Ziegler, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food,
arrived in Cuba on Oct. 28, at the invitation of the Cuban
government. According to official sources, Havana thus resumes
cooperation with U.N. organizations in the area of human rights.

During
his stay, which will last until Nov. 6, Ziegler will visit centers
and places of interest in the food sector and will meet with
high-ranking government officials.

Cuba
in UNESCO

With 157
votes out of 165, Cuba was elected member of the Executive Council of
the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization
(UNESCO).

Cuba’s
ambassador to UNESCO, Héctor Hernández Pardo, told
Prensa Latina that the vote represents the island government’s
efforts to improve education, science and culture.

The 34th
plenary session of UNESCO is being held in Paris. It will end Nov. 3.

Church-state
relations improve, Cardinal says

Cardinal
Jaime Ortega Alamino told the news agency EFE that the Roman Catholic
Church’s relations with the Cuban government are "slowly but
gradually improving. We could say they are good but could be better."

Ortega,
Archbishop of the City of Havana, told EFE that the planned visit to
Cuba in January of Cardinal Tacisio Bertone, the Vatican’s Secretary
of State "is a recognition of what the Pope’s visit mean to us,
and a revival of [that visit] so that we may continue on the same
path, in the same spirit, a spirit that must continue to grow."

Ortega,
the most important dignitary of the Catholic Church in Cuba, said
that, before the Sept. 8 festivities in honor of the Virgin of
Charity, "the Church had access to nine provincial radio
stations, during very good time slots, to convey the message of the
Cuban bishops about the island’s patron saint, and to summon the
faithful to processions and public events."

The
cardinal also confirmed that priests and other clergy are visiting
some prisons in different dioceses. He restated the hope of the
Church to secure a communications medium and to gain access to public
schools.