Tuesday, July 15, 2008

New report on Radio/TV Marti

The Government Accountability Office, a Congressional investigative agency, issued a report today (pdf, 30 pages) on Radio/TV Marti operations. The focus is on the contracts that paid commercial radio and television stations in Florida to carry Marti programming in the hope that their signals would reach Cuban audiences.

Contracts were given to Radio Mambi, home of commentator (and director) Armando Perez Roura, and to TV Azteca, both for about five hours per week of airtime. GAO found that the awarding of these noncompetitive contracts “did not reflect sound business practices,” and that the agency’s contracting office had “limited involvement in developing acquisition strategy.”

Radio/TV Marti’s parent agency responds in the report (see p.23) that Radio Mambi’s signal is the only one with “enough power to blanket the island at night.” The contract decisions were made in an environment of “unusual and compelling urgency,” the agency says, given Cuba’s “possible transition of leadership” and the “news of President Castro’s deteriorating health.”

The Radio Mambi contract has nonetheless been discontinued.

The report addresses contracting issues only, and doesn’t discuss whether the late-night broadcasting of Radio Marti programming on commercial AM radio had any measurable impact on the audience in Cuba.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Radio marti only serves the interstes of Miami clique.

i was in cuba many times, most common cubans have never heard of radio and tv marti.. Those that have- ROLL THEIR EYES.. (even strong anti-castristas in Cuba are very turned off by radio marti.. its so cheesy, simple, and ripe with hyperbole. (and falsehoods).

The implication -radio marti is made for domestic (miami) not international consumption.

Anonymous said...

I always heard radio Marti in Pinar del Rio,with strong interference but I can heard this.
The anonymous said that:.."most common cuban have never heard of.." is true: ...they had not radios for to heard Radio Marti!!!!
This anonymus should be a Castro infiltrate in Miami...!!!!

Lic Albio de Fanna.
Presidente del Club de Intelectuales de Ultraizquierda Democratica de Cuba