Odds and Ends

Herald Circulation is down 11.8% to 210,884 and Sunday circ is down 9% to 279,484. Ouch.

Herald parent McClatchy's shares closed at $2.22 cents on Monday. In April of 2005 MNI shares traded for $74.50. Double ouch.

Herald Watch has learned that Oscar Corral, the author of the Marti Moonlighters article that resulted in the resignation of the Herald's then publisher Jesus Diaz and the disgrace of the paper's then executive editor Tom Fiedler has accepted a buyout from the Herald and will be among the additional staff cuts made by the company.

Corral secured ignominy when he was busted soliciting a teen-aged prostitute in Miami. No word on to whom he will be providing content in the near future.

Fiedler named dean of B.U. Journo School

Editor & Publisher has reported that Tom Fiedler has been named as the new dean of the Boston University School of Communications.

The press release takes Fiedler's darkest hour and attempts to make it into a shining accomplishment:

"As the newspaper’s executive editor, Fiedler was a stickler for journalism ethics, particularly after reporters working for The Herald’s Spanish-language sister publication, El Nuevo Herald, were caught moonlighting for a US-government-owned, anti-Castro news service in 2006," the BU release added.

As I documented here, the actual journalism produced during the "Marti Moonlighters" episode was shoddy, poorly investigated and poorly edited. It ended up causing Fiedler's boss his job and Fiedler himself left in the aftermath.

No word on whether the chihuahuas will follow him to his new post.

Marti Moonlighter speaks out about ethics

Helen Aguirre Ferré, the editor of Miami's second largest Spanish language daily, Diario las Americas, has joined the blogging ranks. Her first two posts are a defense of herself with regards the Marti Moonlighters scandal of a year ago (in English and Spanish). The last paragraph reveals that the text of her post may have been given as speech at a conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) in August. The name of the panel discussion which Aguirre Ferré moderated was “Of Propaganda, Patriotism and Patronage: The Legal, Ethical and Practical Implications of Journalists Working with Government Agencies”. Joining her on the panel was syndicated columnist and fellow Martí Moonlighter Carlos Alberto Montaner as well as Clark Hoyt, the man who was brought in by McClatchy to investigate the scandal as a one-time-only ombudsman.

In the speech/post she poses many of the questions and addresses many of the issues that have been raised here at Herald Watch. Still there are some important thoughts I thought I'd highlight:

A study published in 1999 by the American Society of Newspaper Editors analyzed the codes of ethics of 33 different newspapers. Many of the codes were standard fare: it is inappropriate to accept gifts, travel junkets, or money for a story, for example. However, many did not include subjects such as correcting errors, privacy issues, deception, and plagiarism. Only 1/5th addressed the difficult but important division between the newsroom and the advertising department.

Certainly, many if not all of the news organizations analyzed have updated their codes. What we learn from this, however, is that each news organization has their independent ethical guidelines unique to their news organizations.

Therefore, it came as an enormous surprise to a number of prominent south Florida journalists who were targeted for violating a supposed code of ethics of The Miami Herald forbidding their journalists from receiving compensation from the U.S. government news agency like Radio and TV Marti, although it was not prohibited by the companies non-Herald journalists worked for.

Of the eleven journalists sited [sic], only 2 were employed by the Spanish language El Nuevo Herald full-time, one was a free lance employee. The other journalists cited in the article who work in either in television, radio or print, were employed by companies who do not agree that there is a conflict of interest. [...]

Why then target the other journalists in this story, which was hardly a news story, it was well know [sic] that each and every one had a participation in Radio and TV Marti? Was this not in reality a personnel problem The Miami Herald needed to deal with privately with their employees instead of making it the first five-column news story on the front page of the newspaper?[...]

When The Miami Herald reporter, Oscar Corral, called me to inform me of the story he was doing and its imminent publication, I asked him if he had analyzed the content of my work, and he said no. How then can a journalist question the ethics of my work if he or she has never seen it?[...]

That this perception exists, when the news content or work has never been scrutinized by those who accuse the organization of being propagandistic is unjust and disheartening. [...]

Certainly, this is not the same perception held toward Voice of America, for example. There services are held in the highest esteem for reasons as yet unclear to me, although I have no reason to doubt that. In fact, the Washington bureau chief for the Hartford Courant worked for nearly a decade for Voice of America, with a similar stipend that the some of the journalist for Radio and TV Marti received. Yet when that story was disclosed, I do not recall reading one news story that accused that distinguished journalist of being a propagandist for the U.S. government. [...]

The community understood that this was “gotcha” journalism at its worse and it was no longer going to tolerate the lack of respect and defamation for anyone who is identified with taking a position against the communist government of Cuba. [...]

Fairness and accuracy are two key components of serious journalism. Both were sadly missing in the story TMH did on the journalists who work for Radio and TV Marti. They impugned the reputations of distinguished colleagues without regard to the harm that could have resulted to them personally or their professional reputations, the most important resource a journalist has in dealing with the public. [...]

One issue still remains unresolved, at least in the minds of many in the news gathering community, how is it that the Cuban government, announced the disclosure of this Herald story a few weeks in advance? It was aired on the government’s roundtable [sic] discussion program La Mesa Redonda and is on tape. How could the Cuban government know of the The Miami Herald’s investigative piece before hand? Your guess would be just as valid as mine would.

Marti Moonlighters, one year later

Today makes one year since the Miami Herald published an article alleging violations of journalistic ethics among several journalists of Cuban origin. The accusations were based on the fact that the journalists in question also freelanced for Radio/TV Marti, a U.S. government-run broadcaster that is a sister entity of the Voice of America. Herald Watch documented the saga in-depth and you can read the as-it-happened accounts from the scandal in the archives. But I wanted to highlight what has happened to all the major players in the story.

Radio talk show commentators Ninoska Perez Castellon and Paul Crespo continue to work on their respective shows for local Univision Radio stations Radio Mambi and WQBA respectively and Perez Castellon now also hosts a TV show on local Channel 8.

El Nuevo Herald reporters Wilfredo Cancio Isla, Pablo Alfonso, and Olga Connor were all fired and then re-hired (Connor was actually a freelancer and her arrangement was reinstated) after it was discovered that Carlos Castañeda, the late editor of El Nuevo Herald, gave his blessing to the freelance assignments and that the Miami Herald had run a story a couple of years earlier about Connor's work with Radio/TV Marti. Alfonso subsequently resigned his position, citing his disappointment with the lack of a public apology from the Herald. He now writes his columns for Miami's other Spanish language daily, Diario las Americas and is also working on TV for channel 41's news department.

Channel 23 Sports reporter Omar Claro was fired although his profile is still up at WLTV's web site. Claro recently authored a book about Cuban athletes called "Medallas de Oro y Rostros de Bronce" (Gold Medals and Bronze Faces) and is currently the sports director at Diario las Americas.

Syndicated columnist Carlos Alberto Montaner's columns never stopped running in the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald (except for one which in which he defended himself and the other journalists implicated by the Herald). Montaner was also given his own show on local TV, Pronósticos on channel 22.

Miami Herald Media Company Publisher Jesus Diaz resigned in the wake of the scandal which blew up in the paper's collective face. He became embroiled in a dispute over a column by Carl Hiaasen that he wanted to spike. That, and the rehiring of the El Nuevo Herald journalists made his position untenable.

Miami Herald Executive Editor Tom Fiedler took an early retirement after calling members of Miami's anti-castro media "Chihuahuas" and refusing to accept the findings of the Herald's own investigation which was conducted by Clark Hoyt.

Oscar Corral, the author of the original September 8th article, worked on a series of articles alleging malfeasance among contractors that receive federal funds for free cuba activities. He was later taken off the Cuban exile beat, apparently because members of the community refused to talk to him anymore. On August 3, 2007, Corral was arrested for soliciting a teen-aged prostitute in the Flagami area of Miami-Dade county. Corral has not written since the arrest despite the fact the Herald once again stood by their man. Also joining in Corral's defense was Granma, the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party. There are unsubstantiated rumors that Corral's wife is seeking a divorce and that Corral will be assigned to a non-visible position at the copy desk in the Herald's Broward office.

All in all, it's pretty safe to say that the mud the Herald's decision makers attempted to sling at the Cuban exile community and the exile media hit the fan and came right back at them.

Double Standard at the Heralds?

Although MSNBC published an investigative piece about journalists who donated to political campaigns and the investigation has turned up one Miami Herald copy editor who violated a company policy against such contributions, the Herald itself has remained silent on the matter. At least if you search their web site you will find no story about it.

This is in stark contrast to the actions of last September when the Herald found out that another newspaper was investigating El Nuevo Herald journalists that were also freelancing for Radio and TV Marti, also in violation of the company's policies. In that instance, the Herald rushed an Oscar Corral story to press that was shocking in its tone as well as its sloppiness. The aftermath of the scandal left the two newsrooms (ENH and TMH) as divided as ever and finished the career of the Herald's then publisher, Jesus Diaz Jr.

Now both of these policies (the one against political campaign contributions, and the one against freelancing for government-funded media) are intended to protect the integrity of the MHMC.

I'm wondering why then the Herald hasn't mentioned the most recent violation. I guess the difference is that the violation this time around was by a TMH employee and not an ENH employee.

Chicago Tribune recaps Moonlighters case

The Chicago Tribune has published a review of the Martí Moonlighters affair. Here is the link. I won't bother to comment except to say that the Herald spin about different approaches to reporting (Latin American vs. American) seems to have stuck. To me that's the weakest part of the argument in favor of the Moonlighters. Besides, it overlooks the fact that it's the American model of newspaper reporting that is the exception and not the rule. In almost every other country in the world (not just Latin America) newspapers refuse to hide behind the fig leaf of supposed objectivity. You can got to London and find the conservative newspaper and the liberal one. The same in Paris or any other important world city.

The other thing that's interesting to note is that it was the Tribune that initially was investigating the story about Herald employees working at Radio/TV Martí and that it was this investigation that created an environment where a rushed, sloppy and poorly researched article was produced.

Olga Connor speaks

Former El Nuevo Herald freelancer Olga Connor claims that her bosses at the paper knew she was working for pay at Radio Marti. An article, by Oscar Corral, published on the Herald's web site today, contains excerpts from a letter Ms. Connor wrote to executives of The Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald and their parent company, The McClatchy Co.

"I totally reject the accusation of breach of ethics. My work in Radio and TV Martí was so well known . . . that two articles about this station and my involvement [were published] in 2002.''

One revealing aspect is the article is that that El Nuevo Herald's Executive Editor, Humberto Castelló, told Corral in an email that he does not agree with the decision to terminate Connor's freelance relationship with the paper. Apparently he was overruled by higher-ups at McClatchy. Herald Watch will be keeping tabs on what may develop into a contentious relationship between El Nuevo Herald, its sister paper and their parent.

On a related note, Oscarr Corral has, on at least two occasions, written that Radio/TV Marti's aim is to "undermine" the Castro regime in Cuba. I suppose that's right inasmuch as uncensored information can destabilize a totalitarian government, but according to the Office for Cuba Broadcasting's web site the mission of Radio/TV Marti is:

In accordance with the principles established by the legislation that created to the Voice of America, VOA, both stations transmit true and objective news and information about subjects of interest to the people of Cuba.

The Herald's evolving ethical standards

Friday's Herald featured an article by Oscar Corral about South Florida journalists that were on the government payroll as well. The journalists in question were moonlighting for the Office of Cuba Broadcasting that is responsible for Radio Marti and TV Marti. The two media outlets are intended to transmit uncensored information to Cuba where there is no legal independent media. Neither outlet is transmitted in the U.S. however live feeds can be heard/seen on the organization's web site.

Corral consulted experts in journalistic ethics who explain why working for a government agency is a taboo for journalists.

Journalism ethics experts called the payments a fundamental conflict of interest. Such violations undermine the credibility of reporters to objectively cover key issues affecting U.S. policy toward Cuba, they said.

Among the various journalists and commentators mentioned in the piece were three associated with El Nuevo Herald, the Spanish language newspaper that is the sister paper of The Miami Herald. Two of these journalists were employees who were fired after Corral's investigation. The third was a freelancer named Olga Connor. The Herald has ended its relationship with Connor as well because of the story.

Setting aside my personal feelings about whether there was truly a conflict of interest among these journalists, there appears to be something fishy going on here.

A fellow blogger discovered that 4 years ago the Herald published an article by Elaine De Valle about Radio Marti's (then) new president Salvador Lew and how he was hiring many of his friends to work with him. One of the friends mentioned in the piece was none other than Olga Connor.

Olga Connor, a columnist at El Nuevo Herald who hosts an arts program on Radio Martí, is a friend [of Lew's].

Not only that, Ms. De Valle even reported that Connor was being paid "$440 a show" for her twice-weekly radio show.

At the time, it seems, The Herald had no problem with Connor's activities on Radio Marti because she continued to work for Radio Marti and El Nuevo Herald ever since.

So one has to ask oneself whether The Herald didn't realize that Connor's employment by Radio Marti posed a "conflict of interest" back in March of 2002 (which they should have if the violation was so egregious) or if there is some other reason that the paper decided to take action against Connor and her Radio Marti colleagues now?