GAO questions Radio and TV Marti

A report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) questioned the efficacy of U.S.-funded radio and television broadcasts to Cuba.

The report concluded that less than 2% of Cubans have heard or watched TV and Radio Martí over the past year. In addition, the GAO suggested that the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) significantly improve its programming and journalistic standards in order to justify its $34 million yearly budget.

OCB director Pedro Roig questioned the report's surveying methods and claimed that the data doesn’t “fully reflect the difficulties in broadcasting to a closed society."

The GAO report also found other interesting nuggets of information such as some watching habits Cubans:

_U.S. officials have little information about how Cuba jams the signals and where its equipment is located. The most recent data indicates most jamming takes place around Cuba's capital, Havana.

_Problems remain with journalistic standards of objectivity and balance on some Marti programs. Sometimes unsubstantiated reports from Cuba are included in news programming.

_ More than 90 percent of the telephone survey respondents say they watch Cuba national TV broadcasts, including such popular U.S. shows as "The Sopranos" and "Grey's Anatomy." Cuba also regularly rebroadcasts portions of CNN on its stations.

Image- daylife.com (“Pedro de Pool, left, Roberto Bermudez, center, and Aristides P. Quinteros, right, are shown during a live broadcast of Radio Marti News magazine "En Directo" to Cuba in Miami, Friday, June 22, 2007.”)
Online Sources- The Swamp, Riptide 2.0, Denver Post, IHT