The Free Press has a Price

 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?                                            

Matthew 16:26

As NBC’s The Today Show prepares to broadcast live from Cuba, I have to wonder what promises and guarantees to portray Cuba positively the network made to the island's dictatorial regime. With the recent expulsions of foreign journalists by the Cuban government for not reporting about Cuba in a “positive light,” I sincerely doubt either of the tyrannical Castro brothers would allow a pseudo-news television program viewed by millions of Americans to take place on their island prison without some kind of assurances. So, while hundreds of prisoners of conscience languish in Cuban jails, and the eleven million plus residents of the island are denied the most basic human rights, will NBC seek the truth behind the atrocities that take place on a daily basis in Cuba, or did they pay with their souls for the privilege of broadcasting from Havana?  

Journalists are trained to seek out the truth—the objective truth. Many American journalists, however, seem to have some type of love affair with Fidel Castro and his almost fifty-year-old revolution. They toss the objective truth to the side when it comes time to report on the tens of thousands of Cubans executed, without a fair trial or no trial at all, by order of this wondrous revolution’s leader. In the mind and hearts of these journalists, they twist logic in a manner that transforms the monster that is Fidel into a charismatic revolutionary that is just “misunderstood.” The truth, though, is of little significance to these unwitting purveyors of propaganda; the mainstream media in America is more interested in celebrating the Cuban dictatorship’s mythical universal healthcare than it is in reporting what is actually transpiring in Cuba.  

Perhaps one can place the blame on disinterest—Cuba is, after all, an Hispanic country, and who really cares what goes on south of the US border anyway? Although I believe this factor plays an important role in the lack of serious and truthful reporting by the mainstream media, I also believe that there is something even more heinous involved. The liberal members of the mainstream media, who grossly outnumber their conservative counterparts, actually believe that what Fidel Castro has done is not only good, but also that the ends justify his means. Even though not one of them would allow themselves, or their family members, to be subjected to such an oppressive and murderous form of government, they see nothing wrong with the people living on the island being subjected to it. No matter how much they laud the need to report the truth, their values become skewed when it comes to Castro. In essence, they have sold their souls to a nefarious dictator in order to curry favor from him. 

I would love to believe that The Today Show will broadcast an exposé of epic proportions, finally bringing to light the wicked actions of Cuba’s tyrannical leader. However, the mainstream media’s history gives me no reason to believe they will do so. Surely, promises were made, and it seems unlikely we will see anything more than pictures of sunny beaches, and videos of Cubans happily dancing salsa in their workers' paradise. Sure, a mention of the political prisoners serving time in Cuban jails for the crime of voicing disagreement with the communist government might be reported, but I have no doubt that they will also allow a representative of the despotic regime to repeat the ridiculous accusation that those prisoners are all agents of the CIA. Of course, NBC will refrain from challenging the accusation, regardless of how absurd or bizarre it may be. 

The millions of lives at stake here have no bearing on the mainstream media’s conscience. It is a sad commentary on a body that has sworn to uphold the truth and expose the injustices throughout the world. I do not expect any surprises from Matt Laurer and the Today Show producers—they will behave as the Cuban government has ordered them to behave.  

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© 2007 Alberto de la Cruz