BBG Watch
After a shaky start, some poor quality video and criticism on Facebook, Voice of America’s (VOA) coverage from Cuba has improved significantly with numerous postings on the main VOA English news website and VOA Facebook page.
While still not close to BBC’s quality of news reporting or even in some cases Deutsche Welle’s, with a lot of its personnel in Cuba the Voice of America is performing better with the coverage of President Obama’s visit than with its regular day-to-day news reporting operations.
DW pointed out that Raul Castro did not greet President Obama at the airport, VOA did not and posted instead a report with the list of Cuban officials who were present at the airport without making a newsworthy observation. DW also posted a Tweet on this from Donald Trump. VOA did not.
One U.S. taxpayer was winding how newsworthy was watching live from Havana, Cuba on the Voice of America Facebook page a shaky video from a VOA correspondent as Cuban former pro-footballer Erick Hernandez attempted to break his own Guinness World Record for most head-taps in one minute. The person asked whether it would not be a better use of America taxpayers’ dollars if the VOA correspondent tried to reach and interview instead independent Cuban bloggers, many of whom have been in and out of Cuban prisons.
WATCH LIVE as Erick Hernandez attempts to break his own Guinness World Record for most head-taps in one minute.
Posted by Voice of America – VOA on Saturday, March 19, 2016
Human rights issues in Cuba are being covered by the Voice of America, but some critics say that VOA reporters should try harder to reach human rights activists rather than offering more videos that anyone else, including U.S. commercial media, can now easily take in Cuba.
VOA had a report about dozens Cuban human rights activists being arrested ahead of President Obama’s arrival.
It appears that Radio and TV Marti journalists working for the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) in Miami did not get Cuban visas to travel with President Obama to Cuba. Both VOA and OCB are federal government entities of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).
With better than usual reporting in the last several hours, Voice of America journalists in Cuba should be applauded.
Obama Tours Old Havana
March 20, 2016 7:58 PM
rain, the First Family toured historic sites in Cuba’s capital city soon after arriving
Tour Old Havana in a ’56 Chevy
March 20, 2016 6:44 PM Ramon Taylor, Victoria Macchi
a fast-paced tour of historic sections of Cuba’s capital city with VOA reporters Ramón …
Obama Arrives in Cuba
March 20, 2016 5:29 PM
President Barack Obama arrived for his historic trip to Cuba on Air Force One on Sunday
Who Greeted the Obamas at Havana Airport?
March 20, 2016 5:13 PM VOA News
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba José R. Cabañas Rodríguez, Ambassador of Cuba to the United States Inés Fors …
US Companies Head For Cuba — Slowly
March 20, 2016 4:07 PM Jim Randle
jump bureaucratic hurdles to set up the first new U.S. business operations Cuba in decades … designed the vehicle to be cheap, simple, and just right for 40-hectare farms in Cuba …
US Companies Head For Cuba … Slowly
March 20, 2016 3:55 PM
to build tractors and distribute food in Cuba must still jump bureaucratic hurdles to set up the first new U.S. business operations Cuba in decades …
A Hero’s Welcome for Obama in a Cuba Longing for Change
March 20, 2016 3:24 PM
dissidents said not much has changed in Cuba since the relations were reestablished on …
Dozens Arrested in Cuba Ahead of Obama’s Arrival
March 20, 2016 2:47 PM
Cuban police arrested human rights demonstrators hours before the scheduled arrival in havana of U.S. President Barack Obama
Dozens Arrested in Cuba Ahead of Obama’s Arrival
March 20, 2016 2:33 PM VOA News, Victoria Macchi
group – comprised of nearly 200 women across Cuba – has broadened to support human rights … Sunday afternoon, wrote “no one in Cuba or anywhere else should face harassment, arrest …
Who’s Aboard Air Force One to Cuba?
March 20, 2016 2:13 PM
family, Malia and Sasha Obama and Marian Robinson are aboard Air Force One heading to Cuba … Members of Congress traveling to Cuba as part of the presidential delegation …