More Journalists On U.S. Government Payroll

Ten Miami journalists have been paid by the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) for their involvement in programs for the anti-Castro propaganda stations, Radio Martí and TV Martí. The OCB is a unit of the the U.S. government-funded Broadcasting Board of Governors. Three of the ten were journalists with El Nuevo Herald. "Pablo Alfonso, who reports on Cuba and writes an opinion column, was paid almost $175,000 since 2001 to host shows on Radio Martí and TV Martí. El Nuevo Herald freelance reporter Olga Connor, who writes about Cuban culture, received about $71,000, and staff reporter Wilfredo Cancio Isla, who covers the Cuban exile community and politics, was paid almost $15,000 in the last five years," Oscar Corral wrote. Alfonso and Isla have been fired by El Nuevo Herald and Connor's freelance relationship terminated. The director of OCB, Pedro Roig, defended the payments.