Hearings Planned on U.S. Propaganda Broadcasts

As noted in a previous Spin, the U.S. government-funded stations Radio and TV Marti will be broadcast in South Florida, in an attempt to reach Cuban audiences. Since domestic broadcasts of U.S. government-funded propaganda are illegal, Congressman Bill Delahunt is planning hearings on the matter. Delahunt "is the ranking Democratic member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs' new Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee," reports PR Week. "While no definitive date has been set for the hearings, the nonpartisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics ... has called for the Government Accountability Office to investigate" the broadcasts on the Florida commercial stations Radio Mambi 710 AM and WPMF-38. A spokesperson for the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Martis and other government-funded media, stressed that the Florida broadcasts are necessary to overcome "the jamming of Radio and TV Marti" in Cuba.