1 Melissa Macaya J349T: International Reporting Theorizing Paper 12/3/09

Yoani Snchez : Redefining Foreign Correspondence in Cuba While fighting Oppression

As economic pressures continue to diminish the supply of foreign correspondents, the Internet is redefining the way global news is reported and consumed. Blogs are at the forefront of these changes, establishing an unprecedented platform for regular people to take on the role of a journalist. There are currently more than 100 million blogs worldwide and they have become the most recognized evolution of news (Hamilton and Jenner 136). While journalists have historically suffered oppression, the virtual world of bloggers is much harder to control. Information that once remained in the dark, is finding ways to escape online. Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez represents a dynamic and independent blogging culture that is sprouting on the totalitarian island. Despite the nations aggressive censorship, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 25 independent, journalistic, and regularly updated blogs are being produced by Cuban writers and 75 blogs are being maintained that are not related to news. These bloggers are changing the face of journalism while providing a voice to a population that for decades has been barred from the global community. By analyzing the blogging phenomena in Cuba, I will evaluate the implications of blogs on foreign correspondence in the island and the world.

Cuban authorities have called the Internet "the great disease of the 21st century" because it feeds its users with "counter-revolutionary" information, a report by Reporters without Borders for Press Freedom stated. Consequently, bloggers face severe legal, economic, and technological limitations. Cuba has the lowest rate of internet access in the Americas and one of the lowest in the world, as the end of 2008, 2.1 percent of Cubans were reported to have access to the Internet and 11.5 percent had access to the Cuban Intranet. The government has instituted strict laws to curb the citizens use of the Internet. In 2003, resolution 180, allowed only those with Cuban convertible currency, mostly used by foreigners, to obtain individual Internet access. In 2008, although the government allowed citizens to enter tourist venues with Internet access, the price to use this tool of expression continued to be costly. An hour of Internet use at hotels can cost what is equivalent to $6, about one-third of a Cubans monthly salary (Committee for the Protection of Journalists). Despite these obstacles, bloggers continue to flourish on the island. Free press advocates and Cuban journalists credit Yoani for pioneering the blogging movement when launching her blog Generation Y in 2007. She was the first blogger on the island to use her own name on the byline. The blog has been translated into 15 languages and according to the site, receives over 14 million hits a month (Generation Y).Yoani has garnered significant international attention for her controversial blog. She was named one of the worlds 100 most influential people by Time magazine which wrote, "under the nose of a regime that has never tolerated dissent, Snchez has practiced what paper-bound journalists in her country cannot; freedom of speech"(Hijuelos, 2009). Yoani was the first blogger to receive Columbia Universitys prestigious Maria Moors Cabot Prize, the oldest international journalism prize in the United States. In November 2008, President Barack Obama applauded her efforts

when he responded to an interview conducted by Yoani on her blog, Your blog provides the world a unique window into the realities of Cuba. It is telling that the Internet has provided you and other courageous Cuban bloggers with an outlet to express freely (Generation Y). The realities of Cuba have not easily been reported by foreign correspondence, therefore bloggers can bridge this gap of information. It has been historically difficult for foreign correspondents, especially from the United States to gain access to information in Cuba. Two years after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, Cuba became a communist, totalitarian state and freedom of expression became inexistant (Cole, 140). Journalists were barred from operating in Cuba in 1969, when Havana expelled a journalist from the Associated Press, and the United States retaliated by prohibiting Cuban news bureaus in the United States. Until the ban was lifted in 1995 by the Clinton administration, Cuba had refused to allow American news bureaus on the island although Cuba granted temporary visas to more than 100 American journalists each year (Greenhouse, 1995). Today, unbiased information within the island is extremely limited. During the 1940s and 1950s, Havana was one of the most media-rich cities in the world, but today none of the newspapers of that era still exist. They have been replaced by publications produced by the Communist government. There is only one daily newspaper in Cuba, Granma, an eight-page tabloid that is the official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and a second daily, Juventud Rebelde, the corresponding organ of the Communist Youth (Cole, 140). As a result of Cubas historical control of news, bloggers like Yoani, can tell stories that would likely not be told otherwise. J.M. Hamilton argues in Redefining Foreign Correspondece that , ...amateur reporting offers valuable perspectives on the news often missed by traditional media, especially when the number of traditional foreign

correspondents is in decline. Moreover, the ability of the public to get foreign news for itself may offer one of the best solutions to dwindling foreign reporting by traditional media (137). According to a survey presented in this same article, only 31 percent of corespondents are American today. This is a sharp decline from the 1990s, when it was found that 65 percent were Americans. This diminishment has led to the emergence of a new foreign correspondent which Hamilton calls, the foreign national correspondent (135). Bloggers fit this definition. With Generation Y, Yoani provides a local perspective that can escape governmental control and tell stories of everyday life. Her topics range from serious political analysis to lighthearted personal accounts. She embodies the realization that elite foreign correspondents of the past no longer exercise hegemony over foreign news. Sources for foreign news are proliferating. The result is yet other new classes of foreign correspondents, who nevertheless have historical antecedents. (Hamilton, 137). As stated earlier, Yoanis blog has had a powerful impact on the way foreign correspondence is defined today. Early December 2009, she said in Twitter, In only a year the world bloggerof such a weird pronunciation- has taken the streets of Cuba. Even the police fear when they hear it. Similar to Cuba, blogging is becoming a trend in many other countries. Iran is the third largest nation in bloggers and as of October 2005, there are estimated to be 700,000 Iranian blogs with 100,000 of those actively maintained. Despite state opposition, blogs continue to grow. During the heated reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, blogs and twitter were crucial to the dissemination of current events after foreign journalists had effectively been barred from reporting. One popular opposition Twitter site, Persiankiwi, warned followers of government action (Landler and Stelter, 2009). Even though blogging is spreading worldwide and the Internet may provide more safety to journalists, it does not

make them immune from oppression and attack. A report by Reporters Without Borders for Press Freedom, listed 12 Enemies of the Internet-Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam- who have all transformed their Internet to Intranet in order to prevent their population from accessing undesirable information. There are a total of 70 cyber-dissidents detained worldwide, with China having the worlds biggest prison for cyber dissidents. Being associated with blogging has come at a cost for Yoani. Cuba was the second biggest prison in the world for journalists in 2008, second only to the China, according the Committee for the Protect Journalsits. On November 6, 2009, Yoani and three others were taken in her own neighborhood by men she says were working for the Cuban Government. According to Yoani , she was on her way to an anti-violence demonstration and was forcefully taken into a car (Generation Y). The Cuban government has tried to block her work, but the blog has managed to survive thanks to Yoanis ingenious ways of finding scarce Internet sources on the island and e-mailing her reports to supporters. Like Yoani other journalists, especially bloggers, continue to face oppression on the island. During a three-day span in March 2003, the Cuban government ordered the abrupt arrest of 75 dissidents--29 of them independent journalists. All of the reporters and editors were convicted in one-day trials and handed sentences that could leave some in prison for the rest of their lives. They were accused of acting against the "integrity and sovereignty of the state" or of collaborating with foreign media for the purpose of "destabilizing the country." (Committtee to Protect Journalsits). The development of independent bloggers like Yoani in Cuba, is a symbol that even a country as historically disconnected as this one is moving toward the future through technological innovation. Bloggers are creating unprecedented global connections and telling 6

stories from the many corners of the world. Foreign news will always be delivered as long as the demand exists, but the people who bring the public that information are always evolving and have already evolved (Hamilton, 140) International news is no longer in the traditional package, the newer package, disguised as a blogger, is now allowing regular people to have a powerful voice. Yoani is the face of the new correspondent, who uses the virtual world to cross borders that before were impossible. Her words draw a picture of life in Cuba for an audience on the outside who could otherwise not see it for themselves. Even after facing assault and obstacles, Yoani is firm about keeping Generation Y alive. While the Cuban government can oppress her physically, her words can escape governmental control. In an interview in November 2009 she said, They dont understand that this new phenomena cant be fought with the old weapons of repression. They still havent understood the Web. People will have to wait and see what other changes this new phenomena brings.

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