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Victory Lap and Wink, as Obama and Raúl Castro Meet A Castro Met a Free Press, and the World Watched It Live
(about 11 hours later)
The thing about dictators is they don’t have to answer any stinking questions from the press. We call it undemocratic; they call it job security.The thing about dictators is they don’t have to answer any stinking questions from the press. We call it undemocratic; they call it job security.
That’s why President Obama’s joint news briefing with President Raúl Castro of Cuba last week was so extraordinary. For the first time since the earliest days of the revolution, independent reporters posed tough questions to a Cuban president named Castro on Cuban soil for a Cuban television audience, live. It was a moment all of us would have talked a lot more about had ISIS not intruded with mass murder in Brussels.That’s why President Obama’s joint news briefing with President Raúl Castro of Cuba last week was so extraordinary. For the first time since the earliest days of the revolution, independent reporters posed tough questions to a Cuban president named Castro on Cuban soil for a Cuban television audience, live. It was a moment all of us would have talked a lot more about had ISIS not intruded with mass murder in Brussels.
The first question came from Jim Acosta of CNN, whose father fled the island on the eve of the Cuban missile crisis, and he made sure the opportunity didn’t go to waste. “Why do you have Cuban political prisoners?” he asked. “And why don’t you release them?”The first question came from Jim Acosta of CNN, whose father fled the island on the eve of the Cuban missile crisis, and he made sure the opportunity didn’t go to waste. “Why do you have Cuban political prisoners?” he asked. “And why don’t you release them?”
You could watch in real time as Mr. Castro came to terms with the idea that this was actually happening. He stammered and got himself into a muddle over how this whole news conference deal works, anyway. Was the question directed at him? It was only with prompting from President Obama that he finally answered Mr. Acosta, though by demanding a list proving that any such prisoners even existed. (Happy to help you out with that, Sir.)You could watch in real time as Mr. Castro came to terms with the idea that this was actually happening. He stammered and got himself into a muddle over how this whole news conference deal works, anyway. Was the question directed at him? It was only with prompting from President Obama that he finally answered Mr. Acosta, though by demanding a list proving that any such prisoners even existed. (Happy to help you out with that, Sir.)
Mr. Castro made sure his Cuban audience did not forget who was in charge when he chastised the reporter from state television who attempted to join the fun with his own anodyne series of questions. “You are asking too many questions to me,” Mr. Castro told the eager beaver. “I think questions should be directed to President Obama.”Mr. Castro made sure his Cuban audience did not forget who was in charge when he chastised the reporter from state television who attempted to join the fun with his own anodyne series of questions. “You are asking too many questions to me,” Mr. Castro told the eager beaver. “I think questions should be directed to President Obama.”
So, no, the island’s major daily newspaper, Granma, is not about to do a five-part series on domestic wiretapping. But you really couldn’t begrudge President Obama for winking at the camera during the news briefing and taking a mini victory lap afterward, telling David Muir of ABC News, “Today, itself, was an exhibition of what happens when we have this kind of engagement.” It was, at least, a tiny step forward for transparency and press freedom in Cuba.So, no, the island’s major daily newspaper, Granma, is not about to do a five-part series on domestic wiretapping. But you really couldn’t begrudge President Obama for winking at the camera during the news briefing and taking a mini victory lap afterward, telling David Muir of ABC News, “Today, itself, was an exhibition of what happens when we have this kind of engagement.” It was, at least, a tiny step forward for transparency and press freedom in Cuba.
And that is truly great, really. Now, much as I hate to break up the festivities, Mr. President. ...And that is truly great, really. Now, much as I hate to break up the festivities, Mr. President. ...
What Mr. Obama helped enable in Cuba, albeit briefly, he and his administration are helping to erode back home.What Mr. Obama helped enable in Cuba, albeit briefly, he and his administration are helping to erode back home.
He’s got company, and I’ll get to that. But let’s begin with the latest regressive news from the United States press freedom front, which came by way of The Associated Press just two days before Air Force One took off for Havana. The A.P. reported that this administration had set a record for failing to fulfill requests made under the Freedom of Information Act, which requires federal agencies to answer all reasonable inquiries, with some exemptions for national security, privacy and law enforcement matters.He’s got company, and I’ll get to that. But let’s begin with the latest regressive news from the United States press freedom front, which came by way of The Associated Press just two days before Air Force One took off for Havana. The A.P. reported that this administration had set a record for failing to fulfill requests made under the Freedom of Information Act, which requires federal agencies to answer all reasonable inquiries, with some exemptions for national security, privacy and law enforcement matters.
The act often provides the best tunnel into the otherwise impenetrable federal bureaucracy, exposing wrongdoing and incompetence. It can be vital if you want to find out how your town’s water became undrinkable, for example, or how the administration arrived at the legal justification for the targeted drone killing of an American citizen abroad.The act often provides the best tunnel into the otherwise impenetrable federal bureaucracy, exposing wrongdoing and incompetence. It can be vital if you want to find out how your town’s water became undrinkable, for example, or how the administration arrived at the legal justification for the targeted drone killing of an American citizen abroad.
It was more than a little disappointing when the White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, gave The A.P. an answer that was not all that different from the one Mr. Castro offered in Havana; he was not familiar with The A.P.’s numbers on F.O.I.A. requests, Mr. Earnest said, so he did not speak to them directly.It was more than a little disappointing when the White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, gave The A.P. an answer that was not all that different from the one Mr. Castro offered in Havana; he was not familiar with The A.P.’s numbers on F.O.I.A. requests, Mr. Earnest said, so he did not speak to them directly.
You could write off the whole affair as bureaucratic bungling, if it did not fit a broader pattern during Mr. Obama’s two terms — the criminal investigations into government leakers and whistle-blowers by his Justice Department; related incidents of snooping into reporters’ phone records and emails; and a more general press strategy that frequently puts the president in front of opinion writers and non-journalist media personalities but rarely provides formal interviews to the reporters who cover him daily, many of whom work for traditional newspapers and wire services.You could write off the whole affair as bureaucratic bungling, if it did not fit a broader pattern during Mr. Obama’s two terms — the criminal investigations into government leakers and whistle-blowers by his Justice Department; related incidents of snooping into reporters’ phone records and emails; and a more general press strategy that frequently puts the president in front of opinion writers and non-journalist media personalities but rarely provides formal interviews to the reporters who cover him daily, many of whom work for traditional newspapers and wire services.
Granted, his White House has been savvy in using new and alternative media in ways the current crop of presidential candidates would be wise to follow. Appearances like the one with the comedian Zach Galifianakis on the website Funny or Die, and on the comic Marc Maron’s “W.T.F.” podcast, expose Mr. Obama to audiences that are tuning out traditional media.Granted, his White House has been savvy in using new and alternative media in ways the current crop of presidential candidates would be wise to follow. Appearances like the one with the comedian Zach Galifianakis on the website Funny or Die, and on the comic Marc Maron’s “W.T.F.” podcast, expose Mr. Obama to audiences that are tuning out traditional media.
But the strategy can produce awkward results, as it did last week just hours after the Brussels attacks. His main sit-down interview of the day was with ESPN, at an exhibition baseball game. By necessity, the conversation toggled between the horror in Brussels and the universal injustices of home-field officiating.But the strategy can produce awkward results, as it did last week just hours after the Brussels attacks. His main sit-down interview of the day was with ESPN, at an exhibition baseball game. By necessity, the conversation toggled between the horror in Brussels and the universal injustices of home-field officiating.
More subtle — and important — by avoiding the press corps that covers him daily, Mr. Obama undercuts the traditional journalism that he says he holds dear, which is already fighting for its survival against the wave of new media that the president is riding with such agility.More subtle — and important — by avoiding the press corps that covers him daily, Mr. Obama undercuts the traditional journalism that he says he holds dear, which is already fighting for its survival against the wave of new media that the president is riding with such agility.
His aides argue that the president can do it all, traditional and upstart. And he will possibly speak for himself about it on Monday night when he addresses reporters at the annual Toner Prize dinner, named in honor of our deceased Times colleague Robin Toner, who passionately believed that basic journalistic priorities — substance over noise — should be inviolate.His aides argue that the president can do it all, traditional and upstart. And he will possibly speak for himself about it on Monday night when he addresses reporters at the annual Toner Prize dinner, named in honor of our deceased Times colleague Robin Toner, who passionately believed that basic journalistic priorities — substance over noise — should be inviolate.
But his speech will be a coda. What matters more now is what comes next. The emeritus CBS News anchor Bob Schieffer has a theory I’ll call Schieffer’s Law:But his speech will be a coda. What matters more now is what comes next. The emeritus CBS News anchor Bob Schieffer has a theory I’ll call Schieffer’s Law:
“Every administration becomes more secretive and more manipulative than the previous one,” he told me, campaign promises notwithstanding. “Each one learns from the one that came before.”“Every administration becomes more secretive and more manipulative than the previous one,” he told me, campaign promises notwithstanding. “Each one learns from the one that came before.”
Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, has faced questions about her openness because of the private email server she kept as secretary of state and her long stretches between news conferences. (Her opponent for the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders, has made himself plenty accessible, though he has yet to be tested with similar scrutiny, a sign to some of his supporters of media neglect.)Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, has faced questions about her openness because of the private email server she kept as secretary of state and her long stretches between news conferences. (Her opponent for the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders, has made himself plenty accessible, though he has yet to be tested with similar scrutiny, a sign to some of his supporters of media neglect.)
The Republican front-runner, Donald J. Trump, is available beyond what any political reporter could have expected. But he is also running on a promise to make it easier to sue journalists for libel.The Republican front-runner, Donald J. Trump, is available beyond what any political reporter could have expected. But he is also running on a promise to make it easier to sue journalists for libel.
And then, there are the stringent terms the Trump campaign set back in November for how the five major television networks could cover his rallies, guidelines that still stand (and that I learned about in detail last week). The TV personnel are to enter their designated pens 15 minutes before he speaks and stay there until he is done. Then, they can roam the crowd but they cannot freely approach the “rope line” where Mr. Trump shakes hands and chitchats with his supporters, saying who knows what. The campaign cited safety and the candidate’s desire to connect with his voters without cameras intruding.And then, there are the stringent terms the Trump campaign set back in November for how the five major television networks could cover his rallies, guidelines that still stand (and that I learned about in detail last week). The TV personnel are to enter their designated pens 15 minutes before he speaks and stay there until he is done. Then, they can roam the crowd but they cannot freely approach the “rope line” where Mr. Trump shakes hands and chitchats with his supporters, saying who knows what. The campaign cited safety and the candidate’s desire to connect with his voters without cameras intruding.
Still, I was surprised that network executives agreed to go along with such constrictive terms, which do not apply to Clinton and Sanders rallies. In interviews, executives said it was the price of admission for their cameras, correspondents and crews, but they would keep arguing for fewer restrictions. “This is an ongoing process,” Chris Isham, the CBS News Washington bureau chief, told me. “We’re continuing to push on a number of different fronts.”Still, I was surprised that network executives agreed to go along with such constrictive terms, which do not apply to Clinton and Sanders rallies. In interviews, executives said it was the price of admission for their cameras, correspondents and crews, but they would keep arguing for fewer restrictions. “This is an ongoing process,” Chris Isham, the CBS News Washington bureau chief, told me. “We’re continuing to push on a number of different fronts.”
That’s heartening. But Mr. Obama’s trip to Havana was a good reminder of what’s in jeopardy. Our press freedoms were so hard-won that we should be careful not to volunteer any of them away. Just ask Tamoa Calzadilla, an investigative reporter who toiled in Venezuela until recently joining the Spanish-language network Univision in Miami earlier this year. Ms. Calzadilla’s work at home had led to government interrogation, suspicious break-ins and, ultimately, a fear for her life. She had a message for the United States: “I want to tell the journalists, and the people, that they must be constantly aware of the danger of a less-free press.”That’s heartening. But Mr. Obama’s trip to Havana was a good reminder of what’s in jeopardy. Our press freedoms were so hard-won that we should be careful not to volunteer any of them away. Just ask Tamoa Calzadilla, an investigative reporter who toiled in Venezuela until recently joining the Spanish-language network Univision in Miami earlier this year. Ms. Calzadilla’s work at home had led to government interrogation, suspicious break-ins and, ultimately, a fear for her life. She had a message for the United States: “I want to tell the journalists, and the people, that they must be constantly aware of the danger of a less-free press.”
I met Ms. Calzadilla last week while visiting Univision in Miami, where there was a lingering excitement from the Castro news conference. Many journalists at the network have covered repressive regimes in their native countries and have stories that are similar to Ms. Calzadilla’s. When Mr. Castro asked for a list of political prisoners, which came with a promise to release any that came to his attention, they sprang into action to post a list online. Shocker: Nothing came of it.I met Ms. Calzadilla last week while visiting Univision in Miami, where there was a lingering excitement from the Castro news conference. Many journalists at the network have covered repressive regimes in their native countries and have stories that are similar to Ms. Calzadilla’s. When Mr. Castro asked for a list of political prisoners, which came with a promise to release any that came to his attention, they sprang into action to post a list online. Shocker: Nothing came of it.
Yet, it was a start. And isn’t that something? As one of the Western Hemisphere’s last communist strongmen begins to ever so slightly lower the barriers for reporters, his free-market neighbors, led by the ultimate capitalist, increasingly herd them into quarantine.Yet, it was a start. And isn’t that something? As one of the Western Hemisphere’s last communist strongmen begins to ever so slightly lower the barriers for reporters, his free-market neighbors, led by the ultimate capitalist, increasingly herd them into quarantine.