Blog

Newspaper editors support CNN bureau in Cuba

RESTON, Va. -- The American Society of Newspaper Editors has urged President Clinton to make sure that the federal government does not oppose the opening of a Cable News Network news bureau in Cuba.

RESTON, Va. -- The American Society of Newspaper Editors has urged President Clinton to make sure that the federal government does not oppose the opening of a Cable News Network news bureau in Cuba.

Recently the Cuban government said it is willing for CNN to begin covering Cuba through a bureau in Havana. ASNE has long supported the opening of an Associated Press bureau in Cuba.

In a letter to President Clinton, ASNE president Robert H. Giles stated:

    The American Society of Newspaper Editors eagerly supports improved access to news and information throughout the world. We therefore strongly urge that the administration not block Cuba’s recent offer to permit CNN television to open a news bureau on the island.

    Under your executive order of October, 1995, you have the authority to allow U.S. news organizations to open bureaus in Havana. We believe all media should have unrestricted access to Cuba, and the opening of a CNN bureau is a beginning to build upon.

    Fostering increased news coverage of Cuba is consistent with the desire of all Americans for democratic institutions there. The presence of U.S. news bureaus not only will permit Americans to better understand Cuba’s repressive system, it will help protect local journalists on the island who are struggling to be independent.

Giles is editor and publisher of the Detroit News. Founded in 1922, ASNE is an organization of the main editors of daily newspapers in the United States and Canada. There are currently 825 members.

Archive

Contributors