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Adventures In Cuban Broadcasting: Remember Radio and TV Marti, the U.S. funded stations that broadcast anti-Castro propaganda into Cuba (which most people in Cuba don't actually see or hear because the Cuban government regularly jams the signals)?

Well, in the wake of rumors that Fidel Castro may be on his deathbed, $377,500 is now being spent "to air select programs on South Florida broadcast stations over the next six months, using loopholes in a law that prohibits the propaganda channels from distribution within the United States." While the stations have primarily U.S. audiences, experts told the Miami Herald that signals from a South Florida AM radio station can reach Cuba "very clearly at night." While the U.S. Office of Cuba Broadcasting argues the move is "another method to get our signal in," critics argue the move is political. Joe García, executive vice president of the New Democratic Network, called the investment "a fraud." He told the Herald: "This is using taxpayer dollars for a political payoff to benefit the most Republican and politically charged radio station in Miami. They know well that the station isn't heard in Cuba, because Cuba transmits Radio Rebelde over the exact same frequency."

More Drama In Santa Barbara: In case you don't follow the journalistic drama that's been plaguing Santa Barbara's community, let us fill you in. This past July, nearly every top editor and several employees of the Santa Barbara News-Press abruptly left the paper. American Journalism Review reporter Susan Paterno wrote an article in AJR's recent issue about the melee, called "Santa Barbara Smackdown," in which she "talked with former staffers, some of whom accused News-Press owner and publisher Wendy McCaw of meddling in the newsroom." Now the company that publishes the News-Press is suing Paterno for "libel and product disparagement," according to the AP. In a court filing, the company calls the article "nothing but a biased, false and misleading diatribe against plaintiff." AJR's Senior Vice President told the AP that "the article was carefully reported and News-Press management had 'ample' opportunity to respond to questions but refused."

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