PressEthic

Hey, AP. Pro-Castro Much?

I don’t get it. AP either loves Castro or they hate him. Another AP article I found about Wilma touching down in Havana was loaded with anti-Castro bias. In “Wilma Floods Havana, But Kills None,” the reporter is glowing to the point of absurdity. Perhaps in a little nudge to Washington, it even goes through the step by step process of how Cuba responds to an emergency:

First, there's the informative phase, in which the island's state-run media begins broadcasting frequent announcements about the storm's movement. Jose Rubiera, head of Cuba's National Meteorology Institute, starts making television appearances, contributing to his near-celebrity status on the island… Next comes the alert phase, informing Cubans that a hurricane hit is probable and to prepare for possible evacuation. Shortly thereafter comes the third phase -- alarm -- and evacuations begin… By the time the storm hits, the streets are empty, with residents tucked away in locations believed to be safe from whipping winds and drenching rains.

I'm not making this up. I don’t think Castro’s press office could have put it better. The quotes are just as PR-ish:

Everyone helps each other here...In the United States it seems like there's more egoism, where everyone just worries about themselves.

I guess this is what happens when you cover the weather in the last communist outpost in the western hemisphere.