The Cuban Union of Journalists questions military service for future students
14ymedio, Havana, 2 December 2024 — The figures provided in the III Plenary of the National Committee of the Cuban Union of Journalists (UPEC), held on Saturday in Havana, clarify the decline in the career of journalism, once coveted by students with better grades. So much so, that university enrollments are not enough to meet the demand of the existing media.
Distributed in the six journalism schools on the Island – Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Camagüey, Villa Clara and Matanzas – and in the four years of study, there are a total of 498 students. The panorama worsens even more in the next generation, if we take into account that in the university colleges of preparation for the career, existing in those provinces plus Las Tunas – in which this course opened – there are only 108 students.
In the articles published in the official press that mention the plenary, there is no mention of the reduction in young people that the migratory exodus has meant in recent years, nor of the low state salaries compared to the cost of living – 4,800 pesos a month, plus extra depending on the position, the environment (municipal, provincial or national), and whether the journalist is a Party “cadre.” These are probable causes of disenchantment with the journalism career, but the mandatory military service for young people who want to study journalism, launched in this 2024-2025 course, was again questioned.
At the meeting it was also recognized that the repeated “legitimate demands of the sector” will not be easily resolved
Thus, the head of the Department of Journalism of the Faculty of Communications of the University of Havana, Karla Picart Rodríguez, proposed that the UPEC reduce the internship in Active Military Service (SMA), which right now is one year, “considering that in less time its objectives could be met and that the newsrooms and the media are decapitalized, empty.” The criticism, however, was mild, and the official report stated: “Although in the Plenary it was clear that this is already a firm decision, the young teacher called for defending the emphasis of such transit through units in activities and actions that nourish their perspective as students of media communication.”
Other speakers made proposals for “those future journalists in the military units,” who “can be used to improve the communication processes of the Armed Forces, manage radio bases, become correspondents of the magazine Verde Olivo, nurture knowledge in the staffs and the College of National Defense, and join battles on social networks.”
This is far, therefore, from the voices within the regime, who have warned that military service is a deterrent for potential journalism students. The dean of the Faculty of Communication of the University of Havana, Ariel Terrero, for example, said in the II Plenary of the UPEC that the implementation of that condition was “a failure” and questioned whether it served to “educate and ideologically train these young women.”
On the same Saturday that the III Plenary of the UPEC was held, national television broadcast a long hagiographic report on the SMA for future journalists. It was blatant proof that, despite the arguments against it, the obligation [of military service] will continue for the time being.
Moreover, the meeting also recognized that the repeated “legitimate demands of the sector” will not be easily resolved. “To satisfy them, political will is not always enough, because material and financial resources can be deciding factors,” said the deputy head of the Ideological Department of the Party’s Central Committee, Marydé Fernández López.
“Several organizations try to control information to give the idea that nothing is happening, which leaves the press the sad role of damage control that follows”
UPEC presented “a list of material, logistical, organizational and training vulnerabilities” that the official press does not mention – “it would take a long time to detail here,” they excuse themselves – but which can be summarized in a conclusion: “A good part of what the Social Communication Law establishes is not fulfilled, not even by the media.”
Another slightly critical moment in the plenary was when they talked about how to communicate the recent catastrophes such as hurricanes Oscar and Rafael and the two earthquakes in Granma province. In this regard, Juventud Rebelde journalist José Alejandro Rodríguez said: “Before the current comes, the light of information must arrive,” and another colleague from Las Tunas, István Ojeda Bello, said: “The Social Communication Law goes into crisis because several organizations try to control information to give the idea that nothing is happening, which leaves the press with the sad role of damage control that follows.”
Finally, they also analyzed the change in management models in the state press, which began in August last year. According to the report presented, the results of “the experiment” are “very encouraging in the multi-platforms where they are best applied.” That is, Ideas Multimedios – directed by Randy Alonso and encompassing websites such as Cubadebate and TV programs such as Mesa Redonda, the Cubavisión International channel, the Cuban News Agency and Prensa Latina, as well as the Escambray, Girón, Juventud Rebelde, Periódico 26 and Granma newspapers.
In this aspect, Radio Rebelde, Tele Rebelde and Tele Pinar “began to take off,” and “46 other media have just defended their projects of inclusion in the experiment.” On the other hand, they indicate, the start of the proposal has been “exceedingly” delayed “in media that were expected to be leaders: Radio Sancti Spíritus, Radio Florida and Solvisión.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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