Martís an Essential News Source in Cuba Amidst Policy Changes

Changes in the relationship between the United States and Cuba may have resulted in a relaxation on travel and trade restrictions, but they have not diminished the censorship and media control on the island. Leadership of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which manages Radio and TV Martí, described the realities of the evolving Cuban media market to the Broadcasting Board of Governors at its meeting in Washington (DC).

“Human rights are abused every day, access to information is limited and heavily controlled, and all media is owned and operated by the state,” explained Natalia Crujeiras, Chief Content Officer for all the all the media platforms of the Martís. “Cuban officials dealing with the White House may have changed the tone of the conversations, but the Castro discourse and relentless media campaigns haven’t budged on the island.” The Martís are providing much needed reliable journalism on multiple platforms. According to a recent survey, 20 percent of Cubans get their news from Radio Martí. In the first three months of 2015, Martinoticias.com received 1.7 million hits. The Martís’ following has grown by 71 percent on Facebook and 23 percent on Twitter.