President Obama enjoys himself at the annual White House

Correspondents' Association Dinner on May 9. It's an event

to be envied for many of the world's journalists.

CLICK HERE OR CLICK PHOTO TO WATCH

 

 

El Universo, Ecuador

If Only Our President Would Have Dinner with Reporters

 

"When I see Obama at his dinner with reporters, I wonder if we could start a similar tradition - an event that would join the president and media in brotherhood and mutual respect. But we shouldn't kid ourselves. With this government's lack of respect for the work of the media, one can expect a notification of suspension before an invitation to dinner."

 

By Manuel Ignacio Gómez Lecaro

                                                         

 

Translated By Miguel Gutierrez

 

May 14, 2009

 

Ecuador - El Universo - Original Article (Spanish)

The recently re-elected president of Equador, Rafael Correa: Don't expect him to attend any dinners for Ecuadorean reporters.   BBC NEWS VIDEO: Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has claimed victory in the country's election as exit polls give him more than 50 percent of the vote, April 27, 00:01:21

I listen to Barack Obama at the annual dinner with journalists who cover the White House. Obama quotes Thomas Jefferson who said, "If I'm forced to choose between a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I would not hesitate to choose the latter." Obama says that this message is still alive: a government without an active and critical media is not an option for the country.

 

Obama continued: "I may not agree with everything you write or report. I may even complain from time to time about how you do your jobs, but I do so with the knowledge that when you are at your best, then you help me be at my best. You help all of us who serve at the pleasure of the American people do our jobs better by holding us accountable, by demanding honesty, by preventing us from taking shortcuts and falling into easy political games that people are so desperately weary of."

 

While Obama acknowledges the work of the press, here, President Correa insults and disparages it. The corrupt and mediocre llama [like calling him an ass] actually asks people not to read newspapers or watch news. He fails to grasp that without a free and critical press, democracy falters and a single vision prevails. The vision of the government - or whatever it understands and aspires to.

 

I see Hugo Chávez on TV. He threatens to remove the concession of Globovision. And what was the channel's terrible infraction? "Inciting panic and anxiety among the population" by reporting news of an earthquake before the authorities did. A ridiculous excuse with which Chávez seeks to silence independent voices.

 

President Obama pokes fun at his own use of teleprompters

at the 2009 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner,

an event that reflects some of the greatest traditions of the

United States of America. CLICK HERE OR PHOTO TO WATCH  

 

Our country is little different. Abuses of press freedom are a feature of all authoritarian governments. Conartel [Ecuador's national TV and radio board] has decided to put Teleamazonas on trial. And what was the channel's grave sin? To report and inform the public on what occurred at a data center at the old Santa Isabel supermarket [a center for vote counting]. The board accused the channel of disseminating information based on assumptions that could trigger social unrest.

 

This excuse is as ridiculous as that of the Venezuelan tremor. Teleamazonas simply reported and informed on the comings and goings of political actors at the data center. These are facts, not assumptions. What each person says to the camera is their responsibility. The channel was only fulfilling its job of reporting.  

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

If it's determined that a violation has occurred, there could be a temporary suspension or a definitive revocation of the channel's frequency. Oh, how the government would like that! Chávez without Globovisión, Correa without Teleamazonas. The last of the independent media telling them things they don't want to hear!

 

When I see Obama at his dinner with reporters, I wonder if it would be possible for us to start a similar tradition in our country - an event that would join the president and media in brotherhood and mutual respect. And here, too, our president would also recognize the importance of the work of journalists and toast a free and critical press.

 

But we shouldn't kid ourselves. With the lack of respect on the part of this government for the work of the media, one can expect a notification of suspension before an invitation to dinner. Such an event will have to wait for new governments that understand and respect press freedom.

 

CLICK HERE FOR SPANISH VERSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US May 14, 3:45am]