Journalists fired over government payments

MIAMI -- Ten South Florida journalists, including three with The Miami Herald's Spanish-language sister paper, received thousands of dollars from the federal government for their work on radio and TV programming aimed at undermining Fidel Castro's communist regime, the Herald reported yesterday.

Pablo Alfonso, who reports on Cuba and wrote an opinion column for El Nuevo Herald, was paid almost $175,000 since 2001 to host shows on Radio and TV Marti, U S government programs that promote democracy in Cuba, according to documents obtained by The Miami Herald.

Olga Connor, a freelance reporter who wrote about Cuban culture for El Nuevo Herald, received about $71,000 from the U S Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and staff reporter Wilfredo Cancio Isla, who covered the Cuban exile community and politics, was paid almost $15,000 in the past five years, officials at the Herald said.

Alfonso and Cancio were fired, and Connor's freelance relationship was severed, according to the newspaper .

Alfonso and Cancio declined to comment to the Herald. The three did not respond to e-mails sent by the Associated Press.

Jesus Diaz Jr., president of Miami Herald Media Co. and publisher of both newspapers, said they violated a ``sacred trust" between journalists and the public.

``I personally don't believe that integrity and objectivity can be assured if any of our reporters receive monetary compensation from any entity that he or she may cover or have covered, but particularly if it's a government agency," Diaz said.

The Herald said it reviewed articles by the three, including several about TV and Radio Marti, and found no mention of the payments.