Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Yoani Sanchez: "Information War" ... not so different, in Miami

Two Miami Herald OPED's struck my interest this morning. The first, about the Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez celebrating her arrival in Brazil and the 'shower of democracy', being able to access the internet free of censors. The second, an OPED by Fred Grimm, "FIU deal benefits connected exec".

The Fred Grimm editorial excoriates the political connections behind a move by FIU to reward a Texas entrepreneur with a contract for its online MBA degree program. As we have documented at Eye on Miami, Florida and Miami Dade's embrace of private charter schools and initiatives like the one exposed by Mr. Grimm is all about keeping intact and rewarding the Jeb! Bush strain of the Republican Party. That includes, of course, hyping Marco Rubio for 2016.

We wrote about this phenomenon, just the other day. FIU's president emeritus Mitch Madique was given space on the Sunday Herald OPED page to pen a gratuitous appeal for civic engagement in Miami that FIU -- through its own behaviors tied to insider dealing (US Century Bank, for example) and an insular board of directors, now including Cesar Alvarez, of Greenberg Traurig -- undermines.

It is rare when the Miami Herald offers readers insight to those undercurrents and political orthodoxies that have transformed Miami into one of the LEAST civically engaged cities in the nation. So what is up with the Herald? One day its OPED page grants Mitch Madique free reign to empty puffery on civic engagement and the next day, to an editorial writer to expose the financial underpinnings of that same puffery.

Is this what the Herald calls, balance? Were she to work in Miami, once she got used to fast internet access, I suspect Yoani Sanchez would be in our corner, on the answers to this question.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

As an FIU alumna and past employee of the University, I thank God everyday that Mitch Maidique is no longer president of FIU. Where does Mark Rosenberg stand on this issue? I have the utmost respect and trust for Dr. Rosenberg and I hope that I will not be disappointed.

Also. I agree with you that were Yoanny would be in our corner.