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Thursday, October 10, 2013

Cuban Communist Party appoints new editor for Granma

9 October 2013 Last updated at 23:36 GMT

Cuban Communist Party appoints new editor for Granma

The shake up in the island's tightly controlled media was described by
the Communist Party as a "renewal".

The new editor of Granma - Pelayo Terry - is seen as less of a hardliner
than his predecessor, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Havana.

He has a Twitter account and has spoken in favour of using social media
to promote dialogue.

The decision to replace the editorial command of the two papers was
taken by the Communist Party's Politburo.

Granma is the Politburo's official newspaper and Juventud Rebelde the
daily of the Party's youth wing.

At the Party's congress in the summer, politicians called for a new type
of journalism in Cuba, with less self-censorship and secrecy.

This is seen as the first important development in that direction.

'Triumphalist'
But news coverage in Cuban papers and television is still dominated by
the official party line, with reports of official visits and positive
reports about the country's economy.

President Raul Castro has described the country's media as
"triumphalist" and "apologetic".

The new editor of Granma is a former war correspondent in Ethiopia.

He replaces Lazaro Barredo, who had been in the job for eight years.

Mr Terry is also the previous editor of Juventud Rebelde.

He is being replaced there by his deputy, Marina Menendez.

Mr Castro has introduced a number of moderate economic and political
changes since taking over from his brother, Fidel, who resigned in 2008
for health reasons.

As part of the reforms, Cuba eased restrictions on its citizens
travelling abroad. One of the high profile beneficiaries was Generation
Y blogger Yoani Sanchez, who is critical of the government.

She embarked on a three-month tour to several countries and returned to
Havana at the end of May.

Source: "BBC News - Cuban Communist Party appoints new editor for
Granma" - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-24469873

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