RE: [Marxism] NPR: In Cuba, Hurricane Ivan as Political Lesson

[Joaquín <jbustelo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Walter asks if this stuff is available on the web. The answer is no, CNN
(part of the Time Warner monopoly, the biggest media company in the world)
shut down its Spanish-language news site at the beginning of September. 

As for cable, even if you get cable in the US, you're unlikely to have
access to it unless you a) upgrade to digital b) buy/rent the digital box
and c) special order a tier of Spanish-language channels. Each of those
things is an extra charge ON TOP OF the already outrageous monopoly pricing
of the cable companies. 

This is why in the Hispanic community, cable is getting crushed by
satellite. The satellite guys say, we have two basic packages for $30-odd
dollars, one in English, one bilingual. Which do you want? In fact, the
Spanish package involves a slightly different type of dish and receiver,
because it looks at a broader target of satellites, but the dish guys are
smart enough to figure out there's no reason to structure their marketing on
the basis of their technology.

But nobody ever accused the cable guys of being smart. Ma Bell may be broken
up, but Ernestine lives! They don't care, they don't have to, they're the
cable company.

The cable guys say, first you have to buy our "basic" package that you don't
want, then out expanded digital basic that you don't want, then the box, and
then give us $5 on top of that for the 12 Spanish-language channels that
were all you really wanted to begin with. 

In my local area, that adds up to about $60. 

I put the notice here more for the benefit of LatAm subscribers to the list,
AFAIK no version of this piece, unlike most Lucia Newman pieces, was done in
English.

Joaquín


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