Cablegate: Request for Us Speaker On Political Satire

VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #0040/01 0062111
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 062110Z JAN 10 ZFF6
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1899
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000040

SIPDIS
DEPT FOR IIP/S (BARONE)
WHA/PPD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OEXC SCUL KPAO CO
SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR US SPEAKER ON POLITICAL SATIRE

SUMMARY: Post requests IIP/S's assistance to recruit a renowned
U.S. political cartoonist, to present a series of seminars and
discussions on the role of political satire in the media, the
democratic process, and civil society. The speaker would take part
in a five-day program March 8-13, 2010 in Bogota and two other
major cities in Colombia, meeting with leading Colombian media
specialists, political cartoonists, young journalists, and major
media outlets. Drawing on the rich tradition of political satire in
the United States, the program would address the role of humor and
satire in the political process, freedom of expression, as well as
the role of an independent media in civil society and the
democratic process. The program will include presentations at
various venues for NGOs, special interest groups, and key
university audiences in the three cities. Post will put together a
media plan to ensure the broadest exposure possible, such as media
encounters with opinion makers and television coverage and online
news coverage. The program will also include representational
functions for core audiences, strengthening post's relationship
with media experts and the younger generation (early- to mid-20s)
working in journalism, specifically in social media forums. Post's
objective with this program is to focus the attention of young and
potentially influential audiences on the role of media freedom in
democratic development, while tying into post's broader slate of
programs during Colombia's 2010 independence bicentennial. End
summary.

BACKGROUND: Programming a prominent U.S. political cartoonist who
will interact with talented and much-respected Colombian political
cartoonists - as well as the younger generation of journalists
engaging in investigative and editorial journalism --will allow
post to explore the importance of media and press freedom in
developing and promoting civil society and democracy.
Specifically, a Speaker who can explore the uses of political
satire in the media, including from a historical perspective, will
foster dialogue on a number of issues of bilateral and global
importance. While Colombia continues to enjoy considerable media
freedom compared to some of its more reactionary neighbors, media
experts continue to struggle with persecution and/or hardships in
their professional lives, especially when they faced with pressure
from government or political organizations. This program will use
U.S. experience to underscore the role of political satire and
media freedom to foster grassroots change through raising awareness
of key political, economic, cultural issues and trends, using humor
and intellectual acuity to make such issues accessible to the
broader population.

U.S. SPEAKER: The speaker should be prepared to address the role
of political satire and press freedom in the U.S. from a historical
perspective, focusing on benchmarks in his or her professional
career that have impacted the political, economic, and cultural
issues he/she has addressed in the course of his/her career. The
speaker should also be prepared to address how the boom of social
media in the digital age has impacted the craft of political
satire, referencing recent trends in journalism with the onset of
Web 2.0 technologies. An overview of how core U.S. values such as
diversity, freedom of expression, equality, and civil rights have
affected political satire in the media will create a context to
compare and contrast the U.S. and Colombian experience. The
Speaker should also be prepared to address how political satire can
be used in educational curricula. Post would like to request that
IIP recruit an award-winning, recognized political cartoonist who
has name recognition at the syndicate level and a breadth of
experience. Additionally, if IIP can assist in locating a poster
show of the Speaker's works -or alternatively of U.S. cartoonists
as related to the goal of this program-this would further enhance
the level and nature of the outreach and attract further media
coverage.

PROGRAM AND AUDIENCE: The speaker will take part in a mixed program
of formal presentations, representational functions, and press
encounters in Bogot????, Cali, and Medellin. In each location, the
speaker will work with journalism and communications majors at
local universities, as well as with press clubs, major media
outlets, and members of the recently-formed Young Journalists
Association that Public Affairs has been supporting since June
2009. One highlight of the program will be a round-table session
with leading Colombian political cartoonists who work for major
media outlets, both in print and online, giving these VIP members
of the broader media community an opportunity to share their
experience with the Speaker and one another. Press interviews will
be arranged in all cities. Please schedule the speaker to arrive
Bogot???? March 8 and return to the U.S. on March 13. Spanish fluency

is a requirement for this program.

CONTROL OFFICER: Control Officer for this program is IO Bridget
Gersten. Office phone: 571-315-2496. Mobile: 313-870-1519;

Program Coordinator is Senior Media Specialist Marianne Duarte.
Office phone: 571-315-2159. Mobile:(310) 224-2168.

FUNDING SPECIFICS: Program fully funded out of I-Bucks

WAIVER: Mission requests waiver of the Department's policy not to
send speakers to countries to which the State Department advises US
citizens not to travel. All events in this program will take place
in Bogot????, Cali and Medellin which are not indicated in the State
Department travel advisory as particular areas of caution. RSO
concurs with proposed travel and program, and will arrange a
security briefing for the speaker. Speaker will be lodged in RSO
approved hotels and will be accompanied by a PAS officer and senior
FSN for all programs. Other than minor theft incidents no speakers
have encountered any problems or threats to their safety in either
of these cities.
BROWNFIELD

© Scoop Media