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The Press and the Bay of Pigs

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The Press and the Bay of Pigs FALL 1967 Reprinted from THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY FORUM THE PRESS AND THE BAY OF PIGS VICTOR BERNSTEIN and JESSE GORDON Aside from its other mean- mountain town of Retalhuleu and said that the ings, the Bay of Pigs was "also important in whole affair had been aired on the front page the history of relations between the American of La Hora, Guatemala's leading newspaper. press and the U. S. Government," Clifton Daniel, The editorial ended : managing editor of The New York Times, told We ourselves, of course, pretend to no first-hand the World Press Institute last year. Mr. Daniel knowledge of the facts. If Washington is went on to reconstruct this history insofar as it ignorant of the existence of the base, or, know- ing that it exists, is nevertheless innocent of any involved his newspaper. This article attempts a involvement in it, then surely the appropriate reconstruction on a somewhat broader basis. authorities will want to scotch all invidious Such a history has permanent relevance to the rumors. On the other hand, if the reports democratic process; and, in any case, it is al- as heard by Dr. Hilton are true, then public ways useful to remind the press that if it wor- pressure should be brought to bear upon the Ad- ministration to abandon this dangerous and ried as much about its own credibility gap as hare-brained project. about the Administration's the country would There is a second reason why we believe the be well served. reports merit publication; they can, and should, V Early in November, 1960, Carey McWilliams, be checked immediately by all U.S. news media editor of The Nation, received a phone call from with correspondents in Guatemala. Paul Baran, Stanford University economist. He The issue containing the editorial went to said that Ronald Hilton, then director of Stan- press on Friday, November 11. On that day, 75 ford's Institute of Hispanic American and Luso- proofs, together with copies of a news release Brazilian Studies, "is just back from Guatemala. based upon the editorial, were distributed by In, the current issue of his Hispanic American Jesse Gordon to all major news media, including Report, he writes that it is common knowledge foreign news bureaus in New York. The more down there that the CIA is training Cuban important local offices were serviced by mes- exiles at a secret Guatemalan base in prepara- senger. Mr. Gordon followed the dispatch of the tion for an invasion of Cuba." Mr. McWilliams releases with telephone calls to various news checked back with Dr. Hilton, and the result was desks. an editorial which appeared in The Nation of The phone calls elicited some puzzling reac- Saturday, November 19. tions. The Associated Press was called three "Fidel Castro," the editorial began, "may have times ; each time a different desk man answered, a sounder basis for his expressed fears of a U. S.- professed interest in the story, but said he hadn't financed 'Guatemala-type' invasion than most of seen either the release or a proof of the edi- us realize." It went on to give the gist of Dr. torial. Could duplicates be sent immediately? Hilton's story, which located the base near the Three duplicates were sent in as many hours, apparently to end up on the desk of someone in Mr. Bernstein graduated from Columbia College in 1926 the AP hierarchy who didn't want them to go and from the Columbia School of Journalism in 1925. He any farther. In the end, neither the AP nor the was managing editor of The Nation from 1952 to 1963 United Press International used the story, nor and is the author of Final Judgement: The Story of Nuremberg. Mr. Gordon, who was educated at Columbia did they request any check on it that weekend and NYU, is an editorial consultant to The Nation and from their correspondents in Guatemala. has been a news correspondent in Cuba. On Monday, Mr. Gordon was again in touch with the UPI, this time speaking to Francis L. trained in guerilla warfare. The object of the training, he said, was to combat invasions of McCarthy, head of the service's Latin American the type that have occurred recently in Hon- desk. "Yes," said Mr. McCarthy, "there's a big duras, Nicaragua and Panama. base in operation in Guatemala and U. S. planes Five days later, on November 25, the York are flying in and out. But the Pentagon denies Gazette and Daily shed light on how the AP had any knowledge and the State Department says been handling developments: `no comment.' One story we hear is that the base The Gazette and Daily asked the AP . to is being built by the U.S. as a replacement for check [The Nation's] report. The AP said The Guantanamo." Nation article seemed "thin"—an adjective which, At this stage, knowledge of the base follows we think, fairly describes any story as it begins an interesting geographic distribution pattern. to develop from hearsay or second-hand sources La . But when we explained that we were not The readers of the Guatemalan newspaper requesting a rewrite of The Nation article but Hora knew there was a base. Indeed, according rather a check in Guatemala, the AP went to to Andrew Tully in his CIA: The Inside Story, work. Within a few days, the AP sent a story "Practically everybody in Central America knew which was printed on page two of the Gazette about this [Retalhuleu] training base and, of and Daily on November 17, headlined: "Guate- mala President Denies Reports of Anti-Castro course, so (lid Fidel Castro." In the United Force." The headline reasonably sums up the States, however, where by repute exists the story; the AP had interviewed President Ydigo- freest and most efficient press in the world, ap- ras of Guatemala and he had "branded as false" parently the only people who knew about the the things The Nation had published. base were Dr. Hilton, Mr. McCarthy, and the Now for the windup. In a letter from Stan- ford dated November 19, Dr. Ronald Hilton assorted readership (totaling fewer than 100,- writes as follows: "On Friday, November 18, 000) of the Hispanic American Report, The Mr. [Lyman B.] Kirkpatrick [Jr.], the Inspector Nation and the York (Pa.) Gazette and Daily General of the CIA, spoke in San Francisco at which—alone among the country's dailies—had the Commonwealth Club. He was asked, published The Nation's release in its issue of 'Professor Hilton of Stanford says there is a CIA-financed base in Guatemala where plans are November 12. being made for an attack on Cuba. Professor What of The New York Times, the 'anima Hilton says it will be a black day for Latin Thule of the publicist? Mr. Gordon sent four America and the U.S. if this takes place. Is this copies of the editorial to the Times—one each true?' After a long silence, Mr. Kirkpatrick to the city and national editors, another to replied: 'It will be a black day if we are found Herbert L. Matthews (editorial writer) and out. ' " another to Peter Kihss (a staff reporter who In lying to both the Times man and the AP was then covering domestic aspects of the Cuban reporter, President Ydigoras displayed the vir- situation). Additionally, the city and national tue of consistency, at least. But there is another, desks of the Times, as well as those of other more significant, observation to be made about rnaj m• news media, received copies over the PR these two dispatches. Neither reporter took the Newswire, a private Teletype circuit. Mr. Gor- - elementary journalistic step (or, if they took it, don followed dispatch of the proofs by phone failed to report that they did so) of interview- calls to Mr. Kihss and others; all professed in- ing anyone on the staff of La Hora, which had terest in the story, and Mr. Gordon was asked published the story the previous October 30. At where Dr. Hilton could be reached. the very least, they should have seen—or re- It took nine days for the Times to react. On ported an attempt to see—the newspaper's pub- page 32 of its issue of November 20, it printed lisher, Clemente Marroquin Rojas, who was then an unsigned dispatch from Guatemala City based a member of the Ydigoras cabinet (and is today on its correspondent's interview with President Vice President of Guatemala). Moreover, ac- Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes. The President was cording to Dr. Hilton, the base and its purposes asked about "repeated reports" of a "base estab- were "common knowledge" in the country ; should lished with U. S. assistance as a training ground not the reporters have been instructed, at the for military action against Cuba." The article very minimum, to test this "common knowl- continued edge"? It is precisely for this purpose, as any The President branded the reports as a "lot of journalist will tell you, that taxi drivers have lies." He said the base . was one of several been invented. But both correspondents chose to on which Guatemalan Army personnel was being go to the one man in the country who would be sure to deny the story—the President. soldier had dismissed all stories about the base There was, perhaps, some excuse for the AP as "Communist propaganda." correspondent, Albarao Contreras, who was a Even with these tentative conclusions, Mr. Guatemalan citizen and could hardly be expected Dudman had censorship troubles and in the end to probe into government secrets for the meager filed his story not out of Guatemala, but out of space rates paid to him as a "stringer." But neighboring El Salvador.
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