Fiktiv USA - Radio Television Marti

Radio Televisión Martí is an American radio and television international broadcaster based in Miami, Florida, financed by the Federal government of the United States through the U.S. Agency for Global Media (formerly Broadcasting Board of Governors, BBG), which transmits news in Spanish to Cuba. Its broadcasts can also be heard and viewed worldwide through their website and on shortwave radio frequencies.

Named after the Cuban national hero and intellectual José Martí, it was established in 1983 with the addition of TV Martí in 1990. The 2014 budget for the Cuba broadcasting program is approximately US$27 million. It employs more than 200 people.

Radio Televisión Martí is an element of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB). The sister elements in the IBB are Voice of America (VOA), Alhurra/Radio Sawa, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Farda, and Radio Free Asia (RFA). The IBB and the Broadcasting Board of Governors are independent federal entities spun off from the now defunct United States Information Agency.

In the early 1980s, the U.S. Government planned to create a radio station to be known as Radio Free Cuba, modeled on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the mission of fighting communism in the hope of hastening the fall of Cuban President Fidel Castro. The station – renamed Radio Martí after Cuban writer José Martí, who had fought for Cuba's independence from Spain and against U.S. influence in the Americas – was established in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan at the urging of Jorge Mas Canosa. Existing North American broadcasters objected strenuously to the establishment of Radio Martí, fearing that its broadcasts would lead Cuba to retaliate by jamming existing commercial medium-wave broadcasts from Florida.

On May 20, 1985, Radio Martí began broadcasts to Cuba from the United States. The first day of broadcasting was chosen to commemorate the 83rd anniversary of Cuba's independence from United States rule on May 20, 1902. The fears of broadcasters proved well-founded, when Cuba-based transmitters briefly broadcast powerful signals on the medium-wave band in 1985, disrupting U.S. AM radio station broadcasts in several states.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, the budget for all U.S.-government-run foreign broadcasters, with the exception of Radio Martí, was sharply reduced. In 1996, Radio Martí's studios were moved from Washington, D.C. to Miami, Florida. The move, in addition to placing the station's studios closer to its target audience, also underscored its growing independence from the Voice of America, another U.S.-government-run foreign broadcaster with which Radio Martí had previously shared studios.

In December 2018, Radio Marti received a license from the Minister of Informatics and Communications to broadcast on FM frequencies throughout Cuba. Additionally, Radio Marti broadcasts over short-wave transmitters in Delano, California, and Greenville, North Carolina, and a medium-wave transmitter in Marathon, Florida. Its studios are located in Miami, Florida. The shortwave program is heard in Canada and throughout Central and South America. On occasion, the medium-wave transmitter at 1180 kHz can be heard as far north as Washington, D.C. Three hours of news, sports and entertainment programming are available to subscribers of SiriusXM Satellite Radio on channel 153 Monday to Friday from 9:00 PM to midnight. Radio Marti is streamed live on radiotelevisionmarti.com and for users of the Radio Televisión Martí App available on iTunes and Android.

Radio Marti offers listeners an uncensored, comprehensive, and balanced perspective on current events. Features and special programs provide a wide range of information and entertainment. Radio Marti's programming includes roundtable discussions; expert commentaries on political, economic, social, religious, and human rights issues; testimonies from former political prisoners, recent immigrants, and human rights activists; and in-depth "focus" shows on current events. In addition, there are programs of interest to women, young people, and the labor sectors, as well as discussions on literature and the arts.

News and news-related programming make up over half of Radio Marti’s daily schedule. Through balanced news coverage, Radio Marti broadcasts news updates at the top and bottom of the hour, around the clock. On Monday through Friday, a two-hour newscast airs from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., and there are one hour newscasts at 12:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. On Saturdays, Radio Marti airs a 30 minute newscast at noon. On Sundays at noon, Radio Marti broadcasts "El Noticiero Latinoamericano," a 30-minute week in review of Latin American news stories. In addition, one hour newscasts at 6:00 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. are broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays.

In 1990, the U.S. Government created TV Martí to broadcast television programming to Cuba. It began broadcasting on March 27, 1990, beaming daily programs in Spanish via a transmitter affixed to an aerostat balloon – nicknamed "Fat Albert" by people in the area – tethered 10,000 feet (3,048 m) above Cudjoe Key, Florida. Weather affected the broadcasts; "Fat Albert" sometimes was hauled down because of high winds, once broke loose and drifted into the Everglades in 1991, and was destroyed by Hurricane Dennis in 2005. After the aerostat's destruction, TV Martí in October 2006 began to use fixed-wing aircraft to transmit its signals, first a military C-130 Hercules which proved too expensive to operate, and then a Gulfstream twin engine airplane flying a figure-eight pattern off Key West, Florida. One of these aircraft has since been retired.

The first TV Martí broadcasts took place in the very early morning hours to avoid interference with Cuban domestic television programming. In 2012, the administration of President Barack Obama finally asked the United States Congress to cease funding of the program, but Congress nonetheless continued to provide money for it.

Like Radio Martí, TV Martí is an element of the International Broadcasting Bureau. In December 2018, TV Marti was awarded the license to broadcast on terrestrial television in Cuba by the Minister of Informatics and Communications. In addition TV Marti is available on most cable operators across Cuba as well as on pay-TV platform DirecTV in the United States and Cuba.

TV Marti broadcasts seven-days-a-week, 24 hours a day, providing quality programming including news, sports, entertainment, and features on life in the U.S. and other nations. It also provides commentary and other information about events in Cuba and around the world to promote the cause of freedom in Cuba.

The television newsgathering division covers local, national, and international news events of interest to a Cuban audience. The TV Marti News Division is continually striving to enhance the relevance of the daily news program and special news programs. Daily news coverage places special emphasis on communicating United States policy towards Cuba and U.S. immigration policy toward Cuba, broadcasting all major U.S. Government policy announcements. TV Marti produces two daily newscasts - at 6:00 p.m. and at 9:00 p.m. and two weekday newscasts at 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.

The TV Programs division produces a variety of informational programs covering a wide range of topics such as politics, economics, current events, education, health, human rights, culture, and the arts. The division also produces documentaries and special programming for TV Marti.