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