MONTHLY REPORT--KEY WEST BUREAU--OCTOBER 1987

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-00733R000100070003-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 13, 2012
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: November 4, 1987
• Content Type: MEMO

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ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET
SUBJECT: (optional)
Monthly Report -- Key West Bureau
FROM:
EXTENSION
NO.
Chief, Operations Group
DATE
0
ST
October 1987
TO: (Officer designation, room number, and
building)
DATE
OFFICER'S
COMMENTS (Number each comment to show from whom
RECEIVED
FORWARDED
INITIALS
to whom. Draw a line across column after each comment.)
/JC/Ops
~t 1
~1 ~t
3.
C/E&PS
/0
r~r
4
11
2j-r
5.
D/FBIS
6.
7.
PO/RA
11/
1.2
SA/CD
/ /
/2-
}
9.
10.
C/AS
tt.
12.
30'`r
C/AG
13.
Admin Staff
14.
C/B&F
15.
Exec. Reg.
FORM 61 Q USEEDI TI PREVIOUS
EDITIONS
AT
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FOREIGN BROADCAST INFORMATION SERVICE
KEY WEST BUREAU
"al a\"
FBIS
NAVAL AIR STATION
MAIN P.O. BOX 1056 TRUMAN ANNEX BLDG. 1355
KEY WEST, FLORIDA 33041-1056 OFFICE: [phone]
[phone]
[phone]
TELEX: 803046
MFL-7098
4 Nov 1987
MEMORANDUM TO:
THROUGH:
SUBJECT:
Director, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
Chief, Operations Group
Monthly Report -- Key West Bureau -- October 1987
The eye of the first official major storm of an otherwise
insignificant season passed over Key West 12 October bringing lots
of wind but not much damage to the city or bureau. Hurricane Floyd
turned out to be mostly a blowhard with little punch, disappointing
many local hard-core hurricane baiters who needed more than mere
75-mph winds to party in (see attached story on hurricane cliches).
A. Monitorial/Editorial
1. The bureau was caught up in the affairs of other
continents this month. First, we watched the movements of visiting
Iranian Foreign Minister Velayati, who found himself in Cuba
following the U.S. attack on two oil platforms in the Persian Gulf.
Unfortunately, he made no particularly vitriolic comments about the
Great Satan that we could monitor.
2. Havana TV was also a good source for events in Angola,
surprisingly quoting the Defense Ministry that a Cuban-piloted
MiG-21 had indeed been shot down over UNITA-controlled countryside,
as reported earlier by foreign press agencies.
3. Bureau TV watchers got a rare glimpse of Fidel together
with his son this month when Tele-Rebelde aired a video report on
the inauguration of the Center of Applied Studies for Nuclear Energy
Development. "Fidelito" is the head of the Cuban Atomic Energy
Commission.
It was a long and frustrating month for everyone involved
in our communications set-up as we--along with headquarters, the
Office of Communications, and the Miami Radio Relay Facility--tried
unsuccessfully to convert our commo over from Baudot to ASCII. This
exercise was part of an overall plan to use Key West as guinea pig
in preparation for the transition of FBA-1 bureaus to ASCII.
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Despite the efforts of bureau engineer and GE STAT
contractors who visited on 10 October, STAT
format and code conversion problems stymied the transition. At the
same time, the Miami RRF people were also busy reprogramming their
software. During all this, we STAT
had to revert to the Autodin altroute for almost 2 weeks for our
outgoing traffic. At month's end we were back to Baudot but had
given ADD new insight into the magnitude of the conversion,
especially if it is eventually to be implemented at other bureaus.
The bureau's new FAX machine again proved a useful and
timely addition to our growing array of equipment. When the MIAMI
HERALD published reports about Nicaragua's plan to allow some radio
news shows to resume broadcasting, we were immediately able to
provide Panama with the topical stories in toto.
D. Lateral Services
Our contractor in Port-au-Prince, was STAT
"borrowed" at Ambassador McKinley's request on 21 October to serve
as personal interpreter to former President Carter, who visited
Haiti as part of an observation team that will monitor the November
presidential elections.
E. Cruising
Our remote antenna at Boca Chica continued to prove its
worth by providing the only monitorable news from the Dominican
Republic this month. Santo Domingo's Radio Popular morning newscast
will probably remain our sole ear into that country until later in
the season when we hope reception of other stations improves.
1. ELAAD's arrived in Key West 25 October on a STAT
2-week TDY which will be divided between a locally sponsored
symposium on the Caribbean and a week of experiencing what its like
to be a field bureau monitor.
2. One of Panama's best teletypists,
rejoined us for a second 6-week TDY 29 October. was here
earlier this summer and is now replacing another
veteran Panamanian who just finished her second TDY with us this
year.
STAT
STAT
SIAI
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B. Buildings and Grounds
1. Visiting security officer recommended a
variety of ways to make our houses even safer against would-be
unwelcome visitors. He also reviewed our outdoor lighting plans and
took enough pictures of the bureau and housing site to fill several
albums.
2. Our hurricane shutters went up in a hurry this month,
but not quite in time for Hurricane Floyd. Only the detached house
was finished by the time the storm hit. However, we were fortunate
and took no flying coconuts through any of our expanses of plate
glass. By month's end, all our houses were ready to withstand the
elements, and the shutters turned out to be an esthetic as well as
practical improvement. The Navy is so impressed that the Public
Works Department is considering modeling their houses after ours
rather than nailing sheets of plywood over windows and doors.
1. contractors, 10 Oct.
2. Navy Captain NSA reservist on detail to
the US Forces Caribbean, 1 Oct.
3. Commander Robert Davis, new Navy Communication Group C/O,
I^
O
4. FBIS Security Officer, 21-23 Oct.
5. ELAAD Language Officer, 25 Oct-7 Nov.
6 . Jack Felt, D IIIIIII i 27 Oct.
7. H Qs analysts
1. Bureau personnel participated in the annual Caribbean
symposium sponsored by the US Forces Caribbean during the last week
of October. During a break in the discussion, Jack Felt, State desk
officer for Haiti, visited the bureau to discuss our monitoring
project in Port-au-Prince.
2. Although no one from the bureau won any awards for most
imaginative costume in this year's week-long Fantasy Fest Halloween
extravaganza, we suspected some were disguised well enough to blend
in with the multitude of revelers who lined Duval Street. The
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merrymakers were dressed as everything from cats to call-girls to
jail birds to "safe-sex" objects to enjoy the party, described by
the MIAMI HERALD as vampy, campy, and above all else tasteless. As
one visiting Ft Lauderdale man dressed as a distraught stockbroker
summed it up--There's no embarrassing yourself in Key West.
STAT
Chief, Key West Bureau
Attachments:
MIAMI HERALD item
Nonexpendable Property Report
Production Report
cc: C/Panama, C/Paraguay Bureau
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The Miami Herald
Tuesday, October 13, 1987
I called my wife again.
"No question about it, I said. "We'
need to Brace for a Pounding Lash of
.'Torrential Winds."
Naturally we .had no idea what we, were supposed to,.do. We are your classic
'irresponsible jerk newcomer South Flori-
da homeowners who failed to read any of
the 675 annual hurricane-preparedness:
articles, and 'all I could remember was
that you were supposed to do something
with bleach. Also with the bathtub.,
"Better fill the bathtub with bleach," I
told my wife, trying to keep the panic out
of my voice. Panic is one of the biggest
dangers in these situations, second only to
the danger of being run over, by a
shopping. cart pushed by a storm-scared
I had an inkling, while driving to work ':
Monday morning, that there was going to
be trouble. It was the roads. An untrained.
civilian probably would have described'
them as "wet," but I could tell, thanks to
being a member of the professional news
media, that they were "rain-slicked." 'And
I knew that Rain-Slicked Roads are
frequently an indication that High Winds',,
and Torrential Rains are about to Lash an`-
area, causing Fearful Residents to Brace.
And so when I got to The Herald, I did
what years of journalism experience haven
taught me to do in'times of crisis: I called
my wife.'
"I don't want to alarm you," I said,
"but the roads are rain-slicked." '
"Well," she said, "my father says
we're having a hurricane." Her father
lives in Cleveland. He had. called our,)
'house after he saw a TV news item that
said a hurricane was Lashing South
Florida. Or possibly it was Pounding It,,,'
'Either. way, ' It- looked bad for South':
Florida," according to "the TV news in _
Cleveland, which Is why my 'father-in-law
called.
"I'll check into it," I told my wife. We
are trained to follow up on news tips like
this.
The way I checked on the hurricane
story'':was..1 signed on to the computer
','system, Here at, The Herald, as at all
modern, newspapers, we get the vast bulk
!,of our news . via computer, 'which cuts
down 'on our having to leave the building.
for any purpose other than lunch.
The major.hurricane?related news sto-
ry In the computer-system started this
gray; .
MIAMI - (AP) - Mobs of storm-
scared residents stripped batteries, bread
r and bottled water from store shelves and
many residents took to the roads ...
Other than the fact that this story
failed to point out that the roads were
rain-slicked, it appeared to be a highly
accurate account of what I would
probably find if I left the Herald building.
"Also," I told my wife, "you better ;
head over to Publix and strip batteries,
?,bread and bottled water from the store
,,, shelves,"
For my part, I went looking for our
science; writer, Steve Doig,` who wrote
-several dozen of the hurricane-prepared-
ness articles. I found him in the mail
"How do. you brace for a hurricane?" I
"Like this," he said. leaning over in a
comical pose familiar 'to high school
students.
Thus advised, I prepared to take to the
roads. I knew I needed to get tape so I
could put It on all my windows and then
spend every weekend until Easter scrap-
ing it off. I needed to get a flashlight.
Above all, I needed canned goods.
Heineken.
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NONEXPENDABLE PROPERTY
Monthly Report, Key West Bureau
October 1987
1 each Victor VCPII, Mdl. 2620-1, SN 6-1201 0697C, ccomplete with
Monochrome monitor and keyboard. Locally procured.
2 each Transcriber, Sony Mdl. BM-46, SN's 37936 and 37984, from
hqs.
1 each Monitor, Color TV, Panasonic Mdl. BTS 1300-N, SN FA7450195.
PROPERTY DISPOSED: None.
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KEY WEST BUREAU PRODUCTION REPORT FOR OCTOBER 1987
1. TOTALS FROM ALL SOURCESt
TOTAL PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTHi 158,170
TOTAL NON-PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTH , 46,720
TOTAL NUMBER OF PUBLISHABLE ITEMS FILED DURING MONTH t 483
BROADCAST PRESS AGENCIES PUBLICATIONS
II. INPUT OF REGULAR COVERAGE, 2,575 14,700 21
(PUBLISHABLE WORDS PER WEEK) MIN MIN ISSUES
III. OUTPUT FROM ALL SOURCES,
(PUBLISHABLE WORDS PER MONTH)
BAHAMAS
Nassau Domestic Service
in English
Nassau THE TRIBUNE
in English
-0-
BARBADOS
Bridgetown CANA
in English
Bridgetown ADVOCATE
in English
Bridgetown SUNDAY ADVOCATE
in English
BELIZE
Belize City Domestic Service -0-
in English or Spanish
Belize Times
in English
CUBA
Havana Radio Progreso Network 2750
in Spanish
Havana Radio Reloj Network 9,210
in Spanish
Havana Radio Rebelde Network 11390
in Spanish
Havana Radio Periodico Del Aire 1620
in Spanish
23,600
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KEY WEST BUREAU PRODUCTION REPORT FOR OCTOBER 1987
CUBA
Havana Domestic Service 5.070
in Spanish
Havana Tole-Rebelde Network 47.630
in Spanish
Havana Television Cubana Network 4.820
in Spanish
Havana Television Service 14.720
in Spanish
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Santo Domingo Cadena Brea Pena
in Spanish
Santo Domingo LISTIN DIARIO
in Spanish
140
HAITI
Port-au-Prince Radio Nationale 10.600
in Creole
Port-au-Prince Radio Nationale 200
in french
Port-au-Prince Radio Antilles 250
Internationales in French
Port-au-Prince Radio Haiti-Inter 1.850
in Creole
Port-au-Prince Radio Haiti-Inter 390
in French
Port-au-Prince Radio Luaiere Network -0-
in Creole
Port-au-Prince Radio Metropole 1.940
in Creole
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KEY WEST BUREAU PRODUCTION REPORT FOR OCTOBER 1987
Port-au-Prince Radio Metropole 11390
in French
Port-au-Prince Radio Soleil 13.250
in Creole
Port-au-Prince LE NOUVELLISTE
in French
JAMAICA
Kingston Domestic Service
in English
Kingston DAILY BLEANER
in English
Kingston SUNDAY BLEANER
in English
MEXICO
Mexico City NOTIMEX
in Spanish
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
Bonaire Trans World Radio
in English
THE NETHERLANDS
Hilversum International Service
in English
1,890
31080
SURINAME
Paramaribo International Service 11340
in English
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Santo Domingo Radio Popular
in Spanish
280
900
-0-
_,_31690
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