The full staff of the Channel 13 news program Noticentro resigned yesterday afternoon. The group said they had been under heavy pressure to make changes to their editorial content by the program?s new management. The TV station is one of the impounded Baninter assets currently under government administration.
Sub-Director Guillermo Tejeda told Diario Libre that the relationship with authorities had become ?unbearable.? The new management asked that the news team present news events in a ?more optimistic? manner. As reported in the List?n Diario, Tejada said: ?I told them that we were objective, and that was the norm that had characterized our news production for the past eight years.?
Tejada complained that while the station is suspending personnel by reason of an alleged lack of funds, new personnel and executives are being hired regardless. He also mentioned the fact that the station is behind in the payment of its employees? salaries, saying that wages corresponding to 1-15 June were not paid until last Monday.
Meanwhile, Telecentro?s administrator, S?crates And?jar, denied that he has dictated any editorial policy in the intervened station. In an interview in the List?n Diario, he explained that since the takeover, the payroll has been reduced from RD$14.8 million a month to RD$4.9 million. According to And?jar, the Telecentro Channel 13 and RNN (Channel 27) must be able to cover their expenses, now that the big brother of Baninter is not there to make up the difference.