“Journalism, Politics and Reflections: Writing in the Line of Fire” Launched at Book Fair

“Journalism, Politics and Reflections: Writing in the Line of Fire” Launched at Book Fair
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, 0516/2011

Dominican President, Leonel Fernández, oversaw the launch of the book, “Journalism, Politics and Reflections: Writing in the Line of Fire,” written by Rafael Núñez, Director of the President’s Office of Information, Press and Publicity.

Núñez, speaking at the ceremony, said that democracy is exercised by persuasion just as President Fernández said at the Quilvio Cabrera Communication Seminar, “persuasion is the way to build consensus and guarantee the governability of a democratic system.”

The book, published as part of the celebration of the XIV International Book Fair 2011, is a compilation of articles published by the author in the the newspaper, Diario Libre, in which he mixes stories with real incidents.
During the book launch, held at the Culture Hall of the National Theater, Mr. Núñez gave a copy of the book to the President and First Lady Margarita Cedeño de Fernández.

Núñez, speaking at the ceremony, said that democracy is exercised by persuasion just as President Fernández said at the Quilvio Cabrera Communication Seminar, “persuasion is the way to build consensus and guarantee the governability of a democratic system.”

He emphasized that the democratic system, by its pluralistic nature, brings with it the shock of ideas and conflicting messages, which means that to win the battle, the soldiers of communication have to be ideologically well-armed and conscious of the vision and strategy of their cause.

“The book we are launching this evening is just that, the product of the battle of ideas expressed through the media, with the goal of not getting yourself killed in the trenches. And not to allow oneself to be mortally wounded by shots from the opposing army… but also there are times when one has to be very careful about the unfortunate shots that may come from the ranks of one’s own army,” said Núñez

“Thanks to God Almighty and the guidance of President Fernández, I have been able to stay in the line of fire without having to ever fire at my own colleagues, while maintaining a respectful relationship with them and the media they represent. Nor have I had to face a crisis of conscience or ethics in my professional career nor as a government employee,” he said. “I recognize that this book is a high level chronicle of our reality and only a journalist armed with the capacity of observation, the patience to gather information and the wisdom to distinguish the profound from the superficial, could have put together a book that invites such special reflection as he has done,” said Castaños referring to the author.

“This book is the product of team work, the product of professional valor like the human qualities of those who posses them. I refer to Yikaury María Abreu for coordinating all of this; Ana Díaz, for the excellent illustrations of each one of the articles and the book cover,” said the Director of the President’s Office of Information, Press and Publicity. He also thanked Adriano Miguel Tejada, director of Diario Libre, for his collaboration. Mr. Tejada was also at the ceremony.

Jurist, Servio Tulio Castaños, who presented the book, said Núñez expresses the fundamental principles for a strategy of communication from the standpoint of the government.

“I recognize that this book is a high level chronicle of our reality and only a journalist armed with the capacity of observation, the patience to gather information and the wisdom to distinguish the profound from the superficial, could have put together a book that invites such special reflection as he has done,” said Castaños referring to the author.

The book was published by Corripio Publishers. The prologue was written by Marcos Villamán. Layout was done by Uselandia Alcántara.