Reverend Moon well understood the influence of the media, and not only because he was himself their constant target. In December 1976 he established The News World newspaper in New York City, later renamed The New York City Tribune, to counter the overwhelming leftist and liberal slant of The New York Times. Realizing the importance of Hispanic culture in the United States and throughout the hemisphere, he was not content to concentrate only on the English-language media. His inauguration of Noticias del Mundo began a relationship with the Hispanic community in the United States and Latin America that was to help turn the tide against communist infiltration of this hemisphere. These remarks were made at the inauguration of Noticias del Mundo in New York City on April 22, 1980.

Honored guests, distinguished leaders of the Hispanic community, ladies and gentlemen. As president and publisher of Noticias del Mundo and The News World, and on behalf of the founder of those newspapers, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for your coming tonight. This evening we mark an important milestone in history, not only for all of us here, but for every brother nation in Latin America and for all mankind. You have been invited to witness and participate in the inauguration of a great newspaper, one that undoubtedly will have lasting impact throughout the Americas and the world.

Noticias del Mundo is that paper, and I am proud to present our hope, vision, and purpose for it to you, honorable diplomats, distinguished journalists, and leaders of the Hispanic community in this great city of New York. First of all, let me offer an apology. Dr. Fernando Gomez Fyns, the Uruguayan ambassador to Colombia, was to be our speaker and guest of honor this evening, but he is unable to attend due to the severe injuries he suffered while escaping from terrorists holding hostage the Dominican embassy in Bogota.

I want now to describe the origin of our newspaper and explain why a new Spanish-language daily was created in the United States. Today 20 to 25 million Spanish-speaking people live in the United States, and estimates are that by the 1990s Spanish-speaking Americans will be the largest minority in the country. Clearly the time has come for Spanish-speaking Americans to help shape the nation's future. However, in America, Spanish-speaking Americans often feel misunderstood and misrepresented, almost forgotten.

The founder of the Unification Church, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, has long realized this state of affairs and has desired to commit himself and the resources of his church to the task of enabling those ignored voices to be heard. After all, Reverend Moon is a Korean and, in the deepest way, he identifies with the plight of the Latin people. For years we have been searching for a means to correct this situation, and now our dream has come true. Please join me in expressing our heartfelt gratitude to Reverend Moon, who spiritually and financially enabled this great paper to become a reality.

Recently I spent several weeks traveling through South America, and I had the opportunity to meet with many political, military, cultural, and religious leaders. The beauty of these countries and the warmth and love of their peoples struck me deeply. Yet over and over again Latin Americans, along with the Hispanic citizens of the United States, have expressed sadness and frustration over the way in which they are perceived and treated by the United States. I was most disturbed by their sincere and frank testimonies, and I sympathized with them, since they represent over 300 million people in this hemisphere. Some of these outstanding Latin American leaders are with us tonight to celebrate the launching of Noticias del Mundo. The image of Hispanics has been out of focus for people living in the United States, and in the last two decades this misrepresentation has reached an extreme. Today it is worse than ever.

In particular, Hispanics feel insulted and angered over their belittling and misrepresentation by the U.S. press, which dwells only on certain negative elements of their societies, and which deliberately ignores their determined efforts to develop and contribute to the world community. Noticias del Mundo will correct this injustice. It is ironic that such a misrepresentation has occurred at a time when Latin American nations are the targets of aggression by totalitarian communism. They have suffered war and been the victims of subversion, infiltration, and the inhumane terrorist tactics of Marxist-Leninists.

Look at recent developments in our hemisphere as examples. We witnessed the takeover of the Nicaraguan government by left-wing guerrillas, the terrorist seizure of the Dominican embassy in Bogota, and the mass defection of 10,000 Cuban citizens to the Peruvian embassy in Havana. The list of communist-induced horrors endured by all of Latin America in the second half of this century is endless. In many cases their supreme task has been the very fight for survival. Astonishingly, though, this reality is little understood or appreciated in the United States.

Who is responsible for such a state of affairs? We must place the primary responsibility for this failure on the U.S. media. The media must endeavor to inform the public by telling the whole truth. Moreover, the media should educate people by giving them the facts they need to formulate honest opinions, so that public opinion will be based on the truth.

The U.S. media have failed, however, in that role and violated the trust placed in them by the American people. With regard to Latin America, the U.S. media consistently paint an inaccurate and false picture of events in that hemisphere and thus, knowingly or unknowingly, contribute to its destruction by fostering ill-feeling and resentment between peoples and nations. Furthermore, such a situation provides a rich environment for communism and left-wing elements to fester and grow. I am sure you will agree that the purpose of a free press should be to build unity, understanding, cooperation, and peace, rather than to destroy.

We have founded a newspaper-the first of many-that will stand as a voice for the Hispanic community in the United States and Latin America. It is Noticias del Mundo. This newspaper will be dedicated to God and to "serving the Hispanic community in its most glorious hour," which is its motto.

The two central premises of Noticias del Mundo are: It is our conviction that the problems in America can be solved if people turn their hearts to God, and the Spanish-speaking people in the United States will make a most important contribution and play a vital role in raising our declining and troubled nation under God.

Today you witness only the beginning. In the not-too-distant future, Noticias del Mundo, as well as its sister newspaper, The News World, will publish nationwide and even internationally. We will certainly not stop here. We are committed to uniting the Americas from Alaska to Cape Horn in one ideal of democracy and mutual respect, and to establishing a firm and active Christian alliance to defend the world from Marxist-Leninist terrorism and aggression. We will always be vigorous and courageous defenders of minority rights of communities belonging to these countries in this land of freedom, the United States of America.

My dear friends, Noticias del Mundo is your newspaper. For the reasons and purposes I have mentioned, I earnestly ask your prayers and support to help this newspaper fulfill its mission and meet the needs and desires of the people it seeks to serve.

I thank you wholeheartedly for coming this evening. May God bless you and your families, and may God bless America.

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