Sun-Sentinel. Web-posted: 12:50 a.m. Jan. 13, 2000

A television newscast showing 6-year-old Elián González playing in his front yard sparked a controversy on Wednesday.

Cuban exiles assailed WPLG-Ch. 10 for a segment aired Tuesday night in which the boy appeared to say he wanted to return to Cuba.

While Elián and a friend played in his back yard with the cameras rolling, Elián looked up at a jet flying overhead and said in Spanish: "A plane, a plane!"

Then, depending on what people chose to hear, Elián said one of two things: "Yo quiero que tu me regreses a Cuba (I want you to take me back to Cuba)" or "Yo quiero que no me regreses a Cuba (I don't want you to take me back to Cuba)."

Elián's relatives then yelled "NO!" in unison, either affirming his wish not to return to Cuba -- or to let him know he said something he shouldn't have. Ch. 10 staffers, after reviewing the tape in a quiet studio, decided that the child had said he wanted to go back.

What Elián said or didn't say was the talk of Miami on Wednesday.

Spanish-language commentators denounced Ch. 10 and encouraged listeners to call the station with complaints. Late in the day a small group of protesters gathered outside the station to decry the report.

The uproar was such that the station's general manager, John Garwood, went on air to say the tape was confusing, but Ch. 10 stood by its reporting.

Copyright 1999, Sun-Sentinel Co. & South Florida Interactive, Inc.

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