Natalee Holloway Investigation: Steve Cohen appointed as spokes person for Aruba (Let the Spin Begin)

From A.M. Digital, December 3, 2005: Steve Cohen appointed as spokes person for Aruba

The Strategic Committee that was instituted in the Natalee Holloway case called a press conference yesterday where Jorge Pesquera, President and CEO of the Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association announced that for the passed few weeks they were in search of a spokes person to counter arrest all incorrect information that is distributed in the US press especially via TV.

It was Serge Mansur who presented Steve Cohen, who used to be a journalist, anchor and executive in the media market. He was a producer of the program Court TV and attended various cases of missing children.. Cohen was Vice President of CBS for twelve years and besides being in the media market in Los Angeles he is also active in Boston, San Diego and New York. He is a real professional and a friend of Aruba as he has been traveling to Aruba since 1979.

According to Pesquera, a consensus was reached with Aruba Tourism Authority that also helped in the intents, to appoint Steve Cohen to do the job. Both organizations found Steve Cohen to be the adequate person in the position. Cohen is already much involved in the case and has already been advising the Government. He has been doing a great job behind the curtains, according to Pesquera.

(more of the article)

Steve Cohen has a long and illustrious career in the media. Veteran TV journalist Steve Cohen was most recently at KUSI in San Diego.

For the past 20 months, Cohen has been producing low-budget movies and independent films in Los Angeles, in addition to doing consulting work related to TV news. His last TV station work was as general manager of Salt Lake City’s KTVX/Channel 4. The 56-year-old Cohen said he’s best known for being news director of WCBS/Channel 2 in New York City, KNXT/Channel 2 (before it became KCBS) in Los Angeles, KCOP/Channel 13, also in Los Angeles, and as general manager for CBS operations in his native Philadelphia.

It would also appear that he was was employed in his native Philadelphia as well. Interesting that AM Digital seemed to have left out that that Cohen served for several years as general manager of CBS’ Philly station, WCAU-TV. Steve Cohen was a executive connected to WCAU-TV in Philadelphia in the 1980s. He presented the station’s on-air editorials during that time.

As one of our posters has brought to our attention, (Hat Tip: Goon Squad), there appears to be a Philly connection in this story with regards to the Aruban Communication Strategic Task Force and its not Joe Mamamana. Seems that John Pauly, media consultant for The Aruba Task Force, and Steve Cohen worked for the same Philadelphia TV station WCAU-TV. It appears that John Pauly worked there in the 1980′s as well.

Veteran TV news producer John Pauly, of the Main Line, who worked as Channel 10′s investigative reporter in the 1980s, has been working as an adviser to the Aruban Strategic Communications Task Force. Currently stateside, Pauly’s spent seven weeks in Aruba, and may go back next month to further serve as a media liaison with the Task Force, made up of government and tourism agencies. Pauly says print media and major TV networks have been mostly responsible, but that some outlets are airing unsubstantiated reports with reckless abandon.

John Pauly is the one who wrote this this article, John Pauly Speaks Out About Aruba Media Coverage, from Aruba the Truth.

Pauly doesn’t have much use for Fox News, either. But he considers Greta Van Susteren as the most fair. “That is like saying Curly is the smartest of the Three Stooges,” said Pauly. Fox News wouldn’t respond to Pauly’s comments.

Pauly feels his “greatest triumph” was persuading Aruban authorities to hold a press briefing when the suspects were released and made available for interviews.

“The Aruban police thought the American media were morons because of all the misinformation they were putting on the air,” said Pauly. “So they weren’t about to cooperate with them.”

He persuaded the police to co-operate with the media or risk the probability that the media would stake out the prison and suspect’s homes and there would be threats to public safety.

Read more of what people are saying and more connection findings with regards to Steve Cohen and the media campaign by Aruba to provide their side of the truth or to find the proper person to spin. It is hard to imagine that the case has been ongoing now for over six months and a Task Force set up to handle media coverage and positive news for the island of Aruba has just now named a spokesperson. What were you waiting for? A boycott?

Hat Tip: To the many hard working Monkeys that sleuthed, searched and provided great information.