Identifier

etd-1114101-125240

Degree

Master of Mass Communication (MMC)

Department

Mass Communication

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

In 1992, a prominent Cuban-American organization, the Cuban American National Foundation, launched a full-scale campaign against the Miami Herald following an editorial against the Cuban Democracy Act, sponsored by Congressman Robert Torricelli, (D-NJ). The bill, which the Foundation endorsed and helped craft, was aimed at tightening the loopholes on the U.S. embargo against Cuba. Two men-CANF Chairman Jorge Mas Canosa and Herald publisher David Lawrence-represented opposing sides of the feud. CANF galvanized the exile community to support its side of the debate. The Herald used its opinion and editorial pages to argue against Mas's charges that the newspaper attacked the values and culture of the Cuban-American people. The opposing sides symbolized two distinct paradigms of culture and politics that were vying for control over setting the agenda in Miami's public opinion sphere. The battle between a powerful Cuban exile organization and Miami's daily newspaper is a defining moment for journalism in the twenty-first century. It also serves as a cautionary tale for daily newspapers in highly multicultural and heavily populated metropolitan areas of the nation still struggling to meet the needs of their audiences while adhering to the tenets of American journalism. A historical analysis sets the groundwork for future qualitative and quantitative analyses.

Date

2001

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

David Perlmutter

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.3123

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