La Visita Del Papa A Cuba

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Editorial analysis
Running Header: ANALYSIS OF GONZALEZ EDITORIALS

Reaching Multicultural News Coverage Through Neutrality:
An Examination of Newspaper Editorial Content on the Elian Gonzalez Custody Case in Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Communities

W. Buzz Hoon
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2021 Evergreen Terrace Drive West Apt. 2
Carbondale, Illinois 62901
and

Andy Lynch
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Carbondale, Illinois
Reaching Multicultural News Coverage ThroughNeutrality:
An Examination of Newspaper Editorial Content on the Elian Gonzalez Custody Case in Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Communities

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine editorial content on the custody case of Elian Gonzalez in newspapers located in Hispanic and non-Hispanic U.S. communities. Researchers analyzed the positions of 165 editorials on the case. Editorials innon-Hispanic communities' newspapers were more often in favor of returning Gonzalez to Cuba (68%), while Hispanic newspapers were more neutral (43%). The data suggest that Hispanic newspapers did not present partisan content on the case.

Reaching Multicultural News Coverage Through Neutrality:
An Examination of Newspaper Editorial Content on the Elian Gonzalez Custody Case in Hispanic andNon-Hispanic Communities

A recent national story has involved the plight of a young Cuban immigrant, Elian Gonzalez, who was found on the shores of Miami, Florida on Thanksgiving Day 2000 after fleeing Cuba with his mother. His mother died in their efforts to reach the United States. Since this event, national media attention has been devoted to actions of the United States and Cubangovernments regarding the custody of Gonzalez. The controversy stems from the fact that Gonzalez's father is a Cuban resident and by law had the right to have his son returned to him. However, the strong contingent of Cubans in the Miami area demanded that Gonzalez have the opportunity to stay with distant relatives in the Miami area.
The Miami Herald newspaper reported 88 percent of South FloridaCubans wanted Gonzalez to stay in the U.S. while 5 percent wanted him to return to his father in Cuba (Miami Herald, 2000). This information leads to two media coverage questions. (1) Will media coverage reflect the attitudes of their geographic regions with regard to Hispanic population? (2) Is the media coverage regarding this young boy the same in traditional Hispanic markets compared tonon-Hispanic markets? These questions have inspired this study.
This story divided a population and entered the lives of the United States citizens that rarely have to face the everyday existence of Americans from Cuban decent. Studying how this story was interpreted and distributed by print columnists around the country was an interesting test of the media's perception of the various aspects thatdeveloped the environment surrounding the Elian Gonzalez saga. Media scholars have stated that issues and concerns of non-whites have historically been excluded or marginalized in the popular entertainment and information forms of U.S. media (Wilson & Gutierrez, 1995) Wilson and Gutierrez argued the newsmaking process stereotypes minority groups and ignores the needs and interests ofthe minority audience. The authors wrote, "The frequency and nature of the coverage of non-Whites in news media reveal the attitudes of the majority population throughout American history as much as do portrayals in entertainment media" (Wilson & Gutierrez, 1995, p. 1
51). Examples of stereotyping and biased reporting in the mainstream media's coverage of people of color are not relegated...