Content-Type: text/html

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
<a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind0109B%26L%3DAEJMC%26E%3D8bit%26P%3D6506227%26B%3D--%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D_114152055%253D%253D_%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3Diso-8859-1" >[log in to unmask]</a>
2021 Evergreen Terrace Drive West Apt. 2
Carbondale, Illinois 62901

and

Andy Lynch

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Carbondale, Illinois

 Reaching Multicultural News Coverage Through Neutrality:
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 in non-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 and Non-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 Cuban governments 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 Florida Cubans 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 to non-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 that developed 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 of the 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 to this country's past however.  Minorities still appear more often as people who have problems or people who cause problems  (Martindale, 1995).
        Over the course of this seven-month ordeal, much was articulated by the media on what had taken place with regard to this story in the form of editorials.  Newspaper editorials often reflect the opinions, positions and ideology of the paper's management (gatekeepers) and some could argue, the viewpoint of the community as well.  We propose to investigate the editorial content generated throughout the Elian Gonzalez story.  A comparison was made with the newspaper editorial content found in three of the largest U.S. Hispanic markets to include the Miami Herald, The New York Times and The San Antonio (Texas) News Express against three newspaper media outlets that are not in heavily Hispanic populated markets The Seattle (Washington) Times, Detroit (Michigan) News and The St. Louis Post Dispatch.
        Editorial content involving the Elian Gonzalez story from December 1999 through May 2000 was investigated.  While much of the Latino population has historically relied upon Spanish language news media for information, more Hispanics are being integrated into U.S. communities.  As America Rodriquez (1999) pointed out:
                Recently, media producers and marketers have begun to re-create
                the characteristics of the bilingual Hispanic audience as positive,
                potentially lucrative assets-as the future of the Hispanic market (p. 134).

Many newspapers in cities with large Hispanic population centers, which have seen Spanish language media dominate the Hispanic audience, want to win back some of those readers (see Rodriguez, 1999; Soruco, 1996).    Rodriquez (1999) wrote that the media are targeting a more valuable middle-class Hispanic audience.  But are those efforts to cater to the audience affecting editorial content?  The Gonzalez case could show whether a local newspaper like the Miami Herald was appeasing the Cuban American community.  One critic said, "There was no forceful editorial in the English version (of the paper).  For that you have to go to The Washington Post or The New York Times" (Lizza, 2000).   On the other hand, Hispanic journalist Victorino Matus (2000) thought the mainstream media have seized the opportunity to frame how society views them:
                It has been open season on Cuban-Americans ever since they took the
lead in trying to keep Elian Gonzalez in the U.S.  Not since the Irish-Americans of South Boston resisted school busing have newspaper editorials and liberal polls felt so free to express open contempt and loathing for a group they look down on (p.14).

 This investigation also examined other newspapers serving large Hispanic populations.  While understanding the diversity of what has been called the "Hispanic" audience, there is a Latino ethnoracial identity that has historically united immigrants from Puerto Rico, Mexico and Cuba in this country.  Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans and Cuban Americans prefer a self-identification separate from the label "Hispanic" (Rodriquez, 1999).  However, media organizations hoping to create a niche in the consumer market have manufactured, categorized and re-discovered Latinos as a commercially attractive group.
Theoretical Perspective
        Objectivity has been one of the basic tenets of journalism training.  Some academic research examining the extent of media bias in political campaigns has shown little overt bias (Robins and Sheehan, 1983; Robinson, 1981, Hofstetter, 1978).  An avenue to deviate from this real or imagined level of objectivity is granted through editorials.  McQuail  (1992) supported this view in his proposed "typology of news bias".  Lambeth (1986) suggested that as a function of the journalism profession, the journalist provides not only information, but also a context for the news that aides in the socialization process of the audience.   Wilson and Gutierrez (1995) saw this role as the "correlation" function, in which the journalist offers analysis and opinion on the potential impact of selected news.
        Editorials then can be expected to offer some form of partisanship to the community they serve.  Editorials can also serve a purpose to inform rather than just persuade.  For instance, researchers have found editorials are created to guide people in making good civic decisions (Allen, 1995; Anderson, Darenee and Killenber, 1994).  In their research of the politicians' public virtue in editorials concerning the 1992 presidential campaign, Schroll and Kenney (1997) also stated that editorials are written "for the sake of citizen utility".  Predetermined notions about race can also be countered through commentary.  Campbell (1995) said editorials can "inject a diversity of viewpoints that can be missed in routine news coverage" (p. 128).
        Some research has suggested the media can be influenced in the dissemination of news (and importantly in editorials-the journalist's avenue for expression) by outside forces. Chiasson (1991) argued that the editorial position of the press was affected by the U.S. government regarding the internment of Japanese-Americans during the World War II.  An editorial analysis of West Coast newspapers (and their overwhelming support for mass evacuation and internment of Japanese-Americans) showed that the press was willing to relinquish their watchdog role of the government in a time of crisis (Chiasson, 1991).
        Influence on news content can be seen in other areas as well.  Shoemaker and Reese (1996) said "not only do gatekeepers select information for its newsworthiness or audience appeal, but they present it in ways designed to meet audience needs" (p.114).  The authors see a correlation between content and the interests of the advertisers and audience (Shoemaker & Reese, 1996).  Market competition for an increasingly segmented and diversified audience is placing economic constraints upon newspaper managers (Shoemaker & Reese, 1996).  Fink (1989) reported that some newspapers have structured news content directly for intended audiences. Other research has indicated that simply knowing demographic information does not ensure journalists will be aware of their audience's needs and interests (Wulfemeyer, 1984).
        If one agrees with the assumption that the media have attempted to provide content attractive to their audiences, a similar hypothesis can be drawn to markets that include larger numbers of people traditionally under-represented in the news.  At first, this concept could be hard to rationalize considering how the news media have treated minorities in the past.  Wilson and Gutierrez (pp. 151-2) stated that people of color have historically been excluded or stereotyped in news coverage.  In her content analysis of newspaper coverage on minorities, Martindale (1985) concluded "editorial coverage and bulletin listings of Hispanic people and their activities are below average and in need of considerable attention".  In another study, Martindale (1995) said minimal newspaper coverage of Latinos "... (was) surprising considering the growing Latino population along this nation's southern and western borders..." (p. 94).
        Some literature has indicated support for the hypothesis that the media are structuring news content for minority consumption.  Ban (1997) said the Los Angeles Times increased its coverage of the Asian American community after riots in the city in 1992.  Ban suggested the increase could be attributed to editors attempting to resolve criticisms about unbalanced coverage.  He also saw the increasing economic power of Korean Americans in the community as a long-term factor.  Ban (1997) wrote, "The Times could not ignore the growing economic power of the minority group, which, in turn, became one of the biggest minority consumer groups among local advertisers buying lineage in the newspaper" (p. 70).  Shoemaker and Reese (1996) discussed a similar strategy by mainstream print media to produce content attractive to Hispanics. Soruco (1996) said a growing Cuban immigrant population in the Miami, Florida area has impacted the local media.  Soruco (1996) said "their (Cubans) numbers forc
ed English language newspapers, such as the Miami Herald to include them in their market strategy" (p.15).  Fitzgerald (2000) reported favorable responses from the Cuban American community toward the Herald because of its coverage of the custody and immigration battle over Gonzalez.
        This study will then examine the following questions:
Were editorials from newspapers sampled across the country: "favorable" (in favor of the Miami family's efforts to keep Gonzalez in the country), "unfavorable" (in favor of returning the boy to his Cuban father) or "neutral"?

Was editorial content in a newspaper with a large Cuban immigrant population significantly different from other newspapers with large Latino populations?

Was editorial content significantly different in newspapers where there are not as many Hispanics?

        Based on recent literature suggesting several print media efforts to target the Hispanic audience, we hypothesize that newspapers with larger Hispanic populations (independent variable) will be significantly different in favorability (dependent variable).  In her examination of 34 U.S. newspapers, Johnson (1997) stated the percentage of the population having a Mexican heritage was a strong predictor of coverage of Mexico.  We believe we will find a similar relationship between the stated variables.
Method
        The content analysis for this study is based upon a research approach that considers the extrinsic influences on content (Shoemaker and Reese, p. 175).  Other researchers examining content have called this approach "contextualization" (Chiasson, 1991; Stempell III and Wesley, eds., 1991).
        In determining what newspapers to select for this study, the authors chose three markets listed in the Top 25 U.S. Hispanic cities census (Hispanic Market website).  Because of the Gonzalez case has centered out of Miami, the Herald was the central newspaper.  To check for differences in other large "Hispanic" populations, we chose Los Angeles, which has made attempts to alter its news content in order to attract the Latino audience and because it is the U.S. city with the largest Hispanic market (Rodriguez, p.109).  The New York market, which has a Hispanic audience as large as 25 percent, including many Puerto Rican immigrants, was also selected (Heller, 1995).  The authors acknowledge the New York Times could be considered more of a national newspaper than a local paper.  However, an argument can be made that some insight is gained by examining the nation's premier print source.  Houston was chosen because of the Hispanic ADI (7th) and geographic location (Hispanic Market webs
ite).
        Editorials were also sampled from newspapers in three markets not designated as having significant Hispanic readers.  We also wanted to select markets that were geographically separated from areas where Hispanics might influence content.
The Seattle, Detroit and St. Louis newspapers were chosen because they fit the criteria and were available via the Lexus/Nexus database.
        The study counted editorial positions on the Gonzalez boy's custody, the U.S. government's role in the case, how the media have covered the case and most importantly, viewpoints on the Miami relatives and the Cuban community.  Since the influx of Cuban immigrants into Florida in 1980, rarely has national news coverage included issues concerning Cuban Hispanics (Soruco, 1996).
        The seven-month custody case was broken down into three time periods.  Period 1 included all editorials from the time he was rescued at sea and brought to relatives living in the Miami area (November, 1999-January, 2000).  Period 2 included all editorial commentary about his father's decision to have Elian returned to Cuba, as well as the father's subsequent visit to the U.S. (February, 2000-March, 2000).  Period 3 is the shortest section of time selected, just prior to the U.S. Attorney's efforts to have the Miami family turn over the young boy, to directly after he was forcibly removed from their residence.
        The items were coded for their appearance as an editorial, which represents a direct partisanship from the newspaper, or their appearance as an opinion-editorial piece.  The decision to include an outside opinion on the "op-ed" page can be seen as an "agenda-setting" function of the paper's "gatekeepers" (Wilson and Gutierrez, p.151).
        Additionally, editorials in "op-ed" sections of a newspaper usually have authorship.  Those pieces were coded for reference to the author's ethnicity, or simply if the author had a Spanish surname.  We note that Hispanic surnames can be poor predictors of Hispanicity (Soruco, p.26).
        All editorials were coded for commentary on a position on the custody case.  We examined the pieces for expressions that Gonzalez should stay with his Miami relatives (favorable), or be returned to Cuba with his father (unfavorable).  While we concede that not all Cuban immigrants living in the Miami area agreed with his relatives, there has been evidence that the case has been a Cuban American issue (Fitzgerald, 2000).  Writing a "favorable" editorial could indicate a newspaper's inclination to appease a section of its demographic audience with certain content.
        Similarly, editorials were coded for expressions of support for the government's action to reunite the boy with his father (favorable) or criticism of those efforts (unfavorable).  The rationale for adding this category is an acknowledged complexity that editorial positions may contain.  An editorial may favor reuniting Elian with his father, but be critical of the way the government eventually handled the situation.
        The independent variable for Hypothesis 1 is the newspaper market (Hispanic or Non-Hispanic).  The dependent variable for this hypothesis was the tone of the editorial toward the custody case (favorable, unfavorable or neutral).  Holsti's inter-coder reliability test on this variable was .90.
        In Hypothesis 2, the market again served as the independent variable. However, this time, the markets were defined as Cuban (for the Miami paper) and Hispanic.  Editorial tone was again the dependent variable.
        Other independent variables examined were time periods, and authorship of op-ed articles (Hispanic or non-Hispanic).
        This study also used editorial tone on the government's actions as a dependent variable, with the newspaper markets serving as independent variable.   Holsti's inter-coder reliability test on this variable was .85.
Findings

        The study examined 165 editorials pertaining to the Elian Gonzalez custody case.  Although the study sampled only some of the possible editorials offered by the Miami Herald (38, average of 21.8% of total editorials coded), all others published in the other six newspapers were counted and coded.  Including the sample from the Miami Herald, newspapers located in Hispanic markets dominated the total number of pieces on the subject.  The Houston Chronicle published 40 (24.2%); the New York Times published 38 (23%) and the Los Angeles Times published 21 (12.7%).
        The three newspapers with smaller Hispanic populations discussed the topic less frequently.  The Detroit News published 12 (7.3%); the St. Louis Post Dispatch published 11 (6.7%) and the Seattle Times published 7 (4.2%).
        Most of the papers published op-ed pieces (which included a byline for identification) on the custody case (n=114, 69.1%).  Editorials appeared with significantly less frequency (n=50, 30.3%).
        Overall, the published articles, both editorials and op-ed pieces, were not supportive of the efforts of Elian's Miami relatives to keep him in the United States.  Only 9.7% of the editorials expressed  "favorable" support for keeping the boy with the Miami family.  Interestingly, many of the pieces offered compassion and sympathy for their plights, and they did not promote Cuba as a better living situation.   However, 51.5% of the editorials argued against the relatives (supporting reuniting the boy with his father).  A "neutral" stance, or no opinion on the custody case, appeared in 38.8% of the editorials.
        A larger number (18.7%) of the editorials were "favorable" to the government's efforts to reunite Elian and his father.  Slightly less (17%) of the published articles were critical of the government.  However, most of the editorials (64.8%) did not offer a position or were neutral concerning Attorney General Janet Reno and the INS.
        Most of the editorial pieces appeared during the time period with the most turmoil and controversy, the time leading to and directly after Elian's seizure from his relatives' home in Miami and eventual reunion with his father, period 3 (55.8%).  Just over 26% of the editorials were published in period 1, while period 2 had the fewest with 17%.
        A "Hispanic" viewpoint was evident in the newspapers that printed "op-ed" editorials. The percentage of authors in the op-ed articles whose ethnicity could be identified as Hispanic was 16.5%.  This is not as large a percentage as it should have been, considering the issue concerned part of the Hispanic population and captured national interest for months.  Non-Hispanic authors wrote 83.5% of the op-ed pieces.
        There is evidence in the findings to support our hypothesis concerning editorial content in newspapers with Hispanic and Non-Hispanic markets.  As the cross tabulation in Table 2 shows, editorials from newspapers in non-Hispanic markets were significantly different from editorials in Hispanic markets.  A chi-square test shows the relationship between the two variables: editorial tone (favorable, unfavorable or neutral) and market (Hispanic or non-Hispanic) to be statistically significant (Xý=6.072, p< .05, Cramer's V = .19, p <.05).  The editorials in non-Hispanic newspapers were more often in favor of returning Elian to his homeland (68%), while those in Hispanic newspapers offered more neutrality (43%) than their counterparts.  These results do indicate newspapers in areas not catering to the Hispanic audience offered more partisan opinion on the subject.
        Results also supported Hypothesis 2 that a significant difference in editorial tone would also exist between the sole newspaper in a mostly Cuban market (Miami) and newspapers in mostly Hispanic markets (Houston, Los Angeles and New York).  The cross tabulation tests in Table 8 support this observation (Xý=13.75, p< .05, Cramer's V = .289, p< .05).  Hispanic newspapers were more likely to support the father-son reunification (56%) than the Miami newspaper (24%).  The Miami Herald usually offered more neutrality (70%) in the editorials sampled than those in Hispanic markets (34%).  Therefore, there is empirical support that since this issue affected only Cuban-American immigrants and not "Latinos" in general, the Herald's editorial content was less harsh and more pacifist than newspapers elsewhere hoping to gain Hispanic readers.
        Another interesting finding concerned the authorship of "op-ed" pieces from the newspapers.  Rodriquez (1999) argued that the development of Latino panethicity has been "the touchstone of editorial decisions" for U.S. Latino journalists, who have a deep understanding of their audience (p. 80).  Therefore, these journalists could be expected to present more support for the Miami relatives and the Cuban-American community in general.   Indeed, table 9 shows a significant difference in editorials from authors identified as Hispanic and those identified as non-Hispanic (Xý=25.867, p< .05, Cramer's V = .280, p< .05).  However, non-Hispanic authors penned a larger percentage of editorials favoring the Miami family (12%) than Hispanic writers (5%).  Differences were also found in the other two variables, unfavorable tone (Non-Hispanic authors 41%, Hispanic authors 32%) and neutral tone (non-Hispanic authors 47%, Hispanic authors 63%).  Evidence of similar intraethnic divisions, particul
arly between immigrants of Cuban and Mexican origin, has been noted by Rodriquez (1999, p.80-1).
        We also found significant differences in editorials about the government's handling of the custody case.  Analysis of the tone in Hispanic and non-Hispanic markets showed statistical difference (Xý=13.75, p< .05, Cramer's V = .289, p< .05).  Non-Hispanic newspapers published more unfavorable editorials about the government's actions (39%) when compared to newspapers in Hispanic regions (12%).  Approximately 70% of the Hispanic newspapers preferred to stay neutral on the subject, while 42% of the non-Hispanic newspapers did.  The results indicate an overall willingness by Hispanic publications to stay non-partisan on the entire custody issue.  Moreover, the cross tabulation testing favorability in editorials concerning the government's actions in newspapers from Cuban and Hispanic markets shows specifically where the neutrality existed (Xý=20.929, p< .05, Cramer's V = .252, p< .05).  Table 10 shows 87% of the editorials from the Miami sample were neutral compared to 64% of the Hispanic newspapers.
        Additional analysis was conducted to determine whether there were unexpected patterns in the editorial tone of the custody case and the government's involvement between the three time periods.  ANOVA tests showed no significant evidence that the editorial tone on the custody case was affected by the time period; but the editorial tone on the government was significantly different (F=3.201, p <.05) between the three periods.  A post-hoc analysis (Bonferroni test) determined the significant difference existed between Time Period 1 (mean = 2.70, SD = .67) and Time Period 2 (mean= 2.25, SD = .93).  In Time Period 1 (November, 1999-January, 2000), Attorney General Reno and the INS moved to reunite Elian with his father through a number of legal maneuvers in the U.S. court system.  Considering the viewpoint of most of the editorials, which favored the reunification, it stands to be reasoned the editorials would be fairly neutral.  However, in Time Period 2 (February, 2000-March, 2000),
 which saw the government wait for the legal path to be cleared, the editorials likely became more critical of the government's inactivity.
Discussion
        Prior research has found that editorials allow newspaper's managers, whose prime responsibility is to stay objective in reporting news, an avenue to promote partisanship concerning important issues (Allen, 1995; Anderson, Darenee and Killenber, 1994, Schroll & Kenney, 1997,  Campbell. 1995) .  Schroll and Kenney (1997, p.47) argued that such advocacy could provide readers with additional insight and help them in forming critical responses to complicated issues.  Research has also indicated that outside forces, particularly economic factors, have been shown to affect news content  (Shoemaker and Reese, 1996).  Our study suggests newspapers in Hispanic regions, particularly the Miami Herald, which serves a large Cuban-American population, published more non-partisan editorials on the Elian Gonzalez case than those newspapers without a significant Hispanic population.   We expected to find differences between the editorials in those markets.  However, our expectations generally coin
cided with the research that the editorial content would cater directly to the audience's wishes (in Miami's case, the overwhelming number of Cuban immigrants who preferred the boy stay with his U.S. relatives) [Miami Herald poll].  The data suggest that Hispanic newspapers ignored the dictum to present partisan content on the case, or that they used the editorials as a platform to discuss other issues, such as immigration or politics, or that they stayed neutral enough that the readers would not identify the paper as a biased tool for either side.
        We agree with Shoemaker and Reese (1996) and others who have argued that the Miami Herald, the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers in markets with high numbers of Hispanics, have shifted their content to attract segments of the audience, which have historically been ignored.  Newspapers in non-Hispanics areas were more willing to present a partisan viewpoint on this type of "Latino" issue, perhaps because they can afford to do so.  In theory, non-Hispanic publications do not have to concern themselves with alienating an important part of growing market. However, with U.S. Census Bureau figures showing increases in Hispanic populations across the country, these newspapers can be expected to address those concerns in the near future (Wilson & Gutierrez, 1995).
        This tendency by Hispanic newspapers, especially the Herald, to offer additional information beyond the basic news report, without taking a side could be a sign of what has been described as "multicultural news coverage" (Wilson & Gutierrez, 1995,  p. 167).  The neutrality does not appear to be a sign of catering to the whims of the audience.  The Herald, and the six other newspapers surveyed, agreed that the right place for Elian was with his father.  However, the large number of editorials concerning the issue, which dealt with "Cuban-Americans" and "Hispanics" for the first time on a national stage without the usual slander and stereotyping, show newspapers may have realized that non-whites should be reflected in all types of news.  The fact that some gatekeepers (those in Hispanic areas) are allowing for neutrality, and are aware of the compassion and emotion on the topic, indicate to us some movement toward a "multicultural coverage phase".  On the other hand, what is left unsaid is that those non-Hispanic newspapers, which promoted taking Elian from his Miami relatives, are more concerned with the majority's viewpoints of Hispanics.  They are not likely to understand the cultural environment
of the Cuban American/Hispanic community, the turmoil and life in Cuba, or what it is like to be an immigrant.
        The results of this content analysis are preliminary in nature in that the number of editorials was relatively low.  More extensive research could have been conducted on readership subscription by ethnicity.  This data could provide another variable to examine content.  To solidify this study, the researchers hope to investigate other news-related issues concerning people of color.  Additional research could be conducted comparing news content to editorial content.  This research could provide further insight into the effects of market segmentation in news media.  Further examination in this area is necessary to monitor the news media's evolution toward multicultural coverage.







References

Allen, D. (1993). Democracy and American journalism: From theory to practice. New York: The Project on Public Life and the Press.

Anderson, R.,  Dardenne, R. &  Killenberg, G. (1994). The Conversation of journalism: communication, community and the news. Wesport, CT: Praeger.

Ban, H. & Adams, R. C.(1997). L.A. Times coverage of Korean Americans before, after 1992 riots. Newspaper Research Journal, 18(3/4), 64-78.

Campbell, C. (1995). Race, myth and the news.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Chiasson, L. (1991). The Japanese-American encampment: An editorial analysis of 27 west coast newspapers. Newspaper Research Journal, Spring, 92-107.

Heller, M. (1995).  Bad news for Hispanics.  In Ray Eldon Hiebert, (Ed.) Impact of Mass Media-Current Issues.  White Plains, NY:  Longman.

Hispanic Market Website for Marketers [online].  Available at: http://www.hispanic-market.com/d_top25.html.

Hofstetter, C. (1978).  News bias in the 1972 campaign: A cross-media comparison.  Journalism Monographs, 58.

Johnson, M. (1997). Predicting news flow from Mexico. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, v52(2), 315 (16).

Lambeth, E. (1986). Committed journalism: An ethic for the profession.  Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Lizza, R. (2000, May 15). Between the lines. The New Republic. Washington.

Matus, V.  (2000, April 17).  The slanderers of Cuban-Americans. The Weekly Standard.  Washington.

Martindale, C. (1985). Coverage of Black Americans in five newspapers since 1950. Journalism Quarterly, 321-328, 436.

Martindale, C. (1990). Coverage of Black Americans in four major newspapers, 1950-1989. Newspaper  Research Journal, Summer, 96-112.




Martindale, C. (1995). Only in glimpses: Portrayal of America's largest minority groups. The New York Times, 1934-1994, 1995.  In S. Biagi and M. Kern-Foxworth (Eds.), Facing Difference, Race, Gender and Mass Media. 89-95, Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

McQuail, D. (1992). Media performance. London: Sage Publications.

Robinson, M. (1981). A Statesman is a dead politician: Candidate issues on network news.  In E. Abel (Ed.) What's News. 159-186.  San Francisco, CA: Institute for Contemporary Studies.

Robinson, M. & Sheehan, M. (1983). Over the wire and on TV: CBS and UPI in campaign 80. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Rodriquez, A.  (1999). Making latino news.  Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

Schroll, C. & Kenney, R. (1997). Public virtue: A focus for editorializing about political character. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, v12(1), 36-50.

Shoemaker, P. & Reese, S. (1996). Mediating the message: Theories of influence on mass media content. 2nd Ed. White Plains, N.Y.: Longman Publishers.

Soruco, G. (1996). Cubans and the mass media. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.

Wilson, C. & Gutierrez, F.  (1995). Race, multiculturalism and the media. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

Wulfemeyer, K.  (1984). Perceptions of viewer interests by local TV journalists.  Journalism Quarterly, 61.















Table 1

Newspaper Editorials

                Newspaper                       N               Percent
                Miami Herald                    36              21.8
                Houston Chronicle               40              24.2
                New York Times          38              23.0
                L.A. Times                      21              12.7
                Detroit News                    12                7.3
                St. Louis Post Dispatch 11                6.7
                Seattle Times                     7               4.2
                Total                           165             100%

Editorial tone-support for Miami relatives keeping custody

                        Tone                    Percent

                        Favorable                 9.7%
                        Unfavorable             51.5%
                        Neutral         38.8%
                        Total                   100%


Editorial tone-support for U.S. Government's actions in case

                        Tone                    Percent

                        Favorable               18.2%
                        Unfavorable             17.0%
                        Neutral         64.8%
                        Total                   100%

Editorial/Op-Ed

                Type                    Percent

                Editorial               30.3%
                        Op-Ed                    69.1%
                        Total                   100%





Authorship

                        Ethnicity               Percent

                        Hispanic                16.5%
                        Non-Hispanic            83.5%
                        Total                   100%

                Editorial Time Period

Time Period                                     Percent

Period 1 (Nov. 1999-Jan. 2000)          26.1%
Period 2 (Feb. 2000-Mar. 2000)          17.0%
Period 3 (Apr. 2000)                            55.8%
Total                                           100%

 Table 2.
Cross tabulation of favorability in editorials concerning Elian Gonzalez's custody (staying with Miami relatives) in Hispanic and Non-Hispanic markets.

Does the editorial offer
favorable/unfavorable/
neutral support for Gonzalez                          Markets
to stay with Miami relatives?
                                                Hispanic                Non-Hispanic
        Favorable                                 9%                    13%
        Unfavorable                             48%                     68%
        Neutral                         43%                     19%

                                                100%                    100%
Xý=6.072, df=2, p< .05  Cramer's V = .19, p< .05
Table 3.
Cross tabulation of favorability in editorials concerning the U.S. Government's actions in Hispanic and Non-Hispanic markets.

Does the editorial offer
favorable/unfavorable/
neutral support for the U.S. government's handling of Gonzalez case?

                                                              Markets
                                                Hispanic                Non-Hispanic
        Favorable                               18%                     19%
        Unfavorable                             12%                     39%
        Neutral                         70%                     42%

                                                100%                    100%
Xý=13.75, df=2, p <.05
Cramer's V = .289, p< .05

Table 4.
Cross tabulation of favorability in editorials concerning Elian Gonzalez's custody (staying with Miami relatives) in newspapers with Cuban and Hispanic markets.

Does the editorial offer                                           Markets
favorable/unfavorable/
neutral support for Gonzalez to stay with Miami relatives?
                                                        Cuban                   Hispanic
                Favorable                                 6%                    10%
                Unfavorable                             24%                     56%
                Neutral                         70%                     34%

                                                        100%                    100%
Xý=22.742, df=4, p< .05
Cramer's V = .263, p< .05












Table 5.
Cross tabulation of favorability in editorials concerning U.S. Government's actions in newspapers with Cuban and Hispanic markets.

Does the editorial offer                                    Markets
favorable/unfavorable/
neutral support for the U.S. government's handling of Gonzalez case?
                                                Cuban                   Hispanic
        Favorable                                 8%                    22%
        Unfavorable                               5%                    14%
        Neutral                         87%                     64%

                                                100%                    100%
Xý=20.929, df=4, p< .05
Cramer's V = .252, p< .05

Table 6.
Cross tabulation of favorability in editorials concerning Elian Gonzalez's custody (staying with Miami relatives) based on ethnicity of author.

Does the editorial offer                                   Author of Editorial
favorable/unfavorable/
neutral support for Gonzalez
to stay with Miami relatives?
                                                Hispanic                Non-Hispanic
        Favorable                                 5%                    12%
        Unfavorable                             32%                     41%
        Neutral                         63%                     47%

                                                100%                    100%
Xý=25.867, df=4, p< .05
Cramer's V = .280, p< .05













Table 7.
Cross tabulation of favorability in editorials concerning the U.S. Government's action based on ethnicity of author.

Does the editorial offer                                        Author of Editorial
favorable/unfavorable/
neutral support for the U.S.
Government's handling of the Gonzalez case?
                                                        Hispanic        Non-Hispanic

                Favorable                                 5%                    13.5%
                Unfavorable                             16%                     13.5%
                Neutral                         79%                     73%

100%                    100%
Xý=15.166, df=4, p <.05
Cramer's V = .214, p< .05

Table 8

Time Periods-Elian's Custody
                        Time Period 1   Time Period 2   Time Period 3
                        (N=43)          (N=28)          (N=92)          f       df      sig.
Favorability    mean    2.35            2.07            2.32            2.01    2       ns
                s.d.    (.67)           (.66)           (.60)

Time Periods-Goverment's Action
                        Time Period 1   Time Period 2   Time Period 3
                        (N=43)          (N=28)          (N=92)          f       df      sig.
Favorability    mean    2.70            2.25            2.41            3.20    2       p .05
                s.d.    (.67)           (.93)           (.77)















Appendix A
Coding Sheet

Newspapers
1       Miami Herald
2       New York Times
3       Los Angeles Times
4       Detroit Free Press
5       Seattle Times
6       St. Louis Post-Dispatch
7       Houston Chronicle

Time Periods
1       Period 1 (November, 1999-January, 2000)
2       Period 2 (February, 2000-March, 2000)
3       Period 3 (April 2000)

Newspapers-Hispanic/Non-Hispanic
1       Hispanic markets
2       Non-Hispanic markets
3       Not applicable

Hispanic market newspaper
1       Cuban market
2       Hispanic market/Non-Cuban market
3       Not applicable

Authorship
1       Hispanic author/surname
2       Non-Hispanic author/surname
3       Not applicable

Editorial type
1       Newspaper editorial
2       Op-Ed piece

Editorial Tone-Gonzalez custody
1       Favorable
2       Unfavorable
3       Neutral

Editorial Tone-U.S. Government's actions
1       Favorable
2       Unfavorable
3       Neutral