They say the first draft of history is written by journalists. In Cuba’s case that’s a tragedy. The journalistic legacy of Cuba coverage has been a disgrace for more than fifty years. All of the U.S. media is culpable starting with the New York Times and all the major broadcast TV networks. But there’s one really sad example. The Miami Herald.
The Herald is a curious case. They are here as one of the big sponsors of Cuba Nostalgia like they are every year. What strikes me as odd is the schizophrenic attitude the paper has had towards Cuban exiles over the decades. We can go back to Jack Kofoed’s hateful columns and fast forward to Ana Menendez (who trashed this very event) and Carl Hiaasen, Leonard Pitts, etc. Most recently, the Herald was publishing “news reports” from official castro outlets without even an attempt to disclaim them.
Now here they are with their hand out trying to ingratiate themselves to sell fishwraps to an audience they have insulted and lied to and about.
George walked by their booth yesterday and told the sad sack who was manning their exhibit that he had the worst job in the place. It could have been different. The paper could have been fair. It might have a few more readers today. But along the way they’ve alienated pretty much the entire community they are supposed to serve.
Today Val helped them connect their internet. I wouldn’t have been so gracious.
Henry,
You are absolutely right! It could have been different. And that’s a very good question to ponder. Why did the Miami Herald–from the very beginning–attack Cuban exiles??? I mean, if I own a grocery store in a Jewish neighborhood, I’m not going to be a raving anti-Semite, if I own a supermarket in a black neighborhood, I’m not going to be a racist! Unless I want my clientele to dwindle down to nothing and I don’t mind going bankrupt.
Throughout the years, didn’t the Miami Herald see the writing on the wall? Didn’t they see wave after wave of Cuban exiles moving into Miami? Didn’t they understand that they would not be able to sustain themselves without Cuban exile readers? Didn’t they realize how they were offending us with their outrageous bigotry by employing self-hating freaks like Ana Menendez and bigots like Carl Hiassen, etc..?
Why did they stupidly continue alienating their clientele? One doesn’t have to be a marketing genius to realize the folly in doing so. Newspapers after all are enterprises that rely on their customers. It’s elementary.
It’s a source of wonderment to me.
Ah, they’ve always been vicious and arrogant toward us. They see us with contempt. Let them sink + go the way of their peers.
The free market is sinking their fishwrapping ship.
You all have otherwise a GRRRREAT TIME! I’m very homesick and sad not to be able to attend this year, but looking forward to next May.
Rayarena; they’ve been part of the liberal dominated MSM, what more could you expect from them – surely not common sense. Plus, they figured they were throwing us a bone by creating El Nuevo Herald. I can’t wait till it completely collapses. Where’s Murdoch when you need him – he could bring back the Miami News.
Henry, you omitted mentioning former Herald reporter Oscar Corral.
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/corral.htm
Mambi,
But they were so incorrigible that even after they threw us the bone that was El Nuevo Herald they began to grind and whittle it down almost as soon, most notably with the ridiculous Oscar Corral investigative report on the so-called “moonlighters.” What a bunch of misfits and freaks! They f–ked up royally. I’ll dance on their grave that’s all I can say.