The US–Cuba Policy Shift as Viewed by The New York Times: A Critical Analysis from the Island

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.13169/intejcubastud.9.2.0180
• Published date: 01 December 2017
• Date: 01 December 2017
• Pages: 180-195
• Author: Yoan Karell Acosta González
• Subject Matter: US Cuba policy,ideology,CDA, NYT

InternatIonal Journal of Cuban StudIeS 9.2 WInter 2017

ACADEMIC ARTICLE

THE US–CUBA POLICY SHIFT AS VIEWED

BY THE NEW YORK TIMES: A CRITICAL

ANALYSIS FROM THE ISLAND

Yoan Karell Acosta González

University of Havana, Cuba

Abstract

This article is the result of critical discourse analysis (CDA) research on a corpus of 190

articles published by The New York Times (NYT) on Cuba, in the crucial period between

17 December 2014 (17D) and 28 December 2015, that is, over the first year after the

beginning of the new US Cuba policy. In an attempt to help understand the complex

relations between Cuba and the US, the article analyses ideological trends and the way

some controversial issues are discussed by the newspaper.

Keywords: US Cuba policy, ideology, CDA, NYT

Cuba in the US media and some theoretical reference

to consider

Historically, the representation of Cuba in the US mainstream media has been,

at least, highly controversial; very often, it has been, rather, blatant misrepresen-

tation. This historical tendency can be verified in many works written in both

Cuba and the US.1

It is well established that there can be various factors that influence the way

discourse is built. In the case discussed in this article, the importance of two of

them should be highlighted: the context of the historical and present-day bilat-

eral relations between Cuba and the US, as well as the social subjectivity which

encompasses ideology and beliefs, among other components.

tHe uS–Cuba PolICY SHIft aS VIeWed bY THE NEW YORK TIMES 181

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Throughout the years, the bilateral relations between Cuba and the US have been

characterised, to a great extent, by conflict, which accounts for the use of journalistic

and media discourse in general as a weapon in that confrontation; nonetheless, that

conflict undergoes certain modifications now, after 17 December 2014 (17D).2

With regard to ideology and social subjectivity in the US, it can be useful to

look into the work of Jorge Hernández.3 Although there is a complex ideological

spectrum within the US, often resulting in diverse views in the media, Hernández

has put forth a characterisation of what he regards as the prevailing set of beliefs

and world view of that country’s dominant elite, which includes political, eco-

nomic and mainstream media circles. For example, one of those beliefs is that

capitalism is the ultimate system, of which they are the world leaders, and thus

any attempt anywhere on the planet to provide an alternative is lashed out at

and even considered dangerous to their national security. Other features

described by Hernandez are liberalism, individualism, emphasis on private prop-

erty, a messianic attitude, the manifest destiny, the restriction on the role played

by the State, the conviction that the market and competition play a fundamental

role in the regulation of social relations,4 and the strong belief that the US are a

chosen people, among others. Broadly speaking, Hernández argues, conserva-

tism thrives in the US within a liberal matrix.

The research and brief notes on the methodology used

In this context, we analysed the discourse of The New York Times (NYT) in the

period between 17 December 2014 and 28 December 2015, that is, over the

first year after the beginning of the new US Cuba policy. While conducting the

analysis, a key scientific question has been whether the NYT’s discourse some-

what reflects Hernández’s views on the predominant beliefs in US elite groups.

A total of 190 articles were studied from the NYT website on Cuba.5

It is relevant to analyse the discourse of NYT due to the three reasons listed

below, among others:

 This newspaper cleared the way, in the mainstream media, for the new policy,

by publishing a series of editorials that drew attention to the issue and pro-

moted the policy change towards the island.6

 Subsequently, NYT has followed up on the evolution of the talks and the

change derived from the new policy, thus becoming a sequential record of the

events and prospects, from the ideological perspective of the journal.

 NYT is a very influential newspaper, both in the US and the world.7