Document Type

Honors Thesis

Publication Date

Spring 2019

Abstract

This thesis looks at the usage of media framing in regard to Obama’s and Trump’s U.S.-Cuban policy. It analyzes articles from the New York Times and the Miami Herald and how they used framing techniques to present Obama’s 2016 opening of relations with Cuba, and Trump’s 2017 change in policy. After reading through the articles, content analysis was used in order to quantify the trends found in the framing techniques used by both papers. The findings of this paper show two very different approaches to both policies, despite many similarities in the framing techniques used by the New York Times and the Miami Herald. These findings were then analyzed to understand how and why the papers chose to present the policies the way they do. Using content analysis, the articles were then analyzed in order to identify trends in the usage of media framing by both papers. This research led to the findings that the Miami Herald and the New York Times presented two very different perspectives in regard to Obama and Trump’s change in policy. The Miami Herald presented a more positive perspective of Trump’s policy change, while the New York Times was more supportive of Obama’s change and against Trump’s new policy. These two perspectives are key in shaping the opinions of the audience of both audiences and due to the large readership of both papers, likely have impacted millions of Americans, and their opinions on U.S.-Cuba policy

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