the AZEL

PERSPECTIVE

Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 243

The Media: An Unreliable Narrator

As every meticulous writer knows, an “unreliable narrator” is a term first coined by literary critic Wayne C. Booth to identify a literary character who tells a story with a lack of credibility; Don Quixote and Forest Gump are well-known examples of unreliable narrators.

Booth distinguishes between reliable and unreliable narrators on the grounds of whether the narrator's speech violates or conforms with general norms and values. Sometimes the narrator's unreliability is made immediately evident to the reader. However, a more dramatic use of an unreliable narrator delays his revelation until near the end of the story. In some cases, the unreliability of the narrator is never entirely revealed. This leaves the reader to wonder if the narrator should be trusted and how his tale should be interpreted.

In our everyday lives, we have come to think of politicians and others as unreliable narrators. However, until recent times, we looked to the media, particularly newspapers and newscasters, as our most reliable narrators of newsworthy events. Not long ago, broadcast journalists such as Edward Murrow and Walter Cronkite were often named as the most trusted men in America for their honesty and integrity in delivering the news. Viewers though of Murrow and Cronkite as trusted members of their families. I cannot think of any parallels to our news reporting today.
The media have become an unreliable narrator.

It is tempting to simply claim that today we live in a more complex world, but Murrow and Cronkite reported reliably on a world at war, McCarthyism, Vietnam, Watergate, and the turbulent 60s and 70s.

Today, we find that journalists and news producers exhibit their biases in fundamental ways by (1) their coverage - when issues are more or less visible in the news they report (2) by gatekeeping - when stores are selected or deselected on ideological grounds, and (3) by their tonality or presentation bias - when coverage is slanted towards or against particular actors or issues. Gatekeeping bias is particularly difficult to identify because it requires us to know the full scope of news from which journalists and editors select the stories to be published. Yet, several studies show that a dominant majority of journalists identify as liberals/Democrats.

In 2014, media communications researcher, Jim A. Kuypers published “Partisan Journalism: A History of Media Bias in the United States.” This 40-year study of the political beliefs and commentary of American journalists found that print and broadcast journalists were considerably to the political left of the majority of Americans and that these political beliefs were reflected in their news stories. The web site www.allsides.com offers media bias ratings for over 800 sources on a scale of Left, Lean Left, Center, Lean Right, Right, and Mixed. For the interested reader, The Miami Herald is rated Lean Left by this outfit, but I could not find an independent rating for El Nuevo Herald.

According to a 2017 Gallup poll, our perceptions of news media bias, have increased significantly over the past generation. In 1958, 58 percent of Americans believed that the news media carefully separated fact from opinion. The recent poll data reveals that only 32 percent now hold that opinion. Moreover, whereas in the past 42 percent thought that most news media do not do a good job letting people know what fact is and what is opinion, this view is now up to 66 percent. On a partisan basis the poll shows that 64 percent of Americans believe the media favors the Democratic Party, and only 22 percent said that the media favors the Republican Party.

These findings are troubling because unbiased media coverage is vital for a healthy democracy. Democracy relies on a well-informed citizenry. The media needs to regain its role as a reliable narrator. Opinion writers are not exempt. Even withing these opinion pages, we have a responsibility to be reliable narrators by making our biases clear to the reader and grounding our opinions. I will try my best.

Please let us know if you

this article.

We welcome your feedback.
Abrazos,
Lily & José
(click on the name to email Lily or Jose)

José Azel, Ph.D.

José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.

He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics.

In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security. He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media. He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami.

José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers. In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru. They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp.

They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France. They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands.

Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.

Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro.

Books by Dr. José Azel

"Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations.
If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would recommend its reading to politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With this book Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous"
Carlos Alberto Montaner

Buy Now

"Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones.
Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería lectura obligatoria de todos los estudiantes, tanto de bachillerato como universitarios, pero, además, se la recomendaría a todos los políticos y periodistas, a todos los policy makers. Azel logra con este libro lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo."
Carlos Alberto Montaner

Compre Aqui

In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers. Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives. They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles.

Buy Now

En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba. En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en breves artículos de carácter periodístico.

Compre Aqui

Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future.

Buy now

Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish.

Buy now

To friend, follow or email author click on the icons below:

Click here to:
View this email in your browser
Access past issues
Access automated translations
Facilitate sharing

Print from your browser

Copyright © 2022 Azel & Associates, All rights reserved.
If you are receiving this email it is because we met you at some point on an adventure.

Our mailing address is:
Azel & Associates
440 Sawgrass Parkway, Suite 106
Sunrise, FL 33325

Dear Eduardo,

Trudeau declared himself Dictator-In-Chief, turning Canada into a dictatorship overnight!

Polls show that two-thirds of Canadians are pro-freedom and democracy and object to all Covid sanctions imposed by the government. Canadians who supported the truckers came from all political backgrounds, race, gender, and profession.

If we do not stand up for those fighting for freedom in Canada, who are we, and what have we become as Americans? Generations who came before us went around the world and laid their life on the line to defend freedom. The least we can do is put pressure, shame, and condemnation on a dictator who assassinated freedom in Canada, our closest neighbor and ally, of whom we share the longest international border in the world.

We are calling on all Americans to contact their representatives and send a clear message that Americans will always stand up to defend freedom anywhere in the world and here at home.