Neglecting and Misrepresenting Latin America: Foreign Correspondents at the New York Times from 1966-1968

Abstract

The Cold War dominated United States’ foreign policy in the Sixties. With the Cuban Revolution and the perceived Communist threat in Chile, among other events, Latin America also became a region of greater strategic importance during the decade. However, the average U.S. resident likely remained unaware of these changes because of the limited international news they received. This thesis looks at internal correspondence between New York Times correspondents and their editor, as well as the news articles they wrote, from 1966 to 1970. These documents demonstrate the extent to which Cold War concerns, lessons from Vietnam, and contemporary commercial pressures affecting print media affected reporting decisions. This research then argues that the cultural biases and immediacy of Cold War concerns made the Latin America a lower priority. It demonstrates the fundamental limits of international reporting and bridges the disciplines of political science, history, and media studies.