This research paper deals with the question of how and in what ways the American yellow press – the New York Journal in particular – and its manipulated news of the humanitarian crisis in Cuba under Spanish colonial rule and the subsequent public
pressure influenced the American government in the decision to intervene in 1898 (The Spanish-American War). It is argued that it was a media-driven humanitarian intervention with numerous connectors from media to politics. To evaluate this, the explanatory links and the causal mechanism/process are made clear by connecting empirical media data to modern theoretical concepts of media and politics, such as framing and agenda-setting. The findings reveal that there were several kinds of interactions
between the New York Journal to the political sphere, making this case of intervention an excellent example of how (in this case, biased) information may trigger a variation in policy outcomes concerning humanitarian interventions.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Media and Politics: Theoretical Linkages
2.1 General Propositions
2.2 Construction of Reality
2.3 Information and Bias
2.4 Frames and Attributes
2.5 Narratives and Symbols
2.6 Public Opinion
2.7 Problem Recognition and Agenda-Setting
2.8 Political Entrepreneurs
2.9 Decision and Behavior
2.10 Synthesis and Specification
3. Research Design
3.1 Case-Study Design and Case Selection
3.2 Research Question, Variables and Hypotheses
3.3 Operationalization and Method
4. “The Newspaper War?” – An Empirical Analysis
4.1 William Randolph Hearst and the New York Journal
4.2 The Humanitarian Crisis on Cuba: Major Events and Press Coverage
4.2.1 The Weyler Case
4.2.2 The Cisneros Case
4.2.3 The de Lôme Letter
4.2.4 The Maine Incident
4.2.5 Senator Proctor
4.2.6 President McKinley and Congress
4.2.7 The War Outbreak
5. Conclusions
Objectives and Scope
This research paper examines how the American yellow press, specifically the New York Journal, utilized manipulated news regarding the Cuban humanitarian crisis to influence public opinion and subsequently pressure the U.S. government into the Spanish-American War of 1898.
- Analysis of the relationship between media, public opinion, and political decision-making.
- Application of modern communication theories such as agenda-setting and news framing to a historical case study.
- Investigation of the role of sensationalist journalism as a catalyst for humanitarian intervention.
- Examination of specific media events, including the Weyler case, the Cisneros rescue, the de Lôme letter, and the Maine incident.
Excerpt from the Book
4.1 WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST AND THE NEW YORK JOURNAL
American newspapers in the 1890s had become enormous enterprises, free of political and financial sponsorship by the government (see Cook 2005: 36). WRH, already having run the San Francisco Examiner for some time, bought the NYJ in September 1895 (see Bethke 2003: 60ff.). In New York, the largest, politically most important and most influential American city at the time, WRH’s role model Joseph Pulitzer and his New York World had control of the market. The ensuing confrontation eventually led to a furious circulation fight, making yellow journalism the major media player.
WRH considered himself a political actor or even a political entrepreneur, with the NYJ as his institution. The guiding principles were attention and influence rather than journalistic objectivity. The search for a suitable issue to increase distribution ended when WRH discovered the social and economic problems of Cuba, where the poor natives were oppressed by Spanish aristocrats (see ibid. 73f.) – the New against the Old World, to put it bluntly. The potential of stories was great and given the relative geographical proximity and rising nationalistic and imperialist ideas, the Cuban crisis would hold the key to WRH’s success.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the scope of the investigation into how the American press influenced the decision-making process leading to the Spanish-American War.
2. Media and Politics: Theoretical Linkages: Establishes a theoretical framework involving social construction, framing, agenda-setting, and the interaction between media, public opinion, and political elites.
3. Research Design: Describes the methodology, focusing on a qualitative case-study approach to trace the causal mechanism between press coverage and the decision to intervene.
4. “The Newspaper War?” – An Empirical Analysis: Provides a detailed empirical examination of how Hearst’s New York Journal utilized sensationalist reporting to shape the perception of events in Cuba.
5. Conclusions: Synthesizes the findings, confirming that the media played a decisive, catalytic role in making the intervention a political reality through the construction of narratives and issue salience.
Keywords
Spanish-American War, Yellow Journalism, New York Journal, William Randolph Hearst, Humanitarian Intervention, Agenda-Setting, Framing, Public Opinion, Media and Politics, Political Communication, Cuba, Narrative, Sensationalism, Decision-Making, Mass Media.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this research paper?
The paper examines how the sensationalist American press in the late 19th century influenced the U.S. government's decision to intervene in the humanitarian crisis in Cuba in 1898.
What are the primary thematic fields addressed?
It covers the intersection of media studies and political science, specifically focusing on how information processing, news framing, and agenda-setting impact political policy outcomes.
What is the core research question?
The author asks how the New York Journal's coverage of the Cuban crisis and its subsequent influence on public opinion specifically shaped the political decision-making process that led to the Spanish-American War.
Which scientific method is utilized?
The study employs a qualitative, theory-based approach to analyze historical media data, connecting empirical findings to theoretical concepts like the 'two-level game' model and framing effects.
What is analyzed in the main body of the work?
The main body provides an empirical analysis of Hearst's New York Journal, looking at major events like the Weyler case, the rescue of Evangelina Cisneros, the de Lôme letter, and the destruction of the USS Maine.
Which keywords define the work?
Key terms include the Spanish-American War, Yellow Journalism, Agenda-Setting, Framing, and Humanitarian Intervention.
Why did Hearst use the 'hero vs. villain' frame?
Hearst used this simplification to make the complex situation in Cuba easily digestible and entertaining for the public, which generated high levels of emotional engagement and pressure on political leaders.
What role did the USS Maine incident play in the media strategy?
The Maine incident served as a critical catalyst; the press used the explosion to immediately frame the Spanish as the enemy, which moved the conflict to the top of the governmental agenda.
Does the author argue that the media caused the war on its own?
No, the author argues that the media was a necessary but not sufficient condition, acting as a powerful catalytic force within a larger context of other interests.
- Quote paper
- Samuel Schmid (Author), 2010, Selling Intervention, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/147541
