Historical case study reveals conflicting authoritarian and watchdog models in 1959 Cuban press advocacy, highlighting a turning point for foreign correspondents.
US and Cuban news leaders campaigned transnationally for the release of Miami Herald journalist James Buchanan after his detention in Cuba in 1959. Cuban authorities claimed Buchanan had withheld information about and aided a fugitive he had interviewed. Historical analysis of archival records, journalism organization reports, US and Cuban news coverage, and government records revealed that advocacy for Buchanan’s release framed his conduct in relation to traditional conceptualizations of the social responsibility model and watchdog role for the press. The Castro regime, acting under an authoritarian model, presented Buchanan’s conduct as exceeding the scope of journalism in Cuba. Buchanan’s detention represented a significant turning point for foreign correspondents in Cuba and a considerable departure from Prime Minster Fidel Castro’s previous statements about press freedom and justice in Cuba. This case study adds to journalism history by addressing ideals for press roles after the Cuban Revolution.
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Coyle et al. (2026) studied this question.
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