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Modifying Haitian Images in the Miami Media from 1979 Through 2010 in Advent of Social Media MODIFYING HAITIAN IMAGES IN THE MIAMI MEDIA FROM 1979 THROUGH 2010 IN ADVENT OF SOCIAL MEDIA by Yven Destin BA, Morehouse College, 2006 MA, University of Chicago, 2007 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2016 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Yven Destin It was defended on March 14th, 2016 and approved by Dr. Joyce Bell, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology Dr. Laurence Glasco, Associate Professor, Department of History Dr. Akiko Hashimoto, Emeritus Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Co- Chair Dr. Kathleen Blee, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, Chair ii Copyright © by Yven Destin 2016 iii MODIFYING HAITIAN IMAGES IN THE MIAMI MEDIA FROM 1979 THROUGH 2010 IN ADVENT OF SOCIAL MEDIA Yven Destin, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2016 This study analyzes the racialization of the immigrant Other in the American media by exploring the images of Haitians deployed in three different newspapers—Miami Herald, Miami Times, and Haiti-Observateur—that are directed to racially/ethnically distinct readers. I examine the positive and negative images of Haitians in these papers and trace their development over time. Specifically, I examine the reportage of Haitians over three events: the boatlift crisis of 1979, the AIDS epidemic crisis of 1983, and the earthquake of 2010. This study asks, is there an existing hegemonic view of Haitians in which race is a primary signifier in the American media? My study applies the concept of controlling images, the idea that racialized images are commonly deployed in the American media, to shed light on the production and reproduction of racism toward Haitians. This dissertation therefore sets out to investigate the presence, absence, and degree of racialized illustrations of Haitians among three newspapers in a city where many Haitian immigrants reside. My analysis reveals that before the 2010 earthquake, the controlling images of Haitians changed from negative to positive. Furthermore, the newspapers constructed and modified the controlling images according to racialized and political journalistic practices, especially after the earthquake because of social media. During the 1979 boatlift crisis and the 1983 AIDS epidemic, the mainstream newspaper, the Herald, offered more negative images of Haitians than the black newspaper, the Times, and the Haitian newspaper, Observateur. However, the Observateur mostly iv operated outside the racial framework of the American newspapers during these periods preceding the earthquake. After the 2010 earthquake, in an era of social media, the Herald changed its images of Haitians. The mainstream newspaper offered more positive images of this group than the other newspapers. During this time, the black newspaper reflected a reduced interest in race in the coverage of the Haiti disaster when compared to coverage of earlier crises. The Haitian newspaper was more closely engaged with the earthquake disaster, more than its coverage of the previous crises, though less engaged than the American newspapers. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE .................................................................................................................................. XII 1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICA ....................................................... 1 1.2 THREE PIVOTAL EVENTS IN CONTEMPORARY HAITIAN HISTORY—HAITIAN BOAT CRISIS, AIDS EPIDEMIC, AND HAITI EARTHQUAKE ................................................................................................................... 8 1.2.1 The Haitian Boatlift Crisis, 1979 .................................................................... 9 1.2.2 The AIDS Epidemic, 1983 ............................................................................. 12 1.2.3 The Earthquake in Haiti, 2010 ..................................................................... 17 1.3 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ........... 21 1.3.1 Controlling Images ........................................................................................ 21 1.3.1.1 “The Primitive” (Black Fear) ............................................................. 26 1.3.1.2 “The Poor” ........................................................................................... 31 1.3.1.3 “The Polluted” ..................................................................................... 34 1.3.1.4 Other Images ....................................................................................... 36 1.4 THE DISSERTATION AND OUTLINE......................................................... 39 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 43 2.1 PORTRAYALS OF HAITIANS IN THE AMERICAN MEDIA ................. 43 2.2 HAITIAN SELF-PERCEPTIONS ................................................................... 52 3.0 DATA AND METHODS ........................................................................................... 56 3.1 DATA COLLECTION AND SAMPLING IN MIAMI CITY ....................... 56 vi 3.2 PRE-TEST IN NEW YORK CITY .................................................................. 59 3.3 THE DATA......................................................................................................... 62 3.4 CODING, FRAMES, AND DATA ANALYSIS .............................................. 68 4.0 EMPIRICAL FINDINGS .......................................................................................... 71 4.1 FRAMES ............................................................................................................ 71 4.2 EMPIRICAL FINDINGS ................................................................................. 81 4.3 THE EMERGENCE OF A MODIFIED CONTROLLING IMAGE ........... 88 5.0 MODIFIED CONTROLLING IMAGES OF HAITIANS IN THE MIAMI MEDIA FROM 1979 THROUGH 2010 .................................................................................................. 90 5.1 “THE DISTRESSED VICTIMS” .................................................................... 90 5.1.1 The Modified Image of “the Primitive” ....................................................... 91 5.1.2 The Modified Image of “the Polluted” ...................................................... 100 5.1.3 The Modified Image of “the Poor” ............................................................ 107 5.2 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 111 6.0 JOURNALISTIC PRACTICES OF CONSTRUCTING CONTROLLING IMAGES IN THE MIAMI MEDIA ........................................................................................ 112 6.1 PRACTICES OF NEWSPAPERS BEFORE 2010 ....................................... 112 6.1.1 The Herald .................................................................................................... 112 6.1.2 The Times ...................................................................................................... 114 6.1.3 The Observateur............................................................................................ 118 6.2 POST EARTHQUAKE JOURNALISM AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA (THE HERALD) ................................................................................. 128 vii 6.2.1 Modification in journalistic tone: Social media and aggressive mobile aid campaigns ................................................................................................................. 136 6.2.2 Disaster threat and American politics ....................................................... 141 6.3 POLITICS OF RACE IN JOURNALISM (THE TIMES) ........................... 145 6.4 POLITICS OF POST-DUVALIER HAITIAN JOURNALISM (THE OBSERVATEUR) .............................................................................................................. 148 6.5 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 156 7.0 CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................... 159 7.1 THE CONVERGENCE OF CONTROLLING IMAGES IN THE MIAMI MEDIA FROM 1979 THROUGH 2010 ......................................................................... 159 7.1.1 Pre-earthquake Coverage ........................................................................... 160 7.1.2 Post-earthquake Coverage .......................................................................... 164 7.2 ON THE CURRENT DOMINANT IMAGE OF HAITIANS AS DISTRESSED VICTIMS ................................................................................................. 165 7.3 THE CONTROLLING IMAGES THESIS ................................................... 171 7.4 CONTRIBUTIONS OF THIS STUDY .......................................................... 174 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................ 178 APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................................ 179 APPENDIX C ...........................................................................................................................
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