Does Herald have qualms with calling Castro dictator?
BY EDWARD SCHUMACHER-MATOS Here is a lead to a news story that many readers of The Miami Herald might like: Dictator Fidel Castro will have himself reelected president in elections next Sunday. It is not the reelection that is appealing. It is the upfront labeling of Castro as a dictator. The Herald, like most newspapers in the country, shies from doing that, usually opting for the sanitized terms of ”leader” or “president.” More than semantics are involved. The Miami Herald is one of the most influential newspapers in the country concerning U.S. policy toward Cuba. But many South Florida readers, especially Cuban exiles, have long criticized the paper for being naive and soft on Castro. Commenting online on an article last month by reporter Frances Robles on legislative elections and Castro’s upcoming possibilities, one reader posted: “A useless article exploring something that doesn’t exist in Cuba, democracy or free elections.” ”Incredible that after 50 years we still have su
