Cuba gets a new Presidenté
Recently, the Cuban National Assembly voted another Castro to the highest position of power in Cuba, the President.
James McKinley of the New York Times wrote an article covering the event titled, “Raul Castro Named Cuba’s New President,”. Immediatley the most newsworthy point is the election of a new president, yet McKinley seems to lose organization in his story after the lead.
McKinley begins to discuss Fidel’s absence as well as the clothing of Raul in the second paragraph, when he should have focused on the power monopoly that the Castro brothers had implemented in the succession of Raul.
Furthermore, McKinley does not disuss the control that Raul and Fidel have developed and will continue to have until much later in the story.
He hints at the unrest caused by the election felt by the people, and gives a thorough explanantion of the monopoly that the brothers have over Cuban marketplaces and industries.
He continues on to illuminate the injustice that the Cuban people face having no say in who runs the country, yet McKinley only uses the voice of two independent citizens not associated with the Cuban National Assembly.
McKinley left questions which can be answered in a follow-up article, yet he could have easily saved himself the task if he would have included a more diverse group of interviewees.
For example, he makes reference to the fact that delegates had no choice in who they voted for, yet he did not explain what this would mean for 11 million Cubans living on the island who are not a part of the Castro monopoly.
McKinley did a thorough job of reporting the 5 w’s, how, and the newsworthy values of prominence and currency. Yet, he did not answer the most important question of all…impact. How will Cubans be affected by a new President?
