| Abstract: | Between April and October 1980, almost 125,000 Cubans left Mariel Harbor and came to the United States. The so-called "Freedom Flotilla' was an important, continuing news story during that period. Initially, the media's frame of coverage was positive: the Mariel immigrants were political refugees fleeing Cuba and needing our help. However, upon reports that Castro was sending criminals and other undersirables via the flotilla, media coverage grew negative. That negative news frame shaped the definition and the consequent stigmatization of the immigrants as a deviant population. The media's construction of the Mariel story reflected the historical and ideological context of Cuban-U.S. relations. |
