Rewriting History: The Impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis on American Journalism

Abstract

The Cuban Missile Crisis represented a unique moment in the history of American foreign policy because it was the first time that the world faced a nuclear standoff. The threat of a third World War allowed US government officials to deceive the press under the guise of protecting national security. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the release of thousands of documents from ex-Soviet and American archives, historians are rethinking the narrative of the Cuban Missile Crisis that has been presented in the press during and after the crisis. This paper will explore the relationship that President Kennedy cultivated with the press to promote his political agenda and the impact that this relationship had on the reporting of future foreign policy crises.