Miami Bloggers vs. Fidel: The Hilarious Photoshop Contest That Won Disney Tickets

In today’s Miami Herald Business section, Joseph Tartakoff wrote a piece on how technology is making it easier for bloggers to call out stories they think missed the mark—or just plain got it wrong.

“Fidel Castro is still alive—chatting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez in a video shown this week. But that hasn’t stopped bloggers from speculating that earlier photos, the first released since Castro’s illness, were doctored.

ONLINE CONTEST: Community website MiamiBeach411.com opened a contest Monday allowing users to manipulate a photo showing a rosy-toned Castro holding up a copy of Cuba’s Communist newspaper, Granma. The creator of the best image wins a ticket to Disney World. One entrant placed a copy of Maxim magazine in Castro’s hands; others came up with more devilish versions.”

‘‘Blogs have really put the mainstream media under a microscope,’’ said Jim Romenesko, who runs the media blog Romenesko. ``Every step is being watched and being criticized.’‘

First off—thanks to Mr. Tartakoff and the Miami Herald for the shout-out! We appreciate the nod to our little Photoshop contest. It was all in good fun, and honestly, who doesn’t love a chance to win Disney tickets while poking a little fun at history’s most polarizing mustachioed figure?

That said… they promised to include the link to our contest page—and, well, they forgot. Classic mainstream media move: cover the story, skip the clickable evidence. And you wonder why we bloggers keep a close eye on you guys.

(For the record: the contest has long since ended. But the results were hilarious. Giving people in Miami the opportunity to poke fun at Fidel Castro is like giving New Yorkers permission to complain about the subway. Scroll below to see some of the best—and most savage—entries people submitted.)

It’s moments like this that remind us why citizen media matters. We’re not just reacting; we’re participating, laughing, and sometimes even holding up a mirror. And if that mirror happens to have Fidel holding a Maxim magazine instead of Granma? Even better.

Stay skeptical, stay entertained, and keep watching—because the media sure is watching us right back.

Editor’s Note: Originally published August 18, 2006 , this article has been lightly polished for readability while preserving Gus Moore's first-hand perspective on living in Miami.