Ruby Hart Phillips (December 12, 1898 – October 28, 1985) was a New York Times correspondent in Cuba who covered the Batista regime and the rise of Fidel Castro.
She left Cuba for good in 1961, shortly after her home and office were raided and her Cuban colleagues were arrested.
Eventually she learned basic secretarial skills in a Dallas business school, then held a series of miscellaneous jobs.
After James was killed in a stateside car accident in 1937, the Times allowed Phillips to take over as foreign correspondent in Cuba, despite the fact she had virtually no journalistic experience.
Editors at the Times attempted to mediate the feud, though they felt that Phillips was too anti-Castro and Matthews too pro-Castro.