NDN (formerly known as the New Democrat Network), one of the biggest players in Hispanic outreach within the Democratic Party community, has launched a new radio attacking the Republican Congress on the issue of immigration. This follows attack ads on the radio waves in the southwest by the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee on this issue (see my previous posts on these ads).
I listened to the new NDN radio ad and it's in the style of a couple of the other ads NDN's agency, Elevacion, has produced in the past. That style is an original, poetic song of sorts. A male actor says, in Spanish, among things:
"Now they quiver out of fear,
Those brave Republicans,
Looking to lay the blame on others
Insisting they have been misunderstood
Who are they kidding?
Show some dignity and respect!"
In an e-mail to supporters this morning, NDN's president Simon Rosenberg wrote: "For those of us supporting the bi-partisan McCain-Kennedy bill it has become clear in recent months that the Republican leadership in Washington is more serious about scoring political points then they are about solving this important national challenge. And that's why NDN has launched a new issue advocacy campaign encouraging the Republican leadership - who control the government of the United States - to stop playing games with people's lives and get serious about passing McCain-Kennedy this year."
Rosenberg writes: "The new ad, "How Little They Know Us", begins running today on Spanish language radio stations in Arizona, California (Los Angeles and San Francisco), Nevada, Texas and Washington, DC."
Simon Rosenberg told me the budget will be in the "tens of thousands" of dollars and that the run will be "weeks." He also told me: "Our goal is to encourage the Republicans to stop playing games and to come to the table and help pass McCain-Kennedy."
Click [here] for information on the ad from the NDN website.
Click [here] for a recent article from The Hill about NDN's broader Hispanic strategy.
Meanwhile, President Bush's director of the Small Business Administration, Hector Barreto, is leaving to become national chairman of The Latino Coalition, an organization with deep ties to the Republican Party and the Bush White House that continues to refer to itself as "non-partisan" and a policy organization though it has sponsored partisan political advertising in the past. I think Barreto is likely to help boost the image and fundraising of this organization.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Black Farmers to Mark 10 Year Struggle for Justice on Wednesday
John W. Boyd, Jr. began his rise to national prominence from his 200 acre farm in southern Virginia. Boyd, a fourth generation farmer and descendent of slaves, was denied federal agriculture loans because he is Black.
When Boyd, struggling to make ends meet, heard about others who were denied loans because of their race he decided to fight back. Others around the country did the same.
And thus began one of our nation's most remarkable modern civil rights movements. Boyd and the movement have gained national attention and won a first major victory in the decade-long struggle when the USDA agreed to settle the largest class action civil rights lawsuit in American history.
Boyd, named this month as one of Ebony Magazine's "100+ Most Influential African Americans," founded the National Black Farmers Association in the 1990's and on Wednesday morning (10:00 am) April 26th he will join with other Black farm leaders and activists outside of the USDA headquarters in Washington, including Gary Grant from the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association, to mark 10 years in their struggle for justice and to focus on many important challenges they still face. They'll hold a rally and march in Washington, DC.
This year the farmers will receive an enormous boost, not only in support on Capitol Hill but from, among others, the AFL-CIO, Democratic National Committee, the NAACP and the Progressive National Baptist Convention. AFL-CIO president John J. Sweeney will join John Boyd and Gary Grant among other notable speakers at the rally.
When Boyd, struggling to make ends meet, heard about others who were denied loans because of their race he decided to fight back. Others around the country did the same.
And thus began one of our nation's most remarkable modern civil rights movements. Boyd and the movement have gained national attention and won a first major victory in the decade-long struggle when the USDA agreed to settle the largest class action civil rights lawsuit in American history.
Boyd, named this month as one of Ebony Magazine's "100+ Most Influential African Americans," founded the National Black Farmers Association in the 1990's and on Wednesday morning (10:00 am) April 26th he will join with other Black farm leaders and activists outside of the USDA headquarters in Washington, including Gary Grant from the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association, to mark 10 years in their struggle for justice and to focus on many important challenges they still face. They'll hold a rally and march in Washington, DC.
This year the farmers will receive an enormous boost, not only in support on Capitol Hill but from, among others, the AFL-CIO, Democratic National Committee, the NAACP and the Progressive National Baptist Convention. AFL-CIO president John J. Sweeney will join John Boyd and Gary Grant among other notable speakers at the rally.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Washington Post Story on Spanish-language Political Radio Ads
Sunday's edition of The Washington Post has a brief by researcher Zack Goldfarb on the dueling Spanish-language radio ads sponsored by the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee up on the air in the Southwest. The piece includes my comment on the potential impact of the ads.
Click [here] for the full story or see excerpts below:
The Washington Post
Immigration and the Airwaves
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Page A05
A surge in voter interest in immigration -- the issue ranked second after the Iraq war as voters' most pressing issue in a recent Gallup poll -- coincides with a new round of immigration-related political ads. Jim Pederson, a Democrat challenging Sen. Jon Kyl in Arizona, takes aim at his GOP opponent's focus on border security and enforcement. "Kyl actually believes that illegal immigrants will turn themselves in to be deported," Pederson says in the spot.
The Democratic and Republican national committees have taken out competing ads on Spanish-language radio stations.
...
"The issue is on the forefront of the minds of Hispanics and immigrants in the country right now," said Adam J. Segal, director of the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University. "Hearing these ads will likely cause them to recommit themselves to sending their message . . . louder and stronger and perhaps even longer than they thought."
---
The full Sunday political column is [here].
Click [here] for the full story or see excerpts below:
The Washington Post
Immigration and the Airwaves
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Page A05
A surge in voter interest in immigration -- the issue ranked second after the Iraq war as voters' most pressing issue in a recent Gallup poll -- coincides with a new round of immigration-related political ads. Jim Pederson, a Democrat challenging Sen. Jon Kyl in Arizona, takes aim at his GOP opponent's focus on border security and enforcement. "Kyl actually believes that illegal immigrants will turn themselves in to be deported," Pederson says in the spot.
The Democratic and Republican national committees have taken out competing ads on Spanish-language radio stations.
...
"The issue is on the forefront of the minds of Hispanics and immigrants in the country right now," said Adam J. Segal, director of the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University. "Hearing these ads will likely cause them to recommit themselves to sending their message . . . louder and stronger and perhaps even longer than they thought."
---
The full Sunday political column is [here].
French Blog on Ethnic Marketing
Bravo to Marie-Juliette Traoré a student at Catholic University in Lille, France who has a French blog on ethnic marketing topics [here] and who has linked to this blog.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Republicans and Democrats Hit Each Other over Immigration on Spanish-Language Radio
The Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee are sparring over immigration on Spanish-language radio in southwestern states. The RNC took the first shot with an ad which fact checkers at UPenn's Annenberg Political Fact Check says mischaracterizes what really the Democratic votes and strategy.
Both parties seek to balance their interests in (a.) appearing to be tough on illegal immigration and the dangers of porous borders and (b.) demonstrating they connection with Hispanic voters and their recognition of the tremendous contributions Hispanic immigrants have and will continue to make to this country.
Both parties see the 2006 mid-term congressional elections as a referendum on Republican control of Congress and thus seek to influence not only Hispanic-voter impressions but the opinions of the broader electorate.
Both political parties also seek to tap into the power of Spanish-language radio which was demonstrated when Spanish-language radio DJ's were credited with helping turn out millions of Hispanics and immigrants into the streets during mass protests across the nation last month and this month. It is also clear that both parties are seeking to earn a lot of regional and national media attention from the ads; in other words they are likely hoping for much bigger bangs for their bucks.
Why was the initial RNC ad so negative (see links below to review transcripts)? Academic and internal Party research has shown that negative or contrasting political ads really do work and often have better "recall" than positive ads. The DNC is hoping the RNC's negative approach with backfire.
The RNC ad is [here].
The DNC response is [here].
Both parties seek to balance their interests in (a.) appearing to be tough on illegal immigration and the dangers of porous borders and (b.) demonstrating they connection with Hispanic voters and their recognition of the tremendous contributions Hispanic immigrants have and will continue to make to this country.
Both parties see the 2006 mid-term congressional elections as a referendum on Republican control of Congress and thus seek to influence not only Hispanic-voter impressions but the opinions of the broader electorate.
Both political parties also seek to tap into the power of Spanish-language radio which was demonstrated when Spanish-language radio DJ's were credited with helping turn out millions of Hispanics and immigrants into the streets during mass protests across the nation last month and this month. It is also clear that both parties are seeking to earn a lot of regional and national media attention from the ads; in other words they are likely hoping for much bigger bangs for their bucks.
Why was the initial RNC ad so negative (see links below to review transcripts)? Academic and internal Party research has shown that negative or contrasting political ads really do work and often have better "recall" than positive ads. The DNC is hoping the RNC's negative approach with backfire.
The RNC ad is [here].
The DNC response is [here].
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Spanish-Language Television Update
Media Week has a report that says Univision and Telemundo are gunning for more of the television advertising "upfront" dollars that go to mainstream networks. Click [here] for the article. The article notes that the Spanish-language media players are selling "cross-network" as much as possible during the upront, with Univision taking advantage of its big stakes in television, radio and the Internet to put together the most innovative packages they can arrange.
Meanwhile, Univision remains up for sale and very little is being said publicly about who is most likely to anty up the estimated $10 billion.
Meg James of the Los Angeles Times recently wrote a lengthy piece [here] about the importance of Grupo Televisa in any decisions made about the sale of Univision. She reports that "Televisa has encouraged Time Warner to become its bidding partner."
A joint-venture for Univision by these two mega media conglomerates would certainly change the Spanish-language media landscape, but is it realistic to think they would be willing to do it together if for no other reason than to the share the risk?
Meanwhile, Univision remains up for sale and very little is being said publicly about who is most likely to anty up the estimated $10 billion.
Meg James of the Los Angeles Times recently wrote a lengthy piece [here] about the importance of Grupo Televisa in any decisions made about the sale of Univision. She reports that "Televisa has encouraged Time Warner to become its bidding partner."
A joint-venture for Univision by these two mega media conglomerates would certainly change the Spanish-language media landscape, but is it realistic to think they would be willing to do it together if for no other reason than to the share the risk?
Resurgence in Black-Owned Businesses?
Has there been a resurgence in businesses owned and operated by African Americans? According to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau it appears to be the case.
Elwin Green of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on the new (yet somewhat old) data. Click [here] for the full article. And click [here] for a brief from the Sacramento Business-Journal.
Elwin Green of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on the new (yet somewhat old) data. Click [here] for the full article. And click [here] for a brief from the Sacramento Business-Journal.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Adidas Gets More Negative Mainstream Press
Adidas is drawing more negative mainstream press as a result of the growing number of blogs that have passed along information about a new shoe that some Asian Americans call offensive. I posted on this last week and more recently it has been reported on in The Washington Post and The New York Times.
The Washington Post article is available [here].
The New York Times piece is available [here].
The Washington Post article is available [here].
The New York Times piece is available [here].
Monday, April 10, 2006
What Advantage Does Hispanic Radio Have Over Hispanic TV?
The popular media in the U.S. continue to heap praise upon Spanish-language radio stations crediting them with helping Hispanic community activists mobilize millions in support of immigration reforms that will allow undocumented workers to come out from the shadows of our economy and society and gain legal work documents and eventually citizenship.
A short story titled "To Marshal Immigrant Forces, Start at Ethnic Radio Stations" in today's Business section of The New York Times touches on this issue again. The piece, written by Lia Miller, rewrites the kind of brief that gives local radio credit for mobilizing Hispanics on the immigration issue. (The potential business implications of such positive attention to Spanish radio are enormous)
I am intrigued not only by the fact that this story and others give radio far more credit for impacting the grassroots than Spanish-language television, but that this story in particular identifies a Univision radio station as one that is staying out of the organizing role while maintaining a reporting role.
She writes in today's Times piece that: "Nomar Vizcarrondo, the news director for WADO-AM, a Spanish-language news, talk and sports station owned by Univision, said that while there had not been any special promotions on his station for today's marches and rally, immigration legislation had been the station's top news story for weeks."
I asked strategist Juan Bernal at FNG (who has a cool new "lense" on Squidoo here and occasionally blogs here) for his thoughts, which he shared with me by e-mail: "I believe that hispanics in the US have developed a stronger connection to radio due to the fact that they do not percieve it to be controlled by American interests, they feel it local, they get to know the host and share with them every day. It is also important to note that because of socio economic issues, radio penetration in Central and South America is far greater than tv and it is strongly embeded in the culture. I believe all these factors together play a role in the more powerful influence of radio than tv on today's US hispanic."
A short story titled "To Marshal Immigrant Forces, Start at Ethnic Radio Stations" in today's Business section of The New York Times touches on this issue again. The piece, written by Lia Miller, rewrites the kind of brief that gives local radio credit for mobilizing Hispanics on the immigration issue. (The potential business implications of such positive attention to Spanish radio are enormous)
I am intrigued not only by the fact that this story and others give radio far more credit for impacting the grassroots than Spanish-language television, but that this story in particular identifies a Univision radio station as one that is staying out of the organizing role while maintaining a reporting role.
She writes in today's Times piece that: "Nomar Vizcarrondo, the news director for WADO-AM, a Spanish-language news, talk and sports station owned by Univision, said that while there had not been any special promotions on his station for today's marches and rally, immigration legislation had been the station's top news story for weeks."
I asked strategist Juan Bernal at FNG (who has a cool new "lense" on Squidoo here and occasionally blogs here) for his thoughts, which he shared with me by e-mail: "I believe that hispanics in the US have developed a stronger connection to radio due to the fact that they do not percieve it to be controlled by American interests, they feel it local, they get to know the host and share with them every day. It is also important to note that because of socio economic issues, radio penetration in Central and South America is far greater than tv and it is strongly embeded in the culture. I believe all these factors together play a role in the more powerful influence of radio than tv on today's US hispanic."
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Adidas Draws Criticism from Asian American Community
It was less than a month ago (3/29/06) that I wrote "Yes I have to admit it, I love a good community backlash every once in a while." Well I can say that again.
On Saturday the San Jose Mercury News ran a story on an Asian American community response to a limited edition Adidas shoe that was deemed offensive. Knight Ridder and the Associated Press passed this story around their wires during the past few days giving broader national reach to an otherwise small story.
Adidas is apparently on the receiving end of a backlash from Asian American community activists over a limited edition, boutique-line of its shoes that feature a goofy and stereotypical image of an Asian man.
In teaching master's degree students about the challenges of marketing products to ethnic groups I often use case studies like this one to demonstrate how a product that is perceived as minor and hip within the scheme of the major corporation can derail its efforts to maintain a customer base in a huge ethnic community.
This also seems to me to be an example of a major brand seeking public input and seeking to create a sense of community involvement in, or ownership of, the brand and taking a (deserved) public relations hit. This case appears to comes back to a positive plan to infuse the brand with greater creativity. In this case artists and trendy clothing boutiques (such as HUF in San Francsico) given an opportunity to design special shoes and clothing for Adidas.
Why would a major corporation risk it? Given the propensity with which groups of Americans boycott entire corporations based upon their treatment of minorities or their political giving (see a major article by Richard S. Dunham titled "Companies in the Crossfire" in this week's edition of BusinessWeek Magazine about this), I wonder why Adidas opens itself up to potential community backlashes especially when the risks appear to far outweigh the benefits. One news report says only 1,000 pairs of the shoes are available, while I'd presume that Asian Americans likely spend millions of dollars on Adidas products. While I doubt Adidas will gain a surge in sales among its alertnative lines, this controversy certainly opened my mind to the large number unique shoes Adidas and other companies are working with designers to offer in the U.S.
In scrolling through blogs posts on this subject I have discovered at least one blogger, Japundit, posted about this in mid-March and Adrants quickly posted after that. More recently, Poplicks posted a couple hundred words on it that amounts to a defense of Adidas but concludes with the following: "it really is a spanktacular shoe but giving the choice between my wardrobe and respecting a friend, there's no question what's far more important."
On Saturday the San Jose Mercury News ran a story on an Asian American community response to a limited edition Adidas shoe that was deemed offensive. Knight Ridder and the Associated Press passed this story around their wires during the past few days giving broader national reach to an otherwise small story.
Adidas is apparently on the receiving end of a backlash from Asian American community activists over a limited edition, boutique-line of its shoes that feature a goofy and stereotypical image of an Asian man.
In teaching master's degree students about the challenges of marketing products to ethnic groups I often use case studies like this one to demonstrate how a product that is perceived as minor and hip within the scheme of the major corporation can derail its efforts to maintain a customer base in a huge ethnic community.
This also seems to me to be an example of a major brand seeking public input and seeking to create a sense of community involvement in, or ownership of, the brand and taking a (deserved) public relations hit. This case appears to comes back to a positive plan to infuse the brand with greater creativity. In this case artists and trendy clothing boutiques (such as HUF in San Francsico) given an opportunity to design special shoes and clothing for Adidas.
Why would a major corporation risk it? Given the propensity with which groups of Americans boycott entire corporations based upon their treatment of minorities or their political giving (see a major article by Richard S. Dunham titled "Companies in the Crossfire" in this week's edition of BusinessWeek Magazine about this), I wonder why Adidas opens itself up to potential community backlashes especially when the risks appear to far outweigh the benefits. One news report says only 1,000 pairs of the shoes are available, while I'd presume that Asian Americans likely spend millions of dollars on Adidas products. While I doubt Adidas will gain a surge in sales among its alertnative lines, this controversy certainly opened my mind to the large number unique shoes Adidas and other companies are working with designers to offer in the U.S.
In scrolling through blogs posts on this subject I have discovered at least one blogger, Japundit, posted about this in mid-March and Adrants quickly posted after that. More recently, Poplicks posted a couple hundred words on it that amounts to a defense of Adidas but concludes with the following: "it really is a spanktacular shoe but giving the choice between my wardrobe and respecting a friend, there's no question what's far more important."
Friday, April 07, 2006
Ethnic Consumers Are Front Page News Today
Pull together a bunch of posts and news from this blog during the past year, throw in some lessons from the master's level Ethnic Marketing course I teach at Johns Hopkins University in DC and voila, you'll essentially arrive at the major USA Today story in today's edition (the Friday, Saturday, Sunday paper) by business writer David Lieberman.
Lieberman's hook is the following: "One of the most intriguing new developments in media is taking place in a part of hte industry that many executives used to dismiss as a backwater. Call it the year of ethnic media, the vast collection of mostly tiny broadcasters, cable channels, newspapers and magazines that target Hispanics, Asians and other audience niches. Advertisers who once deemed ethnic audiences too small, too poor or too old to take seriously are looking at them anew as immigration rates soar."
Oops, did he forget to mention the huge African American consumer and media market, which is often grouped with these others as requiring special approaches? (He quotes an ad exec. from E. Morris Communications, Black Enterprise Magazine's [African American] Agency of the Year, but doesn't mention this market.
And his piece does a fairly good job at touching upon some of the growth areas in ethnic media outlets and audiences. It reads slightly like a nod to the PR teams at SiTV, Univision and ImpreMedia which have been pushing major newspaper for exactly this kind of story (though of course I believe they deserve attention, generally).
I do think he could have done a better job of integrating developments in the ethnic marketing strategies of major corporations and the growth of ethnic marketing firms who know best how to reach these growing ethnic audiences. Data on any notable growth in the consulting industry players specializing in ethnic marketing would better help to support the claims made in the article.
Finally, his first sentence is "Forget the Internet for a moment," but I think this is a mistake (not because his paper has probably overplayed Internet marketing to the detriment of other marketing efforts) but because he never even mentions the growth in the ethnic audiences online and the large number of websites that cater to Hispanics, Asian Americans, Indian Americans, and African Americans, among others. This is also a growth industry that deserves attention, and a least a mention.
Click [here] for the full USA Today article.
Lieberman's hook is the following: "One of the most intriguing new developments in media is taking place in a part of hte industry that many executives used to dismiss as a backwater. Call it the year of ethnic media, the vast collection of mostly tiny broadcasters, cable channels, newspapers and magazines that target Hispanics, Asians and other audience niches. Advertisers who once deemed ethnic audiences too small, too poor or too old to take seriously are looking at them anew as immigration rates soar."
Oops, did he forget to mention the huge African American consumer and media market, which is often grouped with these others as requiring special approaches? (He quotes an ad exec. from E. Morris Communications, Black Enterprise Magazine's [African American] Agency of the Year, but doesn't mention this market.
And his piece does a fairly good job at touching upon some of the growth areas in ethnic media outlets and audiences. It reads slightly like a nod to the PR teams at SiTV, Univision and ImpreMedia which have been pushing major newspaper for exactly this kind of story (though of course I believe they deserve attention, generally).
I do think he could have done a better job of integrating developments in the ethnic marketing strategies of major corporations and the growth of ethnic marketing firms who know best how to reach these growing ethnic audiences. Data on any notable growth in the consulting industry players specializing in ethnic marketing would better help to support the claims made in the article.
Finally, his first sentence is "Forget the Internet for a moment," but I think this is a mistake (not because his paper has probably overplayed Internet marketing to the detriment of other marketing efforts) but because he never even mentions the growth in the ethnic audiences online and the large number of websites that cater to Hispanics, Asian Americans, Indian Americans, and African Americans, among others. This is also a growth industry that deserves attention, and a least a mention.
Click [here] for the full USA Today article.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Top story on CNN.com today is a column by Lou Dobbs
I can't decide if this is terrible journalism for a major news website or just shalemess corporate network television self-promotion intended to pump up ratings. At 3:24 pm today the very top "Latest News" story on CNN.com is: Dobbs: Immigration deal raises serious questions. Granted that Dobbs has made a name for himself on this issue, but are his comments, which are already widely known, truly the hour's "top" story?
See screen shot below with red circle added:
See screen shot below with red circle added:
2006 Campaign Bringing Attention to the African American Vote in Maryland
The Washington Post reports today on a new internal Democratic poll of African American voters in Maryland which apparently shows they are open to voting for conservative Republican Lt. Governor Michael Steele in November's election to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Paul Sarbanes.
Whether this data is true or not shouldn't matter much at this point to the Democratic operatives responsible for winning the Senate seat in November. But it should serve as a reminder that Democrats need to aggressively court African American voters and demonstrate why they believe they would provide better representation, and have a better record of service to the community, than Steele.
It should come as no surprise that a well-liked African American Lt. Governor would have a chance to do better among African American voters than any previous non-African American Republican candidate. I posted about this recently after The New York Times Magazine ran a favorable profile of Steele.
Today's Baltimore Sun also has an article written out of New York which ads depth to the discussion of the African American vote in Maryland this cycle while referring to the potential implications of a campaign battle between two black candidates (Steele and former Congressman and Democratic candidate Kweisi Mfume).
Click [here] for The Washington Post article.
Click [here] for the Baltimore Sun article.
Meanwhile, since I teach political Internet strategies at Johns Hopkins University, I was personally intrigued by the "Maryland Political Quiz" interactive ad the Friends of Doug Duncan (for Maryland Governor) campaign is running on the Baltimore Sun website.
The site is a "push-poll" of sorts: pushing out negative message against his main opponent for Governor, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. One question asks: "In his battle to reduce city crime, how many different police chiefs has Martin O'Malley appointed?" And it gives the "Correct Answer" as "Four."
At the same time the ad pushes out negative message against Governor Bob Ehrlich who is running for re-election, and positive message about the two leading Democratic candidates Congressman Ben Cardin and Mfume. This gives Duncan, the Montgomery County Executive, a chance to take the high road by appealing to Democratic supporters of both Democratic candidates and appearing to be a Democratic team player.
Whether this data is true or not shouldn't matter much at this point to the Democratic operatives responsible for winning the Senate seat in November. But it should serve as a reminder that Democrats need to aggressively court African American voters and demonstrate why they believe they would provide better representation, and have a better record of service to the community, than Steele.
It should come as no surprise that a well-liked African American Lt. Governor would have a chance to do better among African American voters than any previous non-African American Republican candidate. I posted about this recently after The New York Times Magazine ran a favorable profile of Steele.
Today's Baltimore Sun also has an article written out of New York which ads depth to the discussion of the African American vote in Maryland this cycle while referring to the potential implications of a campaign battle between two black candidates (Steele and former Congressman and Democratic candidate Kweisi Mfume).
Click [here] for The Washington Post article.
Click [here] for the Baltimore Sun article.
Meanwhile, since I teach political Internet strategies at Johns Hopkins University, I was personally intrigued by the "Maryland Political Quiz" interactive ad the Friends of Doug Duncan (for Maryland Governor) campaign is running on the Baltimore Sun website.
The site is a "push-poll" of sorts: pushing out negative message against his main opponent for Governor, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. One question asks: "In his battle to reduce city crime, how many different police chiefs has Martin O'Malley appointed?" And it gives the "Correct Answer" as "Four."
At the same time the ad pushes out negative message against Governor Bob Ehrlich who is running for re-election, and positive message about the two leading Democratic candidates Congressman Ben Cardin and Mfume. This gives Duncan, the Montgomery County Executive, a chance to take the high road by appealing to Democratic supporters of both Democratic candidates and appearing to be a Democratic team player.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Milestones in Spanish-Language Television
Some milestones in Spanish-language television to report today.
The Business Journal publications report today that Spanish-language television leader Univision's local news broadcast on KUVS in Sacramento, California has beat out all English-language news in the market during weeknights (6:00 and 11:00 pm broadcasts) throughout February with audiences under 50 years old.
Univision local news has reached this milestone in a number of other markets including Los Angeles and Miami and other television markets with high Hispanic density.
This is another reminder of the growing reach and influence of Spanish-language media, even while an English-dominant Hispanic television audience continues to grow.
Click [here] for the story.
Reuters has a short, yet detail-packed story out of Mexico City which reports on today's announcement that NBC's Telemundo, the second largest Spanish-language television network company in the U.S., has joined forces with a a Mexican production company Grupo Xtra.
Click [here] for the Reuters story. An Associated Press story was also picked up by a large number of news sites here in the U.S. Click [here] for that story which is also written out of Mexico City.
The Business Journal publications report today that Spanish-language television leader Univision's local news broadcast on KUVS in Sacramento, California has beat out all English-language news in the market during weeknights (6:00 and 11:00 pm broadcasts) throughout February with audiences under 50 years old.
Univision local news has reached this milestone in a number of other markets including Los Angeles and Miami and other television markets with high Hispanic density.
This is another reminder of the growing reach and influence of Spanish-language media, even while an English-dominant Hispanic television audience continues to grow.
Click [here] for the story.
Reuters has a short, yet detail-packed story out of Mexico City which reports on today's announcement that NBC's Telemundo, the second largest Spanish-language television network company in the U.S., has joined forces with a a Mexican production company Grupo Xtra.
Click [here] for the Reuters story. An Associated Press story was also picked up by a large number of news sites here in the U.S. Click [here] for that story which is also written out of Mexico City.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
MTV Hones Its Focus on Hispanic, Chinese and Korean American Youth
MTV Tr3s, as in MTV tres (three), will live as the reincarnation of MTV en Espanol and Mas Musica, reports indicate. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tim Cuprisin reports "It debuts in the fourth quarter of this year."
Nice piece from Reed Business publication "Broadcasting and Cable" [here].
Check out Media Week's brief on it [here].
And my stroll around the corporate site finds that MTV has been putting greater focus on MTV Chi which the network bills as the "best in Chinese-American style, music, and pop culture."
Finally, the MTV brand will soon launch MTV K. What's that you ask? According to the MTV website: "MTV K will be the first ever music and pop culture channel dedicated to young Korean-Americans."
These all follow the widely publicized MTV Desi which reaches Indian American youth.
Nice piece from Reed Business publication "Broadcasting and Cable" [here].
Check out Media Week's brief on it [here].
And my stroll around the corporate site finds that MTV has been putting greater focus on MTV Chi which the network bills as the "best in Chinese-American style, music, and pop culture."
Finally, the MTV brand will soon launch MTV K. What's that you ask? According to the MTV website: "MTV K will be the first ever music and pop culture channel dedicated to young Korean-Americans."
These all follow the widely publicized MTV Desi which reaches Indian American youth.
"The relationship between Hispanics and African Americans"
Syndicated columnist Ruben Navarrette, Jr. has written a thoughtful yet somewhat controversial column for the latest issue of the monthly magazine "Hispanic."
Navarrette, who gets paid to write articles that will get people talking and even debating, writes about the friction African American leadership is causing with the Hispanic community. He says "It's about the perception that African Americans are being displaced by Hispanics - both in the 'macro' sense now that Hispanics are the nation's largest minority and in the 'micro' sense as Hispanic immigrants move into neighborhoods, towns and cities traditionally inhabited by blacks."
He singles out the Jesse Jackson as someone who "is obsessing over the changing demographics of New Orleans" and has argued that rebuilding jobs held by Hispanics should be held by African Americans.
Navarrette has identified and conveyed one side of the issue about the future demographic makeup of New Orleans and other American cities. Yet he offered few solutions, even for the limited amount of space he was given in the magazine.
As these demographic changes contiue to occur it will become more important than ever to create community dialogues that bring together African American and Hispanic community and national leaders to address the issues and anxieties that were highlighted by Navarrette and many others that he did not discuss.
Navarrette, who gets paid to write articles that will get people talking and even debating, writes about the friction African American leadership is causing with the Hispanic community. He says "It's about the perception that African Americans are being displaced by Hispanics - both in the 'macro' sense now that Hispanics are the nation's largest minority and in the 'micro' sense as Hispanic immigrants move into neighborhoods, towns and cities traditionally inhabited by blacks."
He singles out the Jesse Jackson as someone who "is obsessing over the changing demographics of New Orleans" and has argued that rebuilding jobs held by Hispanics should be held by African Americans.
Navarrette has identified and conveyed one side of the issue about the future demographic makeup of New Orleans and other American cities. Yet he offered few solutions, even for the limited amount of space he was given in the magazine.
As these demographic changes contiue to occur it will become more important than ever to create community dialogues that bring together African American and Hispanic community and national leaders to address the issues and anxieties that were highlighted by Navarrette and many others that he did not discuss.
In related news, the Los Angeles Times today reports on the "Gold Rush" migrant workers are finding in New Orleans. Click [here] for that article.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Major Advertising Study Finds BET Inundated With Fast Food Ads
First it was the beer industry inundating Hispanic youth with beer ads, now a new article on advertising written by an academic at the University of Pennsylvania, and published in this month's Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, reports BET (formerly Black Entertainment Television) apparently reports an unusually high number of fast-food television ads aimed at young people. The journal has a handful of studies on the impact of television on adolescents.
Either the Associated Press summary of the article is incomplete or the "Editorial" -- which I presume has been peer-reviewed -- is problematic because of its narrow scope. I attempted to access the study, by Amy B. Jordan of the Annenberg Center at UPenn -- Exploring the Impact of Media on Children: The Challenges That Remain (Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 2006;160:446-448), through the Hopkins online resources and also through the journal's public site and it was unavailable except to subscribers.
The AP quotes BET's Michael Lewellen and says he "questioned the study’s methods since the researchers included ads shown during prime time, 'when virtually all networks target adults'."
A spokesperson for McDonald's, which was named as one of the fast-food advertisers in the study, told the AP the study was "a bit misguided."
I hope to be able to sort out the truth. But I can already draw a number of lessons from this developing story. Among them: companies that are selling largely unhealthy foods popular with children and young adults have a unique challenge in defending their business models , advertising, and priorities not only to parents but also to the established medical community. It also raises an important issue for BET and other television networks: What responsibilities do media organizations have to their audiences? When, if ever, does the audience become more important than the ad dollars earned?
Given that McDonald's and other companies do offer some "healthy" options I would be interested to see what the new research says about the actual foods shown in the advertisements in question.
Read the Associated Press story [here] or [here].
Either the Associated Press summary of the article is incomplete or the "Editorial" -- which I presume has been peer-reviewed -- is problematic because of its narrow scope. I attempted to access the study, by Amy B. Jordan of the Annenberg Center at UPenn -- Exploring the Impact of Media on Children: The Challenges That Remain (Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 2006;160:446-448), through the Hopkins online resources and also through the journal's public site and it was unavailable except to subscribers.
The AP quotes BET's Michael Lewellen and says he "questioned the study’s methods since the researchers included ads shown during prime time, 'when virtually all networks target adults'."
A spokesperson for McDonald's, which was named as one of the fast-food advertisers in the study, told the AP the study was "a bit misguided."
I hope to be able to sort out the truth. But I can already draw a number of lessons from this developing story. Among them: companies that are selling largely unhealthy foods popular with children and young adults have a unique challenge in defending their business models , advertising, and priorities not only to parents but also to the established medical community. It also raises an important issue for BET and other television networks: What responsibilities do media organizations have to their audiences? When, if ever, does the audience become more important than the ad dollars earned?
Given that McDonald's and other companies do offer some "healthy" options I would be interested to see what the new research says about the actual foods shown in the advertisements in question.
Read the Associated Press story [here] or [here].
Spanish Radio Getting Big Boost
Never underestimate the power of Spanish-language radio, which continues to receive a huge national media boost after playing a critically important role in turning out more than a million people to pro-immigration rallies across the nation, starting weeks ago in Chicago and peaking last week in Los Angeles.
Today's edition of The Washington Post take a local look at the story angle that took off in Los Angeles and has boosted interest in the power of the Spanish-language radio format across the nation.
Click [here] for today's metro story by Karin Brulliard. (The Post's Peter Slevin has a fascinating front-pager on the immigration issue seen through the lense of residents of the State of Georgia. See that story [here].)
Previous stories are below:
San Francisco Chronicle [here]
The Desert Sun [here]
Los Angeles Times [here]
The New York Times [here]
Associated Press [here]
And the Chicago Tribune story by journalist Oscar Avila that started this media trend (bravo man!) two weeks before these other stories [here]
The Spanish-language radio operators should give Mr. Avila, or at least his publisher, a cut from all the money they'll bring after all this favorable media coverage.
Today's edition of The Washington Post take a local look at the story angle that took off in Los Angeles and has boosted interest in the power of the Spanish-language radio format across the nation.
Click [here] for today's metro story by Karin Brulliard. (The Post's Peter Slevin has a fascinating front-pager on the immigration issue seen through the lense of residents of the State of Georgia. See that story [here].)
Previous stories are below:
San Francisco Chronicle [here]
The Desert Sun [here]
Los Angeles Times [here]
The New York Times [here]
Associated Press [here]
And the Chicago Tribune story by journalist Oscar Avila that started this media trend (bravo man!) two weeks before these other stories [here]
The Spanish-language radio operators should give Mr. Avila, or at least his publisher, a cut from all the money they'll bring after all this favorable media coverage.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
NYT Magazine Profile of Michael Steele
The New York Times Magazine profiled Republican Senate candidate and Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele last Sunday. I only got around to reading the full story today and was moved to post a few thoughts. The main premise of the story is that Steele is seen by many Republicans and even Democrats as the Republican Party's best hope to attract greater numbers of African American voters.
One deficiency of the profile piece is that is fails to mention that Steele was a Party player, the chair of the Maryland Republican Party, before becoming Lt. Governor. It's not unusual and that fact certainly shouldn't necessarily hurt him, however it is important as it helps explain his rise and how he developed such strong relationships with White House and GOP strategists Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman. The piece explains that Lt. Governor Steele hails from Prince George's County which has an enormous African American population and one of the wealthiest black populations in the nation. There is no doubt that this is an important base from which to run for the U.S. Senate and Steele has been aggressively courting African American voters. Though the article points out that on many issues his positions may clash with the political beliefs of many African American voters in Maryland.
A few paragraphs from the story, which is teased on the magazine's front cover as "The Year of the Black Republican?", about the GOP's strategy and motives stood out and are excerpted below:
Michael Sokolove, a contributing writer to the Magazine, writes that, "The G.O.P. has used so-called wedge issues -- with gay marriage leading the list -- on which churchgoing, socially conservative blacks may find affinity with Republican positions. Steele is socially conservative. And black. And Catholic. How much could he cut into the traditional Democratic vote? It might not have to be much to turn an election."
In their run for the Governor's mansion the Ehrlich-Steele team ran an effective television advertisement that appealed well to African American voters, and I am among those who believe the ad helped turn the election. The ad, which I utilize to teach graduate students about political appeals each semester in my Ethnic Marketing and Political Communication course at Johns Hopkins University, featured a uniformed African American police officer named Veronica Sinclair-Anderson who praised the future Governor in terms that the average voter could understand and associate with. It was one of the most effective political commercials I have ever seen, and the police officer in the ad was rewarded for her strong support for the ticket and has risen within the administrtion and now serves as the policy coordinator on Steele's staff.
and...
Sokolove recalls a telling interaction between Steele and a close friend: "Don't be an 'outreach pawn,' Steele's friend Curt Anderson, a political consultant, warned him. By that, Anderson, former political director of the Republican National Committee, meant, Don't get into the race just so the party can say it is fielding a black candidate or so it can appear to be softening its image. 'I have a dim view of the typical Republican outreach,' Anderson told me. 'It's like: Yeah, look, we have a black guy. We have a Hispanic guy. Look over there, we have a Jewish guy. It's surface. It never bears fruit. I told him: Don't do it for the Republican Party. Don't do it for the president. Do it for yourself. He had to ask himself, Can I win? Everything else is silly'."
I'm be interested to see how this comment plays out. Clearly Anderson intended to send the message that Steele is in the Senate race because he cares about the issues and is personally committed to raising money and winning. Yet the comment helps to undermine GOP appeals to African American voters.
and ...
"Republicans have been making two appeals to minority voters. One is on the social issues of abortion and gay marriage; the other is economic -- the contention that their conservative programs have more to offer those who want to help themselves. And never far below the surface is the emotional appeal to black voters that they have been taken for granted by the Democratic Party and by their own black elected officials. In consumer terms, the pitch is, You've shopped with them for generations why don't you come down the street and see what we have to offer."
Oddly almost nothing was said about the Democratic message to African American voters and the depth of outreach conducted in 2004 and planned for 2006 and beyond, and I presume this is exactly the kind of story the National Republican Senatorial Committee enjoys reading. This omission was especially odd given that Howard Dean, the Democratic Party Chairman, has been vocal about the need for Democrats to re-invest in connecting with the African American communities across the nation. Joe Trippi is quoted in the story saying essentially that a Steele victory would be damaging for Democrats and would further cut into the Party's support among African Americans.
Click [here] for the full article from The New York Times Magazine. It's a great read.
One deficiency of the profile piece is that is fails to mention that Steele was a Party player, the chair of the Maryland Republican Party, before becoming Lt. Governor. It's not unusual and that fact certainly shouldn't necessarily hurt him, however it is important as it helps explain his rise and how he developed such strong relationships with White House and GOP strategists Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman. The piece explains that Lt. Governor Steele hails from Prince George's County which has an enormous African American population and one of the wealthiest black populations in the nation. There is no doubt that this is an important base from which to run for the U.S. Senate and Steele has been aggressively courting African American voters. Though the article points out that on many issues his positions may clash with the political beliefs of many African American voters in Maryland.
A few paragraphs from the story, which is teased on the magazine's front cover as "The Year of the Black Republican?", about the GOP's strategy and motives stood out and are excerpted below:
Michael Sokolove, a contributing writer to the Magazine, writes that, "The G.O.P. has used so-called wedge issues -- with gay marriage leading the list -- on which churchgoing, socially conservative blacks may find affinity with Republican positions. Steele is socially conservative. And black. And Catholic. How much could he cut into the traditional Democratic vote? It might not have to be much to turn an election."
In their run for the Governor's mansion the Ehrlich-Steele team ran an effective television advertisement that appealed well to African American voters, and I am among those who believe the ad helped turn the election. The ad, which I utilize to teach graduate students about political appeals each semester in my Ethnic Marketing and Political Communication course at Johns Hopkins University, featured a uniformed African American police officer named Veronica Sinclair-Anderson who praised the future Governor in terms that the average voter could understand and associate with. It was one of the most effective political commercials I have ever seen, and the police officer in the ad was rewarded for her strong support for the ticket and has risen within the administrtion and now serves as the policy coordinator on Steele's staff.
and...
Sokolove recalls a telling interaction between Steele and a close friend: "Don't be an 'outreach pawn,' Steele's friend Curt Anderson, a political consultant, warned him. By that, Anderson, former political director of the Republican National Committee, meant, Don't get into the race just so the party can say it is fielding a black candidate or so it can appear to be softening its image. 'I have a dim view of the typical Republican outreach,' Anderson told me. 'It's like: Yeah, look, we have a black guy. We have a Hispanic guy. Look over there, we have a Jewish guy. It's surface. It never bears fruit. I told him: Don't do it for the Republican Party. Don't do it for the president. Do it for yourself. He had to ask himself, Can I win? Everything else is silly'."
I'm be interested to see how this comment plays out. Clearly Anderson intended to send the message that Steele is in the Senate race because he cares about the issues and is personally committed to raising money and winning. Yet the comment helps to undermine GOP appeals to African American voters.
and ...
"Republicans have been making two appeals to minority voters. One is on the social issues of abortion and gay marriage; the other is economic -- the contention that their conservative programs have more to offer those who want to help themselves. And never far below the surface is the emotional appeal to black voters that they have been taken for granted by the Democratic Party and by their own black elected officials. In consumer terms, the pitch is, You've shopped with them for generations why don't you come down the street and see what we have to offer."
Oddly almost nothing was said about the Democratic message to African American voters and the depth of outreach conducted in 2004 and planned for 2006 and beyond, and I presume this is exactly the kind of story the National Republican Senatorial Committee enjoys reading. This omission was especially odd given that Howard Dean, the Democratic Party Chairman, has been vocal about the need for Democrats to re-invest in connecting with the African American communities across the nation. Joe Trippi is quoted in the story saying essentially that a Steele victory would be damaging for Democrats and would further cut into the Party's support among African Americans.
Click [here] for the full article from The New York Times Magazine. It's a great read.
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