Spanish-language TV News Under the Microscope

La Opinion interviewed me for this piece that ran last week. Topic: Spanish-language TV networks/stations and their news coverage. In my interview, I argued that for the most part Spanish-language TV stations do a great job with their news programming, providing major news coverage of local, regional, national and international events. And that basic idea came across in the piece published May 1st. Incidentally, The Washington Post published a major column on the front of today's Outlook section (the Sunday stand-alone opinion section) by Joe Mathews, a fellow at the New America Foundation. He argues that in Los Angeles and other media markets, the best local news programming is on the Univision and Telemundo stations. The piece makes the point that the Spanish-dominant viewers of these programs are therefore better informed. It was terrific placement and I think much of the argument he makes needs to be heard by the traditional media and policy makers. Sure, Spanish-language TV stations have not always done a perfect job meeting FCC requirements for use of the airwaves, but to ignore the outstanding news reporting that comes from Spanish-language media would do a disservice.

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McCain Launches Hispanic Voter Outreach Effort, Spanish Website

Senator John McCain's presidential campaign kicked off its general election Hispanic voter outreach today on Cinco de Mayo, the popular Mexican holiday. New site; http://www.johnmccain.com/espanol/

Committed Hispanic outreach is a good sign and means there will be a nice competition with the Democratic nominee (either Obama or Clinton) come this summer, even if the Dems start with a huge advantage.

McCain spoke in Phoenix and his campaign headquarters was decked out for a launch event. Lots of encouraging signs about the importance of this outreach effort within the campaign.

Media eats it up:

Associated Press reports (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iNxTApa2sQRu0Xx99P3jt2bEXw7gD90FL4OO0):

"Republican John McCain on Monday said the focus on illegal immigration during the Republican primary race harmed his party's image among Hispanics."

CNN reports (http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/05/mccain/):

"The senator from Arizona used Cinco de Mayo as a launching pad for a new Spanish-language Web site on Monday, and he emphasized his stance on immigration and border security as he tried to court the Hispanic vote."

"McCain also pledged to attend the National Council for La Raza's convention in July, the largest national Hispanic civil rights organization which seeks to improve opportunities for Hispanic-Americans."

Drudge gave it top-billing, wow (http://www.drudgereport.com):
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN0541135620080505?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Other coverage:

CBS News blog (http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/05/05/politics/fromtheroad/entry4072857.shtml):
"John McCain said today that Hispanic voters are tailor-made for the Republican message..."

Boston Globe blog:
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/05/mccain_courts_h.html

The Hill:
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/mccain-courts-hispanic-voters-2008-05-05.html