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Univision’s strategy continues to take shape, but is it a good one?

August 24, 2016 by Vicki Adame

You can now add Gawker, Deadspin, Jezebel and Gizmodo to Univision's list of brands. But what does it all mean, and is this a successful strategy to reach millennials from every walk of life?

You can now add Gawker, Deadspin, Jezebel and Gizmodo to Univision’s list of brands. But what does it all mean, and is this a successful strategy to reach millennials from every walk of life?

The recent acquisition of Gawker by Univision shows the Spanish-language media company is keen on expanding its foothold on the U.S. media landscape.

The $135 million purchase of Gawker and its subsidiaries – which includes the sites Gizmodo, Jezebel and Deadspin –  shows an inclination by the Spanish-language media giant to not only diversify its holdings, but to reach out to the large millennial market that consumes its news and information in vastly different ways than previous generations, according to those who follow media trends.

“They are trying to reach the coveted youth, millennial market. They are also trying to tap into the English-language market,” said Jillian Báez, assistant professor in the department of media culture at the College of Staten Island – CUNY. “Univision has wanted to create content for English-language audiences since its early history in the U.S. However, due to broadcasting policies that limited foreign ownership and advertisers’ disinterest, Univision was unable to fulfill that goal.”

She is not alone in her assessment.

“Univision sees the acquisitions of Gawker, The Onion and the launching of Univision News as a way to increase market share and broaden its digital and TV audience. It hopes to reach out to new and younger audiences open to a more creative and multicultural approach to media,” said Aly Colón, the John S. and James L. Knight Professor of Media Ethics at Washington and Lee University in Virginia.

Jillian Báez, assistant professor in media culture at the College of Staten Island – CUNY, says Univision is fulfilling its long-time goal of offering English language content to U.S. audiences.

Jillian Báez, assistant professor in media culture at the College of Staten Island – CUNY, says Univision is fulfilling its long-time goal of offering English language content to U.S. audiences.

Media consumption has changed since Univision was founded in 1962 as has its audience.

A recent poll by Fox News Latino found that 79 percent of Latinos prefer to get their news in English.

And by all appearances, Univision knows this.

This strategy to diversify dates back to 2013 when Univision entered into a partnership with Disney – the parent company of ABC – to create Fusion which was aimed at attracting younger viewers.  In April of this year, Univision bought out Disney’s 50 percent stake and created Fusion Media Group. In June it launched Univision News, which, according to the company, “aims to expand Univision’s reach by serving an English-speaking audience.”

“They are diversifying their outlets. This also includes their acquisition of Bounce TV. Part of their strategy is to attract millennials – who tend to be more racially and ethnically diverse than older U.S. audiences,” Báez said. “Univision, alongside its competitor Telemundo, has faced difficulty reaching second and third generation bilingual and English-dominant Latinos – what they refer to as bilennials. Part of this is an issue with language – many second-plus generation Latinos prefer to consume most media content in English.”

But simply providing content geared toward bilennials doesn’t guarantee a receptive audience.

“So far, audiences are having lukewarm responses to Univision’s and Telemundo’s attempts,” Báez said, pointing to Telemundo’s Mun2 network, which was aimed at bilennials and was rebranded as NBC Universo last year and switched back to Spanish-language content.

Unlike some of its Latino-oriented counterparts, Bounce TV, which is aimed at a young African-American audience, now reaches 92 percent of African-American households.

Isaac Lee, Univision’s chief news and digital officer, told The Washington Post, “The future is young, digital and diverse. No one can own all millennials, but we need to own iconic brands that matter to them. Music, humor, gaming, technology, that’s all the currency of this generation. That demographic is only going to grow, be more diverse and be more powerful.”

Aly Colón, media ethics professor at Washington and Lee University in Virginia, says Univision must straddle serving longtime existing audience members who want Spanish language content, while at the same time meet the demands of younger, newer users who prefer media content in English.

Aly Colón, media ethics professor at Washington and Lee University in Virginia, says Univision must straddle serving longtime existing audience members who want Spanish language content, while at the same time meet the demands of younger, newer users who prefer media content in English.

But this push to diversify is not without potential pitfalls.

First are the viewers, who may wonder how this new, multifaceted Univision will impact the Univision they know, Colón said.

“But so long as they can access their news in Spanish, it shouldn’t affect them. And it may attract their children, and children’s children, who favor English, to its other media offerings,” he said.

But reaching and capturing the attention of millennials or bilennials, is no easy task.

“Second and third generation Latinos are a very heterogeneous group in terms of language competency and preference, national origin, income, education and political affiliations. What this means is that Univision and other Spanish-language outlets will have to dig deeper to understand the complexities of those audiences in order to create content that will resonate with them,” Báez said.

Any acquisition poses a challenge, Colón said. Questions need to be asked including how Univision will benefit from the recently purchased brands; and how will the brands remain true to what makes them popular once they become part of a bigger company, he added.

“It may matter less the amount of acquisitions, and the timing of them, than the ability to arrive at a creative confluence that enhances its TV and digital parts while creating a unity of media,” Colón said.

Filed Under: BUSINESS, Documentaries, Featured, Magazines, Mergers, NEWS, Online, Radio, Television Tagged With: Gawker, Millennials, Univision

Gawker sold to Univision for $135 million

August 17, 2016 by Guest Post

Gawker, as we’ve known it, will be no more. Univision’s offer will encompass all seven of Gawker Media’s sites, including Gawker.com Ziff Davis and Univision were the only two bidders for Gawker, which filed for bankruptcy after Hulk Hogan and Peter Thiel won a $140 million judgment in a privacy case. Ziff Davis had originally offered… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Featured, JOURNALISM, Media Ownership, Mergers, Online Tagged With: Gawker, Univision

Netflix to show ‘Narcos’ on Univision in attempt to reach larger Latino audience

May 24, 2016 by Kellee Terrell

Netflix is expanding the reach of "Narcos" with its Univision deal.

Netflix is expanding the reach of “Narcos” with its Univision deal.

Netflix has never shown its original shows on another platform or network — but that’s about to change.

According to Mashable, Netflix and Univision have agreed to a record broadcast deal that will bring season one of Netflix’s “Narcos” to the Spanish-speaking network. The second season of the Golden Globe-nominated show about a 1980s drug pin will even air on Univision before showing on Netflix.

“Narcos is a huge global success on Netflix and sampling the series to every single Spanish-speaking living room in the U.S. will give additional viewers the opportunity to fall in love with its unique storytelling,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, said in a statement.

“Promoting these original shows on Univision is a great way to further reach Hispanic audiences and help them discover Netflix,” he added.

“Narcos” isn’t the only show Netflix is sharing with Univision.

The deal also includes Netflix’s Mexican teen comedy-drama “Club de Cuervos” that will air on UniMás, Univision’s channel for young people. The companies are also creating new content together by co-producing a new series about Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. That show will air in 2017 on UniMás and later on Netflix.

While this partnership is good for Univision as it continues attempts to broaden its digital efforts, it’s also very good for Netflix as it continues to ramp up efforts to reach a larger Latino audience, Mashable noted.

“No other media company understands Hispanic-American audiences like Univision and this promotional partnership speaks to our ability to reach and engage our growth consumer with unmatched scale and depth,” said Randy Falco, president and CEO of Univision Communications.

“We are pleased to work with Netflix and leverage Univision’s unique reach and deep connection with our audience to introduce millions of our viewers to their ground-breaking series.”

This deal shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Last year Univision signed an agreement with Netflix to stream some of the network’s most beloved shows and novellas such as “Teresa,” “Maria la del Barrio,” “Lo Que La Vida Me Robó,” “Por Ella Soy Eva,” “La Viuda Negra” and “Rosa de Guadalupe.”

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Latino, Narcos, Netflix, Streaming, tv, Univision

Why Diversity At The Presidential Debates Is Crucial In The 2016 Election

March 10, 2016 by Kellee Terrell

Enrique Acevedo of Univision with Lucia

Enrique Acevedo of Univision with Lucia

One of the most poignant moments of the presidential primary debate season thus far happened last night in Miami. During the eighth meeting between Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, hosted by Univision and the Washington Post, a Guatemalan woman took the mic to ask what they were going to do about immigration and reuniting families who are being ripped apart due U.S. immigration policies.

In Spanish, the woman emotionally shared that she and her five children haven’t seen her “hardworking” husband since he was deported 3 years ago. As the candidates responded, Univision reporter Enrique Acevedo leaned in to whisper their translation in her ear.

A touching moment from the #DemDebate, when a Guatemalan woman asked a question about breaking up families:t.co/OHGy3p5eD1

— PolicyMic (@PolicyMic) March 10, 2016

What we saw last night was incredibly necessary as it provided a counter narrative to Republican candidate Donald Trump’s rhetoric that most immigrants like Lucia’s husband are either “rapists” or “criminals.” This was a rare political moment where the very same people that are often demonized, scapegoated or ignored by our politicians and media were finally humanized for millions to see.

Watching this transpire, I asked myself, “Even with Rubio and Cruz at the podium, would this have happened at a Fox News hosted debate?” Not without having a Spanish-speaking reporter in the crowd and moderators on deck to be firm on the issues and culturally competent with the audience.

This is precisely why diversity matters.

Having journalists of color in this national setting means that candidates will be confronted on their whiteness, their straightness and their bias as a means of addressing pertinent issues that impact people of color, women and LGBT Americans. Not to mention, how will their proposed policies improve the quality of our lives and lessen racial disparities? As voters, we are entitled to this information as it influences who we end up supporting not only in the primaries, but come November.

Clearly, we get why this transparency matters.

This isn’t 2008 and 2012 anymore, nor are we buying into the Post-Obama fantasy—if we ever did. We are currently living in a #BlackLivesMatter, #OscarsSoWhite, #NotMyAbuela America where politicians just mentioning these issues in passing isn’t going to cut it. Voters of color are clear that our lives, our citizenship, our access and even our drinking water are dangerously riding on this election. Therefore, we need moderators who will hold candidates accountable and ask the tough questions.

Thankfully this debate season, we’ve gotten a little bit of that—well at least the Democrats have.

On Sunday in Flint, Michigan, CNN’s Don Lemon, of all people, asked Democratic presidential contenders Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton a poignant question about white privilege and racial blind spots. At an earlier debate, Gwen Ifill asked the two to address how they would speak to the growing resentment among white Americans. Ifill’s question wasn’t out of left field:  Studies show that more and more white Americans believe they are the real victims of current racism in this country.

Hopefully, these types of uncomfortable questions sparked by moderators of color will carry on when the Democratic and GOP nominee meet head-to-head for the general election presidential debates later this year, especially if Trump is the GOP nominee. Sadly, we know that isn’t guaranteed.

As The Grio pointed out in 2012, even with an incumbent Black president, there were no moderators of color when President Barack Obama met with Mitt Romney. And it wasn’t like the Commission on Presidential Debates (CDP) didn’t have a robust group of experienced journalists of color to choose from either. Even with the likes of Gwen Ifill, Soledad O’Brien, Lester Holt, Tamron Hall, Jorges Ramos or Ann Curry, the commission consistently selected all-white panels. (The commission blamed the lack of diversity among debate moderators on the lack of diversity in the industry.)

In 2004 and 2008, Gwen Ifill moderated both vice-presidential debates, but there have only been two journalists of color– Bernard Shaw in 1988 and Carol Simpson in 1992–who have ever moderated a debate involving two presidential candidates.

Maybe this time around the CPD will finally recognize that who they choose to challenge the future 45th U.S. president should reflect this country’s amazing diversity and our shifting priorities. And even with the current whitewashing of network and cable news, hopefully the CPD will do what’s right to ensure that the hashtag #DebatesSoWhite won’t become a reality in 2016.

Filed Under: Featured, JOURNALISM, PEOPLE Tagged With: carole simpson, Don Lemon, Enrique Acevedo, Gwen Ifill, Univision

Univision Wants To Rock The Latino Vote By Registering 3 Million Millennials

February 23, 2016 by Angela Bronner Helm

Young_Teenagers_Playing_Guitar_Band_of_Youth

In anticipation of election 2016, coincidentally the year where two Hispanic Americans are running for president, Univision, the country’s top-rated Spanish-language network, says it plans to register about three million new Latino voters, roughly the same number of young adults who have come of voting age since the last presidential election, according to the New York Times.

The ambitious campaign will include on-air editorials and grass-roots events like town-hall-style forums to try to take advantage of the sheer number of young Latinos, and to turn those numbers into a powerful voting bloc, though the network insists its efforts will be nonpartisan.

This plan of action is not new, of course. MTV pioneered a campaign of this sort more than a decade ago. Reports the Times:

Other television networks have tried to take up the mantle of voter registration when they saw their audiences as significantly underrepresented in national elections. MTV memorably partnered early on with a nonprofit, Rock the Vote, that pioneered telephone and online registration systems in the 1990s to try to get more young people to the polls.

The results have been mixed, however, and to make a dent in the electorate (and to be pandered to as African Americans have been in this election), young Latino Americans have to both register and actually get out and vote. A Pew Research center report says that turnout for Hispanic voters in 2012 was only 48 percent. For blacks it was 67 percent; for whites, 64.1 percent.

Univision says its efforts will extend to all of its online properties in a “multicultural effort,” including Fusion, its digital platform for millennials, and The Root, an African-American news and culture site.

Read more at The New York Times.

Filed Under: Featured, NEWS, Television Tagged With: election, Latinos, millenials, MTV, Univision

Prison Kids Documentary: A Crime Against America’s Children

October 2, 2015 by Benét J. Wilson

Van Jones tells moderator Alicia Menedez that we have to get comfortable talking about the racial aspect of America's juvenile justice system. Photo by Kenneth Ware, Jr.

Van Jones tells moderator Alicia Menedez that we have to get comfortable talking about the racial aspect of America’s juvenile justice system. Photo by Kenneth Ware, Jr.

By KENNETH WARE, JR.

Houston, we have a problem. Wait. America, we have a really big problem.

Throughout history, children as young as seven years old who were accused of wrongdoing have been imprisoned with adults. In the early 19th century, the idea of reforming youth offenders took root in the United States. On Wednesday, panelists discussed juvenile justice reform at the U.S. Capitol following a preview of “Prison Kids: A Crime Against America’s Children.” The investigative documentary, produced by Fusion in partnership with The Root and Univision, details the negative impact of locking up more than 60,000 American juveniles, a number higher than any other country in the world.

“This is a heartbreak for the entire country and we can do better,” said Van Jones, president and co-founder of#Cut50, an organizaion formed to cut the incarcerated population by 50 percent in the next 10 years.

Zion, a 7-year-old Florida boy suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, has accumulated more than 40 disciplinary write-ups. He received the first 25 in the first grade, including a battery altercation with a teacher, according to his mother. “I worry a lot that he will end up in jail,” she said. Florida is one of 33 states where children can be charged as adults.

“We’ve got to make sure our juvenile justice system remembers that kids are different,” President Barack Obama said in a statement. More than 109,000 children were locked up in 2000. Those kids are usually black and brown and struggle with mental illness. “Certain population of kids do not belong in juvenile facilities,” Jennifer Bellamy, legislative counsel at American Civil Liberties Union, said. “It’s more damaging.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) discusses juvenile justice reform with moderator Alicia Menendez: "Every state in the nation has to do more."

Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) discusses juvenile justice reform with moderator Alicia Menendez: “Every state in the nation has to do more.”

Twenty-two-year-old Savanna lives in Columbus, Ohio. She went to prison for the first time at the age of 14. “There’s a lot of depressed girls locked up, attempting suicide,” she said. According to Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), locking up children has a traumatizing effect on that child’s mental health, especially solitary confinement. “Other countries consider it torture but we do it with regularity,” he said. He wants to limit the use of solitary confinement to just a few hours for children and adults — just enough time to remove the person from an altercation.

Five Mualimm-ak, director of Incarcerated Nation Corp., an organization that offers support to the incarcerated and their families, agrees. “Instead of solitary [confinement], people need more treatment, more help, and therapy,” he said. “When I was imprisoned, you had to stay in a closet and keep a body part on a wall for eight hours. We are abusing our children.”

Former prison guard Mark Holden saw this extreme treatment first hand. “Early on, I saw it when I worked in the prison industry,” Holden, general counsel at Koch Industries, said. “We have to fix this system.”

According to research, children in the United States are being locked up for things that would not be considered crimes if they were adults, like skipping school, running away from home, and missing curfew. “We should not criminalize childhood mistakes,” Bellamy said. “We should get rid of large institutions where we are housing juveniles,” said Jessica Sandoval, vice president and deputy director at Campaign for Youth Justice.

“Prison Kids” explores the ins and outs of the juvenile system and provides authentic accounts from the people most affected — the kids. The full documentary airs on Fusion on Sunday, Oct. 4, and is available online now. 

“Whatever your background is, there is an urgency here,” Booker said. “We need to be involved and engaged.”

 

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, Featured, Film, NEWS, PEOPLE Tagged With: documentary, film, Fusion, Jr., Kenneth Ware, news coverage, Prison Kids, The Root, Univision

Asian American and Hispanic journalists condemn Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump

August 27, 2015 by Denise Clay

Public embarassment

Security hustling reporter Jorge Ramos out of a Donald Trump news conference for not “waiting his turn” to ask a question.

By DENISE CLAY

In Part One of “The Trump Telenovela on AllDigitocracy, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump  managed to burn his bridge with Univision, the largest Spanish language broadcaster in the world and one of the networks that had previously aired his Miss Universe Pageant. Now he appears to have ticked off members of the two largest journalism associations in the country, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Asian American Journalists Association.

Both groups, this week, condemned the Republican presidential candidate, though for different reasons.

Hispanic journalists took Trump to task for ejecting Univision news anchor Jorge Ramos from a news conference over the weekend, while Asian American journalists expressed concern over his mocking of Asian Americans by using a broken English accent and for referring to the children of immigrants as “anchor babies.”

Mekahlo Medina, president, National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Mekahlo Medina, president, National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

“Mr. Ramos was doing what journalists have done for decades – asking questions!,” said Mekahlo Medina, NAHJ President. “Ramos was simply trying to hold a candidate for president accountable for statements he made about a very important topic to the American people. Mr. Trump has avoided Mr. Ramos’ attempts for an interview to reasonably discuss Mr. Trump’s opinions and ideas about immigration and American children born to undocumented immigrants.”

In a press release, Medina invited Trump to answer questions from Ramos and other Latino journalists at the upcoming Education In Journalism conference in Orlando in which NAHJ is a partner.

Asian American journalists say they aren’t exactly condemning Trump, but are disturbed that a presidential candidate kicked a journalist out of a press conference. The journalists say they are equally concerned about him, and fellow Republican presidential nominee Jeb Bush, referring to Asian immigrant children as “anchor babies.”

AAJA plans to issue an advisory to news organizations, encouraging journalists not to use the term, and to explain to readers and viewers why the presidential candidates should not be using it, said Zain Shauk, chair of AAJA’s MediaWatch committee.

Zain Shauk, chair of AAJA's MediaWatch Committee.

Zain Shauk, chair of AAJA’s MediaWatch Committee.

“Our main concern has to do with the derogatory language being used to describe non-citizens whose children are born in the United States. The words “anchor babies” are offensive, especially to the children they describe,” Shauk added. “We encourage news organizations to avoid this language and instead use more accurate language to describe children born in the United States to non-citizens.”

Even New York Times columnist Charles Blow has had enough. In today’s edition Blow writes that he will cover Trump “as he addresses issues with specific policy prescriptions and details, like answers to the question Ramos asked.” But until then, Blow continues, “… this man is not worthy of the attention he’s garnering. We in the media have to own our part in this. We can’t say he’s not serious and then cover him in a way that actually demonstrates that we are not serious.”

 

 

Editor’s note: Keep up with AllDigitocracy.org by subscribing to our weekly newsletter. Every Saturday morning, subscribers get a recap of our top stories of the week and subscriber-only content. Click here to subscribe today!

© 2015 BD Portraits - ://BDPortraits.com/

 

Denise Clay is the assistant editor for AllDigitocracy. She is a contributing editor and columnist to the Philadelphia Sunday Sun, and the Philadelphia Public Record. Her work has also appeared on XOJane, and Time.com.

 

Filed Under: Featured, JOURNALISM, NEWS, Television Tagged With: Asian American Journalists Association, Denise Clay, Donald Trump, Jorge Ramos, journalism, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, news coverage, Univision

The Trump Telenovela…

June 29, 2015 by Denise Clay

Donald Trump making his presidential announcement...and a nation of enemies...

Donald Trump making his presidential announcement…and a nation of enemies…

By DENISE CLAY

When I was a kid and we first got cable, I would sometimes catch telenovelas on the Spanish-language network Univision as I flipped through the channels.

For those who don’t know what a telenovela is, it’s literally a book on television. Some of the acting is a bit over the top, and that leads to them looking like soap operas on steroids. But it’s kind of cool to see a book, literally, acted out. Some of the folks you see on television and in the movies here in the States, folks like Oscar-nominated actress Salma Hayek and Sofia Vergara of the hit series “Modern Family” got their start there doing telenovelas.

Usually, watching a telenovela without a working command of the Spanish language is a pretty unsatisfying experience. You get lost pretty easily and find yourself saying “Huh?!” a lot…

Fortunately, thanks to a dispute between Univision and Donald Trump, a man whose entire existence screams over the top, America is getting a chance to see what an English-language telenovela might look like.

The Trump/Univision story is a story of what happens when a content provider with a history of putting folks in uncomfortable positions, a content distributor whose audience is made up of an ethnic group that is one of the fastest growing in the country, and the parent company that oversees them both find themselves at odds.

And if someone’s not careful, this dispute could lead to someone winding up on the outside looking in.

On June 25, Univision announced that it was ending its partnership with the Miss Universe organization due to some remarks that Trump made about Mexican immigrants during his June 16 news conference announcing his intention to get into the Republican  presidential nomination minivan for 2016.

The part of Trump’s stream of consciousness that crossed a line with Univision went a little something like this…

“When Mexican sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” Trump said. “They’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume are good people.”

(Nice to know that some are good people, Donald. I was starting to get a little worried.)

It was the so-called “good people” that Univision cited in its statement telling Trump “You’re Fired!”

“At Univision, we see first-hand the work ethic, love for family, strong religious values and the important role Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have had and will continue to have in building the future of our country,” according to the company’s statement.

Now because he’s Donald Trump, and he’s not a guy that’s used to people standing up to him, he’s reacted to Univision’s decision with all of the maturity of a 12-year-old whose Xbox was confiscated for bad grades.

After announcing that Univision had dumped him on Twitter, he went on Fox News and promptly doubled down on his remarks, saying that it was “common sense” that Mexico was sending its rapists and murderers to America.

Secondly, he announced that he was suing Univision for breach of contract for severing their relationship, claiming that the network was mad at him for “exposing” just how bad America’s trade deals with Mexico have been for the country.

Trump then sent Univision President and CEO Randy Falco a letter saying that the Trump National Doral resort in Miami–which just happens to be located next to Univision’s headquarters–is now off limits.

Trump to Univision: No Golf For You!

Trump to Univision: No Golf For You!

Finally, when Univision anchor Jorge Ramos wrote Trump asking for an interview to get his side of the story, The Donald responded to his request by putting the letter—and Ramos’s cell phone number—on his Instagram account.

Wow.

Now what makes this interesting is that both Trump and Univision have something in common: Comcast/NBC. The company owns Univision and is the home of Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” or as I like to call it, “The Shenanigans of Donald Trump and His Cadre of Z-Listers.”

The company issued a statement to the Hollywood Reporter distancing itsef from Trump’s comments…and everything else.

“Donald Trump’s opinions do not represent those of NBC,” the network said. “And we do not agree with his positions on a number of issues, including his recent comments on immigration.”

NBC has also said that in light of Trump’s decision to get into the GOP Presidential Mini-Van, it’s re-evaluating The Donald’s relationship with the network.

That’s what everyone needs to keep an eye on.

While NBC CEO Brian Roberts is probably somewhat used to The Donald making the lives of the company’s executives unnecessarily hard by saying something totally ignorant, Trump may have gone a little too far here.

You see, insulting Black folks, which Trump did the last time he ran for president, is one thing. But insulting an entire nation, specifically a nation that’s the native land of some of the people that make up one of the fastest-growing minority groups in this country, well, that can make life difficult for a media corporation that’s trying to stay financially solvent and keep its stockholders happy.

And the Latino community knows this. Actors Roselyn Sanchez and Cristian DeLa Fuente, the Spanish-language co-hosts of the Miss USA Pageant have both announced their intentions to bail on The Donald. There’s also a Change.org petition asking NBC to cancel the Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageants and “Celebrity Apprentice” that’s got close to 200,000 signatures on it.

Once NBC gets that petition, the company will listen to those voices. Count on it.

And Trump may wind up learning that while you can say anything you want to under the First Amendment, no one has to continue to bankroll your fruit stand in the Marketplace of Ideas if you keep selling rotten apples…

…which, depending on the story, might be getting thrown at him if this were an actual telenovela…

UPDATE: The National Association of Hispanic Journalists has issued a statement:

Our mission at NAHJ embodies grace and dignity. We work toward equal representation in newsrooms so the American people are not blind to the stories of 54 million American Latinos. We work toward fair and accurate representation of Latinos in the media who deserve the respect and dignity entitled to all Americans. 

So when a candidate for President of the United States unfairly and incorrectly characterizes Mexicans and by close association, Mexican-Americans, it’s not only wrong, it’s un-American. NAHJ commends Univision’s decision to cut ties with Donald Trump’s Miss America and Miss Universe pageants and entities connected to Mr. Trump because of his remarks. See the complete statement here. 

UPDATE: NBC Universal has just issued a statement announcing that it too has severed ties with The Trump Organization.

“At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values. Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump. To that end, the annual Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageants, which are part of a joint venture between NBC and Trump, will no longer air on NBC. In addition, as Mr. Trump has already indicated, he will not be participating in The Celebrity Apprentice on NBC. Celebrity Apprentice is licensed from Mark Burnett’s United Artists Media Group and that relationship will continue.”

 

Filed Under: BUSINESS, ENTERTAINMENT, Featured, PEOPLE, Television Tagged With: Comcast, Denise Clay, diversity, Donald Trump, Hispanics, Latinos, media stereotypes, NAHJ, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, nbc, Univision

Caution and Skepticism About Univision-TheRoot Merger

June 3, 2015 by Guest Post

TV Network’s history of racism and colorism may not bode well for website formerly owned by The Washington Post Company

univision-and-the-root_599372

By Jillian Báez

Two weeks ago Spanish-language television giant Univision announced its acquisition of TheRoot.com, one of the top African American news websites. Coverage of the merger was quite celebratory and echoed co-founder Henry Louis Gates’ statement that “This bold new partnership between Univision and TheRoot underscores the ties that have long bound people of color together throughout the Western Hemisphere and is a sign of even greater levels of communication, collaboration and exchange between these culturally vital groups of people.”

But while Gates is obviously optimistic about the venture, I’m a little skeptical. Univision has some issues that no one has talked about that might impact things. For one thing, it’s digital presence, Fusion, is struggling to get traffic to its own website. Secondly, the parent company’s history as a serial consolidator and nasty habit of broadcasting racist content makes me cautious about this venture.

BounceTV2

Under Univision’s ownership, BounceTV now offers original programming including two sitcoms, a comedy show and soon its first scripted drama.

Univision is the largest Spanish-language television network in the U.S. and the fifth largest network overall. A look into Univision’s history helps to make sense of the network’s acquisition of The Root. Univision emerged from a consolidation of Mexican tycoon Emilio Azcárraga’s Spanish International Network (SIN) and the Spanish International Broadcasting Corporation in 1987. Hallmark purchased Univision in 1988 and sold the network to entrepreneur Jerrold Perenchio, owner of  Mexico’s Televisa, and Venezuela’s Venevisión. In 2006, Broadcasting Media Partners acquired Univision. Currently, Univision owns the television networks UniMás and Galavision as well as Univision Radio. In 2012, Univision acquired Bounce TV, the second-most watched network among African Americans with 90 million homes, as its first foray into African American content. While the channel, which was co-founded by Martin Luther King III, son of the Civil Rights icon, has historically offered reruns of sitcoms from the 80s and 90s sitcoms that can also be found on cable networks like BET and TVOne, BounceTV has introduced two new original sitcoms and will debut its first hour long drama series in 2016.

In 2013, in partnership with Disney and ABC News, Univision launched Fusion, a cable network geared toward millenials. But success among this demographic has proved elusive for the network.

“The reality, since Fusion began in October 2013, has been more complex,” Ravi Somaiya and Brooks Barnes for The New York Times. “Many inside and outside the company are hard pressed to define what exactly Fusion does. Traffic to its website has been anemic at times, and it has yet to deliver the kind of attention-getting stories that digital media rivals like Buzzfeed and Vice have produced.”

Perhaps that has more to do with Univision’s history of consolidation and conglomeration rather than innovation.

The Root was a subsidiary of the Slate Group, owned by Graham Holdings Co. In 2013, It was owned by The Washington Post until Jeffrey Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, acquired the newspaper, in a separate transaction.

The Root was a subsidiary of the Slate Group, owned by Graham Holdings Co. In 2013, It was owned by The Washington Post Company until Jeffrey Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, acquired the newspaper in a separate transaction.

For example, in response to critiques that the network had a lack of content for bilingual Latinos born in the U.S., Univision created The Flama, a bilingual website for second and third generation Latinos in 2013. On television, however, Univision still heavily relies on imported programming from Mexican network Televisa. It is also still struggling to attract non-immigrant Latino audiences, even with the advent of Fusion.

TheRoot has a very different mandate as a news website than Univision has as a  transnational media conglomerate. It’s not only that The Root and Univision target different audiences, they also operate within different scopes. Whereas large media companies are primarily driven by profits, smaller outlets like TheRoot are usually more concerned with covering issues not visible in the mainstream media. At least that was the case for TheRoot when The Washington Post owned it.

While the management of The Root maintains that it will still have editorial control, it is possible that Univision will exert some influence over the tone and tenor of the site. It is also doubtful that The Root and Univision will create content that will foster conversations between the African American and Latino communities. As of now, for example, Univision’s acquisition of Bounce TV has not influenced programming on either network. Instead of creating coalitions between African American and Latino communities, the acquisition has proven to be more of a move towards aggregating growing and lucrative niche markets for increased profits. More of the same is probably what we can expect with the purchase of TheRoot.

Despite recent reports of Fusion's struggle to capture audience and find an identity, Disney and Univision announced last month that it would pump $30 million into the network.

Despite recent reports of Fusion’s struggle to capture audience and find an identity, Disney and Univision announced last month that it would pump $30 million more into the network.

The merger between Univision and TheRoot should not be divorced from recent criticism the network received in response to a host commenting that Michelle Obama looked like “something from the cast of the Planet of the Apes.” While Univision fired the host shortly after the incident, it received mainstream media attention and spotlighted the network’s long track record of racist content. At best, indigenous-looking and black Latinos are relegated to buffoon or servant roles in telenovelas and at worst they are invisible on Univision’s other programming. In 2010, Univision issued an apology after airing a Despierta America segment about South Africa winning the 2014 World Cup that featured the cast of the morning show  dancing in Afro wigs while holding spears. During the network’s World Cup 2014 coverage, Univision commentators were criticized for making racist remarks about black players during the games. While the network didn’t make a formal apology, it did agree to look further into the issue and its on-air practices. It is also problematic that many of the network’s on-air talent are white-skinned Latinos and that dark-skinned Hispanics are rarely seen on-camera.

It is also worth noting that Univision’s CEO, Randy Falco, is a white Anglo man who does not speak Spanish. Univision’s purchase of TheRoot might be part of the network’s efforts to be more racially inclusive, but we shouldn’t forget that ownership is key. In a media system where only a very few own access to producing and distributing media content, I am hesitant to celebrate yet another merger.

 

Jillian BaezJillian Báez is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Culture at the College of Staten Island-CUNY. Follow her on Twitter at @JillianBaez.

Filed Under: BUSINESS, Columns, Featured, INTERNATIONAL, JOURNALISM, Media Ownership, Mergers, NEWS, Online, PEOPLE, Television Tagged With: ABC News, Blacks, BounceTV, colorism, Disney, Emilio Azcárraga, Fusion, Hallmark, Hispanics, Jerrold Perenchio, Jillian Báez, media bias, millenials, racism, Randy Falco, theRoot, Univision

Powerful Latina journalists reflect on the past & future of Hispanics in media

March 25, 2015 by Guest Post

(Left to right) Myriam Marquez, Shirley Velasquez, Cynthia Hudson and Maria Elena Salinas shared their thoughts and experiences at Hispanicize 2015 in Miami.

(Left to right) Myriam Marquez, Shirley Velasquez, Cynthia Hudson and Maria Elena Salinas shared their thoughts and experiences at Hispanicize 2015 in Miami.

By CONSTANZA GALLARDO

There are over 54 million Hispanics in the U.S. today according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Attitudes toward this community have improved over the past three decades but four of the most powerful Latina journalists say there’s still work to be done.

Here are three things learned from veteran journalists Maria Elena Salinas, co-anchor for Univision News; Myriam Marquez, executive director for El Nuevo Herald; Cynthia Hudson, senior vice president and general manager for CNN en Español and Shirley Velasquez, executive director at Latina magazine at Hispanicize 2015.

  1.     We’ve come a long way:

Salinas started working in TV over 30 years ago, and she remembers how nobody wanted to cover the Hispanic community, which was once called the “taco beat.”

For Salinas, mainstream media has failed to recognize Latino journalists as one of their own.

“We are not just Hispanic journalist,” says Salinas. “We are journalists and not so different from them.”

As a female journalist, Hudson says overcoming the patriarchal Latino society is another barrier that has slowly torn down.

“We do it better because we do it in heels,” says Salinas.

  1.     Stay true to yourself

Marquez and Hudson have light skin and blonde hair; characteristics that both women say many Americans don’t associate with the Hispanic community. Both say they weren’t seen as Latinas until they started talking and at certain moments would get very loud.

“They have forgiven me for being loud,” says Hudson. “Don’t try to conform…you wouldn’t be doing anyone a favor by changing who you are.”

Hudson says nobody should apologize for who they are or their background. She wants to make it an open policy to encourage young latinos in the community.

“We are here to stay and be productive members of society,” adds Marquez.

  1. Work for the next generation

“It’s going to be very rich if we do things right, now,” says Velasquez.

By mid century the U.S. Census Bureau estimates one third of the country’s population will be Hispanic.

Velasquez says the U.S. can become a bilingual country where Spanish will be a dominant language. When she started working she recalls how speaking Spanish wasn’t important at all.

“Within two years, it became crucial that I spoke two languages,” says Velasquez.

Hudson and Salinas agree; they say Spanish will not disappear from the U.S.

“Today is a different thing, is not assimilation,” says Salinas. “Latinos are bilingual, but if they are watching Univision or CNN, it’s not only because of the language but because of the culture.”

Listen to Shirley Velasquez talk about the next generation of Hispanic journalists: 

 

Filed Under: Featured, Magazines, NEWS, Newspapers, Online, PEOPLE, Radio, Television Tagged With: #Hispz15, CNN en Español, Cynthia Hudson, El Nuevo Herald, Latina Journalists, Latina Magazine, Maria Elena Salinas, Myriam Marquez, Shirley Velasquez, Univision

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