Communities: Latino

Latino Media Ownership

The media industry in the United States is lacking real Latino presence when it comes to ownership and decision-making. According to a National Rainbow Coalition study on Fairness in the Media, there are over 98,000 telecommunications businesses in the US, but only one half of one percent are minority-owned. The situation in cable is similarly bleak. There are only nine minority-controlled cable television operations out of 7,500 cable operators in the US. These figures are especially disturbing considering the fact that minorities consume premium cable services at higher rates then white consumers. In 2000, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) gave the entire cable industry a grade of "C" based on areas of minority employment, hiring and promotions, service deployment, procurement/vendor relations, advertising/marketing, and charitable activity.

The lack of diversity of ownership in television is also evident in radio. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a report (PDF) in 2001 that found that minorities owned four percent of full-power commercial radio stations, even though Latinos represent about a third of the US population.

At the same time, minorities are missing from the boardrooms in major media outlets and the deregulation spurred by The 1996 Telecommunications Act has made the situation even worse. Now, with no limits on the number of TV channels open to market, with little capital and less Federal Communications Commission support, it's almost impossible for minorities to improve the situation.

Latino Presence in Media

Though Latinos constitute the largest minority population in the United States, if you watched TV or listened to the radio, you might not see or hear a single one. According to a study (PDF) by the Screen Actors Guild, only 22.1% of all roles in 2001 went to performers of color. Directors lack diversity as well. Of the 826 episodes of the top 40 drama and comedy series on the air during 2000-2001 season, Latinos only directed 15, or 2%.

Latinos have made gains on prime time television; however, the characters Latinos play are too often domestic workers or criminals. According to Dr. Clara Rodriguez at Fordham University, this lack of diversity in film and TV depiction is harmful. "You should be able to have all types of movies depicting all types of characters," said Rodriguez during her testimony before Congress. "The problems come when the representation of a particular group is too narrow, one-dimensional and stereotypical."

The lack of Latino role models is particularly hard felt in children's programming. According to a study (PDF) by Children Now, the family hour, where most children are watching, is the least ethnically diverse. Because of their increasing numbers, rising political power, and growing economic viability, it seems highly likely a show targeted to Latino children would be a financial success. This theory is exactly what Nickelodeon decided to test and what made their hit show, Dora the Explorer, such a huge phenomenon.

According to the Network Brownout Report of 2005, news stories about Latinos and Latino issues were almost non-existent. Of the 548 hours of network news in 2004, only 3 hours and 25 minutes were devoted to Latino stories - a decline from 2003. In addition, the study found that certain topics, such as immigration, were linked to Latinos and overemphasized in coverage relating to the Latino community.

Even when diversity is mandated by law, there is no genuine Latino representation. National Public Radio, which was created by the Public Broadcasting Act and signed into law by President Johnson in order to bring about programming that, "is reflective of American values and cultural diversity," does not reflect our diverse nation. Instead, an Extra! survey found that the dominant voices in leading public radio stations in seven U.S. urban areas were overwhelmingly white and predominantly male. This was true even in markets that were as high as 25% Latino. In essence, the voice of America has lost all of its color and instead forces a diverse population to hear only one side of the national story.

Latino Access to Technology

The expanse of the digital divide is growing larger and larger for Latinos in the United States. "The digital divide debate is not a debate about gadgets or even markets. It is a debate about who gets to speak and to hear, and for what price, and to whom," said Wade Henderson, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR). Unfortunately, this lack of digital access is not an easy problem to solve.

Latinos aren't online for a multitude of reasons. As a community, Latinos are plagued by socio-economic disadvantages, low educational attainment, and language barriers that all contribute to their lack of access to the Internet. In addition, the providers of technology often choose not to build out and provide service to communities that are low-income. This disproportionately affects Latinos and other minorities. Without access to the internet, Latinos fall further and further behind in technology use, which in turn, perpetuates low academic achievement. A study (PDF) released by the LCCR highlights some of the harsh realities of the Latino digital divide.

According to the study:

63% of Latinos do not have internet access
There is a cultural and language divide. Spanish-speaking Latinos, especially Mexican Americans, have strikingly low access to a home computer or the internet.
Slightly more than half of all black and Latino children have access to a home computer and approximately 40 percent have access to the Internet at home (compared to 85.5 and 77.4 percent of white, non-Latino children). Ethnic and racial disparities in home computer and Internet access rates are larger for children than for adults.
Among Latino groups, Mexicans have the lowest home computer and Internet access rates followed by Central and South Americans who have the next lowest rates. Although Cubans, Puerto Ricans and other Latinos have higher rates, all Latino groups are less likely to own a computer or have Internet access at home than are white, non-Latinos.

Solutions

Moving from these facts to solutions requires a cooperative effort of many individuals and organizations. Latinos must work together to develop and advocate for strategies that take advantage of legislative opportunities and community/market-based solutions to advance the cause of minority media.

Those making this effort include:

The National Hispanic Media Coalition – Latinos are making efforts to fix the telecommunications landscape by appealing to legislators for change.
In order to address the lack of minority representation in media ownership and the lack of diverse Latino depictions on television and in movies, many minorities have opened their own movie houses, talent agencies, and film festivals to expand their image in Hollywood. Organizations like Third World Newsreel foster the creation, appreciation, and dissemination of independent film and video by and about people of color and social justice issues.
If you are a Latino producer or would like to learn more about bringing your community's voice into the industry, find out more by visiting the website of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. Attending film festivals, like the NY Latino Film Festival will help bring awareness and support to the efforts of Latino actors and filmmakers.
Latinos can also get involved by learning more about the issues and becoming educated advocates. The United Church of Christ has an organizing manual that is a resource for people interested in organizing to promote a more diverse media.
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists has launched a parity project to ensure that Latinos' communities are served by Latino journalists. The project works with English-language news organizations to increase the number of Latino journalists in newsrooms and establish stronger ties with Latino leaders in the community to offer ongoing guidance when it comes to coverage of Latino issues.

Visit the Community Organization and Resource Bibliography for a more comprehensive directory of groups and information.

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