Latino Voices Call On Media To Improve Hispanic Representation

Excerpt: Media Matters for America 

Prominent advocates for the nation's Latino community highlighted how badly America's second-largest demographic is underrepresented in the media during a September 17 Media Matters-sponsored event to mark the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. The panelists underscored how the media's nearly complete lack of Latino representation ranges from the dearth of Latino voices and perspectives included in English-language news to the absence of substantive coverage of issues that matter most to Latinos -- and how that underrepresentation is mirrored by underrepresentation in the government, which deeply impacts "the quality of life of the Latino community."

Panel moderator and CEO of Voto Latino, María Teresa Kumar explained that despite the fact that Latinos "are the second-largest demographic group of Americans ... our policies, our issues, and our opinions are completely missed from mainstream."

National Council of La Raza's (NCLR) Janet Murguía pointed out that when the media does cover Latino issues, the stories often present "a very shallow view of what the Latino voter looks like," and frequently portray the community as concerned with the single issue of immigration, despite evidence that the economy, health care, and education are just as important to Latinos. Murguía noted that Latinos "are not monolithic, but we are multidimensional in terms of what we care about and how we engage in different roles in society."

Hector Sánchez, executive director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) and chair of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, illustrated how media coverage often fails Latinos by "responding to ratings" and overemphasizing sensational stories -- like Donald Trump's inflammatory rhetoric about immigrants -- rather than providing a balanced platform for substantive coverage of issues that affect their lives.

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