Video: On MSNBC Discussing the War on Everyday Americans
As Publishers Court Latinos in English Online, Offline Spanish is King
(Cross-posted from DailyGrito)
Suddenly it seems like every publisher and their mamá has decided to court the emerging Latino market. Recently, The Huffington Post announced a new section, “Latino Voices,” and Fox News Launched Fox News Latino. I guess they too read the census. It is notable that the bulk of the new non-Latino-owned mega-sites are emerging in English — an obvious evolution given that bilingual and English-dominant Hispanics are more digitally plugged in than Spanish-dominant Hispanics. But while various new enterprises clamor for this readership online, there’s also something interesting happening off-line: Spanish-language outlets are tending to do better overall than their mainstream English-language peers.
According to a new study from the Pew Research Center, many Spanish-language outlets are growing. Univision, the largest Spanish-language network is now performing competitively with the three major English-language broadcast networks. According to the study: “In the 2010-2011 television season, Univision was the only major U.S. TV network to grow average primetime audience among 18-49 year olds—up 8% versus the season before. For the same demographic group, among the English-language networks, Fox lost 4%, CBS lost 8%, ABC lost 9% and NBC lost 14% over the same period.” In addition, the number of Spanish-language radio stations increased, magazines demonstrated year-over-year growth in ad spending, and while Hispanic newspapers saw a dip in their circulation, they still fared better than their English-language peers.
The growth of Spanish-language media may surprise some. Read one way, all signs point away from Spanish-language media: Latinos are increasingly young and American born, and a majority is bilingual. Adios Español, hello Ingles. Right? Not so fast. That assumption belies the experience of most young Latinos who, regardless of their default tongue, move seamlessly between English and Spanish-dominant worlds. Even I who grew up in an English-only home watched Sabado Gigante and rode a school bus where we only listened to La Mega 97.9 and Amor 93.1. It should be no surprise that Latinos continue to consume Spanish-language media.
Beyond language, there are additional unique strengths of the Spanish-language press. While local newspapers continue to shut their doors, the structure of the Spanish-language print press in local and regional clusters makes them some of the only outlets that still offer local news. That offers Latinos a way to access their local news, and it allows businesses a way to access local Latinos. Consider this:
Local ad revenue makes up a much larger slice of the advertising pie for Hispanic newspapers than does national ad revenue. In 2010, local ads accounted for 78% of all Hispanic newspaper ad revenue, or $554 million, according to Latino Print Network. National ad revenue accounted for 21% ($151 million); online web advertising represented only 1% of ad revenue ($7.2 million).
As more Latinos gain digital access, these numbers will shift yet again — but in which direction? Will Spanish-language media begin to turn that offline interest into online readership? Will they begin to expand their coverage to include English? Will more English-language online sites decide they too need a tilde in the title? Could it be that while the traditional “cross-over” has meant Spanish to English that some of these sites will ultimately expand to Spanish? And most importantly, even with all the translators in the world, will any of these Jose-come-latelies be able to deliver for a Latino audience when their outlets are neither Latino owned nor operated?
Interview with Matt Barreto: New Poll Finds Obama’s Approval Numbers Slipping Among Latinos
(Cross-posted from DailyGrito)
Yesterday, Latino Decision released a new poll which found Obama’s approval numbers dipping among Latinos. Here, Latino Decisions pollster Matt Barreto weighs in on the importance of immigration to young Latinos, how the new changes in prosecutorial discretion could affect Obama’s approval ratings, and who Latino voters will hold accountable for the debt deal.
DG: The economy has shot back to being the #1 issue.
MB: The economy and immigration have both been mentioned at top issues of concern by Latino voters since SB1070 took center stage in the Spring of 2010. For most of 2010 the economy was listed as the top issue, and immigration as the number two issue, especially as the election neared and the candidates and the media talked non-stop about the economy. Into 2011 as more and more media attention in the Latino community focused on immigration and deportations, immigration popped up as the top issue. This was also around the time that President Obama hosted multiple meetings on immigration, and gave the speech in El Paso. Now, with the extensive focus on the debt ceiling in August, we see the economy returning as the top issue, however immigration remains a very important issue as well to Latino voters.
MB: Immigration reform, and especially support for the DREAM Act has become a very significant issue with younger Latinos. This is because they are more likely to be in contact, through their extensive social networks, with DREAM Act-eligible Latinos. When a young undocumented college student gets detained or deported, news spreads very quickly across facebook and twitter, and our survey data suggests younger Latinos are very, very committed to this issue. Even as the younger population tends to be heavily U.S. born, we know that their parents or grandparents are immigrants. So when the immigration issue comes up you are speaking about their friends, and their parents, so it becomes very personal. While they also worry about their future in terms of the economy, jobs, the issue of immigration has become very personal, and symbolically important. In our previous poll in June 2011, we found that 59% of Latinos age 18-35 said they personally knew an undocumented immigrant, the highest of any age group. This month in August 2011, we found that 82% of Latinos age 18-35 support the state level DREAM Act to provide in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants who are accepted to college.
DG: Do you think these numbers will be impacted by the latest change in prosecutorial discretion?
MB: The August 2011 impreMedia/Latino Decisions poll was in the field July 29-Aug 9, a good week before word came of the change by DHS in detention and deportation policy. While Obama’s approval numbers have dropped 10 points among Latinos since April, a good question is whether or not the recent changes to DHS policy will turn those numbers around. If the White House actively promotes the new policy shift, through public outreach to Latinos, there is good reason to believe Latinos will respond with increased support for the President. While immigration is just one of a number of important issues to the Latino community, it has become a very important symbolic issue over the past two years. With prominent figures such as Jorge Ramos and Luis Gutierrez continuing to call attention to the Obama administration’s record on deportations, and the lack of immigration reform in the Congress, Latino voters know very well the failed promises on immigration. Now, with this new announcement by DHS, this could provide a first positive step for the President in talking to Latino voters about a humane solution to immigration enforcement. However, the President and the White House must tout this accomplishment, not sweep it under the rug like a small footnote, in their outreach to Latinos. The next impreMedia/Latino Decisions poll will be released in early October 2011 and we will gauge reaction to this policy shift.
MB: With respect to the debt deal, the data are very clear – Latino voters strongly supported a solution that included both tax increases on the wealthy, alongside cuts to existing programs. The deal that was struck on August 2nd did not produce any tax or revenue increases, and this is very far out of touch with what a majority of Latino voters supported. But not just Latinos, almost every poll showed that a majority of all Americans supported the inclusion of tax increases on the wealthy as a way to address the debt ceiling issue. In this survey we did not ask respondents who they blame, but the deal could only be achieved by both Republicans and President Obama cooperating, so my sense is that both sides are to blame. Back in February we asked respondents if they thought policymakers in Washington D.C. take into account the viewpoints of the Latino community when enacting economic reforms, and 43% said no, 38% somewhat, and just 11% said yes. The August debt deal is further evidence that what Latino voters told us in February is true.
DG: In Texas, numbers are highest for Republicans, even higher than Florida – was this in the field before or after Rick Perry got in the race?
MB: The poll was in the field before Rick Perry announced. I believe he announced on August 13th and our poll was out of the field on August 9th. The sample sizes by state are small, so we don’t read too much into them unless there are huge differences. The overall sample for the poll is n=500 with a margin of error of +/- 4.3.
Video: DREAM Act & Cuban Love on MSNBC
Birthers Beg the Question: Who is a “real” American?
Today, the President took a water hose to the Birther fire and released his official long form birth certificate. We have a certificate, even Michelle Bachmann admits this is over, let’s just put this behind us, right? That would be nice. As the President said in this morning’s remarks, we have a lot of work to do and this conversation is a big distraction:
We’ve got some enormous challenges out there. There are a lot of folks out there who are still looking for work. Everybody is still suffering under high gas prices. We’re going to have to make a series of very difficult decisions about how we invest in our future but also get a hold of our deficit and our debt — how do we do that in a balanced way.
And this is going to generate huge and serious debates, important debates. And there are going to be some fierce disagreements — and that’s good. That’s how democracy is supposed to work. And I am confident that the American people and America’s political leaders can come together in a bipartisan way and solve these problems. We always have.
But we’re not going to be able to do it if we are distracted. We’re not going to be able to do it if we spend time vilifying each other. We’re not going to be able to do it if we just make stuff up and pretend that facts are not facts. We’re not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers.
I agree. Last Friday I made the same point on MSNBC. The problem is that the Birther movement isn’t just about Barack Obama’s birth certificate. The Birthers gave a name to anxiety about Obama’s race, his “otherness,” and his internal and domestic policies, and that does not end with the sharing of a certificate. As Steve Kornacki notes the questions about Obama’s birth only echo Conservative claims that Obama is not a “real” American:
While leaders on the right have shied away from overtly embracing birtherism (for fear of harming their party’s image with swing voters), they’ve also done nothing to discourage the conservative masses from believing the worst about the president. And the rhetoric they have embraced — claiming, for instance, that Obama rejects “American exceptionalism” — has often functioned to encourage conservatives to regard Obama as “the other,” a leader who is fundamentally different from “real” Americans and fundamentally anti-American in his values.
The sideshows and carnival barkers never go away. They just repurpose their call to be about anything from ending Medicare to changing the 14th amendment. For Obama, these questions about who is a “real” American will continue with every policy moves he makes. And for many of us, these questions are a reminder that whether we are an undocumented worker seeking a path to citizenship or an acculturated American-born patriot, in the eyes of some, we are permanently othered but “real” nonetheless.
Video: On MSNBC’s Jansing & Co. Talking Birthers
The Birthers and Paul Ryan’s budget…both symptomatic of GOP growing pains.
Upcoming TV: I’ll be on Fox’s The O’Reilly Factor Thursday night around 8:45pm ET and on MSNBC’s Jansing & Co. at about 10am ET on Friday. Please tune in!
Thank God, Indeed!
There is something uplifting about know that no matter how many Tsunamis hit or how many rebellions fail, the last crawl at the bottom of our screen is never the last. In every pocket of the world, there are people planning for the future, plotting what’s next and moving forward in spite of all of the things that might hold them back. I skimmed the accompanying article and learned far too much about two people I don’t know and will never meet: he has trust issues, this is ”her happy ending.” Embue their special day with as much meaning as I might, the moral of the story is one that we can take to heart: in a world of constant chaos and turmoil, we all need a little distraction. Here’s to Kate the Great for allowing us to escape! (Cross-posted from Hostess Wars)
And, we’re back
Some updates: I’ll be on MSNBC every Friday on Jansing & Co., and on Hannity’s Great American Panel this Wednesday, and May 6th – so be sure to tune in. In the meanwhile, a recent clip from MSNBC (with yet another amazing opening screen freeze):
Today’s Tragedy & Where We Go From Here
I’m still trying to wrap my mind around what happened today. Already, there are too many fingers being pointed: Palin, Beck, the Tea Party, the border. I understand. It’s easier to leap to the next conversation about who is to blame than to sit with the unspeakable reality of what happened, but there must be a period of reflection before there can be a period of condemnation. Please trust that we will soon have a serious national conversation about how we got here, who is to blame and what needs to change. For now, let this be a reminder of what most of us agree on: this type of violence is unacceptable and un-American.
Tonight, I’ll pray for the five who have already left us, for those who are fighting for their lives, for Arizona, for us all.
