'Face the Nation' and Other English-Language Sunday Shows Lack Hispanic Representation: Study
English-language Sunday shows lack Hispanic representation, and when Hispanics guests are invited, immigration is the sole topic they're asked to discuss. But Spanish-language Sunday broadcasts aren't much better.
Media Matters for America, a web-based progressive research and information center, found that between Jan. 4 and May 3, 2015, only 4 percent of guests on English-language Sunday television shows were Hispanic, a drop of 42 percent. Also, English-language and Spanish-language Sunday television shows continue to demonstrate the "single issue syndrome," devoting a great deal of time on immigration, despite U.S. Latinos having a number of top interests, including job security, health care and education.
Seven popular English-language Sunday television shows were analyzed by Media Matters -- ABC's "This Week," CBS' "Face the Nation," Fox Broadcasting Co.'s "Fox News Sunday," NBC's "Meet the Press," CNN's "State of the Union," and MSNBC's "Up with Steve Kornacki" and "Melissa Harris-Perry" -- as well as two Spanish-language Sunday shows: Telemundo's "Enfoque" and Univision's "Al Punto."
These particular series often center on national political agenda and policy conversation, and inclines in popularity during presidential election season. With that said, only 4 percent of individuals appearing on English-language shows were Hispanic, a 42 percent decrease since observed between Aug. 31 and Dec. 28, 2014.
Four percent seems carelessly low considering Hispanics comprise 17.4 percent of the U.S. population. With there being 55 million Hispanics in the U.S., it's expected that guests on the series would reflect the reality of America. Instead of there being just 46 Hispanic guests out of 1,172, there should have been at least 204.
However, the absence of Hispanics/Latinos isn't the only issue. Thirteen percent of the total 46 Hispanic guests who appeared on these shows were invited solely to participate in a discussion about U.S. immigration policy. There were no guests to discuss health care, despite high levels of Hispanics in the U.S. being uninsured, and very few spoke about the economy and jobs (9 percent). Also, just four percent discussed education. In contrast, national polling by Latino Decisions in 2014 revealed that education and health care were top priorities for 21 percent and 17 percent of Hispanics, respectively.
However, Spanish-language media hasn't done much better with representation or exploration of diverse issues. "Al Punto" and "Enfoque" largely ignored education, healthcare and the economy. The shows welcomed a whopping 61 guests to discuss immigration; only six discussed jobs and the economy; four discussed healthcare; and three spoke about education. Also, of the 190 guests to be invited to those shows, just 16 or 8.4 percent were Hispanic.
"Fox News Sunday" and "Melissa Harris-Perry" managed to be the most inclusive of Hispanics, both hosting 10 Hispanic guests, followed by "State of the Union" with eight. Also, "Melissa Harris-Perry" entertained the most subjects with her Latino guests: four discussed the economy and education, two Latinos appearing to address each topic. The least inclusive was "Meet the Press" and "Face the Nation," inviting two and three Hispanic guests on their shows between January 4 and May 3, 2015, respectively.
The report asserted that the inclusion of Hispanic guests does not equate diversity. According to Media Matters, host Juan Williams accounted for 90 percent of the Hispanic guest appearances on "Fox News Sunday" between Jan. 4 and May 3, 2015. He also accounted for 60 percent of the show's Hispanic guest inclusion during the period analyzed in 2014.
CNN contributor Ana Navarro made up four out of six Hispanic appearances on "This Week" and presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio made up two out of three on "Face the Nation." Only Sunday shows on cable networks offered a diverse slate of Hispanic guests.