Univision, Washington Post To Hold Republican Candidates Forum in 2016
The largest Spanish-language network in the United States, Univision, will be hosting its own Republican debate next year ahead of the final decision for the party's nominee.
The network will team up with the Washington Post to moderate and cover the so-called Republican candidates' forum.
The two media outlets announced on Wednesday they would hold a forum sometime in March 2016. Univision's press release stated the company's importance within the Latino community, being the most-watched Spanish-language network in the country.
March will be a month filled with primary races to determine who will be the GOP's next presidential candidate for the 2016 elections. Although the first states would have voted by then, at least five states will cast their votes that month, including Texas, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and Michigan. Some of these states -- Texas and Florida, in particular -- have large Latino populations.
The exact date for the joint forum has not been announced but will happen after some of the states voting that month have already cast their votes.
Some within the current GOP line up, in particular Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), have pushed for their party to be more inclusive and address immigration reform constructively. Latinos make up one of largest minorities and will continue to play an important role in U.S. politics.
"The collaboration will allow us to enhance and expand our coverage of the 2016 presidential elections and provide both our audiences with the most comprehensive and reliable profile of the U.S. Hispanic electorate available to date," said Isaac Lee, president of News and Digital, Univision Communications Inc., and CEO of Fusion.
He called the partnership between an "important alliance" that "brings together two media giants with tremendous audience reach."
Kevin Merida, Washington Post's managing editor, agreed in a press release, saying they look forward to working with Univision.
"Our goal is to produce together the most authoritative, innovative coverage of Hispanic voters ever seen during a presidential campaign cycle. We will delve into their lives, how they relate to the candidates and how the candidates relate to them," he explained.
The Republican Party knows it is important to appeal to the country's Latino community; however, it did not initially include Univision amongst the networks chosen in January to conduct debates.
The GOP chose Telemundo, the second largest Spanish-language network. Owned by NBC Universal, Telemundo will conduct and air its debate alongside NBC News. Their debate is slated to air on Feb. 26 from Houston, Texas.
According to BuzzFeed News, the GOP believed Univision portrayed the party unfairly.
"It's highly questionable whether we're treated fairly on Univision," RNC chairman Reince Priebus told BuzzFeed News. "You can fight all day long with people, not to say that that wouldn't continue, but at the same time you still have to get your message out."
The forum will be covered through both media outlets and will feature commentaries from Washington Post reporters as well as Univision political commentators.
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