Losing the battle for the Latino electorate, Republican conservatives are tackling what they say is partly to blame: the Spanish-language media.
Members of the conservative Media Research Center said at a breakfast, attended largely by Hispanics, that the Spanish-language media has a liberal bias, spends too much time covering immigration reform and provides Republicans little time to give conservative perspective on issues such as the Affordable Care Act.
Those conclusions come from an analysis released Tuesday by the Media Research Center of the content of Univision and Telemundo networks over the four months from Nov. 1, 2013 to Feb. 28, 2014.
“Conservatives need the support of Hispanics to grow as a movement,” Alfonso Aguilar, who hosts a radio news program on Univision radio. Aguilar also is executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles.
The objectives of the analysis and others that are planned are “improving conservative participation in this segment of the media, while holding these outlets accountable for the same standards for accuracy and fairness expected of other networks.”
In a statement, Noticias Telemundo said it stands for “accuracy, fairness and independence.”
“We are devoted to our audience of U.S. Hispanics and strive to offer them the most reliable and objective information on the subjects that matter the most to them,” the network, a property of NBCUniversal, as is this website, said in a statement.
Univision said in a statement it is "committed to providing access to all points of views and information so that our audiences can make informed decisions, regardless of their political views or affiliations. We have an open invitation to elected officials and representatives from all sides to address our community on issues of importance and relevance.”
Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who has begun work for a 2016 presidential run, acknowledged to the audience that conservatives have to make more appearances on Spanish-language television and have something to say to change people’s attitudes about conservatives and the Republican party.
“We have to get something out of the way for people to listen to us … I think what’s happened is there is not the perception of empathy coming from the Republican Party,” said Paul of Kentucky.
Paul suggested conservatives talk about immigration in the context of how big government is responsible for problems in the American visa system and drop talk about deportations. He also pointed to problems with the Senate comprehensive immigration reform bill he voted against.
“The Hispanic community, the Latino community is not going to hear us until we get beyond that issue,” Paul said. “They aren’t going to care if we go to the same church or have the same values or believe in the same kind of future for the country until we get beyond that.
“Showing up helps, but you gotta show up and say something and you’ve got to say something different than what we’ve been saying,” Paul said.
