Univision should be commended, not crucified, for presenting their viewers with bipartisan coverage.
Hispanics make up the second-largest media viewership and voting group in the country. Yet, partisan politics threaten Spanish news at a moment when trust in the media is at an all-time low.
As a former journalist who worked for Univision, Telemundo and CNN Español for 35 years, I have watched political hypocrisy threaten the independence of U.S. Spanish media throughout my career.
Now, over the past few weeks, it’s come into the public view, as liberal activists, Democrat members of Congress, and political operatives have attempted to boycott, investigate and black-list Univision for interviewing current presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump.
This may seem strange to the majority of Americans who have never watched Spanish news — and rightfully so. There should be nothing controversial about interviewing a leading presidential candidate.
But Spanish media has been the left’s best kept secret. For 30 years, Democrats have dominated these airwaves, playing a one-sided game against an absent GOP opponent. And for those three decades, Hispanic viewers were fed Democrat talking points that shaped countless pivotal elections — often with the ideological backing of the producers and news directors, much to my and many of my journalist colleagues’ frustration.
During that time, to the GOP’s credit, they never attempted to silence the Spanish networks or require favorable coverage. Only now, as Univision attempts to present fair and balanced reporting, do we see professional Democrats demand a return to their preferred status quo of biased media.
The media holds unmatched influence in America. The bastion of society is a free press, and inversely, the downfall of a free society is political censorship. Knowledge is power, and while that phrase is often over-used, the truth remains. An informed electorate is a pillar of democracy. Univision cannot let this pressure campaign move them off course.
It is both demeaning and arrogant for the Democrat political class to think they should have a monopoly on Hispanic audiences. The root of their political outrage is fear because their grip is slipping.
A November poll shows President Biden’s lead with Hispanics in swing states has dropped to single digits, down from a historic Democrat advantage of more than 30 percent. This follows last year’s election, where Miami-Dade County, a Hispanic Democrat stronghold, flipped Republican for the first time in 20 years.
In the background, we’ve watched the Hispanic population in the United States grow almost 300 percent since 1990, from 22.4 million to 62.1 million in the 2020 census. Hispanics are both the nation’s youngest demographic, with a median age of under 30, and the fastest growing minority group in the country, making up 20 percent of the population — a young pool of new voters looking for a candidate or party who best represents their values.
So, this Democrat anxiety is not unfounded. If they lose their stranglehold on the Spanish media and their Hispanic audience, and more Republican candidates engage with the Spanish press, the GOP’s entrance into this unchartered territory could create shockwaves in future elections.
It is not up to the media to decide America’s future. Their responsibility is to facts and truth, not to their favorite politicians.
Univision’s new commitment to fair and balanced reporting is a positive step in the right direction for rebuilding U.S. trust in the press. In 2022, for the first time ever, the percentage of Americans with “no trust at all” in the media was higher than the percentage with “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of trust combined. Other outlets should take note and follow Univision’s lead, give coverage to all political ideologies, and allow Americans to make informed decisions that best reflect their needs. However, if the media kowtows to the “outraged” political activists and small but vocal mob, I fear that public trust in the press will sink to new lows.
Meanwhile, I hope that my Democrat colleagues in Congress, particularly in the Hispanic Caucus, will end their crusade against Univision, ask their activists to stand down, and welcome alternative voices on Spanish media. They should be proud to defend their ideals, rather than fight to silence opposition.
I won’t be holding my breath, however, because this is the same group that spent two years denouncing Miami Spanish media for unfounded “disinformation” because they watched the political tides turn there as well.
As the only GOP member of the House of Representatives to frequent Hispanic media networks, I am never a stranger to a challenging media appearance — especially interviews as rigorous as the ones I gave before entering Congress.
Let’s end this political telenovela. Let’s applaud fair and balanced media. Let’s trust the citizens of this great country. Let’s have faith in open democracy — remember, in the free market, the best option wins.
Rep. María Elvira Salazar (@RepMariaSalazar), a Republican, represents Florida’s 27th Congressional District. Prior to serving in Congress, she spent 35 years as a Spanish-language journalist, receiving five Emmy Awards for her reporting.