| | |  Travel Writers' Resources | November 2008 
Presidential Candidates Fail to Focus on Hispanic Media
 Hispanic Digital Network
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| | Two thirds of Hispanic newspapers surveyed remain objective; 34% making endorsements, 32% back Obama and 2% support McCain. | | |
Miami - With only days until Election Day, Hispanic Digital Network (HDN), a PR Newswire company, polled its network of U.S. Hispanic media to gauge media preferences on the election and political candidates. The results from the online media survey indicate that the majority of Hispanic print publications have not endorsed a presidential candidate. The findings also show that immigration is the key issue at stake for U.S. Hispanics in the election.
When asked, "Does your publication endorse a presidential candidate," 66% of survey respondents indicated that they had not yet endorsed a presidential candidate; 32% of respondents endorsed Barack Obama; and 2% backed John McCain.
Sixty-one percent of survey respondents indicated that they have not published an editorial in favor of a presidential candidate; 34% indicated that they have and 5% indicated that they would prior to Election Day. The findings also show that immigration is a key issue at stake for U.S. Hispanics in the election for 63% of respondents, while the issue of the economy garnered 51% and education 40%.
"We wanted to get a sense of what our publishers think about the election because they are an important sampling of U.S. Hispanic publications. Since our members are the local voice of Hispanic communities throughout the nation, we felt it was an important perspective to examine," said Anllelic Lozada, online publishing manager, HDN, a service of PR Newswire and the nation's first Internet advertising network of U.S. Hispanic media.
HDN conducted a brief informal, online survey of its network of 76 U.S. Hispanic media and received a 66% response rate. The respondents included editors and publishers of newspapers, magazines and media portals. The survey was conducted from October 27-30, 2008. According to a respondent from El Hispano News (www.elhispanonews.com), which has been serving the Hispanic community in Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX since 1986, "The [presidential] candidates haven't really paid a lot of attention to Hispanic media, especially to print media." El Hispano News hasn't publicly endorsed a presidential candidate.
Another respondent from the newspaper Identidad Latina (www.identidadlatina.com), which is based out of Hartford, CT and is endorsing presidential candidate Barack Obama noted, "The [presidential] candidates are only interested in paid TV political advertisements and there is an imbalance [of interest] with the other types of [Hispanic] media."
A respondent from Enlace Total (www.enlacetotal.com.mx), which is the first 100% Mexican community newspaper published in the U.S. and Mexico, said, "I think that interaction is lacking between the candidates and Hispanic media regarding the election, especially media of Mexican origin." Enlace Total hasn't publicly endorsed a presidential candidate.
The Hispanic population is projected to nearly triple, from 46.7 million to 132.8 million by 2050. Its share of the nation's total population is projected to double, from 15 percent to 30 percent. Thus, nearly one in three U.S. residents would be Hispanic according to the US Census Bureau. Hispanics are widely considered as a potential "swing vote" in next week's election. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Hispanics constitute a sizable share of the electorate in key battleground states including New Mexico (where Hispanics make up 37% of state's eligible electorate); Florida (14%); Nevada (12%) and Colorado (12%).
Today, the U.S. Hispanic media includes over 30 Associated Press-style wire services and news syndicates, more than 550 Hispanic TV shows, over 175 Hispanic cable / satellite TV shows, more than 1,000 Hispanic radio station shows, over 875 Hispanic newspapers, over 625 magazines, and thousands of Hispanic media web sites. |
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