| | |  Editorials | Issues | October 2009 
Latinos to CNN: Are You With Us or Against Us?
 Manuel Avendaño - El Diario La Prensa
go to original
October 27, 2009
Also See: Fire Lou Dobbs
| | CNN anchor Lou Dobbs. (Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t) | |
New York - Dozens of angry demonstrators gathered in Manhattan on last week to demand that the cable news network CNN fire its prime-time anchor Lou Dobbs for his denigration of Hispanic immigrants.
Similar protests took place in 18 other cities across the country that afternoon, shortly before CNN aired its first installment of the four-hour series "Latino in America," a documentary intended to highlight the accomplishments of Latinos and to illustrate some of the challenges that they face here in the United States.
Those in attendance at the protest said that the documentary makes no mention of Dobbs, who for the past several years has used his CNN program, "Lou Dobbs Tonight," as a "platform to spread falsehoods and negative stereotypes about Latino immigrants and the Hispanic community in general," according to protesters.
On his show, Dobbs is a tough critic of illegal immigration and undocumented immigrants, but activists at the protest said that his message is damaging to all Latinos.
"We are trying to raise awareness in the community about the danger posed by Lou Dobbs and CNN," Roberto Lovato told El Diario La Prensa. Lovato is a cofounder of Presente.org, which sponsored the protests against CNN.
The protests are part of the www.BastaDobbs.com campaign, which is comprised of some 40 pro-immigrant rights groups across the country. According to Presente.org, the campaign has managed to collect 65,000 signatures in one month to support the dismissal of Dobbs. Its objective is to collect 100,000 signatures via text message and present them to John Klein, the president of CNN. Organizers of the campaign also plan to go after sponsors of the news network.
Among the lies disseminated by Dobbs is the notion that one out of every three prisoners in the United States is an undocumented immigrant, said Lovato.
"Four hours of 'Latino in America' is lovely and very welcome," Lovato said, "but it is not enough to counterbalance the hundreds of hours of hate promoted by Dobbs."
New York City Council member Melissa Mark-Viverito, who participated in the protest, described "Latino in America" as "a little bone that CNN is trying to toss to the Latino community."
CNN did not respond to messages from the campaign, nor did it issue a statement regarding the protests.
Wednesday and Thursday nights' broadcasts of "Latino in America" were also aired on CNN's Spanish affiliate channel.
Translation: Ryan Croken.
Ryan Croken is a freelance writer and editor based in Chicago. His essays and book reviews have appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Z Magazine and ReligionDispatches.org. He can be reached at ryan.croken(at)gmail.com. |
|
| |
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us