Americano Media will be a breath of fresh air, bringing conservative Spanish-language television news
Defender of family. Deeply religious. Entrepreneurial. And, in many cases, victims of populism and abuses of the radical left.
This is how the lives of Hispanics are described in the United States.
Even Jorge Ramos, an influential journalist, wrote it in an article years ago before his fierce opposition to Donald Trump placed him in an uncomfortable position for which he has been accused of being more of an activist than a journalist.
Both Ramos and coanchor María Elena Salinas seemed to be broadcasting a funeral more than an election.
Univision had bet clearly by Hillary Clinton.
If one jumps from Univision’s newscast to Telemundo’s without noticing the logo on the screen, they will have a hard time knowing which channel is on.
Soap operas, celebrity gossip and newscasts perpetuate stereotypes about the Hispanics.
But our migratory problems occupy almost 100% of the issue. Channel owners have every right to choose the editorial line that pleases them. It is their right to advocate permissive immigration policies or criticize former President Trump.
But, at last, this antiRepublican duopoly that, together with CNN in Espanol, dominates Spanishlanguage television in the United States is going to have a new competitor.
A storm was unleashed on the radio scene after TelevisaUnivision’s sale of 18 stations, in 10 markets, to Latino Media Network, run by Democratic-leaning shareholders.
But Spanish-language Americano Media has arrived to try to provide balance and offer programming in which conservative communicators can question policies and attitudes that would never arise on Univision, Telemundo or CNNE.
This is certainly good news for this nation’s democratic health. Americano Media paints a broader reality about Hispanics in the United States.
Jorge Arrizurieta and Iván García-Hidalgo are the two directors who lead this venture in South Florida, where the Cuban community feels a disaffection for the two major Hispanic TV channels. Americano Media’s studios are being housed in the former headquarters of the local channel Telemiami, in Little Havana.
At the moment, programs are being broadcast on the radio. In August, they will be seen on TV. The journalists Lourdes Ubieta, Gabriela Perozo, Yoly Cuello, Isabel Cuervo are some of the combative voices of the network.
And their battle is exciting and, yes, more balanced.
There is a sequence of the series “The Loudest Voice,” in which actor Russell Crowe, who plays Roger Ailes, founder of
Fox News perfectly, explains the need to create the channel in the mid’90s.
As happens now with the channels in Spanish, all the Englishlanguage news channels were vying for the audience using similar editorial approaches and styles.
Fox News breakthrough was a hit and an opportunity for millions of viewers who did not identify with the journalists from CNN, ABC or CBS to hear their views reflected.
I hope Americano Media is the first of many new offerings from digital channels, left and right, for the Hispanic community. Because, yes, we are both.
Manuel Aguilera is founder and CEO of the HispanoPost Media Group. He is a former executive editor of Univision’s online platform.