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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
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Once derided by Trump as a ‘mouthpiece’ for the left, a changed
Univision softens its tone
By Hadas Gold, CNN
Updated:
6:00 AM EDT, Wed October 16, 2024
Source: CNN
When former President Donald Trump takes the stage with Latino voters
on Wednesday night in Miami at a town hall hosted by Univision, one
thing may be missing: fact checking.
There was no fact checking during Vice President Kamala Harris’ town
hall with the network last week either. But it’s the
question-and-answer session with her Republican rival that has raised
eyebrows among some inside and out of the network, who see it as
another marker in the Spanish-language broadcaster’s shift in
political tone — especially in its approach to confronting Trump
in high-profile settings.
While live fact checking may still take place on stage, a person with
knowledge told CNN, the network has officially stated that it will
take place afterwards and during an October 17 special program that
will examine both candidate’s answers.
Univision, the biggest Spanish-language broadcaster in the US, has
long been known for its challenging interviews and scrutinizing
coverage of politicians and their policies affecting the Latino
community. But the left-leaning Univision of previous election cycles
looks different than the one today.
In 2015, the network took a marked stance against Trump after he
denigrated immigrants as “bringing drugs” and “rapists” into
the US. Univision, which had broadcast Trump’s Miss Universe
pageants, , citing what it called “derogatory comments.” The two
sides later after Trump sued the network over breach of contract.
During that election, Jorge Ramos, the network’s longtime star
anchor, took on even greater international recognition as he tangled
with Trump over his immigration policy and comments about immigrants.
Trump after the journalist confronted him over his immigration
policy. Ramos continued to push back against Trump’s stance on
immigrants, about what he said is Trump’s racist language.
In 2020, the Trump campaign derided Univision as “a mouthpiece” for
the Democratic Party. Univision responded by inviting Trump for an
interview and saying, “We will continue to meet our commitment and
duty of informing the Hispanic community about his policies and his
electoral campaign by embracing the truth and the facts.”
But now, following Univision’s merger with the Mexican
telecommunications behemoth Televisa, Univision is facing criticism
for being “soft” on Trump. It’s a shift the network has openly
defended as economic realities and demographics change.
‘Before and after’ the interview
The town halls with Harris and Trump are moderated by Enrique
Acevedo, the Mexico-based anchor of Univision parent company
Televisa’s flagship nightly newscast “En Punto.”
It was Acevedo’s in November that stunned many inside and out of
the network for its softer approach and lack of fact checking. For many
Univision observers and former staffers, the sit-down represented a
split between the Univision of the past, and what may be shaping to be
the Univision of the future.
“There was a before and after” the interview, one former staffer
said.
Some of that disappointment was painfully public. A group of
influential Latino organizations penned an expressing “deep
concern” over the Trump interview. Ramos stepped out even further,
publicly criticizing the interview on his .
The interview “put in doubt the independence of our news department
and created discomfort and uncertainty within the newsroom,” Ramos
wrote.
“We cannot normalize behavior that threatens democracy and the
Hispanic community, or offer Trump an open microphone to broadcast his
falsehoods and conspiracy theories,” Ramos wrote. “We must question
and fact-check everything he says and does. That’s why it is very
dangerous to fail to confront Trump. And that’s why it is our moral
obligation to confront him every time there’s a journalistic
opportunity to do it.”
Acevedo later in a column for The Washington Post.
“In offering a fair platform for Trump’s views, which resonate with
a growing segment of Televisa-Univision’s viewership, I intentionally
granted him ample space,” Acevedo said. “It was a soft interview by
design, not by accident or imposition, like some suggested.”
The choice of Acevedo as interviewer in November and moderator for the
town halls also raised eyebrows within Univision. Though Acevedo holds
American citizenship and has spent extensive time in the US, including
as a correspondent in Washington, his Televisa news program is based in
Mexico and is not aired on Univision. (Acevedo is also an occasional
correspondent for CBS News.)
Acevedo co-moderated a 2016 presidential primary debate and has
scored major interviews for Univision with President Joe Biden, Dr.
Jill Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior
administration officials. But in and around Univision, some questioned
why the network did not call on one of the many correspondents and
anchors who live and work in the US to conduct a town hall with
American voters.
In a statement, Acevedo pushed back on what he said were “borderline
discriminatory” comments about his qualifications to host the town
hall.
“My experience across borders, languages, and platforms precisely
gives Univision’s audience the regional and global perspective they
deserve, and I’m confident in the unique value I bring to this
role,” Acevedo said.
A senior Univision executive also defended Acevedo’s role.
“He’s a seasoned, qualified journalist He is one of the faces of
our news coverage and we determined he’s the right person (for) this
role,” the person said.
Ramos heads for the exit
Last month, Ramos announced he will depart Univision at the end of the
year after four decades at the network. His departure is for many, the
ultimate sign that Univision’s editorial position is changing.
“Jorge is a very important symbol of an era of journalism in this
country, and he is maybe the only recognizable anchor, the only person
that all Latinos could point to as a champion for them in all and any
circumstance,” one former Univision journalist said.
Several former staffers who spoke to CNN noted that more Republicans
have appeared on the network’s air in recent years, and that the
quality of Univision’s everyday journalism hasn’t changed. But
it’s the tone during these big moments that has caused alarm.
“The question is, what is the mission of the journalism? Is it really
just to be in front of whoever and let them speak, or what is your
role?” a former Univision journalist said. “What’s the difference
between turning a camera on and let him say whatever he wants versus
actually having your logo, your reputation and your credibility behind
it?”
Ramos declined to comment.
The network’s new owners
When Acevedo sat down with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in November, also
present in the room were TelevisaUnivision Mexico co-CEOs Alfonso de
Angoitia Noriega and Bernardo Gomez Martinez, .
That rang alarms for some at the network, concerned over what they
saw as Televisa’s approach to news in Mexico being transposed on
Univision. In Mexico, the group has been accused of choosing business
relationships over challenging those in power.
“The way they have handled news in Mexico, it’s so dramatically
different, and the way they understand power and journalism and the
intersection of both, it’s just a game changer. It changes
everything,” a former Univision journalist said.
Joaquin Blaya, a former Univision president, Acevedo’s interview
with Trump as “Mexican-style news coverage.” Acevedo, in his column
at the time, pushed back, calling it “outdated prejudice” about
Mexico and its news media.”
Daniel Coronell, Univision’s head of news, the New York Times that
Televisa executives have no say over the newsroom.
“Univision has a clear separation between corporate interests and the
news department,” he said in December.
The economic realities
For Televisa and presidential candidates alike, Univision is an
important asset: It is the most for Spanish speakers in the US and a
critical outlet to reach Hispanic voters during an election.
But while some question whether the network’s shift is political or
the influence of its new Mexican owners, others say it’s just pure
demographics and economics.
Mike Madrid, a GOP political consultant at Grassroots Lab and author of
“The Latino Century,” told CNN that the Spanish speaking
television audience in the United States is . That means Univision is
fighting for an ever-smaller piece of the audience pie.
“Univision had a very partisan reputation for three decades, they
can’t afford to be partisan, they have to get every vote, every
viewer,” Madrid, who opposes Trump, said. “They have to appeal to
everyone, and with Trump picking up more Latino support, they’re
moving toward the direction of building an audience, as opposed to
cutting it in half.”
Latinos are a population ripe for Republican pick-ups, Madrid said,
both in politics and in media. Fox News’ Hispanic viewership is ,
Madrid noted. This week Fox News it intends to capitalize on that
growth with a new daily one-hour Spanish-language program entitled
“FOX Noticias” on the Spanish language sports channel, Fox
Deportes.
Others at Univision say the shift is helping the network gain political
relevance their audience deserves. Acevedo’s interview with Trump was
the first time in 22 years a current or former Republican president sat
with the network for an interview.
While fact checking was not a condition of either candidates’ town
hall participation, a Univision spokesperson said, Trump and his
campaign have protested fact checking in previous public forums.
A Univision executive defended the town hall’s approach, saying such
a format is offering Latino voters an “unprecedented opportunity to
talk to the candidates” and have “an authentic dialogue.”
“There has not been another national stage to have this critical
dialogue,” the executive said.
Wade Davis, Univision’s CEO until last month, defended Univision’s
approach in a memo shortly after the Trump interview last year.
“We made a decision to adopt a strategy that is different than what
some other major networks are using, which has been labeled as
partisan,” he said. “Univision’s news strategy is one that is
non-partisan and objective, and we serve our audience by being
welcoming of competing issues, ideas, candidates and parties.”
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