Univision’s Coverage of Conway Resignation: Trashy. Telemundo's? Classy

August 25th, 2020 4:26 PM

What goes on behind the doors of families is private, right? Not at Univision, where the premise is only valid if it concerns the families of Democrats.

Consider this report on Kellyanne Conway's departure from the White House that aired over the network’s morning kaffeeklatsch Despierta America, which centered on her daughter Claudia, a minor -- a whole three and a half minutes of sarcasm, innuendos more befitting of celebrity gossip, and zero concern about the well-being of the CHILD in question. Then compare that steaming pile of coverage with Telemundo’s classy brief that was informative, balanced, and fully centered around Conway -- with no direct mention of the child:

CLAUDIA CONWAY: Look what I did. Look at what I did ladies and gentlemen. Y’all, I know I said I’d be taking a break but um....um...um

(LAUGHTER)

CARLOS CALDERON: You really are not the only one surprised, my dear Angelica, Elyangélica sorry. She's Claudia Conway and she's a girl who said she was going to leave the social media, and that she wanted to divorce - I don't know the legal term – her parents, because she couldn't stand the Trumps' drama anymore.

ELYANGELICA GONZALEZ: The interesting thing here is that this girl has publicly said that her dad hardly knows what her middle name is. Nobody pays attention to her.

CALDERON: Sounds kind of suspicious to me. Don't you agree?

MARCELA SARMIENTO: It sounds very suspicious to me.

TONY DANDRADES: I say this family has all the ingredients needed for a sitcom script.

[...]

NICOLE SUAREZ: A new withdrawal on Trump’s team. Kellyanne Conway, one of the president’s most loyal advisers, will leave her position at the end of this month, alleging that the decision is based on her desire to tend to her four adolescent and preteen kids currently studying from home. Conway is one of President Trump's most devoted advisers. Her career path with the president began in 2016, when she became the first female campaign manager to win a presidential election.

Note how the moderators at Despierta America gleefully turn the issue into a scene out of Schitt’s Creek, complete with the “nobody loves me” spoiled-brat angle. Univision’s gleeful anti-Trump angle begs the question…Where's Hunter Biden? 

To date, not one word has been said on Univision air about Biden's notoriously problematic, (allegedly) coke-sniffing, shady son, who fathered a child while courting his widowed sister in-law after making a fortune by leveraging his father’s position. Univision’s viewers would, in all likelihood, refer to Hunter Biden as a “talented son” -- with all that this term connotes for an audience that is mostly of Latin American origin. 

However, Claudia’s condition as the daughter of a prominent Republican appears to have given the network a pass to turn a grave family situation into comedic fodder. In addition, the fact that Kellyanne decided to spend time with her family was also looked upon as “strange”, as though it were part of a conspiracy theory.

Univision’s ugly coverage of the Conway situation ultimately proves that Donald Trump is clearly the sun around which Univision’s news division revolves. There is no other logical reason that would explain why Despierta America’s producers would cover such a sensitive story as though it were celebrity gossip. Univision’s viewers deserve better.

Advertisers like L'Oreal should be ashamed of the way Univision disparages a woman for her political convictions and exposes her underage daughter for purely political reasons. Let them know here.

Press on "expand" to view the complete transcript of the segments mentioned above.

Univision's Despierta America
August 24, 2020

CARLOS CALDERON: You really are not the only one surprised, my dear Angelica, Elyangélica sorry. She's Claudia Conway and she's a girl who said she was going to leave the social media, and that she wanted to divorce - I don't know the legal term – her parents, because she couldn't stand the Trumps' drama anymore. Her parents on the brink of divorce because of the Trump subject, and just when Trump is about to give his speech, Mrs. Conway resigns and this girl comes out triumphantly saying, my Tik Tok got my parents to leave Trump behind. What maddening truth, Ely?

ELYANGELICA GONZALEZ: Definitely. Also, the exposure she's given to her mom that, as you know, is key, she was in Trump's campaign for the election four years ago. And now she was also important within the president's administration. The interesting thing here is that this girl has publicly said that her dad hardly knows what her middle name is. Nobody pays attention to her. And the mom has literally taken this message, and she has made a statement saying "enough drama, I have to be more of a mom." And that's why she says she retires, although she doesn't agree on all the points with her husband, but they do agree in raising their four children who are teenagers and tweens. A terrible age and that's why she says he's leaving.

CALDERON: Kellyanne Conway, my dear Marce, is famous for talking about this "alternative" Donald Trump reality of which she always talks about. She also resigns at a crucial moment. The Republican convention begins today. She's one of scheduled speakers and now says that "I'd better wash my hands because I want to be a better mom." Sounds kind of suspicious to me. Don't you agree?

MARCELA SARMIENTO: It sounds very suspicious to me, all of which, and especially this year the convention is going to have a different thing and is that every night Donald Trump is going to talk. And it's not known exactly if Kellyanne Conway stays on the speakers agenda. What I do find very concerning is how a "tantrum" or the "spoiledness" that many people can say, of a teenage girl, leads a woman so remarkable who is supposed to have a lot of power in the government, to make a decision like this. Would one resign or not resign if our children put us between the sword and the wall? It's a very complicated decision, really, right now.

TONY DANDRADES: It could have been a public tantrum, maybe the first. You have to see what happens in that house behind the doors, right? I say this family has all the ingredients needed for a sitcom script. Because it's unbelievable, isn't it? Very dysfunctional. And I think that decision to dedicate yourself to the family is very necessary. And you need to pay attention to your children.

[CROSSTALK]

GONZALEZ: But imagine if you say you're a good adviser to the president, but you're a bad mother. That's huge...

CALDERON: I don't know. I'm running out of time. I didn't get to discuss the power of social media, and how empowered this girl and her whole generation should feel that they literally just changed the structure of the White House, even if it's Tony, like you say, by throwing a tantrum in TikTok. Anyway -- one of the stories that's going to be with us this week with the whole Republican convention.

[...]

Telemundo's Un Nuevo Día
August 24, 2020

NICOLE SUAREZ: A new withdrawal on Trump’s team. Kellyanne Conway, one of the president’s most loyal advisers, will leave her position at the end of this month, alleging that the decision is based on her desire to tend to her four adolescent and preteen kids currently studying from home. Conway is one of President Trump;s most devoted advisers. Her career path with the president befan in 2016, when she became the first female campaign manager to win a presidential election.