The media proved, once again, that they are the public relations arm of the Democrat Party. This time, Spanish-language media did the deed via its total blackout of the campaign to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) due to his botched response to the COVID-19 crisis.
After announcing the end of the measures imposed last December to lock down small businesses from San Francisco to the San Jacinto Valley, the national newscasts at Telemundo, Univision and CNN En Español completely ignored the likeliest reason behind the sudden end to the measures that have ravaged California's economy: the fact that 1.2 million California voters have signed the petition for a recall vote to oust Newsom (out of a goal of 1.5 million with two months to go).
At all three Spanish-speaking networks, the news, however, was all about how happy small businesses are now. Take a look at how Latino media prefer to look the other way when the truth is inconvenient:
JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, ANCHOR, CNN: Although the situation in California remains critical, authorities say there are signs that they may begin to relax some measures because the numbers are declining.
(....)
BORJA VOCES, ANCHOR, UNIVISION NEWS, DIGITAL EDITION: Hours ago, California governor Gavin Newsom lifted the stay-at-home orders. The announcement is a ray of hope, especially for restaurant owners and employees, bar owners, grocery stores, nail salons, hairdressers, and other personal care services.
(....)
PATRICIA JANIOT, ANCHOR UNIVISION NEWS, NIGHT EDITION: Meanwhile in Los Angeles, and after a slight decrease in the hospitalization average for COVID-19 patients, authorities lifted stay-at-home or confinement measures-a situation that could lessen the economic crisis of those affected by the restrictions.
(....)
JAIME GARCIA, UNIVISION CORRESPONDENT: The governor explained that the decision is due to the decrease in the number of people hospitalized.
(....)
NICOLE SUAREZ, ANCHOR UN NUEVO DIA, TELEMUNDO: Governor Gavin Newsom announced that, in the face of a reduction in cases and hospitalizations, the confinement order is cancelled. Restaurants and other businesses are soon expected to resume outdoor services in the three major regions of the state that had issued stay-at-home orders.
The contrast in reporting ANYTHING about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) couldn't be more striking. Imagine, for a moment, that a recall drive against DeSantis were 80 percent complete with less than two months to go in the petition-gathering period. That would be a huge national story, above the fold, especially at Univision and Telemundo, which are based in Miami.
Let’s face it: although these networks are out of Miami, their most important market is Los Angeles, and has been for years. California stories are de facto national stories, so there is no reason to suppress the Newsom recall effort except that it makes the wrong party look bad.
Newsom’s administration declined to offer statistics to support his decision (with the press's blessing) to withhold key data relevant to the decision to order shutdowns, because “that would confuse and potentially mislead the public if they were made public.” The obedient Latino press followed through, making it seem like everything is just peachy in California, all but erasing the 1.2 million constituents that want Newsom out of office.
Keep an eye on this trend, and call it out to advertisers like Xfinity, that sponsor bias in Spanish-language news.
