The horrible school shooting at Parkland, Florida has presented Univision's news division (as well as the rest of the U.S. Spanish-language news media) with a golden opportunity to pursue two of its passions: promoting gun control up to, and including, repeal of the Second Amendment; and its war against U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of almost seven years.
Watch as Univision tears into Rubio over his perceived demeanor at CNN's town hall on gun control and...gun control, as aired on its noontime newscast, Edicion Digital (which is broadcast nationwide via affiliates and streams via social media), as aired on Thursday, February 22, 2018:
JAVIER OLIVARES, ANCHOR, EDICION DIGITAL: You were there, and so I want to ask you: what was [that look on] Marco Rubio's face?
MARIA ALESIA SOSA, DIGITAL JOURNALIST, UNIVISION: Look- to me, his attitude did not at all seem empathetic. His hands were in his pockets. In fact, at one point, when Jamie Gutenberg's father addressed him, he didn't even offer his condolences. His attitude really (ugh) seemed very cold and also very political (in the manner of a typical politician).
What is remarkable is the way in which the noon newscast simply passes opinion as news...even by Univision standards. Sosa never explains how she arrived at these conclusions. Perhaps they are gleaned from experience attending being one of two persons that hold an unpopular opinion at a heated townhall. We don't know. What is clear, though, is that Sosa's palpable disgust at having to cover anything related to Marco Rubio is well in keeping with Univision's traditions.
For context, here is a transcript of a portion of the above-referenced segment as aired on Univision's Edicion Digital on Thursday, February 22nd, 2018:
CAROLINA SARASSO, ANCHOR, EDICION DIGITAL: Well, we remain connected with you throught all the social media platforms and continue with the subject matter that presently grips the entire country: the massacre at Parkland.
JAVIER OLIVARES, ANCHOR, EDICION DIGITAL: Well, something that many have noticed is the way in which these young people have come out to protest and to demand their rights, which is very laudable, isn't it? A show of courage, and resolve, and determination. and note that one of the journalists at univisionnoticias.com, Maria Alesis Sosa, is with us precisely in order to talk about this.
CAROLINA SARASSO, ANCHOR, EDICION DIGITAL: How are you? Welcome to Edicion Digital.
MARIA ALESIA SOSA, DIGITAL JOURNALIST, UNIVISION: Hello.
(crosstalk)
CAROLINA SARASSO, ANCHOR, EDICION DIGITAL: Well, what are your takeaways after having been to that town hall which has parents, teachers, and even several legislators?
MARIA ALESIA SOSA, DIGITAL JOURNALIST, UNIVISION: Well, it was a sort of town hall in which, mostly, the victims of this terrible tragedy from a week ago were able to participate. And, there were sort of some key moments. The first was when the father of Jamie Gutenberg, one of the 14-year-olds murdered at the shooting confronted Senator Marco Rubio and asked him for an explanation, and told him to say to his face whether guns were a factor in his daughter's death, and the truth is that we saw that Marco Rubio was the focal point of the looks and the attacks. Because Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat, was also there, as was Rep. Deutch, also a Democrat, and they indeed were for gun control, for stronger gun control measures- and Marco Rubio got the brunt of the complaints, but it was very emotional because the victims spoke directly to him, with tears in their eyes, with the pain still present...to their representatives, to their politicians, attempting, and pleading for a change. Another important moment was when one of the students also confronted Rubio, and told him, asked him, told him... if he really wasn't- to tell him to his face that he was no longer going to receive money from the National Rifle Association.
(crosstalk)
JAVIER OLIVARES, ANCHOR, EDICION DIGITAL: You were there, and so I want to ask you: what was (that look on) Marco Rubio's face?
MARIA ALESIA SOSA, DIGITAL JOURNALIST, UNIVISION: Look- to me, his attitude did not at all seem empathetic. His hands were in his pockets. In fact, at one point, when Jamie Gutenberg's father addressed him, he didn't even offer his condolences. His attitude really (ugh) seemed very cold and also very political (in the manner of a typical politician). That was some of the perception. I was also able to speak to some of the students upon exiting the town hall, and I was able to ask them if they were frustrated, if they felt optimistic after this, and the truth is that the general sense was that they are not satisfied, if you will, with what came out of there, they are especially optimistic but they do believe that they are doing the right thing.
