For L.A.'s best TV news, better switch to Español

If you're an Angeleno looking for "splashy," "soft," celebrity-driven television news, just tune in to one of the local English-language network affiliates. But if you're looking for serious, well-reported television journalism -- albeit with a sometimes partisan, pro-undocumented-immigrant edge -- you'd be better off clicking on to L.A.'s Spanish-language TV newscasts on Univision's flagship KMEX or Telemundo affiliate KVEA.

That's what former L.A. Times reporter Joe Mathews, now an Irvine senior fellow at the New America Foundation, argues in this provocative reported commentary in Sunday's Washington Post.

Mathews came to his conclusions after comparing nightly broadcasts of English-language L.A. television news (featuring weather stories and celebrity puff pieces, he reports) with Spanish-language newscasts that regularly emphasize "government, politics, immigration, labor, economics, healthcare." 

Matthews offers particular praise for KVEA's Rubén Luengas (pictured), host of the 11 p.m. news program "En Contexto," which Mathews calls "by far the most substantive newscast in Los Angeles in any language."  He also notes that KMEX's 6 p.m. program "has ranked either first or second for years among newscasts in the market in any language; its 11 p.m. newscast leads the ratings among nearly every adult demographic. KVEA lags behind, but its audience is increasing."

Here's the money quote from Mathews' commentary, referring to the Spanish-language stations' partisan attitude on illegal-immigration issues: "The upside of the advocacy approach is serious reporting and newscasts with broader perspectives. Viewers are engaged more as citizens than consumers."

Photo credit: Telemundo52.com

In Mathews' view, it's better for a TV station to take a stand on serious issues of interest to its viewers -- in whatever language -- than to serve up noncommital stories about pets, celebrities and the latest weather developments.

Any other L.A. TV news connoisseurs care to comment?

-- Reed Johnson in Mexico City

Comments

[MaryJ]

What an absurd article. How are English-speaking people supposed to just "switch to Expanol" news broadcasts? Do they have English-language subtitles? Ridiculouis beyond belief.

[Peter M. Hemming]

Media focused at Latinos is a "growth market" in the USA. Television is not about to alienate the "aliens" and the citizens who add to the "eyeball" count which is coveted by those who pay for media advertisements.

You can be entertained by a look at media and its affect on Latino culture in the new novel, Uncle Juan's Cabin.

[NoMoreBlatherDotCom]

Generally speaking, it's better for a news source to do things like disclose material affiliations, avoid sugar-coating radical groups, and the like. Needless to say, the LAT keps having problems doing that.

And, it also has problems with either understanding what's really going on, or being intellectually honest to discuss what's really going on.

The linked article wasn't designed to discuss TV news. It was designed to show a) that JM is "down", b) that (other) citizens should assimilate to immigrants and c) to sell MassiveImmigration. It reveals that leftwing claims about assimilation are completely false, and it also comes from a think tank that's had some interesting things to say:

http://lonewacko.com/blog/archives/004967.html

As for the national media, here's yet another thing that I don't think the LAT would bother telling you:

youtube.com/watch?v=cjOJPvDdB1c