Democracia Ahora Study Reveals Latino Leaders’ Opinions on the Lou Dobbs Tonight show
By on 09/22/2009 @ 10:13 AM
MIAMI – (September 21, 2009) - Democracia Ahora, a 501(c)(4) advocacy group committed to advancing federal and state legislation vital to Hispanic communities, released results from its study which showed that U.S. Hispanics stand united in opposition to the inflammatory and anti-immigrant tenor of the nightly Lou Dobbs show. The organization simultaneously launched a national campaign entitled “Enough is enough!,” which calls on all Americans to tell CNN and Lou Dobbs to cease the daily drum roll of misinformation and offensive commentary about the Latino community on the Lou Dobbs Tonight show.
“Latinos are contributing to the fabric of this great nation in immeasurable ways, from back breaking work in the nation’s farm fields to active civic engagement and participation in the Democratic process, “said Jorge Mursuli, President of Democracia Ahora. It is truly unconscionable that aworld class news network such as CNN continues to directly and indirectly attack our community. Our Latino leadership, like the rest of America, expects more from the ‘Most Trusted Name in News’.”
The national campaign against the Lou Dobbs show will consist of grassroots efforts by Democracia Ahora field teams aimed at showing Time Warner executives in a tangible way the displeasure that many CNN viewers harbor towards the frequent negative portrayals of Hispanics on the Lou Dobbs show. There will also be an online component that will gather signatures and spread the campaign’s message to likeminded citizens across the country.
The executive study commissioned by Democracia Ahora and conducted by Bendixen and Associates interviewed 100 of Hispanic-America’s movers and shakers – ranging from members of Congress and heads of Latino advocacy groups, to CEOs of top American companies and the most prestigious Hispanic journalists and academics in the country. The study’s goal was to learn how CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight show’s daily commentary on Hispanics and issues important to Latinos might be influencing the public’s perception of the Latino community.
The survey shows that an overwhelming majority (90%) of Latino leaders are offended by the content of Lou Dobbs Tonight and by Mr. Dobbs’ personal commentary on issues of importance to Latinos. Also, the nation’s most prominent Hispanic leaders have a decidedly negative opinion of Lou Dobbs, as a result of his direct verbal attacks on the immigrant community and his misguided characterization of the Hispanic community as a whole.
Respondent Dr. Cynthia Garcia Coll, professor and psychologist specializing in race and gender at Brown University, echoed this sentiment when she stated: “I have seen the racially insensitive language that the Lou Dobbs Tonight show promotes on a daily basis. It concerns me because in my work I have seen that TV can be used to breakdown racial barriers or perpetuate stereotypes. Lou Dobbs uses his powerful platform to mischaracterize Hispanics and this is especially damaging for Latino children.”
The study also shows that Latino leaders regard him as a demagogue who is helping to create a negative image of Hispanics in general and Latin American immigrants in particular.
Congressman Grijalva of Arizona stated, “Lou Dobbs purports to be an independent populist, and an independent journalist, but for years, he has made immigration and Latinos his rating hook. Dobb's hateful rhetoric around immigration has trickled down to the mainstream and made it near-impossible to have an honest, productive debate about immigration reform.”
As evidenced in the survey, Latino leaders’ distaste for Dobbs is clear. Many respondents called him “xenophobic,” “racist,” “intentionally inflammatory,” “one-sided,” or “hyperbolic.” They also questioned Dobbs’ motives.
Ignacio Salazar, President, SER Jobs for Progress, stated, “As the President of a national, non-profit organization that strives to make a positive impact on families across America through job skills training, literacy and employment, it deeply offends me that Lou Dobbs uses his platform to tear down communities by advocating hatred and intolerance towards Latinos.”
The Hispanic leaders interviewed also felt that the program is more akin to an opinion-based commentary show than a fair minded evening news show , in part because in their opinion Dobbs actively prevents guests from sharing their thoughts on the show and presents a skewed point of view on matters related to the Hispanic community.
Another respondent, Federico Subervi, professor and director of the Center for the Study of Latino Media & Markets at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication of Texas State University-San Marcos, stated that “Lou Dobbs Tonight’s repeated attacks on the Latino community violates the tenets of journalistic ethics and standards -- accuracy in reporting, objectivity, fairness and public accountability.”
The national “Enough is enough!” campaign is aimed to bring to light the Lou Dobbs Tonight show’s daily pattern of misinformation and offensive commentary about the Latino community and to engage Americans in signing petitions, making calls to tell CNN ‘The Most Trusted Name in News” that “Enough is enough!”
Democracia Ahora field offices in key Latino communities including: Las Vegas, NV, Philadelphia, PA, Pueblo, CO, Tucson, AZ, Miami, FL and Orlando, FL have launched on-the- ground-campaign efforts that will motivate campaign supporters to sign petitions and make calls to tell CNN “Enough is Enough!” stop with the: (1) inflammatory rhetoric (2) hyperbolic anti-immigrant tirades (3) violation of journalistic ethics and standards (6) scare tactics and misinformation (7) frequent falsehoods and distortions. Democracia Ahora will maintain a website, TellCNNEnoughisEnough.com, featuring the petition against the Lou Dobbs Tonight show.