NPC Candid Conversation panelists attest: Hispanic representation in media lags

After years of corporate hiring programs aimed to increase diversity in U.A. newsrooms and the entertainment industry, Latino journalists, editors, and managers remain few and far between. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO)  released at the National Press Club Oct. 5, Hispanics represent 18% of the population but hold only 12% of jobs in the media industry. 

This finding was not a surprise to three journalists who spoke at an NPC Candid Conversation sponsored by the Club’s Communicators Team Dec. 1. They all reported feeling similar frustration and isolation at some point in their careers.

Ana Arana, an award-winning investigative journalist who reports on Latin American criminal organizations, with years in the business, said she chose to become a foreign correspondent partly due to the lack of opportunities for Latinas in journalism.

In addition, she noted, she’s often had to employ the same skills journalists use in their day-to-day jobs to demand respect in the workplace. 

"You have to be the obnoxious reporter and become the obnoxious person,” she said. “You have to constantly reconquer the space you conquered when you came in and not everyone feels comfortable doing that.”  

Felix Contreras, NPR's Latinx music journalist and co-creator and co-host of Alt.Latino, said that as a long-time employee of NPR, he has participated in several diversity committees throughout his tenure that didn't achieve the desired results. 

"There has been a lack of accountability. When diversity goals aren't met, nothing happens. Programs get established, but then they dry up," Contreras said, adding that he sees renewed commitment to diversity and inclusion at NPR under the current management. 

In the past, Contreras said he felt a sense of responsibility to speak up for change, a role that can be exhausting and one that requires peer allies to help fight the battles. 

Silvia Foster-Frau, a Washington Post reporter and DC chapter president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), echoed the sentiment and highlighted the importance of journalist-advocacy organizations, such as NAHJ, in pushing for change.  

"The news business wasn't set up with us in mind," said Foster-Frau. "We need structural change. NAHJ is encouraging journalists to come to NAHJ with their challenges so that NAHJ can push for change." 

The change Latinos are making in the media landscape is perhaps best witnessed in the entertainment industry, where Latinx and Spanish-language acts have broken sales records and are beginning to hold increasing influence, and where technology has revolutionized access to the audience.

The numbers in the GAO report reflect this trend and show the vast difference between the music industry and journalism. According to the report, while 16% of all music composers and music directors are Hispanic, 7% are editors and 11% are news analysts, reporters and journalists.  

"There's now a shorter distance between the musician and the people," Contreras said. "Therefore, the people are now seeing themselves and their stories in today's Latino pop artists. These records are selling. That's what's interesting about the music in the context of Latino life and culture."