All the News that's Print to Fit?

During a poignant scene in the 1988 movie Stand and Deliver, math teacher Jamie Escalante, who became famous for his students’ success on the Advance Placement calculus test, confronts Educational Testing Service agents investigating alleged cheating among his students.  Escalante, as portrayed by Edward James Olmos, implies that his East Los Angeles students’ cultural heritage has more to do with the investigation than any actual cheating.  “There are two kinds of racism, Mr. Escalante,” one agent replies, “singling out people because they’re members of a particular group, and not singling out people because they’re members of a particular group.”  I thought about this construction of race again this past week when reading Sun-Times columnist Alejandro Escalona’s piece about the recent release and publication of Cosmopolitan for Latinas, an English-language periodical based on the original Cosmopolitan magazine.

Mr. Escalona argues in his column that the continued growth of English-language media outlets is a cause for celebration in that major companies not only recognize the purchasing power of Latinos but also the diversity of Latino populations, an ever-increasing number of which whose first language is English instead of Spanish.  Other such high-profile demonstrations exist and have for a while.  Ever hear of the Latin Grammys?  As such, the growth of English-language news and entertainment media for Latino audiences is seen as an integration of Mexican- and similar national-origin populations’ in the United States.

Marketing such media solely to and for Latinos, however, is narrow and shortsighted.  Doing so further balkanizes these target audiences.  If the information these outlets convey is important for one group, is it also not important for the larger population regardless of national, racial, or ethnic heritage?  I think so.  Further, the larger segment of society is somewhat poorer for not knowing about issues confronting the rest, being aware of their concerns, or otherwise being exposed to aspects of their culture.  The Latin Grammys, for example, may reward musical achievement while celebrating Latin music, but do not do enough to expose non-Latino audiences to that very same music.  Relatedly, English-language Latino news and entertainment media will inform an audience but not one large enough to make a lasting impression.

Before celebrating the ever-increasing presence of Spanish-language and English-language media marketed to Hispanic, Latino, and similar populations, we should consider first who and what is excluded by its very nature.