Where Are the Latinos in Entertainment Media?
Part of the problem
Part of the problem is the lack of creative talent behind the scenes, in fact in the 2012-13 television season, Latinos composed only 4% of writers staffed on TV shows (WGAW 2013 TV Staffing Brief), 2% in producer positions and 2.7% Directors (The Hollywood Reporter) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found that between 2009 and 2011, Latino ownership of television stations represented 2.9%.
This lack of representation leads to Latinos having fewer opportunities to pitch story lines and having ideas greenlit for production. The story is much the same in Film for actors, writers, producers and directors. I know for a fact that it is not for a lack of talent, there is plenty of outstanding Latino talent among the ranks of writers, producers, actors and directors, and I have worked with many of them over the years – they are just dedicated to doing other kinds of work – advertising, documentaries, online entertainment or working in Spanish language media.
There are 53 million of us in the US, and we constitute one of the fastest growing ethnic groups, comprising 17% of the population and over 20% of the key 18-34 marketing demographic – and yet a study conducted by The Center for Media and Public Affairs in Washington DC has shown that Latinos have been in the 2% range of representation in Media for the past 30 years.
I mean seriously what’s up? The Latino Media Gap study from NALIP and the Center for the study of ethnicity and race report shows that even though the population has grown by 43% from 2000 – 2010 there are fewer Latino representations than there were 70 years ago!
Compound this with recent Nielsen research, it is a fact that Hispanics overwhelmingly consume entertainment, and account for at least 20 percent of opening weekend ticket sales for every hit this summer, and bought 25 percent of the tickets sold in 2013 though we comprise just 17 percent of the population, according to the Motion Picture Association of America’s year-end study. And even though 2014 was a banner year for Latinos at the Oscars with Alfonso Cuarón, being the First (foreign born) Latino to Win Best Director and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubeski’s win, this year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences omitted iconic actor Lupe Ontiveros from the Oscars “In Memoriam” segment.
You can blame this disconnect on the appalling lack of diversity within the Academy. According to a 2012 LA Times article, Oscar voters are nearly 94% white and 77% male; blacks account for 2% of the membership and Latinos less than 2%, once these numbers were brought to light, diversity has become a priority at the Academy.
There is a little glimmer of hope in the announced slate of TV series for the 2014 Fall season (Hollywood Reporter) with the CW’s Jane the Virgin and ABC’s Cristela both centered around Latina characters – let’s see if they can carry the heavy burden of accurate Latino portrayal.
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