Univision, one of the biggest Spanish-language networks in the world, is making a major shift in the way it covers the Trump presidency.
Founded in 1986 as a Spanish-language network, Univision has long been a powerful voice in American media, providing coverage of news and events from the Latino perspective. But Univision recently signaled that it is going to take a more active, critical stance toward President Donald Trump.
In an article published by The New York Times, the news giant said it plans to focus on “the negative policies” of the Trump administration, which it says “are attacking Latinos and other immigrants.”
The decision was driven by the vociferous criticism of the president by Univision’s parent company, Grupo Televisa. Chief Executive Officer Emilio Azcarraga Jean said, “We will no longer allow ourselves to be silenced by the attacks of this president on the immigrants of our country, on us.”
Univision says it plans to focus its coverage in two different ways. First, it will highlight stories of those affected by Trump’s policies. This will include coverage of demonstrations or rallies, as well as interviews with those affected.
Second, Univision will issue strong editorials criticizing Trump, especially when it comes to his immigration policies.
Univision is not alone in this endeavor as other Spanish-language networks in the United States have also made similar changes. For example, Telemundo, another Spanish-language network, said it will no longer “present President Trump positively, but will emphasize the negative.”
Univision says its new approach is still “objective in the sense of providing unbiased reporting, but critical in the sense that it will focus on the damage done by the president’s policies.”
By taking this stance, Univision hopes to inspire other media outlets to be more vocal in their criticisms of the Trump administration. Univision’s new strategy is to show that the news media can and should be a powerful voice in countering the policies of President Trump.
What Univision is doing is a major shift in the way Spanish-language networks cover President Trump. As a powerful voice in American media, Univision is setting a new standard for how the news media should approach a president who continuously attacks the Hispanic and immigrant communities.