Study: War Affects News Coverage of Hispanics

"Network Brownout 2004," prepared for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and being released Monday, examined more than 16,000 stories that were on the nightly newscasts of ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN.

A total of 131 stories, or 0.82%, were about Hispanics, compared to 120, or 0.75%, in 2002. Of 639 hours of news, four hours, or 0.63%, were given over to Hispanic stories, the study found.

Hispanics make up nearly 14% of the U.S. population.

"The lack of coverage and airtime devoted to Latino stories remained dismal and Latinos continued to be covered within a narrow range of topics such as immigration and crime," the study said.

There was an increase in favorable reports on Hispanics as shown by a measurement of human interest stories about the ethnic group: 15 such stories aired in 2004, compared to three the year before.

"Many of these stories profiled the service and sacrifice by Latino soldiers," according to the study, headed by media analyst Federico Subervi.

Several stories profiled Marine Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, who was among the first to die in Iraq and was posthumously granted citizenship, the study noted.

The study also noted a decline in the number of crime stories about Hispanics, from 47 in 2002 to 27 in 2004.

In general, coverage of Hispanics was limited to a handful of topics, topped by immigration with 30 stories. There were a dozen Hispanic-related stories on election politics and 11 on celebrities.

The study also found that Hispanics are poorly represented in on-air reporting and anchor jobs, and that Hispanics rarely were included in stories not specifically about the ethnic group.

CNN had the most Hispanic coverage with 47 stories that added up to nearly 90 minutes, followed by CBS with 30 stories or slightly more than 48 minutes in Hispanic coverage.

ABC was the only network with a decline in coverage, from 35 stories in 2002 to 27 in 2004. Weekend calls seeking ABC comment were not returned.

The study relied on Vanderbilt University's Television News Archives. Other networks, including Fox and MSNBC, were omitted from the study because they are not part of the archives.