Missing Out: Political Ads,
Spanish-Language TV and the
Latino Vote
November 2, 2012
By Joseph Torres and Josh Stearns
Latino voters will play a critical role in the 2012 presidential race. An estimated 12 million
Latinos will cast ballots this November, making up a significant portion of the electorate in swing
states like Colorado, Florida and Nevada.1
One might assume that the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, political parties
and Super PACs would spare no expense to win over Latino voters. But so far this has not been
the case — at least judging by the relatively paltry amount of political ads on Spanish-language
TV this election cycle.
A U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce study found that while close to $360 million was spent
on political advertising in 10 states from early April through September, just $16 million — or
4.6 percent of the total — went to ad buys on Spanish-language TV.2 The Obama campaign and
supporting organizations have spent $7 million — or 9 percent — of their ad dollars on Spanishlanguage ads, while the Romney campaign and its supporters have spent $3.2 million, or 4
percent of their total ad dollars.3
“Political commentators from both sides of the aisle have said repeatedly that 2012 is the ‘year
of the Hispanic voter,’” said Javier Palomarez, president of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce. "But while political advertising spending records are being shattered, neither
political party is investing a comparable percentage of their advertising dollars to reach these
voters. The difference between rhetoric and action is striking and, frankly, troubling.”4
But it’s not just the presidential campaigns that are ignoring Spanish-language television. In
August and September, Free Press visited 11 Spanish-language stations in the battleground
states of Colorado, Florida and New Mexico, and found that Super PACs and other third-party
groups have also made very few ad buys at these stations.
This is a noteworthy finding, given the amount of money being spent on political ads. Indeed,
the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling has made this a record-breaking year for
political ad spending. Analysts project that more than $3 billion will be spent on political ads.5 In
an effort to make information about political ad spending more transparent, the Federal
Communications Commission adopted rules last spring requiring TV stations to place their
political advertising records online in an FCC database.
1
Corey Dade, “Latino Voters Seen, But Will They Be Heard in 2012?”, NPR, May 16, 2012,
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/16/152818816/latino-voters-seen-but-will-they-be-heard-in-2012
2
U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, “New Report Finds Spending on Spanish-Language Advertising in 2012 Election
Significantly Lagging,” Oct. 1, 2012, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-report-finds-spending-onspanish-language-advertising-in-2012-election-significantly-lagging-172089111.html
3
Jordan Fabian, “Do More Spanish Ads Mean More Votes for Romney?” ABC Univision, Oct. 1, 2012,
http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/Politics/mitt-romney-spanish-language-ad-spending-surgesobama/story?id=17365251#.UJMlQ7tkvtI
4
Ibid.
5
Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group projects that $3.3 billion will be spent on political ads by Election
Day. As reported by Timothy Karr in Money, News and Deception in Denver, Free Press, October 2012,
http://www.freepress.net/sites/default/files/resources/Citizens_Inundated_final_doc_for_release_01_26_12.pdf
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1
However, the rule currently applies only to the ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliates in the nation’s
50 largest broadcast markets. All other stations — including all Spanish-language stations —
have until 2014 to post their files online.
The FCC’s decision to allow Spanish-language stations to delay their posting is particularly
puzzling given that Univision, the largest Spanish-language network in the United States,
regularly beats English-language stations in head-to head competition. And Telemundo, the
country’s second-largest Spanish-language network, is owned by media giant Comcast, which
already provides political ad information for its major-market NBC stations.6
It’s necessary to have access to this data to determine how the public airwaves are being used.
In two recent reports that examined political ad files, Free Press found that local stations in
several battleground states have largely failed to cover the shady groups placing these often
misleading ads.
The information in the FCC database raises important questions about broadcasters’
responsibility to serve the public interest during an election year.7 What we know about political
ads on Spanish-language stations raises a different — but equally significant — set of questions.
For example, is the Latino community better off with fewer political ads given how many of
these ads are negative and misleading? Or does the dearth of political ad spending on Spanishlanguage TV harm the Latino community? In other words, are political ads a critical way to
engage Latino voters — or can they actually discourage Latinos from participating in the
electoral process?
Free Press inspected the political files of 11 Spanish-language stations in Colorado, Florida and
New Mexico and interviewed Latino community leaders, media experts and political analysts on
the importance — and pitfalls — of political advertising.
Absence of Political Ads: What’s the Impact on the Latino
Community?
This fall, both presidential candidates unintentionally addressed the significance of the Latino
vote in this year’s election.
Mitt Romney was heard on a leaked videotape telling donors at a private fundraiser that he
wished he were Mexican:
My dad, as you probably know, was the governor of Michigan and was the head of a
car company. But he was born in Mexico ... and had he been born of Mexican parents,
6
Press Release, “Univision No. 1 Network in Primetime Among Adults 18–34 on Wednesday Night and Reaches 8.1
Million Soccer Fans with USA vs. Mexico Match,” Univision, Aug. 7, 2012,
http://corporate.univision.com/2012/press/univision-no-1-network-in-primetime-among-adults-18-34-onwednesday-night-and-reaches-8-1-million-soccer-fans-with-usa-vs-mexico-match/#axzz2AwPHjKVN
7
Timothy Karr, “Hijacking Democracy,” Huffington Post, Oct. 26, 2012, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothykarr/hijacking-democracy_1_b_2023836.html
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I'd have a better shot at winning this. But he was unfortunately born to Americans
living in Mexico. He lived there for a number of years. I mean, I say that jokingly, but it
would be helpful to be Latino.8
President Obama discussed the Latino vote in a Des Moines Register interview that was initially
off the record:
Should I win a second term, a big reason I will win a second term is because the
Republican nominee and the Republican Party have so alienated the fastest-growing
demographic group in the country, the Latino community.9
But while both candidates talk about the Latino vote in stump speeches, their campaigns have
spent little on political ads to engage Latino voters. 10
In an interview with Free Press, Professor Federico Subervi, the director of the Center for the
Study of Latino Media and Markets at Texas State University-San Marcos, noted the importance
of using Spanish-language advertising to engage Latino voters. “It can have a positive effect of
saying we’re considered a valuable group of potential voters,” Subervi said. “But not having
[ads] is a put-off for many folks as a statement of we don’t matter to the parties.” 11
Sylvia Manzano, a senior analyst at the political opinion research firm Latino Decisions, said that
most Latino voters aren’t exposed to a lot of political ads on the presidential race since they
tend to live in non-competitive states. But she noted that Latinos see ethnic advertising as a
“gesture of goodwill.” “[It’s] not a good thing that Latino voters aren’t being approached in as
many ways as possible,” she said.12
But do these ads serve the best interests of the Latino community? National Institute for Latino
Policy President Angelo Falcon isn’t so sure, citing the predominance of negative ads — and the
general failure in political advertising to address substantive issues.
For Falcon, the lack of political advertising on Spanish-language TV reflects a broader
socioeconomic problem. Latinos, Falcon said, lack the financial resources to fully engage in the
political process. The Citizens United decision, he noted, has allowed “political inequality” to
“fester.”13 This reveals the need, Falcon notes, for reform efforts like public financing of
elections.
8
Ruben Navarrette, “Romney Better Off as a Latino?” CNN, Sept. 19, 2012,
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/19/opinion/navarrette-romney-latino/index.html
9
“Obama in Off-the-Record Interview Laid Out Path to Fiscal Immigration,” NBC News, Oct. 24, 2012:
http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/24/14668862-obama-in-off-the-record-interview-laid-out-path-tofiscal-immigration-deals?lite
10
Rhonda McLeod, “Political Ad Tracker: Hispanic Media Reinforces Election Spend Is Bigger, Not Smarter,”
MediaPost, Sept. 27, 2012, http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/183869/political-ad-tracker-hispanicmedia-reinforces-el.html
11
Interview with Professor Federico Subervi, director of the Center for the Study of Latino Media and Markets at the
School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Texas State University-San Marcos, Oct. 10, 2012
12
Interview with Sylvia Manzano, senior analyst, Latino Decisions, Oct. 3, 2012
13
Interview with Angelo Falcon, president of the National Institute for Latino Policy, on Oct. 11, 2012
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Andrea Quijada, executive director of Albuquerque’s Media Literacy Project, is concerned about
the nature of the advertising targeting the Latino community. And she says it can be harmful if
the ads are presented in a vacuum — if there isn’t news coverage to place the ads’ messages in
their proper context. She said this dynamic is especially troublesome in instances where
corporations and politicians portray Latinos positively in their ads — but support policies that
hurt the Latino community.
“If the only information people are getting about the campaign is through the ads, that’s
damaging … that’s true for any community,” Quijada said. “Anytime we are advertised to for
anything … and there isn’t other information out there, it has the potential to … create
misinformation and misunderstanding, whether or not the product is food or the product is a
candidate.”14
A Look at the Political Files of Spanish-Language Stations
In September, Free Press partnered with the Media Literacy Project to investigate political files
at Albuquerque TV stations and to gather information about who was targeting New Mexico
voters with political advertising.
The FCC’s decision to require broadcasters to place their political files online came after nearly a
decade of public interest advocacy. The decision gives the public easy online access to
information about how political campaigns and third-party groups use the public airwaves to
influence voters.
Unfortunately, the gaps in the FCC database mean that many Americans — including viewers of
Spanish-language stations — will not have online access to information on political ad spending
in their communities until 2014. In response, Free Press, partner organizations and volunteers
collected political files at more than 100 stations in smaller markets. As part of this effort, we
examined the political files of 11 Spanish-language stations in Colorado, Florida and New Mexico
in August and September.
We found that candidates purchased most of the political ads that aired on the Spanishlanguage stations; just a few third-party groups bought airtime. In Miami, for instance, state or
local groups purchased airtime. MoveOn Civic Action also placed an ad that ran only once. In
Albuquerque, no political ads — either from the campaigns or from third-party groups — had
aired on the city’s two major Spanish-language stations by mid-August.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was the only group that purchased political
ads at multiple Spanish-language stations we visited. The group bought ads on five of the 11
stations we studied, the most of any third-party group. Last June, the SEIU partnered with
Priorities USA, the Super PAC supporting President Obama, in a $4 million ad buy on Spanishlanguage stations — what it called “one of the largest-ever independent Spanish-language
campaign efforts” — in Colorado, Florida and Nevada. The ad featured “everyday people”
14
Interview with Andrea Quijada, executive director of the Media Literacy Project, Oct. 4, 2012
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responding to comments from Mitt Romney.15 And in July, August and September, SEIU spent
more than $450,000 to run 2,079 ads on Spanish-language TV stations in Denver and Colorado
Springs. It placed no ads on Spanish-language TV in Albuquerque or Miami during those months.
Other reports have documented a few small ad buys at Spanish-language stations Free Press
didn’t visit. According to press reports, at least two conservative groups purchased airtime in
swing states in recent weeks. In October, the LIBRE Initiative, a group that reportedly received
funding from the Koch brothers, announced plans to air an ad on Spanish-language stations in
several battleground states that claims our nation’s economic woes are hurting Latinos.16
In September, Nevada Hispanics, an initiative of the 501(c)(4) group American Principles in
Action, purchased airtime on Spanish-language stations to criticize President Obama for
supporting same-sex marriage and reproductive rights.17
Could the Shortage of Political Ads Be a Blessing in Disguise?
Colorado, Florida and New Mexico provide a useful microcosm for the nation, highlighting the
lack of political advertising throughout the Spanish-language TV landscape. But perhaps there’s
a silver lining. In many battleground states, the Spanish-speaking audience has been spared
from watching the overwhelming number of negative and misleading ads.
In recent weeks, reports have revealed that in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C., some stations
are trimming back on programming and news to accommodate the glut of political ads. This
raises the question about what kinds of cuts are being made in smaller markets — markets that
are not currently required to post their political ad data to the online FCC database.18
In Denver, Free Press found that the five major Super PACs spent more than $6.5 million to air
close to 5,000 political ads on English-language stations in August and September. But the local
15
Felicia Sonmez, “Priorities USA, SEIU Launch $4 Million Spanish-Language Campaign Against Romney,” the
Washington Post, June 11, 2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/priorities-usa-seiulaunch-4-million-spanish-language-campaign-against-romney/2012/06/11/gJQAPwalTV_blog.html
16
Jordan Fabian, “Outside Groups Ramp Up Spanish-Language Political Ads,” ABC Univision, Sept. 14, 2012,
http://univisionnews.tumblr.com/post/31518769318/outside-groups-ramp-up-spanish-language-ads; Peter Stone,
“‘Economic Freedom’ Message Seen as Appealing to Crucial Latino Vote,” the Center for Public Integrity, Sept. 22,
2011: http://www.publicintegrity.org/2011/09/22/6696/new-gop-campaign-aimed-hispanics
17
Stephanie Czekalinski, “Conservative Group Targets Nevada Hispanics in Wave of Spanish, English Ads,” National
Journal, Sept. 18, 2012, http://www.nationaljournal.com/thenextamerica/politics/conservative-group-targetsnevada-hispanics-in-wave-of-spanish-english-ads-20120917
18
Jeremy W. Peters, “73,000 Political Ads Test Even a City of Excess,” the New York Times, Oct. 15, 2012,
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/us/politics/never-to-be-outdone-vegas-sets-record-for-politicalads.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&; Paul Farhi, “Dilemma for D.C. Stations: So Many Political Ads, So Little Airtime,” the
Washington Post, Oct. 22, 2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/dilemma-for-dc-stations-so-manypolitical-ads-so-little-airtime/2012/10/22/6ee44c1c-1a37-11e2-bd10-5ff056538b7c_story.html
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newscasts devoted just 1 minute of news coverage of these groups for every 162 minutes of
political ads that carpet-bombed the airwaves with misleading information.19
The Wesleyan Media Project found that about 70 percent of the presidential political ads that
aired during the first half of 2012 were negative compared to just 9 percent in 2008. And the
Annenberg Public Policy Center and the Center for Responsive Politics found that 85 percent of
the money the four largest “independent” groups spent on presidential ads contained deceptive
information.20
Might communities be better off without those kinds of ads filling the airwaves? Some leaders
think so. Subervi does not believe more Super PAC ads will necessarily benefit the Latino
community. He noted that the purpose of many Super PAC ads is to suppress the vote by
convincing “some people not to vote” for a candidate rather than encouraging them to
participate in the process.21
ColorofChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson agreed that Super PAC ads are often aimed
at getting people to stay home on Election Day by making them uneasy about voting for the
candidates they’re inclined to support.22
While suppressing the vote may be just a side effect of some Super PAC ads, it’s the clear
purpose of others. In 2010, Republican political operative Robert de Posada produced an ad
explicitly urging Latinos not to vote in Nevada’s tight senatorial race between Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid and Republican challenger Sharron Angle. Latino groups, like the League of
United Latin American Citizens, condemned the ad as an effort to suppress the Latino vote, and
in the end, the local Univision affiliate refused to run the ad after airing it briefly on one of its
local radio outlets. Reid won re-election, in no small part because he captured 90 percent of the
Latino vote.23
Interestingly, when Free Press visited Univision’s Miami affiliate, we found another case in
which the station was debating whether to run an ad or not. Emails included in the station’s
political file reveal an internal debate about a political ad for the Miami-Dade property
appraiser’s race, which pitted incumbent Democrat Pedro J. Garcia against Republican state
legislator Carlos Lopez-Cantera.
19
Timothy Karr, Money, News and Deception in Denver: Are TV Stations Doing Enough to Offset Super PAC Lies?, Free
Press, October 2012, pp. 2–3,
http://www.freepress.net/sites/default/files/resources/Deception_in_Denver_Oct_2_2012_final.pdf
20
Ibid., p. 5
21
Interview with Professor Federico Subervi on Oct. 10, 2012
22
Interview with Rashad Robinson on Oct. 10, 2012
23
LULAC Press Release, “LULAC Condemns Voter-Suppression Efforts in November,” Oct. 19, 2010,
http://lulac.org/news/pr/LULAC_Condemns_Latino_Voter_Suppression_Efforts_in_November/; Ben Smith, “Univision
Shuts Down ‘No Vote’ Ad,” Politico, Oct. 19, 2010,
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1010/Univision_shuts_down_Dont_Vote_ad.html;
“Latino Decision 2010 Nevada Poll Results,” Oct. 21, 2012, http://www.latinodecisions.com/blog/recentpolls/nevada-2010-results/; Cristina Silva, “Univision Pulls Nevada Ad Urging Hispanics Not to Vote,” Associated Press,
Oct. 20, 2010, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39746699/ns/politics-decision_2010/t/univision-pulls-nev-ad-urginghispanics-not-vote/#.UJMpfrtkvtI
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Accountability Watchdog, a group backed by the Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association
(PBA), supported the Democratic incumbent and purchased airtime for a political ad that
featured a photo of the Republican challenger appearing to give a Nazi salute.
A few Miami stations refused to run the ad after the Republican challenger threatened to sue. Free
Press found in the political file an email correspondence between a Univision staffer and a PBA
representative. The Univision staffer asked the group to provide more evidence to back up the ad’s
claims. But the PBA representative asked the station to replace the ad because she wanted to “err
on the side of caution” since the group couldn’t get a quick response from its lawyer.
It’s notable that Univision provided two rare examples of a station debating how to handle
misleading ads. Few stations — including many that air far more political advertising — have
shown the same willingness to turn down ad money rather than broadcast ads meant to
undermine or mislead viewers.
Univision has also supported efforts to empower Latino voters during election years. Its CEO,
Randy Falco, advocated for the inclusion of moderators of color in the presidential debates.
Furthermore, both Univision and Telemundo have participated in voter-engagement campaigns
in partnership with Latino civil rights groups.
Given the nation’s changing demographics, it’s hard to imagine that political campaigns and
third-party groups will fail to devote more financial resources over time to winning the Latino
vote. It’s not as certain whether a flood of political ads would erode efforts to ensure that Latino
voters have accurate information about the issues impacting their lives.24
A marked increase in political ad spending on Spanish-language stations would raise a host of
questions. Would these stations do better than their English-language counterparts in informing
their viewers about political ads that are untruthful or misleading? Would these stations refuse
to air deceptive third-party ads as Univision has in the past?
While many Latino leaders believe more Spanish-language ads are critical to engaging Latino
voters — and financing the operations of Spanish-language broadcasters — some may have
second thoughts once viewers are inundated with political ads when watching their favorite
programs.
In other words, more political ads may not turn out to be a blessing. “It is great to be validated,”
says Andrea Quijada. “It is disappointing if that it is only happening through advertising.”25
The authors would like to thank Free Press intern Vanessa Keverenge for the research she
contributed to this project.
24
While this paper focuses on Spanish-language TV ads, we also spoke with Latino Print Network President Kirk
Whisler to get his perspective. In our Oct. 9, 2012 interview, Whisler criticized both the Obama and Romney
campaigns for failing to appreciate the value of using Hispanic print publications to reach Latino voters. “I don’t think
either the Romney people or the Obama people have a true understanding of the Hispanic community in the first
place,” Whisler said, “let alone of the importance of Hispanic print.”
25
Interview with Andrea Quijada, executive director of the Media Literacy Project, Oct. 4, 2012
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