Hispanic Coalition Calls For Boycott Of Abc Programs

Fri., May 5, 1995

Janet Weeks Los Angeles Daily News

The Los Angeles-based National Hispanic Media Coalition is asking the public to boycott ABC programming today Cinco de Mayo - in protest over a lack of Latinos on television.

ABC is being targeted because the coalition believes network President Robert Iger reneged on a promise to heighten the visibility of Latinos by the fall ‘94 season.

“We need to send a message to ABC-TV and the other three networks that unless they begin to include us in their prime-time shows with positive portrayals, we will not watch their programs or patronize those who sponsor them,” said coalition national chair Alex Nogales in a written release.

Nogales said the group also has written letters to major network advertisers asking the companies to put pressure on ABC.

ABC vice president of public relations Mark Johnson confirmed that Iger met with coalition representatives in June 1993 and agreed that ABC needed to include more Latinos in its lineup.

But Johnson denies that Iger committed to making a change by September 1994. “We agree with the basic point of the coalition in that there should be more Latinos on ABC and there will be more Latinos on ABC,” Johnson said.

“The disagreement is whether Mr. Iger set a specific deadline. We’ve maintained from the very beginning that such a deadline was never in existence.”

According to separate studies by the University of Pennsylvania and the Center for Media and Public Affairs in Washington, D.C., only 1 percent of prime-time characters on TV this season are Latino down from 3 percent in 1965.

Latino actors had 20 of 783 speaking roles on prime-time TV this season, studies show. And of those 20 roles, five of the characters were nonLatino. According to the study, there are more aliens from outer space on TV in prime time than Latino characters.

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