Illegal aliens driving popularity of Spanish newscasts
Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 8/16/2008 4:20:00 AM

An English-language advocate says it's because of illegal immigration that Spanish-language television newscasts are growing in popularity in the United States.

According to wcbs.com, within the last few months, Spanish-language station WXTV's 6 p.m. newscast has eclipsed its English-speaking competitors on ABC, CBS, and NBC stations in popularity among viewers younger than age 49. And according to Nielson Media Research, its sister station KMEX in Los Angeles had more viewers in June for its newscast than any of its English competitors, regardless of age.

Jim Boulet, executive director of English First, says it is interesting that according to Nielson, in 1995, 62 percent of Hispanic viewers in New York watched English language television over 38 percent who viewed Spanish-language TV. But last year Hispanics there favored Spanish stations 71 to 29 percent. This change, according to Boulet, is easy to explain: illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America have not assimilated like Puerto Ricans and Cubans.

"The legal ones tend to get their news in English, where the illegal immigrants want their news in Spanish. They want to see what is going on in their home country," Boulet contends. "Plus, the illegal immigrants prefer the tone of Univision and Spanish-language news because it's all 'rah rah illegal immigrant, rah rah amnesty, aren't you wonderful?' Whereas the English language news tends to talk about immigration enforcement and that depresses them."
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