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Two South Florida Spanish-Language Television Anchors Made Political Contributions

A prominent Spanish-language television anchor, Alina Mayo Azze of Univision's Miami station, should be added to the list compiled by MSNBC's Bill Dedman of more than a hundred journalists who have made political contributions since 2004.

According to the Federal Election Commission database of individual contributors, Ms. Mayo Azze contributed $1,000 to the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Political Action Committee in June, 2005. (Or at the very least, a contribution in that amount was made in her name.) The PAC's treasurer is Gus Machado owner of a Ford dealership in Hialeah, Florida. I do not know if he currently buys time on the Univision station where Mayo Azze is employed.

If you go back before 2004, then you can add Telemundo network morning show anchor José Diaz-Balart to the list as well.

It is no secret that José Diaz-Balart's family is heavily involved in politics. His father was a Congressman in Cuba. His brothers Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Mario Diaz-Balart are both members of the United States Congress. According to the FEC, José contributed $1000 to Mario's campaign during his first run for Congress in June, 2002. (Or, as above, at the very least a contribution in that amount was made in his name.)

That José Diaz-Balart faces potential conflicts of interest when it comes to covering politics is a long-established and well-known fact. And that a South Florida Spanish-language television anchor has strong feelings about U.S. policy towards Cuba should surprise no one in Miami. Still, even obvious facts are worth reporting. Particularly since plenty of other Cuban American journalists have seen fit not to make political contributions.

For the record, I went to school with a younger brother of Ms. Mayo Azze and I worked the weekend shift with José Diaz-Balart at WTVJ for two years. That was a long time ago, in both instances.

Univision Debate Not Getting Very Far

AP writes about Univision's voter-registration campaign, the New York Times reports on the latest about Univision's presidential debate (to be conducted in English according to this 'clarification') and the Washington Post features Eddie "El Piolin" Sotelo (the article reads like 'Mr. Tweety Bird Goes to Washington'). Plus the Ventura County Star reports the network is "bankrolling" assistance to immigrants in filling out their applications. And, of course, the network has been mentioned in the context of Governor Schwarzenegger's suggestion that Latinos turn off Spanish-language television.

Yet, the flurry of coverage (which is a novelty for Univision) combined with a direct plea have yet to translate into much attendance at the upcoming debate, which may end up being as empty as the boxes at Piolin´s press conference.  Boosting participation in the debate is clearly a priority for the network and the agency handling its media relations but the most popular candidates are not jumping at the offer. For many of the candidates, attending a debate sponsored by a Spanish-language network is apparently just too fraught with negative symbolism.

Take a peek in the comments section here for a mild taste of the online venom poisoning the prospects of Univision's presidential debate. (Or read here about Univision´s reach and about how Presidential Candidates Flunk Spanish.)   

John Edwards en español

AFP put out a story about the importance of the Latino vote and reviews the Hispanic outreach effort of various presidential candidates including John Edwards who: 

"has a page in "Espanol" with the slogan 'El Manana Comienza Hoy,' or 'Tomorrow Begins Today.'"

The article fails to note that Edwards's Spanish-language slogan is indecipherable. See Presidential Candidates Flunk Spanish for other examples of glaring grammatical and stylistic mistakes on campaign Web sites.

 

Presidential Candidates Flunk Spanish

Senator Christopher Dodd speaks very good Spanish and has called on other presidential candidates to participate in a Univision-sponsored debate. Yet, unless I am missing something, his campaign Web site does not have a separate Spanish-language section.

Senator Clinton does not speak Spanish and turned down Univision´s offer but does have information in español on her Web site.  The EN ESPAÑOL button is visible in the upper right hand corner of the home page. Once there, you can read about how Senator Clinton has "introducido proyectos legislativos". Yikes, introducir means insert rather than introduce legislation.

Governor Bill Richardson speaks Spanish fluently. Like a pro. But, the home page of the Spanish-language section of his Web site includes several amateurish grammatical errors. The most glaring mistake is "Bill Richardson está corriendo porque el próximo presidente ..."  In Spanish, unlike English, you cannot write a candidate is ´running´ for office. Yet, the writer opted for the literal translation of ´running´ as ´corriendo´. 

John Edwards´Web site features all of 174 words in Spanish. And the headline "El Mañana Comienza Hoy" strings four of them together in such a way as to defy comprehension. Unless, that is, you speak English and immediately recognize the phrase as another literal translation.

Senator Barack Obama´s campaign put out a press release stating six of its videos now feature Spanish-language subtitles. Well, the system didn´t work very well for me. The subtitles were confusingly out of sync with what was being said in the clip. Difficult to follow. Separately, the first line of text following "Bienvenido a BarackObama.com" is the grammatical train wreck "Esta campaña se trata de construir un tipo diferente de política y eso comienza contigo." That sentence is so poorly written that I don't know how to translate its sheer awfulness.

In sharp contrast, the reggaeton tune available on Amigosdeobama.com may well be the smartest bit of Hispanic marketing to date by any of the campaigns.  Catchy, even if you don´t care for the musical genre. However, I don´t understand why the transcription of the lyrics is completely lacking in accents for educacion, nacion and the frightfully misspelled imigracion.   

The only other sharp Hispanic marketing effort I´ve come across thus far is from the one Republican candidate with a Spanish-language section on his Web site. Craig Romney, son of Mitt, appears in a brief and simple video clip. Craig speaks in mildly-accented Spanish and describes his father as a man of faith and integrity. It is a straightforward and inviting pitch that might well resonate with socially conservative Hispanics. Oh, and the Web site manages to properly spell "inmigración" even if Romney´s immigration stance is not likely win over many Latino voters.

No candidate or company is obligated to provide information online in Spanish. And the writing does not have to warrant a Nobel Prize for Literature. However, it strikes me as common sense to avoid bush league grammatical mistakes if you are trying to woo Latino voters in Spanish.

This post is based on only a brief review of the Web sites of some but not all of the presidential candidates. I believe a longer and closer examination would reveal plenty more translation gaffes and poor writing.

Schwarzenegger - Turn Off Spanish-Language TV

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have been a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists off and on for more than a decade. I worked for two Spanish-language television networks for a total of seven and a half years.

Speaking at an event organized by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reportedly

"drew gasps from some of the 700 people in the audience by suggesting that undocumented immigrants "have got to turn off the Spanish-language television" programs in order to learn English."

I thought one reaction cited in the LA Times article was particularly on target

"Cecilia Alvear, a former TV news producer, was only half kidding when she said, "What? And give up my telenovelas?"

The LAT failed to note some worthwhile background to the Governor's statement. Namely, Schwarzenegger gladly took large contributions from former Univision CEO, Chair and controlling shareholder A. Jerrold Perenchio.

Perhaps he shares conservative concerns about Univision´s new owners and the network´s citizenship and voter registration drives.

UPDATE:

The Modesto Bee provides additional background on the irony of the Governor's request to turn off Spanish-language television. The article highlights Schwarzenegger's Spanish-language Web site, Hispanic media outreach and provides additional details on the contributions of former Univision CEO A. Jerrold Perenchio's to the Governor.