It has been a little over a month since NHMC celebrated the 16^th Annual Impact Awards Gala. A month can feel like a year in NHMC time since so much gets done in a month around here, but I for one still remember the night very well and it will go down as one of the best NHMC Galas in my book.

For those of you who were not able to attend, quite frankly, you missed out. I’m not saying this just because I work for NHMC you can ask any person in attendance that night and they will tell you the same thing. What do you expect when you have influential Latinos, entertainment industry insiders, celebs, awards, press, champagne, good food and music all mixed together at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Oscar weekend? An unforgettable night of course. But in case you did miss it, you can get a recap of the night here  and take a look at my favorite moments of the night below. And don’t forget to check out all of the honorees’ acceptance speeches here.

Best honoree quotes of the evening:

John Leguizamo, Outstanding Theatrical Performance for Ghetto Klown

“I want to thank all of the people before me Raul Julia, Jose Ferrer, Desi Arnaz, all the people whose shoulders we stand on, who paid their dues and keep paying their dues and are ready to pass the baton on to the newcomers because that’s what we’ve got to do.”  What beautiful words and a great opening for the night!

Mario Lopez , Outstanding Media Entrepreneur for his extensive accomplishments in the media industry.

Mario had this to say about being compared to Ryan Seacrest , “People are always saying ‘Mario you are like the Latino Ryan Seacrest’ and I say, that’s cool he’s a good friend and I’m very proud of him, but I always tease Ryan and  say, ‘You know what one day Ryan they are gonna tell you you’re like the Caucasian Mario Lopez’”. We cannot wait till that day arrives!

Lana Parrilla ,Outstanding Performance in a Television Series for Once Upon a Time.

During Lana Parrilla’s acceptance speech she talked about being Puerto Rican, “Im half boricua, I don’t look it but, oh maybe I do” and she proceeded to strut around stage showing off her behind to the crowd to prove her Boricua-ness. Classic!

Actor Michael Pena, Outstanding Performance in a Motion Picture for “End of Watch”

This is what Michael had to say to his community, “I really wanna thank my Latinos, for real, because it was 40% of the people that watched End of Watch were Latinos and that changed my career, yeah and hopefully they show up for this movie Cesar Chavez because my parents were immigrants– and that movie means a lot”. We will be keeping an eye out for Michael Pena and are especially looking forward to his role in Chavez.

Gina Torres,Outstanding Performance in a Television Series for Suits

Gina Torres shared some thoughts about staying true to yourself, “And they asked her ‘How do you get to become Diana Vreland?’ and her response was ‘Well darling first you have to arrange to be born in Paris,’ and I’m sure that worked for her and that’s great but if someone were to ask me I would say: First you have to arrange to be born in the Bronx, to two brilliant, fantastic, Cuban immigrants who taught me grace under fire, sometimes quite literally because it was the Bronx, who taught me that work was a blessing and not a chore, that taught me that you determine your self worth, and that you tell people who you are– they don’t get to tell you”. Her speech was so eloquent and captivating!

Tony Hernandez, Lupe Ontiveros Indomitable Spirit Award for the Immigrant Archive Project

Tony Hernandez, fearless leader of the IAP had this to say,“I also share this project with every hardworking immigrant family here in the country, who continues to– perhaps silently– contribute to our society in innumerable and invaluable ways this project and this award belongs to each of them as well, and lastly and just as importantly I share this award with many of you here in the room this evening those of you in the industry that take great pride and care in the creation the development and actual bringing roles to life of Latinos  with the compassion and the integrity that they so rightfully deserve, this is your award as well.” You can check out IAP’s amazing work here.

Morena Baccarin,Outstanding Performance in a Television Series for Homeland.

Here’s what Morena had to say about being Hispanic:“I must admit when I found out I was receiving this award I kind of panicked, I’m Brazilian and I’m embarrassed to say I wasn’t really sure I was Hispanic. But I didn’t want to alert anyone so I went online and checked it out and was really relieved to find out I am Hispanic. But I also found out that Hispanics have a higher survival rate for cancer, heart disease and other medical conditions than non Hispanics so this is a really good day”!

What awesome, genuine honorees we had this year. But mind you, we have great speeches like this every year,I’ll never forget Robert Rodriguez’s heart wrenching speech he gave at the 2011 Impact Awards Gala.

Best dressed for the night were the honorees of course but I would also like to point out my personal favorites, the NHMC team, what a good looking team!

And in case you aren’t totally convinced this was the best party during Oscar weekend then join NHMC at the 2014 Gala where you are sure to become a believer!

For instance, AT&T recently petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to “launch a proceeding concerning the TDM-to-IP transition.” A what concerning the what-to-what what?!? If you did not understand more than half of those words and acronyms, you are not alone.

The goal of this two-part blog post is to explain what this means, why you should care about how the FCC proceeds with AT&T’s petition (hint: this decision could impact whether you continue to have access to affordable, reliable telephone service, among other things) and what the FCC is doing to protect consumers as the nation’s telephone and Internet infrastructure evolves.

Fortunately, the FCC appears poised to initiate a thoughtful debate about how and whether Americans are connecting to telephone and Internet service, and what that means vis-à-vis AT&T’s petition. Just a couple of weeks ago, I spoke at an FCC Workshop alongside advocates for rural people, people with disabilities and seniors. I was asked to provide base line facts and data pertaining to how communities of color are using technology. This was a daunting task given the distinct experiences of varying communities of color and that we are missing some basic data about how communities of color are connecting over technologies new and old, but I did my best and am sharing my compilation of the latest data in this Power Point Presentation, Communications Technology Use in Communities of Color.

When you think about it, gathering base line facts and data is a good place to start. Kudos, FCC! And kudos to the FCC’s Technology Transitions Task Force for recognizing the need to examine technology use in communities of color as part of its decision making process! I hope that the FCC will continue to fill in the missing data so that it can consider how its decision will ultimately impact people of color and all Americans, for that matter. NHMC certainly has its own ideas on how the FCC should proceed. More on that later.

Next week I will post Part II of this piece,  defining what AT&T is looking to accomplish with its petition, and what is at stake for you and your families and friends.

Guest Blogger: Joe Torres

Many of our nation’s leading Latino activists, journalists, artists and media policy advocates will play a key role in the National Conference for Media Reform in Denver on April 5–7.

The conference will feature several panels that examine news coverage of the Latino community. Aura Bogado of the Nation will moderate a panel exploring how reporting has influenced the immigration debate. Panelists include Democracy Now! co-host and New York Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez, Tania Soto Valenzuela of the Colorado Progressive Coalition and Tania A. Unzueta of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.

National Hispanic Media Coalition President Alex Nogales will moderate a session on the impact of hate speech on Latinos; former Colorado State Senator Polly Baca will be among the panelists. A screening of the documentary Latinos Beyond Reel, which skewers media stereotypes, will precede this conversation.

Novelist and journalist Achy Obejas will join media critic Eric Deggans and Colorlines.com Publisher Rinku Sen in a session considering whether the media’s reporting on race has improved since our country elected its first black president.

And Tania A. Unzueta, Lorena Garcia of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights and interdisciplinary artist and organizer Favianna Rodriguez will discuss what’s missing in the media’s coverage of the LGBTQ community.

Several conference sessions will consider the fallout from government policies that have concentrated control of our media and telecom systems into the hands of a few corporations. Activists and policy experts will discuss the importance of advocating for policies that would democratize our nation’s media.

Jessica Gonzalez of the National Hispanic Media Coalition will discuss the domestic fight to protect our Internet freedom while Guatemalan human rights lawyer Renata Avila Pinto will delve into the global effort to protect Internet rights.

Ana M. Montes of The Utility Reform Network will examine how communities can build their own broadband networks while Edyael Casaperalta of the Center for Rural Strategies will discuss the importance of ensuring broadband access in rural communities. Meanwhile, Rusita Avila of the Media Literacy Project and Steven Renderos of the Center for Media Justice will discuss the campaign to end predatory prison phone rates.

Advocating for policy changes that benefit the Latino community — and the broader public interest community — can be challenging when you’re going up against big money and big media. Elena Nunez of Colorado Common Cause will tackle ways to educate voters in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. Meanwhile, Public Knowledge’s Clarissa Ramon will help facilitate a workshop designed to teach activists how to lobby for positive reforms.

While political campaigns have spent a record amount on political ads, fewer journalists are covering local communities. How can communities fill that void? Florence Hernandez-Ramos of the Latino Public Radio Consortium, Roberta M. Rael of Generation Justice and Silvia Rivera of Vocalo.org will discuss how organizations are working to ensure communities receive the news and information they need.

Artists and cultural organizers have long played an essential role in social movements. The Center for Media Justice’s amalia deloney will moderate a discussion on how artists can advocate for social change. Interdisciplinary artist Favianna Rodriguez will be among the panelists.

Meanwhile, Andrea Quijada of the Media Literacy Project will lead a session, along with her MLP colleague Jessica Collins and Denecia Cadena of Young Women United, on how to shift culture to build social movements and Lorena Garcia of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights will discuss ways marginalized communities are using technology to empower themselves and expand their audiences

Meanwhile, I will take part in a discussion of the dismal levels of female and minority media ownership. I will also join Juan González in a conversation about the critical role people of color have played in the media reform movement.

Click here to learn more about the conference and to register. Hope to see everyone in Denver!

NHMC receives many complaints about hate speech that we are not able to address due to limited resources.  We do encourage those that contact us to take their complaints to the source.

In November 2012, NHMC received an email complaint about “hate speech” on Yelp.  This is the email we received from Melissa:

Recently I was reading some reviews on Yelp and was disgusted to see what I feel is “hate speech” on reviews.

I do not speak Spanish however, I do feel in America it is the right for an employer and employee to communicate in whatever language they want and not have to be subjected to negative reviews online for their businesses!

I have many examples from one reviewer alone:

1) Pollo Tropical – Miami Beach

Yelp review by “Melanie L”

10/20/2012

“Literally if immigration services wanted to catch illegal immigrants in Miami beach they would have to sit here”

Assuming bc people speaking Spanish they ARE illegal immigrants??

2) La Casa De Los Trucos

Review Yelp Melanie L

“The staff can not speak a words of English… I don’t care if I’m called an ocho, we in America! When I go to Mexico I try and learn the language…..

This poor business owner.. In Miami..

And Yelp allows this on their site??

I encouraged Melissa to contact yelp directly to let them know her thoughts.  In January Melissa wrote back.

Thank you for response ,

After much correspondence with yelp-

I am proud to say the comments regarding immigration are edited out of the review!

A small step, but at least it’s done!

Melissa’s advocacy is a great reminder of what Helen Keller said: “I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do something I can do.”  Thank you Melissa for your perseverance, advocacy and for caring enough to take action.

One of the largest broadcasters in the world is not well known here in the US. It is NHK, the sole public television broadcaster of Japan. In 2013 NHK celebrates its 60^th year of television broadcasting with four channels offering a diverse range of programs. From news to drama, sports, children and educational programs and more, NHK provides a rich array of programs to the Japanese people.

Funding public media is more important today than ever. NHK’s funding model insures a strong future for the organization and is unique throughout the world.

As is written by NHK: “It is the duty of a public broadcaster to transmit impartial, high-quality programs that are not influenced by the government or private organizations. For the broadcaster to fulfill this duty, its financial independence must be guaranteed. In the case of NHK, independence is made possible by a Receiving Fee System. Viewers are asked to pay not for specific programs but to support the operation of NHK as a whole. As stipulated in Japan Broadcast Law, receiving fees are paid equally by every household in Japan with a television set.”

The fee per household, paid on a voluntary basis, is about US$250 per year. In Japan, broadcasting has evolved through the coexistence of NHK and various commercial broadcasters, whose source of revenue is income from advertising. The Broadcast Law prohibits NHK from carrying commercials. In fact, NHK does not have foundation or corporate support – no underwriting of any kind

Through this funding model NHK has a budget of almost $7 billion US dollars a year. NHK not only produces programming and is a network, it also owns its stations throughout Japan and is a leader of technological advances in all of broadcasting. NHK invented High Definition television and continues its innovation today with a new “Super Hi-Vision” offering 16 times the resolution of the current HD format and is developing 3D television without viewing glasses.

NHK Newsline Anchors

NHK is quickly becoming known to US audiences through a global channel it began broadcasting in 2009. NHK WORLD TV is a global news, information and lifestyle channel all in English language and in HD, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The channel can be seen in over 130 countries and reaches 160 million homes. In the USA the full channel is in markets including New York,Philadelphia and Washington,DC. The signature news program NEWSLINE, live fromTokyo with 30 news bureaus throughout the world, is in over 83% of USTV homes.

When The Great East Japan earthquake and resulting tsunami occurred two years ago, NHK served a vital function, warning people of the earthquake itself and the coming tsunami. Most of the images the world saw in fact were from NHK cameras positioned throughout the country. NHK has helicopters in each prefecture. The famous images taken of the Sendai airport being inundated were beamed live around the world by NHK’s helicopter and network facilities.

What’s Next For Internet Policy?
Fri., April 5, 10:00-11:30 am
Jessica Gonzalez, NHMC’s Vice President of Policy & Legal Affairs, will be part of a panel of experts discussing the upcoming policy battles and opportunities that will decide the future of the Internet.

The Impact Of Hate Speech On Latinos
Sat., April 6, 4:00-5:30 pm
NHMC President & CEO, Alex Nogales, will moderate and NHMC Policy Counsel, Michael Scurato, will participate on a panel considering hate speech and stereotyping in the media and explore ways to counteract this messaging.

Keynote: Celebrating Our Media Moment
Sat., April 6, 7:30-9:30 pm
Alex Nogales will join a number of other luminaries, such as Free Press CEO Craig Aaron and actress Evangeline Lilly, to offer remarks on the fight for better media.

The full program can be found here: http://conference.freepress.net/schedule.

If you are interested in attending the conference, more information is available here:http://conference.freepress.net/register-now.

What’s the big deal? Contrary to general belief, using terms such as “illegal” does in fact create a profound negative effect on listeners. A national poll by NHMC and Latino Decisions found that respondents react more negatively when the term “illegal alien” is used, compared to when the term “undocumented immigrant” is used. More shocking is the fact that over 30 percent of survey respondents believe that a majority of U.S. Latinos are undocumented.

Spokespersons and organizations left and right, have taken a stance against such terms. Even conservative group, Hispanic Leadership Network, has suggested “Dos and Don’ts of Immigration Reform”to GOP members last month.

Sergio Romo via NBCLatino

Why does the media continue to use terms that offends one of the largest subgroups in the United States? It’s no surprise that media personalities such as Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Michael Savage, etc. use inflammatory language to enrage their listeners and boost up ratings. And without getting into the media consolidation debate, let’s just say that most media decision-makers are not Latinos and/or have a history of alienating Latinos (cough cough, Fox News… cough cough,Clear Channel).

How are these decisions being made? And what is the rationale behind them? Case in point: Clear Channel KFI AM’s Program Director Robin Bertolucci, who in an interview with RBR-TVBR, an online publicly traded news site, personifies the trouble with media decision-makers who misguidedly support using terms such as “illegal.” This program director catches our attention because we are leading a campaign against the station’s talk show host, precisely for using inflammatory language. Last year KFI AM’s shock jocks from “The John and Ken Show,” released the personal mobile number of an immigrant activist, after which the activist received over 400 messages, some of them threatening his life. The campaign has mostly involved informing advertisers about the effects of hate speech in the media. While John and Ken have “toned” down since the start of our campaign, the interview really made us understand that for some people old habits die hard, even when you “look at yourself in the mirror.”

When Bertolucci was asked,

“Do you have to go over what not to say so as not to offend parts of the audience, a la John and Ken Show?”

She responded,

“We’ve really looked at ourselves in the mirror, like one of those magnifying mirrors that shows all of your pores. We’ve seen the areas where we can be better than that, where we can improve. One of the things that we’ve changed a year ago, for example, is we don’t say the word “illegals” when we talk about people that are here in this country illegally. We say “illegal aliens” or “illegal immigrant” but we don’t shorthand, because people aren’t illegal.”

I wonder how long they looked in the mirror. I guess using “illegal aliens” is better than using the term “illegals.” Or is it? If this passes as reflection, at this rate it seems the term “illegal” will be dominating the immigration rhetoric for a while.

Bertolucci misses the point; using the term “illegal” and associating a criminal term to individuals not yet convicted of a crime creates an inherent negative misperception and obscures the real issue, regardless of whether you follow the word with “immigrant” or “alien.”

via Media Matters

But not all hope is lost. Some media executives have recognized the effect of this inflammatory language. Fox News’ CEO, Robert Ailes, was quoted in favor of this point:

“I think the word ‘illegal immigration’ is a false name,” [Ailes] continues. “You are talking about two separate issues. One is sovereignty. . . . The media trying to make America feel guilty because we want borders—that, to me, is complete bullshit. Immigration is a separate issue. . . . We should all defend sovereignty, then take a Judeo-Christian approach to immigration. I don’t have any problem with a path to citizenship.” (See the full article, here).

With continued advocacy by leaders such as Antonio Vargas, Drop the I Word campaign, and other coalitions, we hope leaders will drop this divisive term and focus on substantive issues, just like Ailes suggest.

With all this push from different voices we hope KFI AM will truly reflect and change its ways, but we won’t hold our breath though.

This week the White House announced that President Obama plans to appoint Edith Ramirez as the next Chair of the Federal Trade Commission. This is exciting news for everyone that knows about Commissioner Ramirez’ record on consumer protection and prevention of anti-competitive business practices. And at NHMC, we are excited to see a Latina taking the reins at this very important agency!

I hope this is the first of many diverse appointments for the President. So far this term, the President’s appointees have failed to reflect the diversity of the people that he was elected to serve. Women’s groups and Latino groups have criticized the President for his failure to appoint women and Latinos to high ranking positions despite that these two groups were pivotal in his reelection. This, in light of already low levels of these two groups in high ranking government positions, makes me feel like I am in Washington, D.C. in another era, not in 2013.

But there is hope. The President still has ample opportunity to build a legacy of inclusion in Washington, D.C. A number of Cabinet-level positions remain unfilled, as well as countless high ranking under-Cabinet level and agency head positions. One of those positions, a hot topic of press reports in recent months, is that of the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, Chair.

Why should we care who becomes the next FCC Chair? Okay, well obviously NHMC staff cares because we work on media and telecommunications policy before that agency. But why should you, a regular person who is not wrapped up in this seemingly obscure area of law care about the next FCC Chair?

The answer is simple: you love media and telecommunications. You love picking up your phone and reaching your loved ones on the other end. You like the freedom to choose where you go on the Internet. You want everyone to have an even playing field with access to affordable broadband Internet. You enjoy listening to the radio on a long commute home from work or watching television on a lazy day on the couch. The FCC oversees all of these things, and if you like how these things work today, or want to see them work even better as technology evolves, you should care about the next FCC Chair.

So why should we care that the next FCC Chair be a woman? Would you be surprised if I told you that the FCC has been around since 1934 and in almost 80 years of existence it has NEVER had a female Chair? It has been all white men and a couple of African American men for a total of 28 non-female (and non-Latino) FCC Chairs. So it’s about time for some diversity at this agency. Indeed, the federal government’s own records indicate that the FCC is way behind in its inclusion of Latinos, with just over 3% of its workforce being Latino, and much less if you are looking for Latinos in high ranking positions. At a time when so many media and telecommunications companies are trying to reach the $1 trillion per year Latino market, this is unacceptable.

In the next few years the FCC has many crucial decisions before it. As media and telecommunications technologies continue to evolve, the FCC will have to grapple with pressing legal and jurisdictional questions to ensure that it remains able to protect consumers and the public interest while at the same time promoting investment in a growth market. The next FCC Chair will need a grasp of the Communications Act as amended by the Telecommunications Act of1996. She will need to have her hand on the pulse of the intersection between telecommunications law and policy and the way that new technologies are changing U.S. culture, business and global competitiveness. She will need extensive background and knowledge of both the FCC’s statutory mandates and internal policies and procedures, so that she can hit the ground running at the agency.

And some of the most qualified candidates that are prepared to fulfill these duties happen to be females, including two wise Latinas.

Catherine J.K. Sandoval has been mentioned in numerous press accounts as a top contender for the position. Currently, Sandoval is a Commissioner on the California Public Utilities Commission. At the same time, she has been teaching relevant courses and conducting pertinent scholarship at UC Berkeley School of Law and Santa Clara University School of Law. She has served as Vice President and General Counsel of Z-Spanish Media Corporation, as Director of the Office of Communications and Business Opportunities at the FCC, and as an Associate at the Law Offices of Munger, Tolles & Olson. She holds a JD from Stanford Law School where she was a member of the Stanford Law Review, a Master in Letters from Oxford University where she was the first Latina in history to win a Rhodes scholarship, and a B.A. in Latin American Studies, magna cum laude, from Yale University. She also clerked for the Honorable Dorothy W. Nelson on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The Honorable Maria Gloria “Gloria” Tristani was appointed to the Federal Communications Commission by President Bill Clinton, serving as a FCC Commissioner from 1997 through 2001. Subsequently, she has served as President of the Benton Foundation, Managing Director of the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, and Of Counsel at Spiegel & McDiarmid law  firm in Washington, D.C. Prior to her time at the FCC, Tristani served on the New Mexico State Corporation Commission, the first woman elected to that commission and its Chair in 1996. From 1983-1987, Tristani worked as an Assistant for U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D. NM). She has earned many accolades, including the Edward R. Roybal Outstanding Public Service Award from the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) in 2000, and Hispanic Business’ “100 Influential Hispanics,” in 1998 and 1996, among others. She holds a JD from the University of New Mexico School of Law, a BA from Barnard College at Columbia University, and she also completed a program for senior executives in state and local government at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. In the interest of full disclosure, Gloria sits on NHMC’s Board of Directors, however, she did not ask me to write about her.

Two other excellent choices would be sitting FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel. Clyburn has been an amazing champion for the telecommunications needs of the poor and people of color, and was a 2011 NHMC Impact Award recipient. She has brought fresh air to the FCC and has given voice to many that have been traditionally shut out of media and telecommunications policy decisions. Rosenworcel would also be a fine choice; her grasp of the law, the policy and the politics is immense and impressive.

Catherine J.K. Sandoval

Maria Gloria “Gloria” Tristani

There are so many other highly qualified women for this post that I did not mention here. So please, President Obama, let’s celebrate Women’s History Month together with the historic appointment of a woman to FCC Chair!

Not only is this my favorite picture of Lupe Ontiveros at her last NHMC Impact Awards Gala in 2012, but also how I picture her reacting to the Academy’s snub.

Earlier today, the NHMC submitted an open letter to the members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences for their failure to include Lupe Ontiveros in their Oscars in Memoriam tribute. As a fan of the Oscars, I was very shocked and disappointed when Lupe was not seen with my other screen favorites who passed away like Celeste Holm, Andy Griffith, and Marvin Hamlisch. Lupe left us last July after a bout with cancer.

As the letter states, NHMC understands that she wasn’t a member of the Academy. Perhaps this was the reason for her omission from the Oscars tribute. But we also know that when Lupe Ontiveros applied to the Academy, with the support of Miguel Sandoval and Edward James Olmos, she was denied membership?!?! Why was she denied membership? Lupe was an astonishing and experienced actress with over forty years of film and television credits which include: El Norte, Zoot Suit, The Goonies, Selena, Real Women Have Curves, As Good as it Gets, and Chuck & Buck. What also made her stand out was not only her relentless effort to always represent the Hispanic community at the highest level and standards as an actress, but also for always being ready to help the Latino community as it struggled to give our children a better education, better health and economic resources. Lupe embodied and epitomized the spirit of NHMC’s mission of portraying the Latino community in the most positive way and as a driving economic and creative force in Hollywood and across the nation.

The Ontiveros Family has issued a public statement, and like them, I hope that the Academy takes a moment to reflect on its diversity and commitment to the growing U.S. Latino talent and audience.

Although I don’t know half as many of Lupe’s risqué jokes she used to tell at NHMC’s events – making staff, to include myself, red in the face – I do miss her sense of humor and vitality. When she walked in the room you instantly knew from her positive energy and the growing crackles of laughter as she greeted and joked with people. She was truly missed at this year’s NHMC Impact Awards Gala, and she was especially not forgotten as NHMC awarded Tony Hernandez, co-founder and executive producer of the Immigrant Archive Project, the inaugural Lupe Ontiveros Indomitable Spirit Award. It is in memory of that indomitable “si se puede” spirit that the NHMC created an award in recognition of individuals that relentlessly work hard to portray the positive attributes and contributions that the Latino community offers this great country of ours day in and day out.

Visit NHMC’s Facebook page to remember Lupe Ontiveros.

Click here to read Alex Nogales’ farewell Op-Ed to Lupe Ontiveros featured in The Huffington Post.

]]> http://nhmc.org/blog/?feed=rss2&p=493 0 http://nhmc.org/blog/?p=484 http://nhmc.org/blog/?p=484#comments Wed, 20 Feb 2013 23:51:05 +0000 alomeli http://nhmc.org/blog/?p=484 The Pew Research Center last week released the results of a 2012 social media usage survey that broke down social media users by unique demographic characteristics, such as age, ethnicity, and educational attainment. Interestingly, among Internet users, Latinos were found more likely to use social networking sites than their white and black counterparts. While 72% of Latino Internet users said they use social media, only 65% of whites and 68% of blacks reported using such sites. Among specific social media sites, 19% of Latinos online use Twitter, compared to 15% for whites and 26% for blacks. On Instagram, Latinos similarly outnumbered whites, 18% to 11%.  Latinos were the group most likely to be found on Pinterest at 8%. (It is important to bear in mind that these percentages are amongst Internet users and not amongst the ethnic groups as a whole.)

Frankly, relatively high social media use within the Latino community shouldn’t come as much of a shock. The same Pew report confirms what most would expect: younger Internet users are far more likely to utilize social sites. A whopping 83% of users between 18 and 29 years old reported using social media—a proportion that declines to 77% for those between 30 and 49 years old and 52% among users between 50 and 64. These numbers are important because Latinos are statistically the youngest ethnic group in the United States: the median age of Latino-Americans today is 27, compared to 33 for blacks, 36 for Asians, and 42 for whites.

The correlation is also evident within household income. Internet users with a household income less than $30,000 are the most likely to use social media at 72%. Meanwhile, the median Latino household income of $39,000 is well below the national median of $50,000.

While it can be tempting to read too much into Latinos’ relatively high use of social media, a demographic breakdown of our community demonstrates that this phenomenon probably speaks more to our makeup as a people rather than to any cultural embrace of the online medium.

That said, this explanation does not take away from the growing significance that social media continues to play within the Latino community. As more and more Latino youngsters enter the social media world, it will only encourage older generations to join in to keep tabs on their children and reconnect with friends and family separated by great distances. Speaking from personal experience, my parents, aunts and uncles first joined Facebook after they saw they could enjoy photos posted by their children.  Today, the infamous Lomeli social media network has me connected with family in Mexico who I get to physically see about once per decade.

Social media could certainly serve as an invaluable resource for the Latino community, and it’s clear to me that we are barely scraping the surface of opportunities. It should go without saying, however, that there are also obvious dangers in disclosing personal information online. As social media use continues to grow within our community, it is vital that we stay informed of potential security vulnerabilities and ensure our children understand how to stay safe online. NHMC is currently working to identify many of these privacy issues and develop recommendations to help you have a safe, enjoyable online experience. With the right care, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Latinos use social media in even higher numbers in any future studies.

NHMC can be followed online on Facebook and Twitter.

Andrew Lomeli is a Policy Fellow for NHMC and is currently a graduate student at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California-Berkeley.