This was originally published on The Huffington Post
By Hugo Balta - President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) and a coordinating producer for ESPN and Axel Caballero, Executive Director of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) and founder of Cuéntame. As Latino filmmakers and journalists, we understand that the stories we tell matter. They play a critical role in defining our culture and help people make sense of the world we live in. But too often, the stories that are being told on the local news, on cable outlets or on the big screen about Latinos reinforce dangerous stereotypes to the detriment of our community. It is why our organizations have long pressured the industry to hire more Latinos to ensure our stories are being told. It is also why we are deeply troubled by the impact of a recent court decision on our online free speech rights. Earlier this month, a federal court struck down the Federal Communications Commission's open Internet rules, which were intended to prevent Internet Service Providers like Verizon and AT&T from blocking content or discriminating online. Now these companies are free to interfere with Web traffic. This is why we are calling on our community to sign a petition from Presente.org that asks the FCC to take action to protect Net Neutrality.