The talk will share and analyze findings from The Latino Media Gap, the most comprehensive study of Latinos in English-language media to date. Overall, the study found that Latinos remain extremely marginalized and stereotyped in English-language media despite constituting 17% of the population, 20% of the key advertisement demographic, and an even greater share of the audience in the nation's largest media markets. The study also found, however, that Latinos were considerably better represented in YouTube channels in selected genres and that despite few opportunities were having an impact in new media.
Frances Negrón-Muntaner is a filmmaker, writer, and scholar. Among her books and publications are: Boricua Pop: Puerto Ricans and the Latinization of American Culture (CHOICE Award, 2004), and The Latino Media Gap (2014). Her films include Brincando el charco: Portrait of a Puerto Rican (Whitney Biennial, 1995), Small City, Big Change (2014) and the upcoming War in Guam. In 2008, the United Nations' Rapid Response Media Mechanism recognized her as a global expert in the areas of mass media and Latin/o American studies. In 2012, she received the Lenfest Award, one of Columbia University most prestigious recognitions. She is the director of the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, founder of the Media and Idea Lab, and curator of the Latino Arts and Activism archive at Columbia University.