Is changing the language enough? The Spanish-language ‘alternative’ in the USA

Abstract

Alternative voices in the USA have been found in ethnic media outlets that provide information in languages other than English and focus on issues often ignored by the mainstream news. One such example is the Spanish-language media, which have had a long history in the USA. A content analysis was performed to analyze broadcast news in San Diego County to assess the similarities and differences between an ethnic news channel, KBNT (Univisión affiliate), and a mainstream station, KGTV (ABC affiliate). The data from the content analysis show some diversity in the stories covered, but the overall frequency of story type was fairly consistent among the stations. The corporate structure of Spanish-language media is looking more like its English-language counterparts and this oligopoly structure may make it more likely to follow trends such as displacing public discourse with entertainment and reducing the availability of diverse voices.