The Influence of Spanish-Language Media on Latino Public Opinion and Group Consciousness.

Kerevel, Yann P.

This article determines if the use of Spanish-language media among Latinos influences public opinion on various policy issues and group consciousness. Using a 2004 national public opinion survey of U.S. Latinos, a multivariate analysis is run to determine the effect of language media preference on immigration policy, abortion, same-sex marriage, and three measures of group consciousness. I find more frequent use of Spanish-language media leads to more liberal attitudes toward immigration, but has no effect on opinions toward abortion and same-sex marriage. I also find increased use of Spanish-language media leads to increased levels of group consciousness. The differences in attitudes are due to the diverging goals of Spanish-language and English-language media. The effect of using Spanish-language media serves to promote a sense of group consciousness among Latinos by reinforcing roots in Latin America and the commonalities among Latinos of varying national origin.

UNITED States; MASS media & Hispanic Americans; SPANISH language; PUBLIC opinion; GROUP identity; POLITICAL attitudes; MASS media influence; UNITED States social life & customs, 1971-

Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell), 2011, Vol 92, Issue 2, p509

0038-4941

Academic Journal

10.1111/j.1540-6237.2011.00780.x