Four lessons from KQED's Latinx audience study
Research into Hispanic habits and needs resonates far beyond the Bay Area
We in public media spend lots of time considering the ways we might meet the needs of diverse audiences. We test-fly many interesting initiatives. And when we talk to Latino/a/e/x audiences about their interests, it’s news. 📰
This is certainly the case with KQED in San Francisco. It’s where I work today, though the Latina/o/x Research Project the organization did predates me. Nevertheless, I believe in the effort. Its findings are worth sharing.
In 2021, KQED engaged in a qualitative and quantitative study of Latino/a/e/x audiences in the region. The objective was layered, and included understanding the local audience related to topics not limited to:
Motivations for their content choices
What they were seeking and not finding in their current media diet
How language and culturally relevant content affected their media choices
Perceptions of public media and what we could do to better engage the audience
KQED’s Yo Ann Martinez and I have spoken at separate events about this research. Something we have both emphasized is that the study had a long history.
It took a group internally to think about the community, and work through the resources at hand to begin the work. It included listening tours with those who were making similar efforts elsewhere. Credit must also go to KQED’s endeavors to examine its internal DEI needs in 2020.
The internal investigation compared KQED’s staff and leadership demographics against the Bay Area audience, and then the region’s population. Such figures gave KQED a chance to assess how representative the organization was, and windows to grow. 🏹
The stakes for this situation are not unlike most of public media. The San Francisco Bay Area is diverse, and its Hispanic population is young. The Latino/a/e/x population size is not the majority, but it is noteworthy – around a quarter of residents. In addition, the skewing of the older adult population to white and Asian, relative to the small number of older Hispanics, indicates demographic shifts are likely to change the face of the region in 10 years.
The Latina/o/x Research Project (as the study was entitled) consisted of audience surveys as well as interviews. Efforts were made to be in touch with regular Latino/a/e/x consumers of KQED content, casual consumers, and those without any real relationship with its programming. 📻
What was learned? Respondents offered many illuminating perspectives. 🗨️ I believe those views of media and unmet needs have a lot of resonance far beyond the San Francisco Bay Area.
Four important lessons
Wherefore Latino/a/e/x diversity? Hispanic audiences say they would like to see a broader representation of Latin American cultures. Even the most cursory observations of how Latino/a/e/x communities are covered suggests there is an over-reliance on narratives involving Mexico and Mexican Americans.
It’s not an unreasonable editorial choice (Mexicans and those of Mexican origin are 62 percent of the Latino/a/e/x population in America). But there is growing dissatisfaction with the invisibility of other nations’ residents.
Also, the discontent is not purely due to wanting more news. Journalism provides others a chance to understand places and to dispel myths. Considering the reporting we may get from Central America, for example, can be scant or only focused on a few storylines, deeper journalism educates the general public about the nuances that seldom are seen.
Content addresses misinformation. Related to this issue is a greater need for journalism that cracks through misinformation and tells a fuller story about Latino/a/e/x life in America.
Respondents felt a great deal of mainstream coverage, especially in Spanish-language media, was negative and sensational. One needn’t look far to uncover tropes of Hispanic poverty, crime and marginalization. Yet the less prominent stories – think the fish out of water narratives Samantha Guzman talked about in a previous OIGO – give a more real look at day-to-day life.
Contextual pieces that related traditions, successes and stories from their own perspective, respondents said, were important.
Spanish matters in overlooked ways. For survey participants, Spanish-language content still matters.
Why? Many say they want to stay connected to their roots and recognize Spanish retains the bond with older generations. Such feelings were related to a degree in the OIGO discussion of demographic trends and, specifically, the decline of Spanish usage among younger Hispanics. Furthermore, in its research, KQED learned the Latino/a/e/x audience consumes media in English and Spanish, depending on the availability of the content and the needs audience members have.
This information search is an outgrowth of bicultural life that public media has not accounted for so much. It’s also a chance to engage.
Generational differences. As Gather points out, KQED learned there are generational differences in consumption and the kinds of content that appeal to Latino/a/e/x audiences.
For example, parents may seek out children’s programming that is bilingual or in Spanish, so to pass on the language to kids. As such, public media beyond the Bay Area may think of how such engagement may create opportunities for content it hadn’t previously considered.
As I shared in a webinar, KQED has used the research to pilot several content initiatives, including Bay Area Ofrendas and in-person events. More on KQED’s engagement and programming activities as they develop.
La próxima ⌛
The next OIGO is in your inbox April 15. The forthcoming edition, we visit with Obed Manuel, audience editor at Colorado Public Radio. He’s renown for his reporting at the Dallas Morning News. What’s the transition been like to public media? What’s involved in his job? Does he miss the food in Texas? We’ll chop it up next go.
Also, I’ll be at the Public Radio Super-Regional as a representative of KQED. If you will be in Denver, please say hey.
-- Ernesto
Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕
The Committee to Protect Journalists is calling for an investigation into the killing of journalist Orlando Villanueva in Guatemala. He was shot and killed March 8 at a public sports venue. Villanueva covered local politics and alleged corruption.
PBS has issued its diversity, equity and inclusion report. It’s a wide-ranging look at PBS initiatives and support, and includes PBS Kids, content and community engagement. On background, read Grace Lee’s critique of PBS in OIGO last fall.
Radio Bilingue is among those announced as winners of new full-power noncommercial radio stations. The longtime Spanish-language public media service connects communities in California, Texas and elsewhere. Its new license will serve, San Miguel, Calif.
Hispanics and Spanish fluency is in the news again. It’s a longtime conversation, and perhaps one public media could intervene in.
NAHJ is accepting nominations to its Hall of Fame now until May.
El radar: try this 📡
Probe lost communities. The Denver Post just looked into the death of a Latino/a/e/x neighborhood, wiped out nearly 50 years ago to build a university campus. Auraria’s Hispanic residents were displaced after a flood damaged their homes. That disaster prompted calls for revitalization and thereafter removal of the neighborhood. One can guess this may not be uncommon.
Try a Twitter Spaces on Latino/a/e/x issues. WFAE did it. The station tackled Latino/a/e/x population needs and challenges in North Carolina.
Is home ownership out of reach for Hispanics where you live? CalMatters learned many aspiring Latino/a/e/x homeowners cannot afford places to live in the state. While California is a pricey place to settle, housing prices nationwide are climbing. This may bear review where you are.
See if your state blocks citizens from filming the cops. Vice investigated the nationwide trend of legislation aimed at preventing residents from recording police officers in the line of duty. Advocates say the statutes are intended to protect law enforcement servants’ privacy. There are worries that such laws could shield abuse.
Ask about food insecurity. It’s happening in Indiana, and we’re seeing the number of Latino/a/e/x residents visiting food banks to live.
Thank you for reading!