Dear TV bookers: Here’s a list of 50 Latinos

For many Latinos who follow Sunday and political shows closely it is extremely frustrating to see the lack of Hispanic representation in media. This is not new – here is this article from last year and there is this Media Matters report. The issue came to a head this week because as the top story in the country is about immigration, the Sunday shows only had one Latino headliner. This not only resulted in headlines but also in a number of twitter conversations including this one and this one. One of my top tweets thus far (and if you follow me you know I am active on twitter) was recommending to Brian Stelter that he host a segment focused on the lack of Latinos on Sunday shows (and hope to see this soon!)

Here is the thing – and read this also from Media Matters on the topic – Latinos should be invited not only to talk about immigration but to address any and all issues. Latinos represent close to 18 percent of the country, we are very diverse, speak English or Spanish or both or more than two languages. We care about education, the economy, entrepreneurship, healthcare and much, much more. There are conservative, moderate and progressive. We are very diverse. So why are we not at the table?

I have had many conversations on this issue but if I’ve learned something these past few years is that it is not enough to complain or talk about an issue – you need to do something. So here is my small contribution – a list of 50 Latinos that could be invited to these shows. Not all to talk about immigration, some on business or other issues. I hope any and all TV booker can use this list for morning shows, Sunday shows or any news segment. These are just a select 50, trust me locally and nationally there are many more. There are also many in other fields from healthcare, to marketing to entertainment not included but that may be a future post. I also have not added elected officials because you can find them by reaching out to NALEO, CHCI and CHLI. Of course feel free to add any other names to the comments section below.

Finally, this Sunday, as John Oliver covered on his show this past weekend, Mexico elects a new president. So bookers keep in mind that there are many very knowledgeable  individuals you can invite to your shows including former Ambassador Tony Garza, Dallas Morning News reporter Alfredo Corchado, Jorge Ramos or Enrique Acevedo from Univision, Maria Elena Salinas who is an independent award-winning journalist, Laura Martinez from CNET or Leon Krauze who is a Univision anchor in Los Angeles who moderated a Mexican presidential debate.

Trust me there are many knowledgeable, eloquent Hispanics who would be great sources for your shows. As this is not an all encompassing list but hopefully helps demonstrate why there is no reason for a lack of representation.

Journalists (this list is just a few – NAHJ is a resource to identify more).

Hispanic-serving organizations (the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda also is a resource to identify others).

Politics/pundits

Business/entrepreneurship/general (these are just a few names but here is this list of 50 Latinas and this one of Latina Tech Founders).

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash