FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: lppipress@luskin.ucla.edu
LOS ANGELES (June 30, 2025) – The UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI) and the Arizona State University Center for Latina/os and American Politics Research (CLAPR) today released a new joint issue brief analyzing Latino representation and media coverage. The report reveals a narrative deficit in local media coverage of Latinos and highlights how Latino journalists contributed to more inclusive and positive portrayals of Latino communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings are based on an analysis of 13 million English-language newspaper articles published between 2020 and 2023.
Focusing on Arizona, California, and Nevada—states with significant Latino populations—the study reveals disparities in coverage and representation of Latino communities. Only 2% of daily newspaper articles mentioned Latinos, a 17-percentage point gap relative to their U.S. population share, and over 80% of articles about Latinos are written by non-Latino journalists.
The issue brief, authored by Francisco I. Pedraza, Andrea Borbon, Citlali Tejeda, Gabriela Aros, Dianna Gallardo, Zoey Paredes, Christopher Yearout, and Misael Galdámez, highlights the persistent underrepresentation of Latinos in U.S. news media despite their nearly quarter-share of the population.
Key Findings:
- Coverage Disparity: Latinos were mentioned in just 2% of articles, compared to their nearly 20% U.S. population share. Among the three states, California showed the largest Latino news undercoverage gap relative to the state’s Latino population (36 percentage points).
- Impact of Latino Journalists: Latino-authored stories were more likely to cite Latino sources, feature Latinos earlier, and portray Latino communities positively.
- State Variations: Nevada led in positive portrayals and Latino source inclusion, while California lagged in Latino authorship.
- Negative Portrayals: Half of the articles mentioning Latinos portrayed them negatively or lacked substantive depiction, with national coverage tilting negative.
The authors offer actionable recommendations for journalists and newsrooms to improve Latino representation and coverage. Journalists are encouraged to broaden sources, use asset-based language, and provide historical and policy context. Meanwhile, newsrooms are urged to increase Latino representation through targeted recruitment, elevate Latino voices in editorial roles, track diversity in content and authorship, and actively partner with Latino-centric, Latino-owned, and Latino-led media outlets.
“This research underscores the transformative power of Latino journalists in crafting more accurate and inclusive narratives,” said Pedraza, lead author and associate professor at Arizona State University’s School of Politics and Global Studies and Director of ASU CLAPR. “By amplifying Latino voices and newsrooms, we can reshape public perceptions of our communities and drive equitable policy solutions for our communities.”
About UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute
The UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute is a non-partisan research institute that seeks to inform, engage, and empower Latinos through innovative research and policy analysis. LPPI aims to promote equitable and inclusive policies that address the needs of the Latino community and advance social justice. latino.ucla.edu.
About ASU Center for Latina/os and American Politics Research
The mission of CLAPR is to foster and support thoughtful, objective, and innovative research on the political and policy circumstances of the nation’s Latina/o-Hispanic population, thereby creating a fuller, deeper understanding of politics and governance in the United States. This mission entails facilitating and disseminating research that emphasizes, but is not limited to, empirical and normative theoretical perspectives, historical context, institutional dimensions, and public policy issues which are especially germane to the Latina/o-Hispanic population while also having broad significance for American society and politics.
