ABSTRACT

This research examines how Spanish radio stations in the United States were used to reach Latinos through non-candidate political (issue) advertising during the midterm election of 2018. Spanish-Language radio is an essential part of the weekly media diet of the Latinos in the U.S. and reaches almost all adults in this demographic. Using an unprecedented and detailed analysis of advertising records from the Federal Communication Commission (FCC)’s political file database, this study analyzes the issues employed by outside groups who were targeting a diverse, but largely underrepresented population demographic. Despite more than 160,000 total political ads representing more than $13 million in spending, the data suggests that radio, as a media platform, was under-utilized by groups targeting Latinos during the 2018 midterm elections, as less than a third of all the Spanish-Language radio stations in the U.S. carried political advertising. This study concludes that interest groups missed an opportunity to maximize political participation among Latinos through targeted appeals on topics like immigration, jobs, education, and housing. Theoretical implications for engaging Latinos in political processes are also discussed.

摘要

这项研究调查了在 2018 年中期选举期间，美国的西班牙广播电台如何通过非候选人政治（问题）广告接触拉丁裔。西班牙语广播是拉丁裔每周媒体饮食的重要组成部分。美国，几乎覆盖了这一人群中的所有成年人。本研究对联邦通信委员会 (FCC) 政治档案数据库中的广告记录进行了前所未有的详细分析，分析了针对多样化但代表性不足的人口群体的外部群体所采用的问题。尽管总政治广告超过 160,000 个，支出超过 1300 万美元，但数据表明，在 2018 年中期选举期间，针对拉丁裔的团体没有充分利用广播作为媒体平台，因为在美国只有不到三分之一的西班牙语广播电台进行政治广告。这项研究得出的结论是，利益集团错失了通过针对移民、就业、教育和住房等主题的有针对性的呼吁来最大限度地提高拉丁裔政治参与的机会。还讨论了拉美裔参与政治进程的理论意义。