Abrajano and Singh on News, Immigration Reform, and Latinopolitical attitudes
Abstract: This paper explores whether an individual’s news source can explain their attitudes on immigration. We focus on the Spanish-speaking population in the U.S., since they have the option of accessing their news in English, Spanish or in both languages. Our audience influence hypothesis predicts that Spanish-language news will cover immigration in a more positive and informative manner than will English-language news. Thus, Latinos who use Spanish-language news may have a higher likelihood of possessing pro-immigrant sentiments than Latinos who only use English-language news. Content analysis of Spanish and English-language television news segments demonstrates that Spanish-language news does provide a more positive discussion of immigration than does English-language news. Analysis of Latino survey respondents indicate that those who use Spanish-language news hold more favorable views towards immigration than those who only use English-language news. Generational status also influences Latinos’ immigration attitudes, though its impact is not as great as one’s news source.
Marisa Abrajano and Simram S. Singh (2007), “Examining the Link between Issue Attitudes and News Source: The Case of Latinos and Immigration Reform,” unpublished paper. Available here.