As we reach the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, one thing remains a constant at Univision and Telemundo: the careless and calumnious characterization of Donald Trump's pro-law enforcement immigration policy as "anti-immigrant."
During recent coverage of International Migrants Day marches in New York City and Los Angeles, Telemundo's news anchors essentially adopted the marchers' anti-Trump take as their own.
As seen below, without making any use whatsoever of qualifying journalistic language (i.e. attribution) in their set-up to the story, the anchors openly slammed Trump's 'anti-immigrant policies' and 'the immigrant rejection promoted by the new administration.'
LUIS CARLOS VELEZ, NEWS ANCHOR, TELEMUNDO: Thousands took to the streets to demand equal treatment and respect for the rights of immigrants.
FELICIDAD AVELEYRA, NEWS ANCHOR, TELEMUNDO: That is so. Others took the opportunity to protest the anti-immigrant policies proposed by President-elect Donald Trump. We have team coverage. We're in New York with Rebeka Smyth and in Los Angeles with María Paula Ochoa.
LUIS CARLOS VELEZ, NEWS ANCHOR, TELEMUNDO: We begin in the Big Apple where there were calls to vehemently combat the immigrant rejection promoted by the new administration.
Prominent among the estimated two-thousand marchers in the Big Apple were socialist groups and allied New York City government leaders. The socialist marchers made their aims clear with signage featuring raised fists and the slogan "For a World without Borders!", "No Human Being Is Illegal" (a phrase often repeated by Univision anchor Jorge Ramos) and "Immigration Doesn't Bring Crime" among others.
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Given the prevailing spirt of lawlessness at the event, it should come as no surprise that Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito also showed up to bash Trump and defend New York City's sanctuary city status.
ENNY PICHARDO, CORRESPONDENT, UNIVISION: The march counted with the participation of activists from more than 80 organizations, and with political leaders who accuse Trump of having conducted a xenophobic presidential campaign.
MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO, SPEAKER, NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL: We still need a commitment for immigration reform. We have to defend DACA, all the programs that we have running here in this city, that the message of this President-elect is that he is going to take resources from us, no, as a city because we are a sanctuary city.
Meanwhile, activist Mirna Velázquez did her part to raise eyebrows with her on-camera comment that "Immigrants aren't just people who come to invade a territory. We're people who for various reasons come because we're looking for a safe place to live."
News writers, reporters, editors and anchors at Univision and Telemundo are always careful to avoid the term "illegal immigrant" when talking about persons who are in the country illegally. However, these same members of the news industry still generally have no problem using sweeping, calumnious labels such as "anti-immigrant" when talking about public figures and organizations that are clearly on record in support of legal immigration and register no objection to the presence of legal, authorized immigrants from all over the world in the United States, but who oppose illegal immigration and simply support the enforcement of the country's duly established immigration laws.
In addition to the persistent, calumnious and careless use of the 'anti-immigrant' label, neither Univision nor Telemundo even bothered in their reports on the march to include the perspectives of many others who do not share either the marchers' - nor the Democratic politicians' - clearly controversial views on the subject matter.
Here's hoping that personnel at Univision and Telemundo - along with others in the media world - take note, do some real year-end reflection on the toll such consistently one-sided, disrespectful coverage of the news of the day has taken on their credibility this past year, and make some tangible resolutions to improve on this score in 2017.
