http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/marco-rubios-univision-problem/article/2563255Rubio's Univision problem
By T. Becket Adams | April 18, 2015 | 5:00 am
For Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio, the most-watched Spanish language television network in the United States — and its influence in shaping the broader media storyline — could be a major roadblock on the path to the White House.
Rubio, whose Latin roots are often cited as one of his greatest political assets, announced his presidential bid Tuesday from Miami's Freedom Tower, a former immigration processing center that serves as a "kind of Statue of Liberty for Cuban-Americans," according to Morning Edition's Renée Montagne.
But according to a long-running narrative at Univision, Rubio is bad for the Hispanic community. Univision on-air personalities have been deeply critical of the Florida senator and its chairman publicly roots for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Univision chairman Haim Saban, who once accused Rubio of holding "despicable" anti-Hispanic positions, is a prominent Democrat and unabashed Clinton supporter.
In a discussion regarding the rocky U.S. relationship with Israel, Saban said matter-of-factly in a recent interview that, "There won't be any problems with relations ... when Hillary Clinton is president."
This alleged "feud" between the senator and Univision, which dates back to Rubio's first days as a member of Congress, has not gone unnoticed by politicos. Many question whether the network's apparent anti-Rubio position will kneecap his attempts to court one of the fastest-growing voting blocs in the country.
Bloomberg News this week described the relationship between the Cuban-American senator and the network as a "tumultuous."
The American Thinker said, "Extreme bias against Senator Marco Rubio by members of the news division of Univision could torpedo [the Republican lawmaker's] national political ambitions."
In 2013, the Miami Herald reported that Univision's aggressive treatment of Rubio had raised concerns among conservatives that the network "tilts its coverage in favor of Democratic-leaning immigration policy."
Univision was one of the first major news groups to suggest that Rubio's many conservative positions would make him a pariah in the Hispanic community. After Univision had staked out this position early on, news organizations across the country joined in, with many wondering — one after another — whether the Florida senator would indeed be able to make a play for the increasingly important and valuable Hispanic voting bloc.
Even Rubio's leadership in 2013 of an abortive effort to rewrite the nation's immigration laws does not seem to have helped him with Univision, despite the channel's broad support for looser immigration policies. The network's star journalist, Jorge Ramos, is a strong supporter of immigration reform, saying Friday on Twitter, "before we listen to what you have to say, you have to find a solution for the 11 million undocumented immigrants."
Republicans say Univision aggressively goes after GOP lawmakers. It came as no surprise then when the network did not make the cut in the Republican National Committee's January selection of networks to host the GOP presidential primary debates.
"It's highly questionable whether we're treated fairly on Univision," RNC Chairman Reince Priebus BuzzFeed. "You can fight all day long with people, not to say that that wouldn't continue, but at the same time you still have to get your message out."
In an effort to remain in touch with the Hispanic community during the primaries, the RNC decided instead to tap the lower-rated Telemundo to host one of the debates.
Since announcing his candidacy, Univision's apparent interest in Rubio hasn't let up, with the network appearing to be more critical toward him than it is to his 2016 Republican primary opponents. Though Univision may be none too fond of his candidacy, at least Rubio can't claim he's being ignored. As of Friday afternoon, there were eight Rubio-related stories on Ramos' Univision webpage alone.
Spokespersons for Univision did not respond to the Washington Examiner's multiple requests for comment.
