Podcast: Same-Sex Marriage Coverage in Spanish Language Media

El Diario published a story about same-sex marriage the day after the law took effect in New York

El Diario/La Prensa published a story about same-sex marriage the day after the law took effect in New York.

In this podcast, Fi2W executive producer John Rudolph interviews freelance reporter Monika Fabian and LGBT Latino blogger Andrés Duque of Blabbeando.

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The day after marriage equality took effect in New York, the city’s Spanish-language media covered the story in a number of ways.

New York City’s oldest and largest Spanish-language newspaper, El Diario/La Prensa, published a 500-word writeup (complemented by a picture of a Latino newlywed couple in matching dark suits) that recounted the nuptials that took place at City Hall and throughout the city. The story also reported on the counterprotest, led by State Senator Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr. held in midtown east. Univision and Telemundo’s local affiliates ran segments on the weddings and the counterprotests during their evening news. Colombian expat radio station Radio Caracol discussed the event and connected it to marriage equality news in Bogotá. And readers of the local Mexican daily El Diario de Mexico wrote in and opined that they hoped the passage of the landmark civil rights bill would be the beginning of more progresssive reforms, and that a comprehensive immigration overhaul would be next.

But the coverage didn’t start (or end) that day.

Throughout the past few years, the city’s Spanish-language media has followed the marriage equality fight, often highlighting Latino angles seldom explored by English-language counterparts. Their coverage has also reflected the varying sentiments on the issue within the community.

El Diario/La Prensa took a pro-marriage equality editorial stance early on, had a reporter on the beat, and conducted “man-on-the-street” reporting to gauge public sentiment on the issue.

NY1 Noticias’ television program “Pura Politica” has hosted numerous roundtable discussions with figures in the Latino community about the subject—the most recent being El Diario/La Prensa editor and executive director Rossana Rosado, who appeared on the show last Friday to discuss the paper’s editorial stance on same-sex marriage, its audience reception, and the boycott called by same-sex marriage opponent State Senator Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr. in May.

“Pura Politica” Host Juan Manuel Benitez said he believed Spanish-language media was able to delve deeply into the issue due to familiarity with analagous discussions that have happened in places like Spain, Argentina, and Mexico City, where same-sex marriage has been legalized.

“It was really easy for us to talk about this because, as ethnic media, we do have our feet in two worlds so we sort of have like a wider perspective about what’s going on out there,” Benitez said. “Marriage equality was a really easy issue because it was talked about and debated in so many different countries and not only in the U.S. in the last few years.”

Fi2W podcasts are supported by the New York Community Trust and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundationwith additional support from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and the Sirus Fund, and are produced in association with the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and CUNY-TV.

AboutMonika Fabian
Monika Fabian is a former Feet in 2 Worlds contributor. She is a freelance journalist who writes about New York’s Latino community and Latin American culture. Her articles have appeared in El Diario/La Prensa, Hora Hispana, Metro, New York Daily News, NYPress, and Time Out New York. Monika is a Bronx-native with roots and family in Colombia and the Dominican Republic.