A former president of the network called its recent Trump coverage 'a travesty' and "an absolute embarrassment."
By Adrian Carrasquillo | The Messenger | NOV. 18, 2023 | Cartoon Courtesy of Lalo Alcaraz
At an internal employee town hall on Oct. 25, Univision CEO Wade Davis sat across from respected anchor Jorge Ramos — no stranger to tough questions — and was asked if job cuts were coming to Univision.
Before answering, Davis reached for a glass of water with a shaking hand, in full view of employees who already knew the answer.
The inner workings and supposed political leanings of the legendary Univision network, now part of TelevisaUnivision after a merger with the Mexican media giant closed in January 2022, have burst into public view after the network conducted an interview with former president Donald Trump this month that Democrats saw as a softball — allowing him to spout lies about his administration's record and commitment to Latinos, with few follow-ups by Televisa's Enrique Acevedo.
That frustration turned to anger after a Washington Post story Tuesday revealed that Trump hosted three of the network's executives at Mar-a-Lago, with Trump making the friendly relations crystal clear during his interview.
“All you have to do is look at the owners of Univision. They’re unbelievable entrepreneurial people, and they like me,” he said.
The coziness with Trump has led Democrats and Latino leaders to respond publicly and behind the scenes, according to interviews The Messenger conducted with them and ten current and former Univision employees and sources close to the network.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is working on a letter calling on Univision executives to meet with its chair, Rep. Nanette Barragan, D-Calif. and CHC members, according to two sources familiar. Latino leaders from some of the top national groups in the nation also signed onto a letter, which was expected to be released next week but had its release moved up to Friday and was provided to The Messenger.
The letter, addressed to Davis as well as Alfonso de Angoitia Noriega and Bernardo Gomez Martinez, the co-CEOs of TelevisaUnivision Mexico, states that the confidence bestowed on Univision is built on the understanding that the network is committed to telling the real story about Hispanics in the U.S. while speaking truth to power, and adhering to the highest journalistic standards and reporting integrity.
"This trust has been betrayed. It is beyond alarming to learn that Univision’s leadership is giving former president Donald Trump — the most anti-Latino and anti-immigrant president in modern American history — unquestioned access and allowed him to spread falsehoods unchecked," the groups will say in the letter.
Calling for an internal review and corrective measures, the groups cited a recent New York Times article that outlined Trump's hardline second term immigration agenda, stating it would "turbocharge the failed xenophobic policies that bred cruelty" and the policies will inflict harm on Latino families — "the very audience Univision purports to serve."
But Democrats' and journalists' concerns go beyond the recent Trump interview to concerns that local media in critical states with large Latino populations that could decide the election are also being influenced, through events such as Univision Miami's three hour wall-to-wall coverage of Trump's Hialeah rally on Nov. 8. The show's flagship Primer Impacto was preempted, with national network journalists used for the coverage, and part of Trump's speech aired on the network, with the rest airing on streaming.
Calling the rally "historic," the anchor Ambrosio Hernandez stood with his back to the rally and quoted speakers saying that only Trump could take the country to the next level when it comes to family, the economy, national security, and international security.
"Let's look, let's look!" he said in Spanish, turning to the crowd. "Each speaker that comes excites the crowd more," Hernandez added, energized. "Thousands of people here in Hialeah's Milander park for ex-president Donald Trump's historic visit...people waited for him since early in the morning, despite the sun and the heat, people of all ages and all states, beyond Cubans, Venezuelans, and other Latino-Americans here in south Florida."
Once Trump started speaking, Democrats watching became only more incensed, with the network dutifully copying and pasting chyrons on the screen of Trump quotes in capital block lettering like "BIDEN IS PUBLIC ENEMY #1" and "WE HAVE TURNED INTO THE DUMP OF THE WORLD."
A source involved with the production said the breathless nature of the coverage was reminiscent of a papal visit or "when President Reagan came to Miami in 1983."
"I thought 'What the f*** is this? This is a rally, this is propaganda,'" the source said.
Joaquin Blaya, an original architect of the Univision network who served as its president and hired Ramos in 1984, told The Messenger the Trump rally coverage was an "absolute embarrassment" for the network.
Decades ago, he said, the builders of the network understood that it was important for its self-respect and image to create a news organization modeled after American news organizations like ABC, NBC, and CBS, just in Spanish, but applying those same standards, unlike what had historically occurred in Mexico.
Blaya, who was named to the board of the U.S. Agency for Global Media by George W. Bush in 2002, said Univision continued serving as an independent news organization even when it was run by Hillary Clinton donor Haim Saban before Televisa took control.
"It continued to report balanced information until this travesty that occurred ten days ago, he said, of the rally coverage. "The Miami station pregame of Trump's appearance in Hialeah was an absolute embarrassment and goes against what I believe and what I created."
Democrats in 'damage control mode' after 'taking Univision for granted'
TelevisaUnivision did not respond to a request for comment, but a senior Univision source defended the network's handling of the Trump interview.
Democrats are in "damage control mode," the source said, after "taking Univision for granted and not providing much access."
"As journalists, we hold a unique responsibility to elevate the conversation, to cut through the noise of partisanship, and to provide a platform for perspectives that challenge even our own preconceptions," the source said. "This isn't just an idealistic plea — it's a pragmatic recognition that the unprecedented division is eroding the foundations of our democratic discourse."
But current and former employees say another common issue in the media business has affected the calculation for TelevisaUnivision, with people losing their jobs in recent months and rumors of imminent layoffs. One former employee who remains close with people in the newsroom said the layoffs weren't going to happen the day they spoke to The Messenger, because of the network's high-profile Latin Grammys coverage, but that employees were "holding their breathe" that cuts are coming.
At the townhall with Ramos, Davis said Univision needs to embrace a "culture of efficiency" but one of the moves reportedly made to make the company more efficient has also given the reins of local news coverage to the national network, sources said.
When the merger went through, and prodded by Ramos — who himself left Televisa in the early 1980's because of its close ties to the Mexican government — Televisa said the newsrooms would operate independently. In the case of the Trump interview, however, Televisa's Acevedo traveled from Mexico to Miami to conduct the interview, which was featured on all Univision platforms. And now partly driven by seeking efficiency, local news coverage like Univision Miami's airing of the Trump rally has been led by the network news team.
"The reason why this is such a critical issue right now for the Latino community is that Univision is still the 900 pound gorilla in the space," said Maria Cardona, a longtime Democrat and CNN commentator. "They represent 60% of the Spanish-speaking Latino viewing public in this country, and many of them are Democratic voters."
Her concern, she said, is that Univision is trying to "whitewash" the record of the number one "anti-Latino" president, whose second term immigration plans are farther to the right than ever before.
The network's decision not to run Biden campaign ads in Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania during Trump's interview also has drawn the ire of Democrats who understand elections are won on the margins and Biden won in those three states in large part due to Latino voters.
And the departure of respected anchor Leon Krauze from the network in the wake of the Trump interview also alarmed political observers.
"Leon is a serious journalist, so my first gut reaction was this has to do with the Trump interview," a former employee who remains close to the network said. "He's a very hard worker, he's incredibly smart. I was shocked because I always knew that Leon was the heir apparent to Jorge Ramos."
Multiple sources told The Messenger that revenue concerns, as evidenced by rumored layoffs, are partly behind the interest in broadcasting to Republicans that Univision is a place they can get a fair shot — and spend ad dollars.
At the townhall, Davis himself said that the company has $9.2 billion in debt and the majority of the company's cash flow was being utilized to pay down interest and debt.
But even there, Democrats said the move is shortsighted.
"Democrats outspent Republicans five to one on Spanish-language TV last cycle," one Democrat said. An exclusive from The Messenger revealed that Biden is out to an early and sizable advantage over Trump ahead of 2024 on Spanish-language TV, outspending the former president $531,000 to zero.
"Univision was the trusted voice in the Latino community that helped vaccinate Latinos during COVID and helped educate them on how to vote, but this rightward turn they've taken is very scary and hurts their credibility within the community," said Kristian Ramos, a Democratic consultant and Latino vote expert.
Some, however, stressed caution with painting Univision with a broad MAGA brush.
"Where there needs to be distinction is the actions of the executives don't reflect the newsrooms and the reporters and the networks as a whole," said Colin Rogero, a Democratic consultant and admaker. "It's a little unfair for the newsrooms to be tagged with the actions of the executives."
Still, he acknowledged: "This is the network of Jorge Ramos, is there another gold standard? If it's deemed a political entity, it creates a problem."
A separate former employee who remains close to the network said they found the cancellation of the Biden campaign ads "alarming" and it was their opinion that TelevisaUnivision executives "are now betting on a Trump win."
But they cautioned against the idea that the newsroom is being pushed to be pro-Trump.
"There's a difference between the corporate side and the news division, which has complete independence and is not being influenced," the source said. "Ramos will never abide by that."
"Trumpivision" and what comes next
While Democrats are furious with Univision, they still understand that they need the network and there are lines they will not cross, like calling for a boycott of the network. But others have no such qualms.
In an open letter Thursday, Hispanic Public Relations Association president Sonia Diaz called to #CancelUnivision.
"As communicators, what we MUST do is demand accountability and integrity within our industry, she wrote. "We must be the guardians of transparency and trust for the public. We must all be more like Univision anchor Leon Krauze and we need to #CancelUnivision."
Actor and comedian John Leguizamo got into the act in an Instagram video, calling the network MAGAvision, and saying that he felt compelled to speak up because Univision canceled Biden's ads and "softballed" Trump.
"Univision has become MAGAvision so as an artist I'm going to have to boycott. Now I'm not asking for them to take down Trump, I'm just asking for parity and equality and equity and asking that they put all ads and be a real network," he said, calling on other actors and artists to follow suit.
There is an appetite to heal the rift with Democrats within the network, with a source saying "we will fix this," but some want to make sure the ask from Democrats is clear so the network knows what constitutes a fix.
"They need a leverage point, they need to clearly define what the problem is," a source who has done this type of work for years said. "Is the problem that Biden isn't receiving equal time? It can't just be that they gave Trump a softball interview. From a journalism standpoint that's a no-no, but it's not a thing you can prosecute — they have to clearly define the parameters of the debate."
But Democrats say the ask has become bigger than equal time and want assurances the ads they buy will be run, and that the company is holding itself to serious and longstanding editorial standards, and not doing the bidding of the Republican Party.
Cardona said that Univision has long communicated with Latinos "where they are" but in order to do that they need to ensure executives don't continue down this path.
"They seem to have made a bet Trump will win in 2024," she said. "They can prove us all wrong and I hope they do. They have time to do it and if they do their jobs they will, but their reputation is on the line."
