Collective situational ethnicity and Latino subgroups' struggle for influence in U.S. Spanish‐language television1

Abstract

This article explores the complex and variable nature of media advocacy when undertaken by organizations representing sub‐groups of the U.S. Latino population. Drawing from the constructs of pan ethnicity and situational ethnicity, the author presents a four‐part model of collective situational ethnicity, then applies it to media advocacy efforts focused on the U.S. Spanish‐language television industry from the 1970s through 1990s. The model posits that advocacy strategies and alliances vary according to groups’ mutable perceptions of the most expedient means for achieving two related goals: increased employment in media industries, and greater influence over the production of media content. In some circumstances this results in cooperation between media advocacy organizations representing different Latino sub‐groups; in others it leads to competition between such groups.