Latinos in Twitter News: The Effects of Newsroom and Audience Diversity on the Visibility of Latinos on Twitter

Abstract

This study examines Latinos’ visibility on Twitter, exploring whether social media serve as an alternate space to promote the coverage of Latinos who are almost invisible in news and entertainment media. Specifically, the study uses standpoint theory and theories of newsroom economics to examine how 2 factors—newsroom diversity and audience demographics—affect the extent to which Latinos are mentioned in tweets posted by news organizations. Results show that Latinos are mostly absent on Twitter, though they are more visible than other minorities such as Asian Americans. However, the economic pressures of the media business motivate news outlets to appeal to their audiences’ needs and tastes, such that newspapers circulating in diverse markets with a large Latino population are more likely to feature Latinos in their tweets, through promoting the role of Latino journalists in the newsroom. This is especially true for national media that are characterized with a greater willingness to cater to a diverse audience. This study thus argues that promoting the visibility of Latinos on social media news is not easy—increasing diversity in the newsroom can be the first step, but it is most effective for publications that cater to diverse audiences.