Two Sides of the Same Story: Media Narratives of Latinos and the Subprime Mortgage Crisis

Abstract

It is now widely publicized that Latinos are one of the most disproportionately affected communities by the 2008 recession. At the same time that Latinos have one of the highest unemployment rates in the U.S., they also have the highest foreclosure rates due in great part to subprime mortgages. In this essay the authors ask: How are Latinos represented as a significant force in the financial crisis? In particular, what are the media narratives constructed around Latinos and the subprime mortgage meltdown? In order to answer these questions, the authors analyzed the coverage of Latinos in the subprime mortgage crisis in both English- and Spanish-language print news from 2008–2011. Overall, the authors analyzed the news coverage using a transcultural political economic framework, paying close attention to the ways that Latinos are treated as postcolonial subjects. The analysis of media narratives shows how the crisis of the subprime is in fact part of a historical legacy of exclusionary property ownership, racialized segregation, and the continuous exploitation of Latin America through its people. Ultimately, the authors argue that such legacies are evident in the different ways Latinos are constructed in English- and Spanish-language news media regarding the subprime mortgage crisis.

Keywords:

• Latinos
• News
• Subprime
• Recession
• Spanish language

Notes

[1] For the purpose of this paper we use Latino to refer to people of Latin American descent living in the U.S. We choose Latino over other terms, such as Hispanic, not to erase the diversity within Latinidad (Latino identity), but as an inclusive term that enables us to address Latinos across and in relation to one another. For a further discussion on the use of the terms “Latino” and “Latinidad” see Báez (2007).

[2] For example, see Tavernise (2011).

[3] For example, see Peterson (2008) and Wyly, Moos, Hammel & Kabahizi (2009).

[4] See Volume 64, Issue 3 (2012) of American Quarterly for the Special Issue on “Race, Empire, and the Crisis of the Subprime,” Volume 24, Issue 3 (2010) of Cultural Studies for the Special Issue on “The Economic Crisis and After,” and Volume 4 (2010) of the International Journal of Communication for the Special Issue on the “Global Financial Crisis.”

[5] Given the large amount of coverage on the recession in print, television, and radio news we chose to limit the scope of the study to print news media in order to offer a more in-depth analysis.

[6] There were little to zero comments on Spanish-language new articles because these newspapers are primarily consumed in their physical form. As such, we only analyzed all comments on English-language news articles that included five or more comments.

[7] See Bender (2010) for an historical overview of the exclusionary housing practices concerning Latinos.

[8] Exceptions include Derby (2009), and Fagan and Selna (2010).

[9] It should be noted that when a few details or quotations were included in English-language press coverage there were either no comments from readers (i.e. Fagan & Selna [2010]) or they relied on stereotypes of Latinos as undeserving and irresponsible non-citizens (i.e. Derby [2009]).

[10] In many ways, English-language and Spanish-language news are separate media systems that differ in their ownership patterns and audiences. The English-language news outlets analyzed in this study tend to be owned by large transnational media corporations and their content is geared towards general-market audiences. In contrast, many Spanish-language media are owned by smaller corporations (e.g. El Diario la Prensa is owned by ImpreMedia, a medium-size U.S.-based media company that owns several Spanish-language newspapers) or operate more as community media. Spanish-language news is also geared towards Spanish-speaking Latino audiences, especially immigrants. However, it should be noted that while many Spanish-language newspapers were historically operated by Latino journalists and editors, there is a legacy of Anglo ownership and advertising in this media sector (Gutiérrez, 1997). In addition, with the rise of transnational media conglomerates, more Spanish-language media is owned by the same companies that own general-market, English-language media. For example, the top Spanish-language newspaper, La Opinión, is owned by the Tribune Company. As such, English-language and Spanish-language media often operate in tandem with one another.

[11] While none of the Spanish-language newspapers directly advocated for formal political action, they did highly encourage readers to take advantage of financial literacy classes that were being offered in the community (which, in various cases, were listed at the end of the article along with the contact information of the community-based organization hosting the classes). The articles also included quotes by experts and ordinary people about the government needing to better regulate the mortgage industry and investigate how communities of color were especially targeted. In other words, the journalists did not state their opinion per se, but a call for broader government action was somewhat implied by the inclusion of certain quotes. Overall, Spanish-language print news were not explicit in their advocacy, but were more implicit in how they framed the stories, included quotes that did call for action of some sort, and made available information about community events directed at financial literacy, foreclosure counsel, and anti-eviction appeals.