¿Univision de su lado?

If your surname is Villaraigosa, the answer to that question appears to be a resounding “si.” Just as dramatically as the rise of citizen journalism has altered the way we obtain news and information, the rise of Los Angeles’ politically advantageous language barrier has enabled City leaders to sculpt and hone their messages.

Once upon a time, one speech would be delivered, and subsequently translated by Spanish-language media word-for-word. With Mayor Villaraigosa, came a major paradigm shift. Now, as any bilingual Angeleno will tell you, uniquely crafted messages are delivered to each of two Los Angeleses.

Today, we learn, sometimes it doesn't end there. Eric Longabardi of ERSNews reports that if some English-speaking media outlets have been lobbing two years worth of softballs, one weekly Univision program has engaged the Mayor in a game of T-Ball with an oversized bat.

Unbelievable stuff here, including emails from Univision to Villaraigosa Deputy Press Secretary Diana Rubio containing questions the mayor would be asked, days in advance of his televised Q&A appearances on KMEX/Univision 34 that were billed as “impromptu” exchanges.

* Update
Longabardi appeared on John Ziegler's radio program to discuss the story he broke. He refused to go along with Ziegler's assertion that a culture of faux journalism exists within Spanish-language media.

According to Eric, the email messages were leaked to him by journalists at Univision who were concerned about how the decisions of a few people in management were affecting the integrity of their profession.

I think it was extremely important for him come out and set the record straight and I thank him for doing so. One of the side effects of our language barrier is that people in English-speaking Los Angeles (admittedly, myself included) are susceptible to developing preconceived notions of the Spanish-language media. I learned a lot today.