The Influence of Spanish-Language Media on Latino Public Opinion and Group Consciousness

Objective This article determines if the use of Spanish-language media among Latinos influences public opinion on various policy issues and group consciousness. Methods Using a 2004 national public opinion survey of U.S. Latinos, a multivariate analysis is run to determine the effect of language media preference on immigration policy, abortion, same-sex marriage, and three measures of group consciousness. Results I find more frequent use of Spanish-language media leads to more liberal attitudes toward immigration, but has no effect on opinions toward abortion and same-sex marriage. I also find increased use of Spanish-language media leads to increased levels of group consciousness. Conclusions The differences in attitudes are due to the diverging goals of Spanish-language and English-language media. The effect of using Spanish-language media serves to promote a sense of group consciousness among Latinos by reinforcing roots in Latin America and the commonalities among Latinos of varying national origin.