Dear On The Media and the WNYC ecosystem (“On The Media”),
Intentional or not, On The Media has played a role in making the violent and deadly ICE raids possible. The show has never directly critiqued the media industry for its continuous exclusion of Latinos. When Latinos do appear in media narratives, they are overwhelmingly depicted as criminals or victims — rarely as broadcasters, journalists, successful children, adults, families, valued consumers, professionals, or business owners.
For clarity: when I say Latinos, I am referring primarily to those of Indigenous descent of Central American and Mexican heritage. Their Indigenous features make them easily identifiable, which has allowed ICE agents to target them with alarming efficiency. These raids have resulted in violent arrests, disappearances, family separation, and deaths.
If On The Media wants to help prevent this from happening again — to Latinos or to any other group — the path forward is straightforward:
1. Produce a series examining how media exclusion enabled the conditions for ICE raids.
Public radio, public media, entertainment media, publishing, and the broader media industry have systematically excluded Latinos or portrayed them through narrow stereotypes. This exclusion helped normalize the conditions that made the raids politically and socially acceptable.
Latinos have effectively been a test case for how government power can mistreat ordinary people using taxpayer dollars. That includes the tax dollars of undocumented workers, who also contribute to the tax base. No one in the US lives tax-free.
The consequences are severe. Children now live in detention environments resembling concentration camps rather than classrooms. Families have been torn apart.
A powerful starting question for such a series would be:
Why has this happened?
Is it because most Latinos are Catholic or Evangelical Christians?
Is it because many are of Indigenous descent?
Or is it because Latinos represent one of the fastest-growing economic forces in the United States?
2. Hire Latino journalists and broadcasters so the industry reflects reality.
Latinos represent roughly 20% of the U.S. population. National shows need to reflect that reality. Roughly 20% of the voices behind the microphone and in front of the camera need to be Latino - not just relegated to supporting roles.
This is not “DEI.”
It is sound financial strategy.
When Latino audiences see themselves represented accurately and positively across the On The Media ecosystem, they become listeners, sustaining members, and advocates. Representation signals value, and audiences respond to that signal.
On The Media does important work, but like much of public radio and the broader media establishment, it has remained conspicuously anti-Latino through omission and framing.
Public radio once benefited greatly from Latino tax dollars without offering meaningful representation. That era is over. Trust now has to be earned.
On The Media has been part of the problem. It now has the opportunity to become part of the solution.
Ensure that Latinos are never again used as a test case for how governments abuse families, children, and communities.
When the attacks against Latinos stop, the attacks against others stop as well.
