Professor part of Spanish-language network election coverage

By Alec Jennings
University News Service
October 29, 2008

A professor in the Texas State University-San Marcos School of Journalism and Mass Communication will be a part of panel coverage on national Spanish language television for 2008 general election coverage.

Federico Subervi will join Participa 2008: Elección Presidencial, a live broadcast from New York for the V-me Spanish language television network Nov. 4, 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Central). He will be a member of the V-me Noticias team discussing trends in key states and party strategies along with results as the night progresses.

"We will discuss a whole spectrum of issues related to the election campaign, the election returns, media coverage and strategies of the two parties," Subervi said.  "All of this will certainly be particularly focused on Latinos and Latino-oriented media."

Subervi will contribute to the panel bringing his expertise regarding media and Latino politics. He has committed substantial work to the topic for more than two decades and has recently published a book, The Mass Media and Latino Politics. He has traveled and lectured at universities nation-wide regarding this topic, most recently at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

"It's been an exciting and productive year as my students continue to do research about the media and Latino politics in the 2008 elections," Subervi said.

He said Latino voters are more engaged in the presidential election this year in particular and expects their vote to be influential in its outcome.

"As with the population at large, the economy, health care and the war in Iraq are all important issues," he said.  "But also immigration, education, and the anti-Latino rhetoric that negatively affected thousands of Latinos will have an impact."

Other experts participating in the coverage will include: Nathan Thornburgh, senior editor of TIME Magazine; Marcela Sanchez, The New York Times Syndicate; Jorge Mursuli, president and CEO of Democracia U.S.A.; Vanessa Cardenas, Center for American Progress; Rolando Roebuck, community activist; Juan Carlos Benitez, Republican Party strategist; Emilio Viano, professor American University and Roberto Lovato, New America Media and The Nation magazine.

Participa 2008 is the V-me network's coverage of the presidential election and has reported on the process from the Super Tuesday primaries through the national conventions and will be highlighted by Elección Presidencial on the night when the country chooses its new president. It has been made possible in part through a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

V-me is carried nationally on DIRECTV Channel 440 and DISH Network channel 9414. To find specific information for local markets, go to www.vmetv.com.