The Origin of Advocacy Journalism in U.S. Spanish-Language Television News: The 1970 Killing of Ruben Salazar and the Activism of Los Angeles Station KMEX
Abstract
While the merits of advocacy journalism are debated, little is known about the acceptance of the practice in the U.S in the period after World War II when television began and the Hutchins Commission called for objectivity in news. In Los Angeles in 1970, the activism of KMEX-TV news director Ruben Salazar and his killing brought a groundswell of advocacy journalism and guidelines on its practice at KMEX. An account of KMEX’s subsequent advance of advocacy journalism is told for the first time. In addition to records and period reportage, interviews were conducted with three lead KMEX figures, Danny Villanueva, Guillermo Restrepo, and Pete Moraga, who were associates of Salazar and who amid disagreements promoted advocacy and activism after Salazar died. While many regard advocacy journalism as illegitimate, KMEX succeeded in demonstrating television’s conduciveness to the practice.