The National Association of Hispanic Journalists announced that they have rescinded the offer for Fox News to sponsor their upcoming conference, citing the rhetoric many on the network have used to talk about immigration and Hispanics.
The NAHJ’s Excellence in Journalism conference will be held next month in San Antonio, and they are partnering with the Society of Professional Journalists and the Radio Television Digital News Association. The conservative television network paid the three organizations a total of $50,000 to sponsor the conference. The NAHJ was the only one of the three to return the donation, with the other groups opting to keep it and discuss what they describe as a “teachable moment.”
The organization’s decision cites Fox News radio host Todd Starnes’ comments about immigrants.
“Starnes, justifies his prejudiced language directed against Latino immigrants as opinionated commentary,” their statement from NAHJ president Hugo Balta reads. “Starnes unapologetically states that America has ‘suffered’ from the ‘invasion of a rampaging hoard of illegal aliens’, claiming that most ‘illegal immigrants’ are violent criminals as well as casually using a reference for their immigration to the United States with the Nazis invading France and Western Europe in World War II.”
It goes on to reference the mass shooting that occurred at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart earlier this month. The shooter murdered more than 20 people, and specifically targeted Hispanic individuals. The alleged perpetrator’s manifesto mentions a desire to stop the “Hispanic invasion of Texas,” and cites inspiration from the March mass shootings in two Christchurch, New Zealand, mosques that killed 51 people.
“The line between commentary and journalism was crossed long ago by Fox News and is no longer even in sight,” it continued. It went on to accuse the network of “perpetuat[ing] the spread of disinformation to the public about the Hispanic and Latino community.”
Balta is also a senior producer at MSNBC.
UPDATE: “It is unfortunate the country’s main organization for Hispanic journalists has chosen to exclude FOX News from their upcoming convention,” Marsheila Hayes, Fox News Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “As the leading news network in the country, we are committed to fostering a diverse and collaborative workplace environment, and have been recognized in the industry for our advancement in this area, most notably with our multimedia reporter program. We are proud of our inclusive team and their achievements in journalism.”
