On May 5, 2014, news channel MSNBC aired a segment on its
morning “Way Too Early” that has drew criticism from the Hispanic community.
The segment consisted of a news anchor informing the audience on the history of
Cinco De Mayo- all while a co-anchor were a sombrero, drank “tequila” straight
from a bottle, and acted as if he was intoxicated. The segment immediately drew
outrage, with many seeing it as a perpetuation of a Hispanic stereotype. The
president of the National Associations of Hispanic Journalist called the bit
“abominable.” MSNBC later apologized for
the segment, claiming that the antics of the anchor were meant to mock how
Americans perceive and celebrate the Mexican-American holiday, rather than
labeling the Hispanic community.
A few
things come to mind when hearing about this story. For one, if the show’s true
intentions were to portray the skewed ways that American culture perceives the
Hispanic holiday, then why would they not take into account that by doing so,
many viewers would not understand that it was a satirical piece? “Way Too
Early” is a news program on a major news network. Without the proper framework
of context, satire can often be seen as reality. Stephen Colbert’s show “The
Colbert Report” would not work as well if it were marketed as an actual news
show on an actual news network that didn’t have a host with improv/sketch
comedy background. If the segment was indeed a comedic piece, it should be
criticized for its hacky premise and poor performances from its usually
non-comedic news anchors.
Another
thought that comes in mind is that the apology given by MSNBC was not genuine.
One believes that the notion that news show was mocking the way Americans
celebrate the holiday is a false cover-up in attempt to not get as much flack
for their insensitivity. Major media outlets- particularly in the news
department- have a rich history of irresponsibly perpetuating negative
stereotypes of minorities. So why should/would viewers believe that such a thoughtless
and unoriginal segment would not be just another example of doing so?
One
often speculates that the gatekeepers of media know well in advance whether or
not something will be offensive or not. To be in the media industry in 2014,
where virtually everyone is being called out as to whether they are being
politically correct (including this blog post), one finds it impossible that no
one behind the scenes has the moral or social compass to realize that a segment
such as the Cinco De Mayo one will be widely be perceived as offensive to at
least one major group of people. It goes back to the gatekeepers following
through with actions that will receive the most public attention. If “Way Too
Early” were to just note Cinco De Mayo with simple segment of the holiday’s
history, hardly anybody but those that normally watch the show would be talking
about it. But seeing as how they added buffoonery to the segment, it has gained
national headlines with over a million views of the clip. One imagines that the
show received a spike in ratings upon the next day’s episode.
