
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 10, 1994                   TAG: 9409140036
SECTION: SPECTATOR                    PAGE: S-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

MEDIA GROUP CRITICIZES PORTRAYAL OF HISPANICS

Since the days when Cuban band leader Ricky Ricardo charmed America on "I Love Lucy," portrayals of Hispanics on television have dwindled, a new study finds.

The private Center for Media and Public Affairs says the 1950s - with "Zorro," "The Cisco Kid" and Desi Arnaz starring as Lucy's long-suffering husband - marked the high point of the Hispanic presence on television.

Since then, Latino characters largely have disappeared from prime-time programming, the center said in a study released Tuesday. At the same time, it said television has improved its portrayal of blacks.

While accounting for 9 percent of the U.S. population, Latinos represented 1 percent of all characters portrayed during the 1992-93 television season. Blacks, who represent 12 percent of the population, accounted for 17 percent of all television characters, the analysis said.

"Black groups sometimes complain their portrayal is window dressing," said Robert Lichter, the center's co-director and one of the study's authors. "Hispanics don't even have window dressing. There's nothing there for them."

The study was commissioned by the National Council of La Raza, a civil-rights group that represents more than 100 Hispanic community organizations. In recent months, La Raza has criticized both entertainment and news media for their portrayal of Hispanics.

The center, which studies the news and entertainment media, also concluded that Hispanics have been cast in negative roles proportionately more than both blacks and non-Hispanic whites.

In 1992, 16 percent of the Hispanic characters committed crimes, compared with 4 percent for both blacks and non-Hispanic whites. Hispanics were portrayed negatively 18 percent of the time, compared with 8 percent for non-Hispanic whites and 6 percent for blacks.

Forty-five percent of Latinos portrayed on reality-based programs such as "America's Most Wanted" committed crimes, compared with 10 percent of non-Hispanic whites. In the only category where blacks fared worse than Hispanics, 50 percent of blacks on the reality-based programs were portrayed as criminals.

Minorities also remain more likely to be portrayed as working class or poor, the study found. In 1992, 28 percent of Hispanic characters were depicted as poor, compared with 24 percent of blacks and 18 percent of non-Hispanic whites.

by CNB