Media Coverage Said to Slow Down Police

What "SNL" Still Doesn't Get About Race

Donald Trump, left, and cast member Darrell Hammond on "Saturday Night Live" in April 2004. (video)

In some ways, "Saturday Night Live""has never been more ethnically diverse than it is right now, with five black people regularly appearing on camera,"Eric Deggans wrote Sunday for NPR's "Code Switch."

"So why is the program still making so many missteps when it comes to race?

"Donald Trump's upcoming appearance hosting SNL has drawn the ire of Latino groups, who note the show is featuring someone who has made bigoted comments about Mexican immigrants at a time when there are no Latino cast members on the program. This isn't a new problem for SNL; there have only been two Latino and no Asian cast members in the show's 40-year history. . . ."

Deggans also wrote that it's time for producer Lorne Michaels"and SNL to stop pretending that their diversity issues can be solved by happenstance or that there is something wrong with directly and consciously facing the issue.

"If SNL had a better track record of hiring Latino staffers, then perhaps there would be less controversy over Trump's hosting stint. Or perhaps it would have thought harder about whether it made sense to bring him on the show at all.

"Because it's hard to imagine Michaels forcing star Kate McKinnon, who is gay, to perform alongside a guest host with a history of making bigoted statements about gay people. Or pushing black cast members like Kenan Thompson to yuk it up alongside a celebrity guest who had expressed bigotry about African-Americans.

"You see, that's the power of having real diversity on your staff or in your show. It makes you think more intentionally about things you should have been deliberately focused on in the first place."

• Mark Hensch, the Hill: Trump calls media 'scum'
  
  
• Variety: Univision Crew Booted From Donald Trump Campaign Event

Telemundo's Aggressive Approach to News Helps Ratings

"¿Quién es quién?" is a romantic comedy about two twin brothers, one rich and one poor, who switch identities in order to resolve each other's problems, Rene Rodriguez reported Sunday for the Miami Herald.

"When it premieres on Telemundo early next year, it will be the latest volley in NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises' ongoing mission to gain ground on its rival Univision, which has the largest audience of Spanish-language TV viewers in the world. 

"This summer, Telemundo ran a full-page ad in The New York Times crowing about its latest success: narrowing its prime-time ratings gap with Univision from 1.2 million viewers in July 2013 to 238,000 in July 2015. For the week of July 20-24, the difference between the two networks was only 40,000 viewers.

"Telemundo is drawing bigger audiences through a multi-platform approach:

• "Telenovelas and 'super series,' or ongoing telenovelas with fewer episodes, higher production values and new seasons each year, focusing on themes beyond the traditional romantic soap opera. New elements include drug dealers, immigration, humor and biography.
  
  
• "An aggressive approach to TV news with an emphasis on breaking stories and reports of particular interest to U.S. Hispanics from regions such as Venezuela and Mexico.
  
  
• "Reality TV shows geared to Hispanics, such as La Voz Kids, a talent competition patterned after NBC's smash hit The Voice but focusing on child performers.
  
  
• "Sports, including exclusive Spanish-language TV rights to air the 2016 Summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup competitions through 2026, previously held by Univision.
  
  
• "Community outreach, including telethons and problem-solving hot lines for viewers. . . ."