White House Uses Spanish TV to Reach Hispanic Voters

The White House is making a concerted effort to reach Latinos, using Spanish-language television networks Telemundo and Univision as it attempts to tap into the politically powerful audience.

The Obama administration granted White House access to four anchors from Telemundo and Univision stations from New York, Los Angeles, Denver, and Dallas. They got interviews with President Barack Obama and briefings from senior staff members on key issues such as immigration and healthcare, The New York Times reports.

"They want to make sure they reach this part of the population in their own language," Maria Rozman, news director for the Denver Telemundo station, KDEN, told her viewers as she reported from the South Lawn.

Obama did six interviews earlier this year on Telemundo and Univision, and Cecilia Munoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, has made regular appearances on the Spanish-language networks for months.

Jose W. Fernandez, an administration official, also gives a Spanish version of Obama's weekly Internet address.

President George W. Bush made an effort to reach viewers of Spanish-language media, but the Obama administration has surpassed those efforts.

Univision and Telemundo attract millions of viewers and draw a larger audience than English-language cable news programs. In February, Univision surpassed NBC among adults 18 to 49 years old — making it the third most-watched network in that coveted category.