Latino Fraternity Opposes Univision-HBC Media Merger

CLIFTON, NJ, September 3, 2003 – Today, Lambda Theta Phi, the nation’s oldest and largest Latin fraternity announced that this month it will begin staging rallies, conducting letter writing campaigns, and holding lectures across the country in opposition to the proposed merger of Univision and the Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (HBC). The organization believes this merger will mitigate the responsiveness of Spanish language broadcasting to local communities and eliminate Hispanic ownership of Hispanic media. In addition to the rallies, a Lambda Theta Phi delegation will seek a meeting with the FCC commissioners, congressional legislators and White House representatives.

Established in 1975, Lambda Theta Phi has 80 college student chapters and thousands more alumni members active across the country. With this announcement, the fraternity joins a predominantly Hispanic contingent of congressional representatives, Hispanic Americans for Fairness in Media, the Consumer Federation of America, the Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS), the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA), the United Latino Fund and other groups to block FCC approval of a merger that will monopolize 70% of Spanish-language advertising revenue in the US by creating a TV, cable, music and internet conglomerate that would eliminate any current competition. The merger will also create insurmountable barriers to the Hispanic media market for new newcomers.

In addition to their own members, Lambda Theta Phi plans to reach out to all the national and local Latin fraternities and sororities across the country to join the effort. They will also ask the alumni membership, made up predominately of young Hispanic professionals, to enlist the aid of their families and other organizations they may be involved in to support them in opposing this merger. The fraternity is against one company having unilateral control over the access to broadcast marketing and editorial opportunities in the Hispanic media. The organization also has expressed grave concerns over the FCC allowing the merger because it put control of Hispanic in the hands of one individual who is not Hispanic.

Lambda Theta Phi, National President Jorge Diaz said: “This is a question of what’s right. This kind of monopoly would never be considered for approval in the English language media, so why is it acceptable for the Hispanic market? Fair competition, opportunity, diversity of opinions and Hispanic ownership of Hispanic media is something we’re passionate about. A recent poll by Opiniones Latinas revealed that 87 percent of Hispanic Americans are opposed to both the idea of non-Hispanics controlling Hispanic media, as well as any politicians that would support such an idea. The FCC is trying to decide on this merger away from the scrutiny of the Hispanic community, and we are committed to seeing that it doesn’t happen.”

HBC, the nation’s largest owner of Spanish language radio stations, has its controlling interest owned by Clear Channel, the single largest multimedia company in the world. The merger would combine HBC with Univision, the largest Hispanic television network, which is controlled by Jerry Perenchio who is not Hispanic. In the hands of Perenchio, a high profile republican, Univision has been criticized by Lambda Theta Phi and others for being one-sided in its presentation of political and social issues as well as giving a very limited portrayal of Hispanics with most of its prime time entertainment produced in Mexico or Venezuela. One fraternity spokesman made it clear that Perenchio’s political affiliations were not the issue, but rather keeping Hispanic media as an open forum for all political perspectives: “Lambda Theta Phi is a non-partisan organization so this is not about choosing political sides. Our concern is that Hispanic media represent all viewpoints in our community and we feel that the proposed Univision-HBC merger may threaten the possibility of opposing views being represented in the Hispanic media. This is not just a Hispanic issue; this is an issue for everyone that believes in the integrity of the public airwaves. It’s also important to remember that control of the media can influence Hispanic voters, which can shape future national elections.”

Founded in 1975 at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. is the first college Greek-letter organization founded as a Latin Fraternity. The membership of Lambda Theta Phi is open to all college men who support its values of scholarship, respect for all culture, community service, and the advancement and fair treatment of Latinos. Lambda Theta Phi was the first Latin Fraternity to be recognized by the National Interfraternity Conference (NIC) and today, has 80 chapters in, New York, Florida, California, Texas, New Jersey, Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, New Mexico, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. More information about Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc., can be found by going to www.lambda1975.org.