Local Television News in Salinas, California Defining and Informing a Latino Community With Excessive Crime News Coverage

This mixed-methods study examines how local television news informs a primarily Latino community by analyzing broadcasts recorded during a 2-month span in 2012 in Salinas, California, using cultivation theory. Its findings indicate a substantial focus on crime news stories and a disproportionate identification of Latinos as perpetrators of crime compared to the identification of Latinos as victims of crime. These patterns suggest a connection between local television news representations of Latino identity with perceptions of violence, even in predominantly Latino communities.