Media Literacy Project celebrated a victory on November 11th when longtime CNN anchor Lou Dobbs announced his resignation. MLP has been collaborating locally and nationally to advocate for journalistic integrity in an attempt to remove inflammatory language and misinformation from our media system.
Nationally, MLP joined more than 40 other organizations to promote the BastaDobbs.com campaign, which launched in mid-September. More than 100,000 people joined the effort, which included online petitions, a viral YouTube video, a text-message campaign, and radio PSAs.
On October 21st, MLP and New Mexico MAG-Net hub members – SouthWest Organizing Project, Quote Unquote Community Media Center, KUNM Youth Radio, Young Women United, El Centro de la Raza and El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos – held a press conference at the National Hispanic Cultural Center to call on CNN to remove Dobbs and to speak out against hate speech in our communities.
A week later, Media Literacy Project conducted a town hall with Albuquerque community leaders to develop a volunteer council that would address these issues while working as part of MLP’s Siembra la palabra digna campaign.
Upon learning of Dobb’s resignation, Andrea Quijada, Executive Director of the NM Media Literacy Project promised,
“This is just the beginning of our efforts in Albuquerque as we continue to collaborate with local immigrant rights organizations to educate our communities and prevent hate speech in New Mexico’s media.”