The young viewers' sense of the family's normalcy exhilarated Valdez, a Mexican American who grew up bilingual in a Pueblo, Colo., housing project. Latino children apparently have the same yearning. Both played well with non-Latinos, but Latinos vociferously voted against the downscale family. Latino advocacy groups have said the same for years. Now, a few clicks of the remote away, he is growing up safe and sound.
Media watchdogs are voicing concern about the effect of TV images on young minorities.
Children Now, a child advocacy group, surveyed 1,200 white, Latino, Asian and African American youth in 1998, and found striking unanimity in their perceptions of racial stereotyping on television. In past years, the channel pioneered strong girls as lead characters, and developed shows with African American and Asian American stars. There were no Latino stars or themes. Other children's channels were discovering the same blind spot. Scannell said his executive team went to Valdez and other Latino artists in search of stories and characters with universal appeal.