National Institute for Latino Policy (NiLP)
337 South 4th Street, Suite 1
Brooklyn, NY 11211
800-590-2516
Board of Directors
José R. Sánchez
Chair
Edgar DeJesus
Secretary
Israel Colon
Treasurer
Maria Rivera
Development Chair
Hector Figueroa
Tanya K. Hernandez
Angelo Falcón
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NiLP
Guest Commentary
Becoming the
Latina 'Liberal 'Sherpa':
Why I Love Being
a Liberal on Fox News
By Cathy Areu
The NiLP Report (May 17, 2018)
 As I sat at the over-sized glass table, across from Fox News host Neil Cavuto and three fellow (yet "conservative") political panelists, moments before going on air for the two-hour show, I thought of Charlie Blow's New York Times opinion column, the "Horror of Being Governed by 'Fox & Friends'."
Unlike Blow, I was looking forward to appearing on a top-rated Fox News program, presenting the "liberal" point of view to a mostly (okay, maybe an all) conservative viewership/audience. And, at that moment, I knew that among my viewers, self-declared Fox News fan, President Donald Trump, could be tuned in and ready to hear what his favorite news network had to present. Unfortunately for him, possibly, and luckily for me, Fox was presenting my views!
In his April 8, 2018 column, Blow wrote (among many other anti-Fox comments), "I was simply being used to help give [Fox & Friends] the appearance of fairness, impartiality, and legitimacy when it was anything but that." Seconds before my Fox airtime, Blow's negative words popped into my mind, and I actually chuckled to myself. His analysis of Fox and what it represents in our media landscape couldn't be further from the truth.
 As the only regular liberal Latina Fox News commentator --- appearing on shows ranging from Fox & Friends to The Sean Hannity Show to Tucker Carlson Tonight to The Ingraham Angle --- I can say and honestly believe that Fox News is possibly the fairest, impartial, and legitimate media outlet existing today. As an opinionated Latina and former Washington Post Magazine editor, I've been asked to regularly appear on CNN, HLN, NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, and even Russia Today (RT). I've been around, and I've chosen to become a regular news analyst specifically for Fox News because it is the most rewarding work in my journalism career. Thanks to Fox executives and hosts, they give me the medium to speak my mind. And contrary to what many viewers believe, all points I communicate on Fox are my own thoughts.
No one at Fox has ever told me what opinions I'm allowed to share on any particular topic. Plus, all of the shows I'm on are live or "live to tape" (which means that it's taped and aired later, without any edits, so, what we say is precisely what makes it to air). If I criticize Trump's latest policy on a show, my unedited comments will be broadcasted to Fox's audience, and possibly posted to Fox's web, Twitter or Facebook pages. So, I'm able to bring a thought process to a viewership accustomed to hearing the opposite (mainly because there are so few liberal Latina journalists speaking their minds on cable news channels these days . . . or ever).
I've been asked why so few "liberal or left-to-liberal Latinos" appear on Fox or other networks. There could always be more of us, but, in a male-dominated society, and in television news and all other industries (except modeling), Hispanics and women are still underrepresented. A decade ago, it was a rarity to find a Hispanic discussing immigration on any Sunday news show or cable news network. Today, you're sure to find me sharing my analysis of the topic a few times a week on Fox News, including Sundays. I'm a Latina liberal news analyst consistently quoting John Lennon's views on a world without borders and replacing the incorrect phrase "illegal immigrants" with "undocumented people" on national television. There may not be many of us, but we're here.
Beyond Latino/a issues, once a week, you'll catch me guiding viewers "into the labyrinth of this modern world" as Tucker Carlson's "Liberal Sherpa" in a segment of the same name, on Fox News' hit show Tucker Carlson Tonight. To my delight, my new segment on Tucker Carlson has actually introduced progressive ideas to liberal and conservative viewers alike. The popular host and I have made conservative Fox viewers aware of liberal topics such as "gender-neutral pronouns," "pansexual terminology," "bioenergetic coping skills," and "inclusive" sports programs at schools and corporations. Our on-air debates have been quoted by mainstream publications and introduced over 80 million people to important liberal viewpoints that would have otherwise been ignored or disregarded.
So, today, a few days after my two-hour panel with Fox's Neil Cavuto, I have a question for Charlie Blow: is Fox News not presenting the liberal point of view with the respect and attention it deserves?
No one is governing my liberal mind, Charlie Blow. Fox News is sharing it, with conservatives and liberals alike. It's fair, balanced, and legitimate, as journalism should be.
NiLPnote: You can catch Cathy on FOX's Outnumbered today, and Tucker Carlson today and next Wednesday.
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The NiLP Report on Latino Policy & Politics is an online information service provided by the National Institute for Latino Policy. For further information, visit www.latinopolicy. org. Send comments to [email protected].
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