Alina Falcon, a 1983 graduate of the journalism program and now executive vice president for news and alternative programming at Telemundo Media, offered an overview of the state of the broadcast industry and the growth of social media during a visit to the School of Communication on Wednesday.
Falcon cited a 2013 Pew research study that documented the decrease of television audiences and the rise in viewers who got their news from social media and other outlets. She bemoaned the industry’s increased focus on “softer” news, such as traffic and weather to the detriment of hard news.
Falcon also discussed the growing power of the Hispanic market, which constitutes 17 percent of the U.S. population, and predicted that Spanish-language media outlets such Telemundo will continue to grow for several reasons, including the high value that Hispanics place in maintaining their culture and language.
Falcon, who was included in a list of the country’s 25 most powerful Hispanic women in entertainment by The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard was a guest of the Media Management Association, a student organization whose aim is to raise awareness about the media management major and to help students network with media professionals.
