Copyright by Juan de Dios Piñón López 2007 The Dissertation Committee for Juan de Dios Piñón López Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: The incursion of Azteca America into the U.S. Latino media Committee: Joseph Straubhaar, Supervisor Michael Kackman, Co-Supervisor Thomas Schatz America Rodriguez Charles Ramirez-Berg Peter Ward The incursion of Azteca America into the U.S. Latino media by Juan de Dios Piñón López, M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December 2007 Dedication To my mother and my beloved family Acknowledgements I want to express my profound gratitude and appreciation to my advisors, professors Joseph Straubhaar and Michael Kackman, for their guidance, encouragement, and friendship throughout the dissertation process. I also want to recognize the kind support showed by the members of my dissertation committee, professors Charles Ramírez-Berg, Thomas Schatz, América Rodríguez, and Peter Ward; I thank them as well for the crucial role they played in my academic career through their classes. Moreover, I wish to express my gratitude to Victoria Rodríguez and Federico Subervi-Vélez, as they both played a crucial role regarding my decision to study at The University of Texas at Austin. I also want thank Professor Robert Foshko, from whom I learned professionally and personally each day that I performed my duties as a Teaching Assistant. I want to express my gratitude to Sharon Strover, from whom I received institutional support through the extension of my appointment as a Teaching Assistant in the Radio, Television, and Film Department. Special thanks to Susan Dirks, Gloria Holder, Linda Cavage and Bert Herigstad for their kindness. Thanks to Erick Vogler for his friendship. I also want to recognize the invaluable companionship of my peers in my research teams, my dearest friends Martha Fuentes and Viviana Rojas. At the risk v of forgetting any names, I would also like to express my gratitude for the friendship of Russell Haight, Jean Lauer, Elia Cornelio, Brian Seabok, Marnie Binfield, Assem Nasr, Elia Cornelio, María Ríos, Jeremy Gruy, Norman Lieder, and Elie Fenton. Also, thanks to my aunt Pina, my cousins Dominic, Luly, Jack, Linda, Harold and Roxanne for being there for me. Thank you to my friend, Alberto McKelligan, who read my dissertation and helped me out during the dissertation process. Thanks to my friend Enrique, who also assisted me in a crucial moment. In addition, I would like to thank Benjamin Nieto, who provided insight and advice, sharing his stories as he also completed the dissertation- writing process. vi The incursion of Azteca America into the U.S. Latino media Publication No._____________ Juan de Dios Piñón López, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2007 Supervisors: Joseph Straubhaar And Michael Kackman This dissertation investigates the dynamics of production surrounding United States Spanish-language television by analyzing the strategies followed by newcomer Azteca America in it attempts to become an attractive television option for Latinos. Given the scarcity of research on the production approach of U.S. Latino media, this study interrogates the site of production of Spanish-language television—that is, the site in which professional routines and presumably legitimate knowledge about audiences are the basis for the reproduction of particular representations of Latinos in the United States. The incursion of Azteca America into this realm allows me to reflect on the structural and complex relationship between the U.S. Latino and Mexican television industries. Azteca America’s process of creating a network identity, along with strategies of vii production, representations, and distribution reveal longstanding assumptions about television’s formulas of success, which are the result of the way in which U.S. Latinos are imagined by the corporation. My analysis is informed by the cultural economy perspective that evaluates corporate practices as relevant cultural objects with economic value; it is also informed by Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of logic of practice , which allows me to situate the corporation as a social space as I evaluate its corporate routines as a site of the expression of larger social dynamics. A global approach gives me the theoretical tools to think about the transnational character of the U.S. Latino industry, its audiences, and the cross- border nature of Azteca America’s venture. The presence of Azteca America in U.S. broadcasting television reaffirms, on some level, the ways in which Latin Americans claim “authentic” knowledge regarding the programming and representations delivered to Latino audiences. This process is possible because of the fluid identity with attendant flexible meanings that accompanies the hybrid and multilayered identities of the Latina/o population in the U.S. viii Table of Contents List of Tables........................................................................................................xvi List of Figures .....................................................................................................xvii List of Figures .....................................................................................................xvii Chapter One: Introduction....................................................................................... 1 I. Background ................................................................................................. 6 The Hispanic Market.................................................................... 9 The Latina/o Audience ............................................................... 10 Hispanic or Latina/o ................................................................... 12 II. Theoretical Approach .............................................................................. 14 III. Research Question.................................................................................. 16 General Question........................................................................ 17 Specific Questions...................................................................... 17 IV. Chapter descriptions............................................................................... 18 V. Intentions and dilemmas.......................................................................... 19 Chapter Two: Theoretical Framework .................................................................. 22 Identity ......................................................................................................... 27 1) Organizational Culture and Identity................................................ 28 2) The Process of Branding and Identity............................................. 29 3) The Impact of the Corporation’s Cross-Border Nature on Identity ....................................................................................... 31 4) The Imagined U.S. Latino Audience and Identity .......................... 32 Production .................................................................................................... 34 1) Organizational Culture and Managerial Decisions......................... 34 2) Production Routines and Industry Practices ................................... 37 3) Genre, Telenovelas and Production Routines................................. 39 4) Corporate Production Strategies in Transnational Settings ............ 43 ix 5) The Field: Network Performance and the Structure of the Industry....................................................................................... 45 Representations ............................................................................................ 50 1) Marketing and television logics of representations ........................ 51 2) Genre, Narrative and the Politics of Stereotyping .......................... 52 Distribution................................................................................................... 53 1) Dynamics of Distribution and the Negotiation Process.................. 54 2) Identity and the Commodification of Race and Nationality ........... 56 Chapter Three: Methodology ................................................................................ 58 In-Depth Interviews: .................................................................................... 58 Guiding Themes in the Questions ....................................................... 58 Informants ........................................................................................... 60 A Theoretical Non-Random Sampling....................................... 60 The Sample................................................................................. 60 Ethical Principles........................................................................ 63 Data Collection.................................................................................... 64 Data Analysis ...................................................................................... 64 Textual analysis............................................................................................ 65 Reflexivity and Vigilance.................................................................... 66 Chapter Four: TV Azteca and the Mexican Television Field ............................... 68 The Mexican Television Field.....................................................................