Diversity Roundup: Why the South Isn't So Politically Solid Anymore

Why the South Isn’t So Solid Anymore: Long known as the “solid south” for its steadfast political and ideological views, shifting demographics are creating a region that’s becoming unpredictable, yet key, in winning an election, the Associated Press reports. For example, President Obama won both North Carolina and Virginia in the 2008 elections, two states that had not chosen a Democrat for president since 1976 and 1964 respectively.

Minority Journalists Decry Lack of Diversity in Presidential Debates: The National Association of Black Journalists and Univision separately criticized the Commission on Presidential Debates for failing to select a black or Hispanic journalist to moderate any of the scheduled presidential debates, highlighting the failure by the commission to acknowledge the growing diversity within the nation, the Associated Press reports. NABJ decried the treatment of minority journalists as if they were “unqualified, invisible or both” while the head of Univision suggested a separate debate hosted by Univision reporters.

Study Finds African-Americans, Hispanics More Plugged In: African-American and Hispanic Internet radio audiences are more likely to remember audio ads and to connect such services with their social media accounts, according to a TargetSpot study reported on by ClickZ. Overall, 42 percent of the U.S. population listen to Internet radio platforms, but African-Americans and Hispanics are more likely to be socially engaged.

Hispanics More Likely to Lack Health Insurance: Close to one-third of Hispanics are without insurance, the highest percentage among any racial or ethnic group, a concern for the medical community who say Hispanics are also the group most likely to suffer from numerous health issues, Voxxi reports. Undocumented Hispanics make up an estimated 17 percent of the uninsured in the U.S.

Nascar, Fox Deportes Team Up: Nascar and Fox Deportes, the Spanish-language sports channel, are teaming up to begin broadcasting several races starting in February, the New York Times reports. Though just 10 percent of Nascar viewers are Hispanic, the partnership indicates a shift in focus for Nascar, which has been struggling to offset falling attendance by reaching out to a younger, more diverse audience, the Times reports.