News (Noticias) for September 4th, 2008

Fresh from covering the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, last week, HITN, the first national Spanish-Language Public Television Network in the United States, continues to take the lead by providing historic, nightly, primetime coverage of the Republican National Convention through Thursday, September 4.
HITN’s live coverage begins at 7 p.m. (ET) directly from the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The telecast, with award-winning broadcast journalist Marlene Fernandez as anchor in Minneapolis, and award-winning journalists Malin Falu and Gerson Borrerro as anchors in HITN’s New York studios, is a special presentation of HITN’s Destination Casa Blanca 2008 cable television show. The show’s format includes guest interviews, analysis, commentary from community-based organizations, and live calls from the viewing audience.
A first in television history, Destination Casa Blanca 2008, the Latino Voice in the Presidential Election, provides an English-language, nation-wide news program focusing solely on issues of importance to the Hispanic community. “Our goal is to provide the Hispanic population with the knowledge necessary to understand issues that affect our communities and with knowledge that will ultimately empower our viewers to make choices and their voices heard in the electoral process,” said Jose Luis Rodriguez, Founder and President of HITN. “We want our audience to experience and understand the process that goes into the making of a President so that they can be educated voters. I am proud to say that HITN is the only network that has provided comprehensive coverage of both political conventions for two consecutive weeks,” he added.
About HITN: The Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, Inc. (HITN) was established in 1983 as a non-profit organization. HITN’s mission is dedicated to the advancement of Hispanics by providing engaging educational entertainment that invites individuals and families to live fuller, richer lives and enables them to serve as an ever-growing engine of intellectual power and progress. HITN provides a unique source of educational, cultural news and public affairs programs to the homes of Hispanics in the United States and Puerto Rico. HITN is available on Dish Network; DirecTV; Time Warner Cable (NY, NJ, TX); Comcast (IL, CO); Charter (CA, NV, WA, GA); AT&T U-verse and Verizon FiOs nationwide.
For more information, log onto www.hitn.tv. “

Dipped, topped or eaten plain, America loves snacks. But new research from Mintel shows that not all Americans snack the same. Hispanics, the fastest growing population in the US, differ significantly in their snacking habits.

Mintel’s exclusive consumer survey reveals that Hispanic adults are twice as likely as non-Hispanics to reward their children’s good behavior with salty snacks (41% versus 19%).

But salty snack consumption among Hispanic adults is low, possibly due to traditional food preferences. Of five snacks—potato chips, pretzels, popcorn, nuts and corn/tortilla chips/cheese snacks—only 65% of Hispanics report eating three or more regularly (versus 80% of the general population).

Other key Mintel findings:

* Hispanics emphasize mealtime, with snacks often perceived as appetite-spoilers. Mintel found Hispanics more interested in packages with “small portions” than the general population
* Frozen snack usage is extremely low among less acculturated Hispanics, but more acculturated Hispanics eat them at the same rate as other Americans
* Hispanic children show higher preference for healthy snacks like yogurt, cheese, raw veggies and nuts than non-Hispanic children

“Manufacturers need to understand that Hispanic’s eating habits are not the same as the general population’s,” explains Leylha Ahuile, multicultural expert at Mintel. “Even among Hispanics, we see huge variety in snacking, eating and drinking tendencies.”

Ahuile emphasizes the importance of not viewing Hispanics as one homogenous group. “Understanding acculturation and how Hispanics differ from one another is key for companies hoping to tap into this rapidly growing market.”

Mintel Launches Multicultural Oxygen Reports

Mintel’s new Multicultural America series helps marketers understand how Hispanic, Black and Asian Americans shop, eat, act, believe and live. The reports cover behaviors, attitudes and lifestyles specific to these demographics, lending insight and analysis to trends and future opportunities. For more information, visit oxygen.mintel.com.

About Mintel

Mintel is a leading global supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence. For more than 35 years, Mintel has provided insight into key worldwide trends, offering unique data that directly impacts client success. With offices in Chicago, London, Belfast, Sydney, Shanghai and Tokyo, Mintel has forged a unique reputation as a world-renowned business brand. For more information on Mintel, please visit www.mintel.com. “

“The RNHA is a national membership organization. Membership is open to all U.S. Citizens and legal residents, regardless race or ethnicity, that wish to identify themselves as Republicans and work to further the mission and goals of the RNHA.”

Aflac has been recognized among the corporate elite in the 2008 LATINA Style 50 Report, which sets the standard for corporate America’s sensitivity to Latinas’ needs and goals in the workplace identifying companies that provide the best career opportunities for Latinas in the United States.
This year, the magazine’s annual awards ceremony will celebrate its 11- year anniversary and honor the LATINA Style 50 companies during a Diversity Leaders Conference on February 5, 2009, in Washington, D.C.
“It is a great honor for the Aflac family to be recognized among LATINA Style’s 50 best companies in America for the ninth year,” said Brenda Mullins, second vice president and diversity officer for Aflac Human Resources. “We value our talented and diverse workforce and pride ourselves in creating an environment that fosters career advancement opportunities for all our employees.”
More than 1,000 companies responded to LATINA Style’s questionnaire and were evaluated based on issues that LATINA Style readers identified as most important to them in the workplace. Among the principal areas of evaluation are number of Latina executives, mentoring programs, Latina board members, educational opportunities, alternative work policies, dependent/child care support, employee benefits, women’s issues, job retraining, affinity groups and Hispanic relations. Evaluations for the 2008 annual report were based on 2007 data.
“