Lou Dobbs frustrated many on immigration issues
Political dynamo Lou Dobbs has long been one of the most controversial figures on prime time television, criticized by civil rights and advocacy groups for divisiveness. But Wednesday night people on both the left and right were surprised by his resignation from national news network CNN.
"There were no rumors — no scuttlebutt, nothing on the Internet," said Frank Morris, chair for the Cameron County Republican Party. "He was and is very strong with management, had high ratings and was good with advertisers. He was pretty secure, and I think that is what really threw people off."
Dobbs announced abruptly Wednesday evening during his broadcast that he had secured an early release from his contract at CNN, to pursue a role beyond the one he had with the cable network. He said on the show he would focus on his nationally syndicated radio program.
"I am surprised (by his departure), but I am also surprised it took CNN this long to get rid of him," said Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Cameron County Democratic Party. "I think that Lou Dobbs was one of the most unprofessional, biased and deceiving newscasters on network TV, rivaled only by the Fox news guys — and even then he made them look like Sunday schoolteachers."
Though Dobbs signed on with CNN in 1980 and for most of that time hosted a highly influential business show, he began to take on a more commentary-style broadcast after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and corporate corruption scandals.
The change garnered him significant attention along the U.S.-Mexico border as he pushed to bring the immigration issue to the forefront and in South Texas, where immigrant advocacy groups and civil rights organizations began banding together to fight the construction of the border fence.
"His opinions were fairly jaded by his belief that all immigration causes problems for the U.S.," said John A. Cook, associate professor of communication at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College. "So his views were very polarizing and intensified opposition against him."
Protestors across the country had called for his firing last month, on the night before CNN’s "Latinos in America" series went on the air, according to news reports. But immigration and Latino civil rights groups had been fighting for his removal since as early as 2004, said Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project for the Southern Poverty Law Center.
"I think Lou Dobbs has done more to defame Latino immigrants in this country than probably any other human being in the United States," Potok said Thursday afternoon, during a telephone press conference held by the Drop Dobbs Coalition, a group representing hundreds of activists and civil rights organizations nationwide.
The coalition formed in mid-September with the mission of putting pressure on the network to fire Dobbs. Janet Murguía, president and CEO for the National Council of La Raza, said one of the coalition’s main strategies was to educate advertisers on what it meant to align their dollars with such a defamatory news show hosted by Dobbs.
On Thursday, representatives of various organizations in the coalition called Dobbs’ departure a victory for all of the country’s immigrant communities and for journalism.
"I woke up this morning and breathed in a big sigh of relief," said Jill Garvey, director of operations and communications at the Center for New Community.
But — although perhaps not as vocal about their opinions — others were not as happy to see Dobbs go.
"We lost a good man (on CNN) because he was about the only conservative on that network," said Dagaberto Barrera, a retired school counselor in Brownsville. "It is a sad day because I listen to him every day. We need a voice that is conservative. I could not believe it."
Morris said Dobbs’ broadcast added more balance to CNN’s news coverage and was refreshing to watch.
"Without him I do not think they have any balanced presentation of the news," he said. "(Dobbs) always gave a more honest, factual presentation."
The former CNN commentator has not yet confirmed what his next move may be, but there have been news reports that he is headed for Fox and speculation that he might run for public office.
"It is not unusual for someone like Lou Dobbs to have aspirations into politics," said Gregory Selber, associate professor of communication at the University of Texas-Pan American. "With him anything is possible; he is kind of a wild card."
