Fusion TV, hailed as the “corporate godchild of ABC/Disney and Univision” celebrated its Launch Day on Monday October 28th.
The new channel began airing with ‘A Special Secret Surprise’ at 6:57 p.m. eastern time and culminated in ‘No, You shut up’ – a Daily Show-style news satire – at 3:30 a.m. eastern time. Although the channel had been on air for a short time, it was off to a colorful start, opening up with an entertaining musical number quickly followed by ‘America with Jorge Ramos’ in which the veteran anchor drastically changed the tone of the channel and introduced the network and his show as the bridge between the two Americas: the United States and the whole of the American continent… comparing Fusion to “news with an accent”.
With TV personalities and anchors like Yannis Pappas, a Greek-American Comedian; Mariana Atencio, currently the youngest correspondent for Noticiero Univision and acclaimed Venezuelan journalist; Pedro Andrade, Brazilian journalist/model; Leon Krauze; main anchor for KMEX-34 in Los Angeles, and Univision’s Jorge Ramos, as well as various other cast members in charge of different segments throughout the day, the network brought together the best of Univision and combined it with fresh faced power houses. Mixing a bit of the heavy News reporting with satire and light interest stories, the Fusion correspondents managed to draw the attention of both Latino and American millenials, raking in viewers and ratings.
However varied and appealing, the channel was limited to select providers: AT&T U-verse, Cablevision, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, and Google Fiber. These providers serve only a fifth of viewers in the United States, leaving interested viewers in our area with the option of petitioning for Timewarner Cable, DirectTV and Dishnetwork to carry the program. The network will not be streaming its content online.
Not only was the network introducing a new type of coverage in professional journalism but it was also breaking barriers. DNA anchor Derrick N. Ashong, born in Ghana, was the first fully African man to ever have a show on prime time television in the United States. “For our show, part of what we are trying to do is dive into issues where we feel that maybe the mainstream media doesn’t look at them in the right way or doesn’t speak to them accurately,” said Ashong, while being interviewed by his future co-anchor, Jorge Ramos, on last Sunday’s episode of ‘Al Punto’ on Univision.
Alejandra Campoverdi, former White House employee for Hispanic media, also joined Ashong on DNA and elaborated on her understanding of Fusion’s vision. “To me it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be Hispanic, I think it’s a multicultural experience. In talking to youth all over the country about this network I kept hearing, ‘you know I find myself in this bi-cultural balancing act,’” Campoverdi said, discouraging the idea that the channel was put in place to cater for the needs and interests of a singular group, as opposed to that of the American youth as a whole.
For those without access to the on air content, the website www.fusion.net, had uploaded a myriad of teaser clips from all of the shows, plus articles covering everything from sexist law firms to international political news. The writing offers an intellectual yet slightly satirical view into current issues, making reading an online article a more enjoyable experience for the younger audience.
By combining popular culture with serious international news and interactive discussions, Fusion’s CEO Isaac Lee, had set out to erase the line separating young Hispanic-Americans’ cultures. The news and entertainment channel was a step towards diversifying American media by introducing a partnership created and united by a common language.
