A major Latino advocacy group voiced their disdain Friday after reports surfaced that MSNBC plans to cut time off of “The Rundown with Jose Diaz-Balart,” Buzzfeed reports.
In a private letter obtained by Buzzfeed, leaders from the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) slammed the network’ heads Andrew Lack and Phil Griffin for reportedly cutting Diaz-Balart’s show by an hour, promising to strongly oppose the network’s reported decision.
The letter written by NHLA Chairman Felix Sanchez, recounts an earlier meeting the Latino group had with the network’s heads in order to “increase Latino representation on MSNBC,” and if reports to cut Diaz-Balart are true, Sanchez said his group will show “strong opposition” to the decision.
The NHLA’s disdain comes after reports that MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” would be extended for a fourth hour, meaning that “The Rundown,” which follows the morning program would either be cut or eliminated.
The NHLA cited the fact that Diaz-Balart has been MSNBC’s only Latino news anchor since the cable network’s inception in 1996 and reducing his airtime would further reflect the network’s lack of Latino voices.
This latest shakeup at MSNBC is only the most recent in a number of changes to the cable network’s schedule to have gone through this summer.