Editor’s note: This is the second installment in the Stranded by Status series, which hopes to shed light on how federal policies and Judicial decisions inhibit the development and success of the United States unincorporated territories.
A Google search for current events in the US territories yields a startling yet verifiable reality: the US territories are flagrantly marginalized within the umbrella of mainstream media. On The Hill, a prominent DC-based publication purportedly focused on ‘politics, policy, business, and international relations,’ bolded subpage bearing the title All Latest US Territories News is, at a glance, vacant. The most recent article? Nearly two years old.
And because of the headlines stemming from Donald Trump’s recent ambitions to purchase Greenland, the US territories have been thrown to the wayside, a forgotten member of the American news cycle. Despite frequent power outages putting innocent lives at risk and disparities in significant statistical studies, news from Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands makes up just a mere fraction of all news coming from corporate media.
Lack of territorial parity in the news
While massive power outages that have brought widespread devastation in Puerto Rico have made news in many major media outlets, the fact remains that events in the territories covered by Fox, CNN, and MSNBC, among other stations, are comparatively nonexistent compared to issues on the mainland. And as ignorance of the insular areas grows, their status remains undetermined and, to some, an afterthought compared to other issues Americans face daily. Yet the people of the islands continue to live in a country that does not tell their stories or share their voices. In American media and culture, citizens’ perspectives in these areas are left unspoken, a testament to the powerlessness of 3.6 million people daily.
Looking back at the events in the US territories that have provoked mainstream coverage, one can quickly see that headlines are prioritized over actual events. The infamous racist joke from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe before the 2024 election, in addition to celebrity Bad Bunny’s endorsement of Kamala Harris, takes the top headlines. Yet, while thousands of Puerto Ricans are used as reaction pieces for shock value, the deeper underlying problem of these pieces lies in their lack of depth around the issues facing the territories. Instead of vying for headlines that get clicks, media outlets must start engaging with the territories to create meaningful pieces of journalism that go beyond an offensive comment or a celebrity endorsement.
Need for change
The objective of journalism covering the territories should be to enhance the voice of the disenfranchised minority of citizens, not to write for views or subscribers. Territorial parity in media coverage is not a change that will occur overnight, but it is one that the people of these areas deserve. A couple of articles every year do not accurately represent the scale of life and loss that occurs in the insular areas. We must start treating those in the US territories like citizens, not convenient buzzwords used to garner ingenuine admiration.
While federal policies do not limit the coverage of the US territories in the press, the ignorance of many Americans when it comes to the events of this region is precisely what ensures that Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands are left in the dark, each voice powerless to speak up in a country that has quite literally abandoned its own. The prevalent ideology that the US territories are an object of convenience, not importance, highlights the need for territorial parity in the news. American mass media should represent its population; the territories can not remain absent.
The current status of journalism, or lack thereof, covering the territories is not only a disservice to the people of the islands but also a reflection of our abject negligence toward how we, as Americans, treat our own. As citizens of this country and as people, we cannot and should not abide by this frequent disregard of the territorial areas.
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