Univision and Its Youthbots

I am more than a little concerned at how the large Spanish-language television network, Univision, apparently has declared war on personalities who are middle-age or elderly. With a handful of notable exceptions (e.g. Don Francisco and Raul de Molina), the network has recently been replacing longtime and well-known (and popular) figures with people who look like they came out on a Twilight Zone-style "beautiful young people only" assembly line (I term these replacements "youth-bots"). I am especially offended by what they did to their weekday morning news/talk show Despierta America. Funny and endearing host Fernando Arau was suddenly and unceremoniously let go a couple of years ago by new management at Univision. Then, much to my consternation, they terminated the most charming, lovely Ana Maria Canseco from their lineup, although they did at least allow her to say good-bye on the air. And now their longtime award-winning newscaster/journalist, Neida Sandoval, is no longer anywhere to be seen.

I once saw a science fiction movie many years ago called Logan's Run. In it, an Earth in the not-so-distant future is dominated by a society that has dealt with the overpopulation problem by simply killing off anyone and everyone who reaches the age of 30. While not accusing Univision of stooping to this level with the aged, I still wonder to myself whether they are doing this "house-cleaning of the aged" on their own initiative or are responding to something that they are picking up in society: that old people are presumed to be a drag and burden on others, and are better left unseen and unheard (and maybe they'll all just go away).

It would have been a different matter altogether if Fernando Arau, Ana Maria Canseco, and Neida Sandoval had been replaced by others in their general age group. And for a little while, Arau's immediate replacement was a friendly, likable middle-aged man. But he didn't last long either and was replaced by a colorless assembly-line youthbot devoid of any personality to speak of...