KRISTIAN RAMOS: Before we get into the numbers, I want to take like a full step back and just go right down into everyday life for all people, really. So you're a child, and you're growing up, and you're watching television, and you're a person of color, let's say you're a Mexican-American like myself and you're out in Tucson, AZ, and you don't see anybody that looks like you.

MARIA TERESA KUMAR (HOST): Anybody. And we were just having this conversation that folks don't realize that that is actually something that informs a child's experience and what their possibility is. But the study that you guys are about to release really digs into this. It's not just Hollywood that's not representing different stories and diverse stories, but what you're finding in your studies that you're not seeing that in the newsroom.

RAMOS: Well so it's specific to the Sunday shows, but we now have three years of data to unpack here. And I'm just going to throw out some numbers to you that are kind of astonishing to me, quite frankly.

KUMAR: Wonky and fun, let's go.

RAMOS: You know, beyond that look 80 percent of all Sunday show guests over the last three years were white []. The next group dropping down from there, African-Americans, is closer to [13] percent. If you want to go below that, Latinos, 5 percent. And then going down below that, Asians, 1 percent. People from Muslim faith, 0. 

KUMAR: Yeah. Right. Well, and I think the challenge, and you're actually seeing that right now when it comes to even exit polling within the different candidates. They're scratching their heads when all of the sudden you see a surge of Asian-Americans going to caucus in Nevada or African-Americans because they didn't realize that there were some, and when Latinos are actually going back and forth between two different candidates in the Democratic Party. So if you're not reflecting that in the newsroom, how can people actually plan for their campaigns if they're not having these conversations of who the electorate is?

RAMOS: Well I go back to that little kid, right? If they don't see themselves represented on TV, they don't see themselves a part of these discussions about the economy, healthcare, jobs, politics. And at the end of the day, you need to be inclusive of those groups because they really are the people who are voting in places like Nevada, Colorado, Florida, Texas, New Mexico. I mean large swaths of the country.

KUMAR: So when we start talking about making those changes, and you've been doing this now you said for three years, these studies --

RAMOS: The studies go back much longer, but yes.

KUMAR: OK with Media Matters. So what, are you seeing any changes based on those studies?

RAMOS: Those changes have been very little, and they're very minor shifts. And I think the astonishing, sad thing is how consistently they have been 80 percent, [13] percent, 5 percent, 1 percent.

KUMAR: And I would argue that you actually saw an increase in African-Americans on newsrooms with the election of Barack Obama.

RAMOS: Yes.

KUMAR: So is there a concern then that once he leaves office, that it's going to be more of the same?

RAMOS: I think regardless of what happens with the president leaving, given all the data we've seen, yes, it will be more of the same, which is a shame.

KUMAR: So how can newsrooms change?

RAMOS: I think there's a two-pronged approach. One, you have to have people out there actively trying to make sure that people of color like ourselves and others are on, and then the other piece is just recognizing that it makes your content better. Having more diverse viewpoints, having more diverse folks makes the content richer and the stories better.

KUMAR: Well and you're also going to be driving a new audience, right? I know that within the Latino community there's always a hunger for information that they're looking for where they can identify and actually use it in their day-to-day lives. And no one's really providing that kind of quality content that they need to translate.

RAMOS: I think that goes back to the inclusion piece right there. If you're including more people in those stories, more people in those conversations, at the end of the day they are going to engage more. And you always hear about the demographic changes of the country, but for whatever reason people aren't connecting that back.

KUMAR: It's not bleeding into the newsroom and in Hollywood.

RAMOS: Right. Or also the turnout piece and the electoral politics and things like that, right? The more people are included in those conversations, the more they feel the need to be a part of some of these big stories.

Previously:

New Study: Executives Break Promises To Improve Diversity Following Media Mergers

Latino Voices Call On Media To Improve Hispanic Representation

MSNBC.com's Changing America Highlights A Media Matters Study To Discuss The Exclusion Of Latinos From Policy Debates Outside Of Immigration