Media Matters has compiled a brief reference guide to help Hispanic media -- English and Spanish-language -- covering tonight's Republican presidential debate frame their coverage in a way that best serves their Latino audience.

On August 6, Fox News Channel will broadcast the 2016 election's first prime-time debate. (Seven of the 17 GOP candidates running for president will participate in an earlier debate that will be broadcast in the late afternoon.)

According to a study by Latino Decisions, the 2016 Republican Party nominee will need more than 40 percent of the Latino vote in swing states to win the White House. As the number of Hispanics in the American electorate continues to grow, courting this demographic has become a political necessity.

Tonight's debate will receive significant media coverage, and Hispanic media plays a crucial role in serving that increasingly important audience.

Listen For Offensive Remarks About Latinos.

Media outlets should listen for caustic rhetoric about Latinos, especially immigrants, and be prepared to highlight the hypocrisy of candidates who make offensive remarks while courting Hispanic votes.

Don't Be Swayed By Superficial Details.

Hispanic media has in the past disproportionately focused on the “Latinness” of some political candidates, emphasizing superfluous biographical aspects like someone's cultural heritage or Spanish-language skills while ignoring policy positions that would hurt Latinos on issues like climate change, health care, and the economy. As La Opinión columnist Maribel Hastings noted, “the last name doesn't make a candidate [Hispanic].” And as media strategist Fernand Amandi told The Huffington Post, for Latinos, a candidate's positions carry more weight than the language he or she speaks: “Hispanic voters aren't going to be voting for who speaks the best Spanish, they're going to be voting for ... the candidate who offers the best platform.”

Cover Responses To All The Questions, Not Just The Ones About Immigration.

Texas-based Rumbo has pointed out the importance of focusing on “other topics of interest for Latinos” beyond immigration. In stories about where the candidates stand on the issues, Hispanic media should keep in mind how things like public education, healthcare access, police treatment of minorities, and wage inequality are talked about by the candidates.

Fact Check Candidates' Statements To Avoid Perpetuating Immigration Myths And Negative Stereotypes. 

Debunked conservative talking points about Latinos regularly appear in certain candidates' stump speeches and media interviews; Donald Trump recently repeated the baseless claim that more than 30 million undocumented immigrants live in America even though the real number is a third of that. Right-wing media frequently summon flawed statistics and baseless stereotypes to misinform their audiences and perpetuate negative narratives against Latinos and around immigration.