I’ve interviewed the artist, written about her catalog and her performances. My quarterly ambient music column for Treble is named after one of her songs. Galás’ 1991 LP Plague Mass played as I wrote this.

Plague Mass is a beautiful, surprising and defiant rebuke to the politics of an era ravaged by the AIDS crisis. Galás lost her brother, 32, in 1986, when AIDS was looked upon as a mystery and official indifference to the epidemic was the norm.

Public media has never faced anything so grim. But pondering five years of writing this newsletter has made me think a lot about where we’ve all had to dig, and how we’ve had to fight.

OIGO was born at a time that the public media industry was wrestling more with our own kind of indifference. Then, public media lost CPB. Those of you in states that dispute public media’s value faced stressful, leading questions and assumptions about your work. Some of you at institutional licensees were under a microscope as never before. That does not even account for you who experienced the benevolent interrogation of whether diverse audience service matters, or when you have leadership who baldly do not care, or uses the moment as an excuse to not care.

We did not give up, though.

Solutions came in various inclusion efforts and attention to who the industry served, who it needed to engage more, and what was required to grow. There have been many champions and positive changes, to be sure. But shifting political winds have tested that progress.

When I started OIGO in 2021, my aspiration was pretty simple. I wanted to create a place to think about how public media could better serve diverse audiences, particularly Latino communities. My optimistic side thought there were others who felt the same. And there were… and are.

At its heart, OIGO has always been a conversation as much as a newsletter. I have learned from guests who shared their own experiences, offered exciting projects they were working on, or told me what they were struggling with inside their organizations. I’m honored when readers pointed the industry in the right directions, or challenged assumptions. I hope they—and I—have helped you too.

Although many conditions have shifted, the need for connection has only gotten stronger. OIGO stretches from time to time into serving all diverse audiences. It also has become a place to examine audience research, programming, leadership, journalism, technology and the sometimes uncomfortable space between what public media says it values, what the people doing that work feel, and what audiences truly want.

That gap can be difficult to confront. My dear friend Erika Carlos recently left El Tecolote amid organizational chaos, and a remark from a board member to Mission Local still sits with me. Organizations have brilliant opportunities to evolve under a new generation of leaders today. The trial is in not falling into entrenched patterns of resisting change to preserve traditional authority. It’s a toxin that kills retention, development and so many other advancements.

A former colleague used to tell me advocacy is an exercise in diplomatic anger. I have had interviewees bravely and rightfully air out their old organizations. And try as I might to not be a jerk, I’m sure my dissatisfaction has seeped through on a few occasions. But a lifetime of growing up visibly brown in Texas made me pretty good at smiling through obstacles. I realize that you can be frustrated by what isn’t working while still believing deeply in what could.

There is everything to fight for. And, fortunately, there is still plenty to be hopeful about.

As we arrive together at five years of OIGO, I have been asked about what’s next. I have wondered that myself, frankly.

The half-decade has brought enormous change. Public media has seen our beloved audiences age (as the United States itself is aging), political attacks, financial pressure as a result, conversations about its relevance, and a passing of the generational baton. There have also been many fundamental changes in how people discover and consume information. How audiences used to connect with public media still holds, but you can see cracks too.

OIGO has covered many of these matters, ideally in the most productive ways.

The attrition of the sector that covers media, including public radio and television, as well as attention to Latino and diverse audience service, is profound. That makes OIGO, to me, necessary in serving a major need.

I hear from people at times less interested in sharing out exactly what public media can do to expand Latine audience reach. Why? Because I sense that you wonder if the people who aren’t doing the work by now even genuinely want to, short of a change of heart. Yet many of us are still doing what I am: trying to inspire them to want it.

What seems to resonate most in feedback, readership and reach are the pieces that help us understand our history as public media, the people who made that history and the people making it now. Perhaps the next chapter of OIGO is about understanding how we got here, what we’re building now and what kind of public media we want to leave behind.

There are more of you to recognize for your support than I could ever name here. You have blessed me. Your care is touching and humbling. I appreciate every one of you.

Thank you for being beautiful, surprising and defiant. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Latino USA’s future. Inside Radio has the latest on efforts by the legacy public radio program to innovate across platforms. 🖥️

• Personal story. Fresno State Today profiles Israel Cardona Hernandez, who worked with Radio Bilingue and KVPR, as he shares his experience with public radio. 🎙️

• New series. World Cafe has a new Hispanic Heritage Month short-run program out called Before the Breakthrough. 🎼 It’s a four-part series that explores Latin American artists’ backgrounds and discography leading up to the creation of their first international hit.

• Puerto Rico’s big papers cease print. El Nuevo Día and Primera Hora, the island’s preeminent newspapers, go fully digital. 🗞️ More on the decision (for reasons you can guess) via the Associated Press.

• FAST channels and Hispanic consumers. A new study suggests ad-supported streaming TV channels are replacing subscription streaming services among Latinx viewers. 📺 The survey was just over 600 respondents.

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El radar: try this 📡

• See how Hispanic Heritage Month is being recognized. KRCU has a new article on efforts to encourage support for Latine businesses this month. 💸

• Highlight arts and local Latino communities. Wisconsin Public Radio offers up the endeavors of a local nonprofit to utilize arts to connect residents. 🎵

• Cover how politicians are appealing to Latinx voters in November. WXXI just reported on efforts by local leaders to serve the community as the midterms approach. 🏛️ North Country Public Radio is coverings similar issues.

• And investigate how affordability is landing with Latino residents. KGNU featured a discussion on the subject as Colorado elections heat up. 💰

• Make space for joy. Avanza Utah (OIGO story) is hosting an in-person party with DJs, dancing and live performances. 🎉 See the Eventbrite for inspo.

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The next OIGO arrives Oct. 16. I’ll be speaking on artificial intelligence, ethics and journalism at the next Maynard Institute Propel training later this month. 🤖 It’s free for California journalists.

🥤 You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.

Maybe you are at an organization preparing for the 2026 midterms. You’re likely hearing a lot from your staff, residents and stakeholders about AI and how it can be used to spike election engagement by manipulating people.

I cover AI from time to time in OIGO and often in my AI and Public Media Futures newsletter. I’m regularly asked about spotting misinformation and how to educate Latino audiences, who are often the targets.

With Hispanic Heritage Month here, serving our communities in this delicate time before elections, to me, is one of the best things you can do. Here’s how you can help by stepping up against AI disinformation.

Where to start

Whether you’re a reporter, a digital editor or anywhere near public media, you may have been queried about the veracity of a social media image. Verification of images and video is the battleground right now. There are a few ways to assist our communities in spotting AI disinformation around immigration narratives. On the run-up to midterms, I always suggest this grounding.

Most questions can be answered when you investigate the claim implicit to the image. As you’re looking into claims posted on social media, among other places, I encourage you to think about three questions first:

1. Is a video/photograph authentic?

2. Is it actually from where and when someone claims?

3. Does it depict what someone says it does?

As you’re trying to sort this out, I tend to see this as less a “how to detect AI” situation. Really, it’s “can we establish that this is, in fact, who, what, where, when and how the image itself is related to its placement?”

Don’t get me wrong: AI is getting more and more sophisticated, and thus harder to detect. Yet increasingly the problem is the real photograph paired with a false location, date or misleading claim. AI is but one danger as the midterms approach.

Manipulating context

There are plenty of social media grifters and people stoking anger and racism for attention and profit. However, not everyone is a bad actor. People regularly reshare something they read about elsewhere. They don’t verify it like a public media organization would. Sadly, this is often how you discover a genuine photograph and a completely false story attached to it.

See what I mean? Context manipulation is even more pervasive than AI. It can often create these common scenarios:

• Real photograph, wrong location. For instance, a photograph of immigrants at the Texas-Mexico border, but the photo is labeled as being taken in San Diego.

• Real photograph, wrong date. Such as a 2018 border photograph recirculated during the 2026 election.

• Real photograph, false description. For example, a photograph of people being processed by Border Patrol, but described as “ICE rounding up families.”

A reverse-image search can potentially solve these issues more than an AI detector. This is especially useful for immigration misinformation because so many old photographs get recirculated as something that supposedly happened this week. Google Lens is awesome at determining when an image or similar image first appeared; where it has appeared previously; how other sites have described it; whether fact-checkers have already investigated it; and whether metadata indicates AI generation or enhancement. Google’s current tools specifically support contextual investigation, free.

For immigration stories, your newsroom should also consider building its own list of experts who can independently confirm or challenge what is circulating. I seek out local reporting, court documents, police or sheriff statements, statements from the organization allegedly involved and credible eyewitness accounts to back it up. I also strongly encourage you to follow Spanish-language reporting and create relationships with local organizations who work in Spanish and can help you help the community.

Immigration in the age of AI

Now, let’s talk AI images.

The cases we worry about most are the manipulated or false photos, like the AI-generated photograph here.

The first layer of AI detection is a keen eye. Look at the children’s hands. See the one in the middle? The distance between the face to the shoulder looks off. Notice how weird the bottom of the photo looks, with off-color wrinkles and the pocket of the officer on the left. When reviewing photos and video, scrutinize images for obvious anomalies. Carefully scan hands, fingers, teeth and ears; signs and text; shadows and reflections; repeated faces or people; unnatural edges; impossible architecture; inconsistent lighting; or distorted uniforms, badges or logos.

Still, AI imagery has improved too much for visual inspection to be reliable on its own. Other tools include provenance, reverse searching and AI detector.

What is provenance? It’s a how we establish a file’s history. Something called Content Credentials can record information about an image’s provenance, including whether it was created or edited using particular tools. Google has been incorporating this information into its image-search ecosystem and claims its “About this image” feature can surface information when available.

Some other resources worth looking at include InVID-WeVerify, which offers tools for video, including contextual analysis and verification of content circulating on social platforms; and Hive, which does specific AI-image and deepfake classification. There are also many commercial-grade AI detection resources, but they could be out of budget for most public media organizations.

Just because an AI detector says an image is fake does not mean that it is. But if you can’t verify facts about a video or photo, it looks strange to the careful eye and an AI detector flags it, there’s a problem. For the midterms, a standard of “verified,” “not verified” and “false” should suffice, rather than forcing journalists into a binary real/fake decision. That gives editors considerably more room to accurately describe what you know, and what you don’t.

Your best defense is preparation

If you’re just now starting, training everyone on Google Lens, Fact Check Explorer and InVID-WeVerify is a great launch point. There’s a lot of online training available. If you have resources, you can also buy Hive credits for select situations where an AI detector would help. If you have more money, are doing AI verification at scale, or you feel like other resources aren’t working, commercial verification platforms are good.

But your secret weapon is probably flexing your journalistic muscle. Create a short list of trusted local sources. Ask them when you have verify immigration-related events quickly.

The larger strategic point is that the best defense against AI-generated misinformation is focus. However, you don’t need every reporter to become an AI pro. You just need journalists to become disciplined about provenance, corroboration and context. 🟢

Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Collaborative wins. Connecticut Public’s partnership with El Nuevo Dia recently scored an award for Puerto Rican community reporting. 🥇

• Spanish content via AI. An AI broadcast tool is now offering Spanish-language weather reports as well as voiced weather forecasts, using ElevenLabs’ synthetic voice platform, to stations. ☁️ Radio World has the story.

• Felicidades. Celeste Guajardo joins KERA in Dallas. 🙌

• Understanding audiences. The Local Media Association’s podcast brings out a Pew Research Center expert to delve into its latest study on media consumption habits, with attention to younger audiences. 💻

• To watch. A new UCLA study tracks emerging political differences between Latine voters along gender lines. ♀️

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El radar: try this 📡

• See how local businesses are supporting each other during Hispanic Heritage Month. This is the backstory to a KQED piece on a new business spotlighting area artisans. 💯

• Explore how families are preserving Spanish. WTTW published a story on the decline in Spanish amid assimilation, and how parents are ensuring kids are learning the language. 🧒

• Look at Latino heritage streets. KJZZ has the tale of a local street of significance to the community, and efforts to protect it. 🚦

• Examine faith during Hispanic Heritage Month. WXYZ talks with residents about their Catholic faith brings families together. ⛪︎

• Ask how identity shifts over generations. I have written about how matters like intermarriage and tenure in the U.S. can change what we often associate as hallmarks of Latinidad. 🤔 Now, a new Pew study notes how those identifying as Hispanic declines over years. This may be worth discussing locally.
  

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The next OIGO arrives Oct. 2. OIGO reaches its five-year anniversary next edition, and I have many reflections on the past and the future of this newsletter. I hope you will read on.

I’ll be speaking on AI and journalism at the next Maynard Institute Propel training next month. 🤖 It’s free for California journalists.

In November, I’ll be keynoting the Rocky Mountain Community Radio regional conference, as well as doing some other sessions. 💌 I hope to see nearby friends there.

🥤 You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.

Then an opportunity pulled him into public radio instead.

This OIGO, I talk with this inspiring journalist about his work covering Hurricane Helene at Blue Ridge Public Radio in Asheville, North Carolina, and how public media can be most relevant to Latine audiences.

What you may love, as I do, in this discussion is Sandoval’s candid and refreshing take on emerging audience service. It’s not enough to hire a bilingual reporter or greenlight some Spanish-language initiatives, he notes, and just call it done. Real connection takes time. Trust is built slowly. Critically, one must set aside the assumption that you may already know people’s lives.

You may further appreciate how Sandoval draws a line between covering a community and being part of one. Moreover, he’s quick to point out how bilingual coverage (which we can want quick wins for) is, in truth, a years-long project.

His most affecting words for some of you might be the pitfalls of passion. Yes, I’m referring to us.

The enthusiasm of representing culture and communities is what draws bilingual and Latino journalists into this work. That care becomes a liability, Sandoval assesses, when an organization leans on it as a substitute for real investment. After all, one person can’t be expected to translate, report, produce and single-handedly serve as the connective tissue between an entire newsroom and an entire community. Not only is this unsustainable, but burnout is possible.

Serving a community and the person doing that work are the same commitment.

Read on. 👇🏽

You didn’t start out planning to work in public media.

Really, I never planned to get into public media or become a journalist. I went to school for communications. Originally, I wanted to be a teacher. I also did some freelance work with independent baseball teams because I wanted to do sports journalism. I went to community college and then Illinois State University, where I finished my undergraduate degree and did some sports reporting.

After I graduated, I realized how tough the industry was to break into. I was looking for jobs all over the place when I stumbled upon a position as a bilingual producer at WNIJ. They were launching the Hola initiative, which focused on bilingual and Spanish-language content.

That started my journey in public radio. I was there for a little over a year, and I also did a remote internship with NPR’s content development team, where I helped with podcasts. It was a great experience.

But afterward, I needed a job. I grew up in Elgin, Illinois, about an hour west of Chicago. My parents were born in Mexico, so I’m Mexican American, and I’m very proud of my heritage. My parents came here and sacrificed so much. They worked long hours just to pay the bills and keep a roof over our heads. I felt a lot of pressure to find a job where I could get a salary and benefits. I didn’t care where it was.

So I stuck with public radio. I applied all over the country and eventually ended up in Asheville, with Blue Ridge Public Radio.

I’m not a traditional public radio person. I don’t have a traditional journalism-school background. The love for journalism and the desire to do this as a career really grew from my experience at Blue Ridge Public Radio.

How did covering Hurricane Helene change your understanding?

I learned the importance of language access firsthand.

At the time, I was the All Things Considered host and a general assignment reporter. When Helene hit, we started incorporating Spanish-language programming, and a lot of that was being done by me.

I was reporting in the field all day and then coming back to the studio and continuing to host. I was doing bilingual work, sometimes in English and sometimes in Spanish.

One of the biggest lessons was how important it is to have resources and people in a newsroom when a disaster happens. You need collaboration, people who know what to do, and guides and resources ready to go.

It also taught me how important it is to build relationships with Spanish-language media organizations. We published and worked with Latino media in North Carolina, including reporters who were already on the ground with the community. Organizations should not be afraid to collaborate with Spanish-language media. It benefits both sides.

What did you learn from listening to the community afterward?

We eventually had a listening session, and we learned that very few people in the community were listening when we put Spanish programming on the air. That was eye-opening.

It also made us ask: Why are we putting all these resources and my time into something if we don’t have the audience, and we don’t know how to reach them?

That’s why I think community listening sessions are so important. They can seem annoying to some people, but they’re incredibly valuable. Talk to community members, nonprofits and organizations. Ask them how they get their news. Ask them what’s the easiest way to reach them.

The answer isn’t necessarily going to come from a nationwide study or a statewide study. You have to go into your own backyard and ask people. That’s the easiest way.

How does your non-traditional journalism path shape how you connect with people?

I’ve worked nine-to-five jobs. I’ve worked retail. I’ve done random jobs just to make money. When I graduated college, I was struggling to pay student loans and save money. I was living paycheck to paycheck.

I’ve been exposed to so many different people through the jobs I’ve had. Different backgrounds, different personalities. I think that’s helped me get people to open up and talk about their lives and what’s happening in their communities.

I relate to people more from a human standpoint. Unless I make it explicitly clear that it’s an interview and an on-the-record conversation, the conversations I’m having with people are just two human beings connecting.

My time in rural North Carolina helped, too. Asheville is a blue bubble in a very red region, so I had to talk with people from different sides of the political spectrum. I also encountered people who looked at me differently because of my skin color. That taught me how to communicate with people and put my own feelings in the back. We’re not part of the story. What’s happening with people is the story.

I love journalism, but journalism isn’t who I am. It’s what I love to do. There’s a difference, and I think that helps when you’re connecting with people.

What did you learn from helping launch bilingual programming at WNIJ?

The intention was always great. They were trying to fill a gap because there was such a large Latino population in Illinois and the surrounding area. But they were also figuring it out as they went. There were very few models to follow.

Looking back, I think some questions should have been asked before launching the initiative: Who is the audience? How are we going to reach them? Is it social media? YouTube? Livestreaming? Radio? Do we know that the audience is actually there?

You also have to invest resources. You can’t expect one or two people to do all of that work. Something like this takes years to build. It takes years to build an audience and years to build a connection with a community, especially if you’ve never done it before.

You’re now covering Latino communities in the Finger Lakes region for WXXI. What excites you about the community there?

In Western New York, it’s very different from where I’ve lived before, although parts of it remind me of the suburbs of Chicago.

One of the first things that excited me was Rochester’s huge Puerto Rican population and the history that connects the city to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican workers were brought to the region beginning decades ago, and the history of Rochester is intertwined with Puerto Rican history.

There’s also a growing population of Mexicans, Dominicans, Guatemalans and people from other countries throughout the region. That excites me because there are so many stories to tell.

I’ve wanted to cover communities for years, and now I get to do it in a region with a really vibrant community that is intertwined, united and visible. There’s so much happening here that people sometimes forget about.

What does public media need to understand about covering Latino communities?

If you really want to reach a community, there has to be a two-way street. That connection doesn’t happen overnight. It’s not as simple as hiring a bilingual reporter and assuming, “They’re part of the community. They can get us all these stories.”

That’s not how it works. Just because I’m Latino doesn’t necessarily mean I’m part of every Latino community. The Latino community where I am now is different from the Latino community I grew up with in Illinois. Every community is different.

Sometimes communities feel like a journalist parachutes into the community, grabs a story and leaves. You have to be there when big things happen, but you also have to be there for the small things. Meet community leaders. Invite people into your newsroom. Open your doors, and invite younger generations to learn what we do and how we do it.

That connection takes time, resources and commitment. Commitment is the number one thing. There has to be a willingness to actually build the relationship.

What advice would you give bilingual journalists who are being asked to represent an entire community?

The number one thing I’d say is: Just because it’s a passion project doesn’t mean you should burn yourself out.

There’s a sense of pride in doing this work. There’s a passion because this is our community, but we shouldn’t be expected to translate for an entire newsroom, translate interviews or take on every other bilingual responsibility just because we’re passionate about the work.

Take time to get to know the community. Understand its history and background. Attend community meetings as a community member. The more people see your face, the more you build relationships. Grab a cafecito. Be part of the community.

And especially given the current political climate and immigration activity happening throughout the country, journalists have to ask themselves whether a story is worth the reward over the risk. Sometimes there are very real consequences for the people we cover. We have to advocate for people in our communities with our newsroom leaders. I’ve personally shut down stories because the potential risk or consequence for a source wasn’t worth it.

And make sure you get paid.

You’re not just doing the work of one reporter. You’re doing the work of an English-speaking journalist and a Spanish-speaking journalist. If you’re bilingual and Latino and you speak both languages, make sure you’re getting paid for being a bilingual reporter.

Why do you think it’s important for journalists to think about their own well-being?

We love this work. At the same time, we have to take care of ourselves.

There’s a lot of emotional and mental fatigue and stress that comes with seeing what’s happening in our communities. Sometimes you become numb to it, or you tell yourself you’ll deal with it later.

For Latino journalists, bilingual journalists, and people covering Latino or immigrant communities, some of these issues can potentially affect your own family. Some of these fears may exist in your own community, so we have to take care of ourselves at the end of the day, too.

Journalism is an amazing profession. We have to take care of ourselves.

You’ve also talked about the importance of supporting the next generation of journalists. What does that look like?

We need to support young Latino and Hispanic journalists and create opportunities for them to enter the profession.

I’m trying to meet with people who work with schoolchildren so I can talk to them about what I do for a living. You don’t have to take the traditional route. There are so many different places you can work in media.

I’m 28, and I still think it’s important for people my age to give back to the next generation. If we’re not giving back, if we’re not uplifting younger people, what are we doing? They’re the ones who are going to step in.

We have to give them hope and make sure the opportunities are there. Media organizations need to do better at giving people a real shot. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Volver. The Latino Media Summit is back. 🎉 Agenda and registration for the October event are live.

• Coverage with care. Chicago Public Media’s Alma Campos is part of a Poynter webinar on reporting on mental health angles related to immigration. 💻

• Serving bilingual audiences. Agencia Media has a new piece on ways other media and election campaigns are successfully building relationships with bilingual audiences. 💬

• Election issues to watch. Pew Research Center has a new survey of Hispanics on their feelings about the American Dream. 🗽 Affordability and home ownership possibilities are among the major questions.

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El radar: try this 📡

• Report on books. Bookstore stories seem to be very in at newsrooms for the moment. 📖 And this Texas Public Radio piece on a San Antonio shop shares the unifying effect of Hispanic books on the community.

• Investigate immigration enforcement’s impact on local business. Marketplace did refresh reporting on how Latino businesses in several major cities are faring following aggressive ICE presence. 💼

• And on community vibes. KERA captures the worries of U.S. citizens of Latinx descent amid enforcement activities. 🤔

• Explore local areas. A nice job by KGNU to dig around for local Latinx history.

• Highlight rural help. Minnesota Public Radio has an insightful look at how nonprofits and community groups located in rural areas are providing support for Latine immigrants in their regions. 🏠

• Keep spotlighting health topics. Mental health services for Spanish-speaking residents are getting more attention, and this story by The Conversation touches on an important matter, dementia care. 🫶

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The next OIGO arrives Sept. 18. I spend many OIGOs on text, but this edition will be focused on helping your communities spot visual disinformation and AI-generated images related to immigration for the midterms. I hope it can help you.

🥤 You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.

Before the midterm election frenzy takes over, I wanted to have a real conversation with allies like you about how public media can best cover Latine voters.

I know I’ve written about this subject exhaustively. Also, I have talked with some of you who have found your coverage planning meetings tiresome. We hear the “Latino vote” reduced to just two buckets: immigration and cultural identity.

It’s a neat narrative. And it’s also completely outdated.

When you look at polling, you see Hispanic voters sweating the exact same stuff everyone else is: bills, and wondering if the government is capable of solving anything. Sounds obvious, right? But it apparently still needs to be yelled for those in the back.

Immigration will dominate the headlines. Yet, as you look closer, like me, you probably notice nuances. There is an important engagement reason to make such a distinction. When news coverage defaults to the caricature of a community, we see and feel it. Trust lives and dies here.

Here are three specific threads you should encourage everyone to pull.

The economy happens to all of us

The cost of living is shaping people’s politics, more and more.

That latest UnidosUS bipartisan poll showed inflation and bills are dominating the priority list for Hispanic voters. And that’s true across demos, from Gen Z to boomers.

I see major opportunities for public media, in part due to how badly financial news about Latinos usually gets framed. You have surely seen these stories about how Latine buying power rivals small European nations. Great bar trivia. What’s greater? Reflecting the genuine Latino voter panic of meeting basic needs.

Where I recognize a huge opening for local public media is in those personal Hispanic experiences. What does a rent hike do to a neighborhood? What does childcare truly cost in historically Latine zip codes? Those stories are infinitely more useful to your audience.

KQED recently did a great series connecting giant, abstract economic arguments to the pavement of a listener’s block. This kind of approach is worth emulating elsewhere.

Immigration isn’t a binary

A huge chunk of Hispanic voters want stricter border security. They also want a path to citizenship for undocumented neighbors who have been working here for years. They can hate the idea of aggressive ICE raids while still wanting a functional enforcement system. Pundits find these contradictions annoying.

I’m constantly amazed at how rarely the genuine complexity of Latino views on the border actually makes anyone’s broadcast. Hispanics can hold totally normal values like order and fairness, and not be racists who are happy to deny opportunities to others.

We don’t have to neatly resolve these conflicting community views or quarterback why someone feels a certain way. Life for most of us is a messy middle ground.

Does the government even work anymore?

This third one is the subtext of so many stories, and it’s the collapse of basic trust in government.

Research from groups like the Partnership for Public Service points to a long-term decline of faith in civic institutions. Voters now are genuinely questioning whether elected officials have the competence to improve daily life.

One solution? Explain the mechanics of why things are broken. Why is it so hard to build an affordable apartment complex? Who actually rubber-stamps city permits? Why does a bill pass Congress but nothing changes locally for three years?

While these are not necessarily Latino stories, we have the same questions others do, and our communities tend to be most impacted.

Priorities shift

As I wrote back in January, Latino voters aren’t a monolith. We in public media are best positioned to investigate such truths.

Is your organization’s reporting mirroring what’s keeping this community awake at night? Strong economic coverage and more nuanced immigration framing will help. I encourage you to start now though, before the midterm circus completely rolls into town. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Recognition. Texas Public Radio’s Ruben O. Garcia has been posthumously inducted into the San Antonio Radio Hall of Fame. 😎 The longtime media leader passed away in February.

• Pubmedia resilience. NPR spotlights ways public radio and television have weathered the federal funding rescission. Fury at Congress has been a driver. 😡

• El Grito. Legacy advocacy group the League of United Latin American Citizens has launched a media venture. 🚀 The Columbia Journalism Review notes the initiative has been in discussion since last year, and is mostly staffed by recent college grads and students.

• Fighting misinformation. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is offering pay for projects attacking Spanish-language misinformation, using the tool Verdad. 👁️

• Viewpoints and journalists. Pew Research Center has fresh polling of younger media consumers. 👀More of them say it is okay for journalists to advocate for the communities they cover and to express their political views and religious beliefs on social media.

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El radar: try this 📡

• Point out Hispanic voting access. Connecticut Public has a great piece on how Latinos of different political persuasions are seeking to remind the public about the importance of voting. 👆🏽

  • Also: Houston Public Media and CT Public look at how Latine voters are feeling about their choices among candidates. 🌤

• Highlight potential abuses. Beyond the Border investigated the misuse of weapons during immigration protests. 🚓 This piece prompted me to wonder if public media is looking more closely at these matters in their regions and noting patterns.

• Investigate disaster response in Spanish. OPB just covered how local groups are drawing attention to the lack of emergency information available in Spanish for residents. 🗯️

• Check out wellness clubs. KABC provides a report on a Los Angeles wellness club that aspires to help Latino men with mental health. 🫴

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The next OIGO arrives Sept. 4. A special interview with WXXI’s Jose Sandoval on deck. Such a smart, engaging journalist whose insights you will appreciate.

I’m always happy to hear your ideas on topics and people others should know.

I have recently joined the Public Media Journalists Association’s Opportunity and Access Committee. If you have thoughts on how the industry can better serve you, reach out.

PMJA’s Near + Now conference happens this month in Indianapolis and next month in New York City.

🥤 You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.

What is Latino content and audience service in public media now? It’s a complicated question.

Whether you are a station manager trying to build a bilingual newsroom, an independent producer developing bicultural podcasts, or a public radio professional seeking sustainable audience growth, understanding the current landscape of Latino communities related to public media is critical. The state of public broadcasting and how to serve Latinos are questions I get often. Here is a guide on Latino public media now.

This OIGO, I will break down audience data, highlight the industry’s innovators, and provide actionable strategies to help public media organizations authentically connect with Hispanic and bicultural listeners.

Bicultural listener audience demographics

To program effectively, stations must first understand who they are programming for. The modern Latino media consumer is not a monolith.

What I always tell leaders is this: To serve this audience, we must move past assumptions and look at the actual behaviors, needs and cultural nuances of the community.

Beyond monolingual Spanish

For decades, “Hispanic media” was strictly synonymous with “Spanish-language media.” While monolingual Spanish content remains vital for immigrant communities, the driving force behind Latino population growth today is U.S.-born individuals, virtually all of whom are rooted in the English language.

How does this show up when we consider Latino audiences? Well, second and third-generation Latinos are largely bilingual or English-dominant, but they retain strong cultural ties. This demographic often feels alienated by traditional English-language media that ignores their heritage, but they may not tune into heritage Spanish radio stations either.

What’s a throughline? Latino audiences are seeking “bicultural” content. That means stories reported in English (or fluidly bilingual formats) that authentically reflect the Latino experience in America present an avenue.

Where the audience is

Terrestrial radio listenership is shifting, and public media must serve the base, while keeping an eye on where the audience is moving. Data consistently shows that Latino consumers over-index on digital platforms. Key metrics:

• Podcasting: Adoption among Latinos has surged, particularly for narrative and creator-led shows.

• Video and streaming: Platforms like YouTube are increasingly primary news sources for U.S. Hispanics.

• Messaging apps: WhatsApp remains a dominant ecosystem for community connection, information sharing and the spread of news, but also misinformation.

Key innovators in Latino public broadcasting

So, those are core issues to understand the audience. What’s working? Success in this space requires looking at the organizations and creators who are already moving the needle.

Public media connecting with Latinos encompasses a broad, evolving spectrum of efforts. It includes the foundational, national work of entities like Latino Public Broadcasting and NPR/PBS affiliates, as well as the agile, grassroots journalism of local digital hubs, community media and independent creators.

Latino Public Broadcasting

At the national level, Latino Public Broadcasting has spent over a quarter-century funding independent filmmakers and ensuring Latino stories reach PBS audiences. Through flagship series like VOCES, LPB has been instrumental in placing high-quality documentaries—covering everything from the arts to the plight of American veterans facing deportation—on a national stage.

As Luis Ortiz reflects, LPB’s place in the system can’t be overstated. Its work has ensured that the systemic issues and rich cultural history of the Latino community remain visible within the traditional public broadcasting framework.

Public media licensees

The days of collaborations like the Latino Public Radio Consortium are long gone at this point. However, a range of great public media organizations are doing valuable work to reach Latino communities.

Among the most prominent organizations leading this matter are Connecticut Public, KQED, Avanza and New Hampshire Public Radio. The community radio side also has too many interesting efforts to name, though most are in the vein of a single program by a volunteer or part-time host, which can be hard to build an audience with. Lastly, from time to time, you also get in public media bilingual initiatives like we’ve seen at KERA.

Independent creators and community hubs

Beyond the traditional PBS/NPR ecosystem, independent entities are redefining the space. Organizations like Futuro Media have long set the standard for independent, bicultural journalism with shows like Latino USA. In fact, Inside Radio has the story on Futuro Media’s efforts to branch out beyond public media and into new spaces Furthermore, a new wave of local, digital-first newsrooms, community media and newsletters are filling the gaps left by legacy media.

The bigger public media organizations are doing good work, and smaller organizations are operating with a nimbleness and cultural fluency that sometimes larger institutions struggle to match.

The content shift

One of the most common mistakes public radio stations make when attempting to reach Latino audiences is relying entirely on translation. But taking an existing English-language story and simply translating the script into Spanish does not make the content relevant to a Latino listener.

It’s not so much a problem about the information therein. It’s that the framing, the sources, and the underlying assumptions often remain disconnected from the community’s lived reality. Therefore the shift must be toward cultural fluency. This means:

• Reporting stories from within the community, rather than parachuting in only when there is a crisis or a cultural festival.

• Understanding the specific systemic and local nuances that affect Latino neighborhoods.

• Elevating Latino voices as subject matter experts on general topics (the economy, climate change, education), not just on “Latino issues” like immigration.

Profiles in OIGO to convey this perspective include Julian Berger, Lisa Rodriguez and Blanca Torres most recently.

What’s your take?

OIGO began as an effort to help you navigating this evolving landscape. Continuous learning, data analysis and peer-to-peer stories are exactly what OIGO is built to provide.

Have a success story or a challenge you’re facing in your local market? Reply to any OIGO newsletter or connect with me directly. The best way forward is by building this aspiration together. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Strong storytelling. Immigration enforcement is one of the year’s top stories. 📝 The Pivot Fund relates how several nonprofit newsrooms are reflecting the scope of the issue locally.

• Felicidades. Cicero Independiente received the Catalyst Award for Local News Innovation at the Next Challenge for Media and Journalism National Awards. 🏆 Read OIGO profiles of the news organization here and here.

• Latin music surges. Luminate’s mid-year study indicates the Latin music and country formats are enjoying growth on radio and streaming across the United States. 🥁 Inside Radio has the numbers.

• Latine voter intel. This has made the rounds, so I’ll park opining on the meaning of such, but Axios is one of many outlets to cover new research on Hispanic voters and ethnic identity. 🌎

Leave a comment

El radar: try this 📡

• See how local nonprofits are helping wildlife in Latine communities. WBEZ has a fun story about a local zoo’s effort to repopulate endangered toads in Puerto Rico. 🐸 That toad, associated with Bad Bunny to many fans, is seeing a major preservation push.

• Track election law shifts. OPB spotlights changes in Oregon intended to protect the rights of historically disenfranchised Latine voters. 🗳️

• Examine tandas. KQED covers the Latinx concept of tanda, or microlending among community members, and how young entrepreneurs are seeking to put a new digital sheen to the longtime practice. 🤑

• Talk with Latino fashion designers. Another at KQED reminds me many fashion designers are telling stories of culture through their creations. 👕 A fun story to localize.

• Reflect on Hispanic veterans for America 250. This Arizona Mirror piece is all over the place, but the interesting kernel for public media examines military veterans of Latin American descent. 🪖

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The next OIGO arrives Aug. 14. In October, OIGO turns five. For a short time, those who want to support this newsletter can pick up a 20 percent discount on an annual pledge. Get it here, and gracias.

🥤 Also, you can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.

Years ago, I remember hearing a producer refer to listeners as "my audience." The phrase passed without notice. We all use it. But over time, I started wondering what assumptions were hiding inside those two words.

What I realize now is that there is a particular kind of institutional overconfidence embedded in the phrase “my audience.”

It sounds like stewardship, but functions like ownership. And in a media landscape where trust is being redistributed, such a distinction is more than merely philosophical, but existential.

Community media and public media need to reflect on these issues on many fronts. How that shows up in reaching growth audiences, especially Latino and younger generations, needs our urgent attention.

The newest Media Insight Project study offers a simple, but stunning, portrait of a wider media ecosystem in flux. It’s in no small part because how the people who look to media are changing in their expectations and needs.

For organizations that have historically under-served, or simply under-noticed, Latinx communities and newer generations, this is your moment. It’s time for you to lead a conversation in-house about something more foundational than strategy. Let’s talk about how we see relationships.

Latino public media strategy

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned working with Latinx communities is that relationships rarely begin with information. They begin with trust.

That may sound obvious. Yet many media organizations still behave as though trust arrives automatically with the product.

Like Latinidad, the Media Insight Project findings in The Evolving News Landscape: Comparing Media Habits and Trust Between Teens and Adults are instructive precisely because they resist easy comfort.

Local news remains the most trusted source across age groups. But look closely at the data: The some/no confidence and don’t-use-this-source make up significant chunks of the respondents. Fewer than half of teens and adults express a great deal of confidence in any news source type. The New York Times reports such agnosticism trickles into politics too. It’s important insight for those who assume once you’ve hooked someone, they’re yours forever.

Nope.

Trust, the study confirms, is not a given. Instead, trust is earned incrementally, renewed constantly, and revoked without ceremony.

Pair this with a recent study by the Center for Integrity in News Reporting and the stakes for public media go up. Not much trust or unfamiliarity with NPR? Uh oh.

Elsewhere, younger Americans, including Hispanic youth who skew younger as a demographic, show similar levels of confidence in both traditional outlets and independent creators. They do not grant institutional journalism and media automatic authority. The door is not closed, but also, it is no longer propped open by default.

Equally significant is the fact that 48 percent of teens (more than any other age group) get local news from local influencers or independent creators. This is massive compared with 23 percent of adults, 65 and older.

Confianza

In Spanish, there’s a word called confianza. It translates to “trust,” but in practice it explains the interpersonal confidence that structures Latino social relationships. It extends to familiarity and reciprocity built over time. It does not transfer automatically to institutions that have not done the relational work.

Hispanics are among the fastest-growing segments in American media. Our story is not a cozy one of assumed politics, cultural narratives and even linguistic hard lines. As my KQED colleague Blanca Torres beautifully put it, Latino culture is broad, and it is American.

Winning organizations will be the ones who see the importance of the people and the relationship.

Too often, engagement has been framed as a capture strategy rather than a consent relationship. Stephanie Kord Miller‘s framing in her post mortem on NPR Digital Services cuts directly to the issue: a listener who tunes in, signs up for a newsletter or makes a membership donation is not transferring ownership of themselves. They are granting permission to be communicated with. That permission belongs to the person who gave it. It travels with the listener, not with the institution.

This matters enormously when we consider how Latinx audiences have been approached by legacy media organizations. At worst, this shows up as the Spanish-language newsletter launched in an election year or a “Latino outreach initiative” that evaporates when the funding does.

These are not trust-building efforts. They are transactions dressed up as relationships. Audiences, particularly those who have spent decades being addressed only when they were numerically convenient, can feel the difference.

A mindset shift can be a difficult idea for membership- and listenership-driven organizations. We celebrate acquisition, retention and loyalty. Those metrics matter. But they can obscure a more important reality: the relationship belongs to the audience member, not the institution.

Listenership is simply ongoing consent.

The institutions that navigate this well will be those that restructure their understanding of audience relationships at a systems level. That means Latine community engagement is an organizational value that shapes hiring, sourcing, story selection and how feedback loops are built and honored.

Trust is a habit

Growing up in Latino communities, I can tell you that confianza wasn’t established because someone introduced themselves once. It was established because they kept showing up. The priest who came by to check on us. The teacher who remembered your family. The neighbor who dropped in after the crisis had passed.

Trust wasn’t a declaration, but a pattern.

Confianza accretes through consistent, low-stakes interactions. Just as importantly, it comes with time. For Latine audiences, consistency has an additional valence. It signals that the coverage is not contingent on a news peg. When communities are present not simply when something goes wrong, but are woven into the fabric of what the organization considers worth knowing, people see that.

Younger audiences are sending a similar signal. They have grown up in a media environment defined by abundance rather than scarcity. They do not assume institutions deserve attention simply because they exist. Every source competes for credibility every day.

For public media, this can feel unsettling. But it is also an opportunity. Trust is no longer inherited.

The Media Insight Project study notes that news fatigue is real and widespread, with most Americans actively managing their exposure. They avoid not just celebrity news and political content, but sources that feel extractive or unreliable. In this environment, the newsrooms that will retain and grow Latinx audiences are not those with the most sophisticated analytics dashboards. They are the ones that show up, in the right language, with genuine consistency, long after a moment of crisis.

Every public media leader should ask a simple question: If our Latine audience disappeared tomorrow, what evidence would they cite that we truly knew them?

Would they point to a sustained relationship? Or a collection of campaigns?

Every interaction is another opportunity to answer the same question: Are you still here?

For public media, the future may depend on how often the answer is yes. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• New podcast. American Colony, a bilingual podcast series exploring Puerto Rico’s history, launches July 4. The Latino Newsletter is co-producer.

• Nonprofit board challenges. Public media has its share of governance, and a new study by the Knight Center notes a disconnect between organizational leaders and boards. 🤔 There are also difficulties with board members understanding their roles.

• Afro-Mexican radio. LatAm Journalism Review examines a radio station in the state of Oaxaca that serves the African descended community there. ၊၊||၊

• Inspo. City Bureau is changing its content focus to affordability, and its internal team from Editorial to Civic Information. 💡

  • Related: Nieman Lab highlights how hard news drives subscriptions.

• Sparking comunidad. KEXP’s Albina Cabrera has launched a new monthly Noches de Rock en Español in-person music series in Seattle. 💿 She’s among the DJs performing live around the city. The next event is July 3.

• Felicidades. A range of Latino news leaders were winners in the Local Media Association 2026 Digital Innovation Awards. 🏆

Leave a comment

El radar: try this 📡

• Explore DACA downstream effects. KQED featured a morning program conversation on how renewal delays are impacting DACA recipients and raising fears about the future of communities. 👀

• Share World Cup vibes. WGBH is among many reflecting community voices about the games. ⚽

  • Related: Noting World Cup, RadioInk says the experiential industry boom represents a major opportunity for broadcasters.

• Offer dimensions to the Hispanic business narrative. Many of us have heard that Latine entrepreneurship is growing. 📈 Marketplace investigates how little venture capital intersects the sector.

• See how local small businesses are supporting residents. WLEX has an interesting story about a family firm that started out selling insurance. 🏢 It quickly became one offering a range of services to the area’s immigrant population.

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The next OIGO arrives July 17. Voting is open for 2026 NETA conference sessions, but closes Monday. I’ve co-pitched the “More Than A Special” 60-minute session. If you are so inclined, vote here to support our inclusion on the agenda. ☑️

My AI session for the Latino Media Collaborative is June 23. 💻 You can register to attend for free here.

🥤 You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.

It’s easy to tune out the conversation around multilingual AI. It’s not so easy when you look at it as a parallel to English-language institutional media’s relationship with Latinos.

Spanish, for me in public media, has been the plaintive requests to “translate something,” the one-off social media post or tests with no investment. In truth, Spanish has been the perpetually underestimated medium that many in English-language media treated as a derivative of English rather than an expression unto itself.

If you’ve noticed this too, the journey of Large Language Models (LLMs) around Spanish may feel familiar.

Online, there are no shortage of examples of clumsy auto-translation and chatbots that flattened the tonal architecture of Spanish into English mush. This too may feel painfully familiar: this language, and by extension its speakers, were an afterthought in the rooms where work lives.

That history is why the technical leaps of 2025 and 2026 feel like more than a product update to me. They represent, however incompletely, a belated acknowledgment that the Spanish-speaking world was never a secondary market. It was always a primary one that simply lacked sufficient advocates.

Thus today the era of AI acting as a clumsy Spanish translator is gone.

The evolution of the engines behind tools like ChatGPT has reached a milestone. These systems no longer just translate and compose content in Spanish; they are better presenting its cultural nuances and regional dialects. For you seeking to meet the specific requirements of professional journalism, AI is as good as it’s ever been.

I’ve written about AI and its potential for inclusive content in OIGO previously. And if AI isn’t your thing, cool. But if you’re like Avanza and other organizations trying to figure out how to better serve your community, you may be intrigued by how these technologies can help you.

How things have improved 🔄

But first, some remarks of how AI has made strides, and why.

I remember feeling some vertigo while watching an early LLM process a Spanish transcript and return something that resembled a middle-school paper. The model had not misunderstood the words so much as it had misunderstood the intention that no amount of vocabulary training could recover. It felt as if the words were converted without Spanish speakers as the intended readers.

So, it’s important to say how AI has strengthened its Spanish. Three major technical shifts have leveled the playing field for non-English content:

“Tokenization.” To an AI, words are broken down into small pieces called tokens. In 2024, Spanish text required more “tokens” than English to express the same idea, making it slower and more expensive to process. Fast forward to 2026, where new advances have made the process almost equal.

For a public media organization, this means running a Spanish-language chatbot or automated transcription service can now be fast and cost-effective as an English one.

RAG. Previously, an AI relied only on its training data). Now, these models use Retrieval-Augmented Generation, or RAG, to “fact-check” themselves against external, trusted sources before they give you an answer. RAG strides have drastically reduced hallucinations in Spanish, ensuring that a summary of a local city council meeting in Mexico is based on actual records rather than the AI’s “best guess.”

Regional nuance improvements. Earlier models often defaulted to a generic Spanish that felt “off” to native speakers. If AI companies excel at anything, it is listening to the customer base and taking credibility seriously.

Now, current models have better and more specific training to get Spanish right. You can give a specific command like, ”Write this news lead for an audience in Argentine Spanish,” and the AI model can successfully incorporate local slang and grammatical preferences without reverting to English.

Top LLMs compared 🧮

Let’s go head to head.

Google Gemini and its 3.1 Pro model is arguably the most versatile tool for multimodal media. How so? Well, it can “read” and “understand” more than just text. Its model is great at not just transcribing audio, but detecting nuance. Thus, a raw audio file of a Spanish-language interview can be returned by Gemini with an accurate summary, identifying not just the words but the tone and cultural subtext.

Gemini’s appeal to most is that it is integrated into Google Workspace, Additionally, Gemini is highly effective at administrative tasks, such as drafting using the appropriate level of professional Spanish (usted) versus casual social media copy (tú). This sort of detection is not required, but it’s helpful.

ChatGPT is the tool your mom knows. And, on the whole, Spanish conversion and translation is very good. In my own experiments, When I first began testing ChatGPT’s code-switching capabilities systematically, I was less interested in whether it could manage Spanglish than in whether it understood why Spanglish exists. Can it move fluidly between languages within a single sentence? The code-switching that characterizes bicultural Latino speech is a sophisticated rhetorical practice. If you submit a transcript that mixes English and Spanish, the model maintains the context without getting confused.

For editors, ChatGPT’s Canvas feature is essentially a collaborative digital workspace. You can ask the AI to rewrite a paragraph in a more “neutral” Spanish or to punch up the headline for a specific regional audience (e.g., adjusting for a Caribbean Spanish or a Southern Cone readership) in real-time.

Claude is often the preferred choice for analysis, and is seen by many I talk to as a better writer. In addition, Claude uses a reasoning process that makes it less likely to make up facts that sound plausible, but are false.

The consequences of hallucination in Spanish-language journalism, for the communities I have spent my career aspiring to serve, carry an additional dimension that "accuracy" does not fully capture. Latine communities have navigated, across generations, being misinformed about ourselves. When an AI model generates a plausible but false summary in a language that a community depends on to understand its own reality, it is perpetuating a historical pattern of unreliability that these audiences have every rational reason to expect. It’s concerning, and thus makes such protections important.

With Spanish, Claude tends to avoid robotic as well as overly flowery language that models were once quite notorious for producing. Per the writing part, because you can train to a certain style you choose, Claude is ideal for summarizing dense policy documents, among other use cases.

Two other models were a look are Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot.

Perplexity is a “research-first” engine. This platform rose to prominence because it did deep research as well as searches of the live web. For a journalist, this is invaluable for tracking how a story is being covered in real-time across Latin America or Spain, citing specific sources like El País or CNN en Español.

Copilot is as if ChatGPT were tuned to work inside Microsoft Office. Your use and results may vary. However, I understand Copilot may be good if you are transforming a Spanish-language memo into a slide deck or a spreadsheet, for instance.

What to use 🔢

The hope for many in the tech and journalism space is that AI can be a cultural collaborator. Now, these tools are nearing the precision required to serve the Spanish-speaking public with the same depth as any English-speaking audience.

The choice of tool depends entirely on where you sit in your organization and your role’s relationship to Spanish-language engagement.

• For Producers: Gemini is good for its ability to handle diverse media formats (audio/video).

• For Editors and Copywriters: Claude or ChatGPT offer creative flexibility in their Spanish prose.

• For Researchers and Fact-Checkers: Perplexity provides impressive levels of reliability and sourcing.

For you with concerns about AI, I do not suggest that the tools here operate with good or bad intentions. I suggest, rather, that intention is insufficient as a standard.

The question for English-language media organizations evaluating these tools is not simply whether an LLM can now navigate Mexican slang or maintain the grammatical architecture of a Salvadoran interview transcript. I seek to see how the communities whose linguistic and cultural knowledge trained these models can genuinely benefit. Can public media help with new investments of time and resources that benefit all?

I remain provisionally optimistic, but I have been in public media long enough to know that optimism, without accountability, is its own kind of naïveté. 🟢

Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• AZ next week. The annual Hispanic Radio Conference, which primarily focuses on commercial radio, happens in Phoenix. 🎚️ New demographic data and tracking of financial shifts are key themes.

• Debate evolving. Austin is one of the more prominent places divided about changing a street named after Cesar Chavez. 🛣️ KUT is on the story.

• Inspo. Georgia outlet Esta es la Cosa has created a Spanish-language Kit Acción Inmigrante to inform residents where to go for essential services like housing as well as mental health resources. 📄

• Stat to watch locally. The number of Gen Z Latine voters has jumped compared to Millennials, according to a Georgia study. Here come midterms. ✔️

  • Related: Latino Trump voter support has declined, Pew Research Center findings show, though 66 percent of this group still back the president. 📣

• Creator threats. I noted last OIGO my own reservations about the influencer journalism model, and the Guardian has a new piece on this subject. TLDR: “What we are witnessing is the wholesale shift from one established information ecosystem to another.”

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El radar: try this 📡

• Provide a local Latine neighborhood guide. WHYY just offered one for a burgeoning new community in its region. 🏢

• Highlight healthcare needs. WLRN spotlighted a new report by UnidosUS about the health and wellness needs of Latinx voters. 🥗 Well worth a localized look.

• Spark conversations about men and violence. Texas Public Radio covered a San Antonio nonprofit that is seeking to engage Latino men more on issues of intimate partner violence. 💬 An important dialogue.

• Foster a love of wine. Alcohol consumption is down, and businesses are seeking ways to connect with consumers. 🍷 Northern California Public Media features efforts to foster a love of wine among Hispanics.

• Note housing insecurity. WBEZ tracked trends related to Latine homelessness. 🎺 People living temporarily with friends and family because they had nowhere to go was among the prevalent trends.

The next OIGO arrives June 12. I’ll be in Seattle next week to connect with colleagues at KUOW. If you’re in the area, reach out and let’s catch up.

Stay tuned to the Latino Media Collaborative’s website and social media for details on a session I’ll be doing for the group in June around AI tools for nonprofit news leaders. 💻

In October, OIGO turns five. For a short time, those who want to support can pick up a 20 percent discount on an annual pledge. Get it here, and gracias. 🙏

Also, you can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.

I came to public media as a teenager transfixed by things I did not know. It was a window to a different world. Yet I was, in effect, also consuming news that rarely reflected my family’s experience.

That memory is why I read the latest Media Insight Project research the way a physician reads a chart: looking not just at what the data says, but at what it reveals about us and our interests.

The 2026 report, released last week, offers data that is less abstract, and is instead instructive. For those of us in nonprofit journalism who serve Latino communities, this report is a mirror to what we may have been avoiding.

And when you layer the study against what Nielsen, the Latino Donor Collaborative and other groups have been tracking on Latino audiences specifically, a particular picture emerges. The challenge is that public media’s path goes through communities it has historically underserved. But this can change and become an opportunity.

What do you need to know about this new Media Insight Project research?

Latino public radio audience data 📊

Top of the list is ensuring your organization sees generational research as a cultural exploration.

The MIP report is a generational breakdown. One stat: 74 percent of adults 65+ rely on TV for daily news, compared to just 44 percent of teens. The recent Techsurvey tracks similar numbers for radio. Given that Latinos now represent 25 percent of the U.S. youth market (per 2025 LDC data), this is fundamentally a Latine audience problem dressed up in generational language. Moreover, when public media cannot find Hispanics in our metrics, it is a serious inheritance problem.

Growing up bicultural, I watched the evening news with my family. My parents wanted to position me for a better economic and educational place than they rose to, and they reasoned information is power. For young people now, the medium is shifting. Yet the 74 versus 44 percent generational gap in television news consumption reads, for me, less as a statistic about platforms and more as a confirmation of something I have watched unfold across a lifetime: each generation of Latino youth has been recalibrating their relationship to institutions.

You see this also with digital adoption. MIP’s study mirrors Nielsen’s observation that Hispanic consumers are 115 percent more likely than the general population to use creator tools like CapCut, with outsized TikTok and YouTube engagement on top of that. These are basically the same phenomenon viewed from different angles.

It’s valuable for public media to show up where teens are consuming daily news. In missing out, we are losing a generation and the fastest-growing demographic in the country. That’s a strategic miscalculation with compounding consequences.

The influencer question (and opportunity) 📱

MIP finds that 81 percent of teens get news and information from influencers. That’s not a small thing. Unlike national news, where Democrats trust the media at more than double the rate of Republicans (22 percent vs. 9 percent), influencers don’t carry that baggage. The Digital Democracy Institute of the America’s 2025 research adds texture here: Latino audiences gravitate toward content that teaches them something and leaves them feeling genuinely informed rather than anxious.

Consider that more than a preference. It may be a content strategy waiting to happen.

Still, I share some unease with peers about a model that may simply be supplanting our credibility, I have watched, across my career the slow erosion of the distinction between a reporter who has cultivated sources, navigated editorial standards, and accepted accountability for what they publish, and a creator who has cultivated followers, navigated an algorithm, and accepted accountability to no one in particular. These are not equivalent knowledge-making practices, and the MIP finding is, for me, less a market insight than a civilizational one.

I also acknowledge such alliances can be a defensible path forward. For public media trying to reach bicultural Latino audiences who may be skeptical of institutional media for entirely different reasons, like underrepresentation, irrelevance or tone, the creator space offers something fresh possibly. A trust architecture already exists and doesn’t need to be rebuilt from scratch.

The MIP report notes that 50 percent of consumers prioritize transparency about a creator’s mission and partnerships. That finding likely means this approach only works if it’s honest about what it is. Audiences are remarkably good at detecting when authenticity is being performed rather than practiced.

Local news insights 📝

If you need more convincing, the study may win you to the importance of local news.

Place-based journalism remains the most trusted sector in journalism, per MIP. That’s encouraging. What’s less encouraging is the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute research that only 2 percent of daily newspaper articles mention Latinos.

Many have written about this gap for years. I have sat in newsrooms where the absence of Latino stories was not a policy decision but an ambient assumption. I’ve experienced this as a default so naturalized it required no defense. What that number means, in human terms, is that millions of people have spent decades consuming media and learning, day after day, that their lives do not constitute news.

Trust erodes in that daily, unremarkable arithmetic.

Public media stations occupy a crucial position here. As Nieman Lab just pointed out, people feel overwhelmed by news that isn’t local. In news deserts, which are proliferating, our outlets are often the last institutional voice doing local reporting. That’s an enormous amount of potential leverage.

Can your local be bilingual? Pew’s 2025 research shows that immigrant Latinos tend to prefer Spanish-language news, while U.S.-born Latinos want English-language reporting. Such offers more avenues to engage. However, the implication is less “do both” as a checklist. In fact, trying to do both without enough resources will lead to frustration and burnout. Rather, as I noted before, the strategy is relevance.

MIP identifies some gateway topics that build lasting news habits. School calendars, local weather, traffic and events are on that list. For young Latino audiences, those habits need to be built by reporters who understand the community from the inside.

A case for hopeful journalism 🙏

Only 10 percent of Americans say the news gives them a hopeful view of the world. A third of Americans report feeling overwhelmed or stressed by their news consumption. Those are striking numbers on their own, but they carry additional weight in Latino communities, where misinformation circulates heavily through private channels, creating a kind of anxiety that’s difficult to counter.

We also need to have a discussion about content choices. Early in my career, I defaulted, as most of us are trained to do, toward urgency and crisis. It took me longer than I would like to admit to recognize that for communities already living inside ongoing challenge, that register was redundant. Another trend is also worth watching.

MIP finds that 29 percent of people are actively building “digital boundaries” around their news intake. Why should you worry? For public media, the risk is being categorized as a stressor rather than a resource. Being something to consciously limit rather than seek out is an existential threat.

I do not advocate that the answer is to soften coverage or avoid difficult stories. My encouragement is to invest in solutions-oriented journalism that treats community resilience as genuinely newsworthy. That shift is a belated recognition that resilience is as factual as crisis, and that choosing to cover only one of them is its own form of editorial distortion.

I still go back to this 2016 Hearken opinion on how media can bias toward hard news. I ask you to see the breadth of our coverage as part of an honest account of how communities actually function. See DDIA’s finding above about how Latino audiences seek content that makes us feel informed.

We want emotional presence. That is sustainable engagement.

Three to-dos ☑️

Take a moment to reflect on three shifts:

First, move from conveyor belt logic to network logic. During my Maynard Institute training, I was greatly impressed by Cal Poly’s Mustang Media Group. Students look at a story and think intentionally about platform—what story is best for radio, for digital, for social and so on—rather than simply assigning and posting it, etc. They take the audience seriously as a starting condition rather than a finishing one.

Second, look at practical local information as an entry point. Wonder why so much of radio relies on traffic and television on weather? These are much more than small topics, but habit-building. When they are covered by outlets who are genuinely embedded in communities, audiences start to rely on them and relationships blossom. To me, they also are foundational content for what could be what Commoner recently called local backbone infrastructure.

Last, as I said at a recent Bay Agenda panel, take AI literacy seriously as a civic service.

MIP finds that 36 percent of teens feel confident distinguishing AI-generated content, compared to 13 percent of older adults. That gap has real consequences for misinformation exposure across generations. Public media has both the credibility and the reach to run intergenerational media literacy programming. KQED is one example. Latine families navigating a complex environment are a natural audience.

I am forever hopeful for public media. The window is still open. All it takes is for institutions to be curious about what it would take to show up differently. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Video series. Radio Campesina, Caló News Arizona and the Latino Media Collaborative have produced El Malcriado, a program spotlighting the growing mental health crisis tied to immigration raids and ICE enforcement. 📼

• Salazar win. NotiVision Georgia has won the Rubén Salazar Award for its reporting on incarceration and its impact on Latinx communities. 🏆 In Spanish.

• Creator study. The Center for News, Technology & Innovation has a new report on the more diverse and thinly resourced web of “indie info providers.” 🎥 Broad definitions, but also instructive for public media.

• To watch per midterms. The Associated Press chronicles the increase of Hispanic elected officials amid immigration enforcement controversies. 👀

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• Track Latine murals in your area. A delightful look by New Hampshire Public Radio on art in the community, and how murals share stories. 🎨

• Cover local gatherings. WHYY offers a look at a regional Latinx summit and the reasons that organizers feel such is crucial right now.

• Note Hispanics and the outdoors. KJZZ offers personal stories along with a look at a new study on non-distance barriers for enjoying Arizona’s vast parks and outdoor spaces. 🌵

The next OIGO arrives May 22. It’s been a minute since I wrote you about AI and potential for inclusion. The final newsletter of the spring will assess how orgs seeking to create more Spanish-language content can assess the latest AI models.

In October, OIGO turns five. A common question I get is how people can help me. You absolutely don’t have to, but it’s genuinely appreciated. For a short time, those who want to support can pick up a 20 percent discount on an annual subscription, which supports OIGO. Get it here, and gracias.

🥤 You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.

A new Pew Research Center report got me thinking about something most of us in public media do not consider much. Religious radio.

It’s a strange omission considering I obsessively check ratings, and a majority of public broadcasters are beaten, often handily, by faith-based radio in their markets month-to-month. Even when public radio is winning, religious radio in the market is competitive.

Here’s the headline buried inside it: faith-based radio isn’t solely a niche. Christian radio is enjoying massive popularity and 98 percent of Americans live within signal reach of at least one religious station. That is incredible geographic penetration, yet the more revealing number may be the one that isn’t fully counted.

The Pew report flags “Spanish Christian” as a distinct format category while simultaneously acknowledging the limits of its own analysis of Spanish-language religious content. Between those lines, that means there is a parallel media ecosystem serving Hispanic communities that is simultaneously influential and invisible to the institutions that should be paying closest attention.

For you in public media, especially those of us focused on Latino audience engagement, how faith-based radio operates might offer strategic lessons. What does this actually mean for how we think about reach and community connection?

Meeting emotional needs

Something that stands out from the research is that the dominant reasons people tune in are not political, informational or musical. Instead, they are personal.

Listeners say religious programming is relaxing (51 percent), spiritually uplifting (62 percent) and a source of life guidance (39 percent). Such a combination is powerful. Listening, in essence, blends companionship, identity and utility. It is also sometimes where public media struggles to compete, particularly with audiences who may not see themselves reflected in traditional news formats.

For Latine audiences, where faith, family and community can be intertwined, this kind of programming fills a role. And though it may not be public media’s lane, we might ask a provocative question: where are we offering guidance, connection and relevance, not just the music, news and information that we assume fills that need?

A focus on format

Faith-based broadcasting is more than Christian music. While 37 percent of stations are music-focused, 35 percent are talk-focused and another 28 percent mix both.

What’s intriguing, though, with talk formats is that there is a consistent throughline of high-frequency, personality-driven content. Many of these stations do not make big newsroom investments. Talk programming often mirrors classic call-in radio, with hosts offering commentary, taking calls and building ongoing relationships with listeners.

We do love our talk shows too in public media. What’s different is that religious radio leans into personalities that feel familiar, recurring and responsive.

For Hispanic audiences, this is especially relevant. Spanish-language radio has long thrived on personality and trust. Religious stations are extending that tradition into faith-based content, often with a similar tone and cadence.

Politics is present, but not primary

Religious radio does engage with politics, sometimes extensively. Here is the big nuance: only 14 percent of listeners say staying informed about current events is a major reason they tune in.

Thus politics is layered onto a foundation of shared values. This is an important lesson. Public media often leads with news. Religious radio often leads with relationship.

For Hispanic audiences, particularly those underserved or skeptical of mainstream media, that sequencing can make all the difference.

Where this leaves public media

For public media organizations trying to grow with Hispanic audiences, the lesson is not to replicate religious programming. It is to understand why it works.

Religious radio is not just competing for ears. It is competing for trust. It does well by showing up consistently on an emotional level, and blending personal and informational content.

A few possible avenues to explore could be discussing how public media prioritizes relationship over transaction, and how we are investing in culturally fluent voices.

Audiences we often describe as hard to reach for public media are already being reached. The challenge is paying close enough attention to how. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Joining forces. An Indiana Spanish-language station is now sharing space with a media organization. 🏢 The South Bend Tribune has the scoop.

• ICE disinformation. New research indicates journalism can play an important fact-finding role in the social media age. 📝 Among the examples: a newspaper dispelling rumors and misinformation about ICE in a community.

• Diversity viewpoints changing. Pew Research Center’s latest surveys on the value of diversity are worth your review. 📍 Most Americans of either political party say diversity is good for the nation, but fewer among both groups say diversity is very good for America.

• Speech and violence. Of note as immigration protests rise, Gen-Z are ten times more likely to support violence to stop speech, a finding that cuts across political affiliation. 👀 Analysis from FIRE.

• Arriba, abajo. PBS Public Editor Ricardo Sandoval-Palos has been announced for the NAHJ Hall of Fame. 🔥 Also, Frontline’s Erin Texeira is among 20 innovators selected for this year’s Poynter Leadership Academy.

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• Explore Latinx Pride celebrations. June is Pride Month, and KGNU is tracking how the event will foster Latine visibility. 🏳️‍🌈

• And keep seeking local institutions highlighting Latino arts. Texas Public Radio turns the spotlight on a San Antonio art gallery, whose latest exhibit offers humor related to the Hispanic experience. 🖼️ Artists say they aspire to break down barriers.

• Investigate hate crimes. Most people probably assume bias based crimes are the province of shadowy figures, but it’s more common that we might realize. 😲 Axios notes how hate crimes against Latinos rose in 2025.

• Highlight candidate forums focused on Latinx issues. KALW shares news on a gubernatorial panel related to the community. ✅ Stations may be seeing more of their own regional sessions, which are always of interest to audiences.

• Put attention on crime hitting Latine business. WTHR just covered Indianapolis Hispanic businesses that had been targeted for burglary. ☀️ Surely happening in many places, sadly.

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The next OIGO arrives May 8. New Nielsen research is on deck next time.

Catch me in person next week in San Francisco with a tremendous panel to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing journalism organizations in the age of AI. Register here.

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The Infinite Dial 2026 study from Edison Research is one of those annual milestones for public media. Leaders pore over it, trying to understand how listening is trending. This OIGO, I want to take a look at the new Infinite Dial in the scope of Latine audiences.

The insights in this summary are, of course, derived from the Infinite Dial 2026. If you are not as familiar, it is a study conducted by Edison Research, which has U.S. and international editions. This particular U.S. study surveyed 2,050 people aged 12 and older using a combination of probability-based and non-probability online sampling.

To provide a specific lens of diverse listeners for the benefit of public media leaders, I took this core data and cross-referenced it with 2025-2026 Nielsen Audio Today reports and Pew Research Center demographic profiles of U.S. Hispanics. These external sources provided the necessary context on Latinx age distribution (for reference, the median age of Latinos is just under 30). I also language fluidity (Spanglish trust signals) and how streaming over-indexes to overlay onto the broader Infinite Dial trends.

The nutgraf?

The data suggests that digital audio has shifted from a secondary marketing consideration to a fundamental part of the modern daily routine. For public media leaders, particularly those serving emerging Hispanic audiences, these trends provide a clear roadmap: the future is mobile-first, video-integrated and finding ways to utilize artificial intelligence.

Public media outreach to diverse audiences 🔋

Let’s look at the 2026 data. The item many are talking about is how online audio consumption has reached unprecedented heights. How big? Currently, 81 percent of Americans age 12 and older have listened to online audio in the last month. That seems pretty incredible, though it splinters the more you look. YouTube, Spotify/music streaming and smart speakers are among those platforms commanding the most attention.

Perhaps more significant for public media is the surge among older listeners. Monthly online audio listening for those aged 55 and older jumped from 52 percent to 70 percent in just two years. It’s by no means heavy listening on the level of traditional media, but this is a notable figure.

How does this data compare with what we know about Hispanic audiences?

Well, this trend is even more pronounced. External demographic data from 2026 suggests that Hispanic viewers spend 55.8 percent of their total TV time streaming, compared to 46 percent for the total U.S. population. When combined with the Infinite Dial’s findings that monthly podcast consumption has hit an all-time high, it is clear that “digital” is becoming a default.

Other takeaways 🎛️

Based on the 2026 Infinite Dial study and current Hispanic demographic trends, three key issues also emerge:

YouTube as an alternate FM. The Infinite Dial study cast with Nielsen findings confirms that YouTube defies simple categorization. While 91 percent of Americans have used the platform, a staggering 78 percent use it weekly. For Latine audiences, YouTube is the top platform for monthly podcast listeners.

YouTube though, you say? Public media leaders should note that the boundary between “listening” and “watching” has dissolved. 57 percent of Americans now report they have both listened to and watched a podcast. As you are seeing from CNN, video and audio are expanding the audience together rather than competing; a viewer gets the podcast vibe, and the listener gets a sound from it all. Thus, a “video-optional” strategy for news and talk programming is no longer sufficient.

To reach Hispanic Gen Z and Millennial audiences, public media should treat YouTube as a primary delivery hub.

Radio still strong, but pick a horse on social. While broadcast radio remains a dominant reach vehicle for Latine adults, touching about 93 percent of the demographic monthly, the Infinite Dial points out that social media platforms are highly fragmented. TikTok is the #1 platform for those aged 12-34. Meanwhile, Facebook remains the leader for those 55 and older.

An opportunity with platforms? Demographic data shows that using Spanish or Spanglish functions as a credibility cue. Public media leaders could use personalities who can teach and guide listeners. Such might resonate with a community that views hosts as extensions of their own community.

AI’s emergence. One of the most surprising 2026 data points is the speed of AI adoption. 93 percent of Americans are familiar with at least one generative AI brand, and 57 percent use at least one. This adoption has moved faster than any technology previously measured by the Infinite Dial.

AI users are significantly more engaged with media than non-users; 87 percent of AI users listened to online audio in the last week. For public media, this presents an opportunity to remove technical friction. Whether through smart speaker integrations or AI-driven translation for bilingual audiences, early adoption of these tools can accelerate engagement with high-value digital listeners.

Our today is mobile 🔔

The throughline connecting all of these data points is deceptively simple: Hispanic audience trends are going to help public media to be ahead of all trends.

What is interesting is that the communities that have historically been underserved by legacy media are now, by the numbers, among its most digitally engaged and platform-fluent users. That is not irony — it is an invitation. Examples of this signal are everywhere. The convergence of mobile-first consumption habits, YouTube’s redefinition of what “listening” even means, and AI’s accelerating hold on engagement creates a window for public media to act with fresh ideas and action. Public media leaders who internalize these trends as structural rather than cyclical will be better positioned to build the kind of trust that algorithms cannot manufacture: the sense that a media institution genuinely reflects the world its audience actually inhabits.

The data gives us the map. The harder work is institutional will. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Released. Nashville-based journalist Estefany Rodríguez is speaking up after her release from ICE custody. 👀 MS NOW interviewed her.

• Spanish-language news influencer. The New Yorker profiles Carlos Eduardo Espina, who has built a massive TikTok following with news and analysis in Spanish. 🗣️

• Grants. The Latino Community Foundation has announced $250,000 in grants for six organizations seeking to protect communities amid ICE enforcement. 🎇 Business Wire has the press release.

• Tejano election. One of the more interesting races happening right now is a South Texas Congressional seat, which has seen Tejano music superstar Bobby Pulido running for political office for the first time. 🏜️ A shot at him by a rival candidate (“this election isn’t about who you want performing at your niece’s quinceañera”) has fueled his recent performances at quinceañeras. The Texas Tribune has more.

• Conecta Arizona turns six. KJZZ has a great story on the nonprofit’s work to serve Spanish-language audiences. 🤲

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El radar: try this 📡

• Track Chavez fallout. Impressive local coverage by Minnesota Public Radio is one of many stories to take inspiration from, as far as telling local perspectives about the issues raised in the scandal. ✍️

• Watch how states are treating college admissions for immigrants. The Kentucky Lantern is investigating how civil rights groups are challenging the state’s approaches around tuition. 🏘️ As how immigrants are treated rises as an election issue, your audience might be interested in how the administration is arguing such cases.

• Ask how immigration enforcement is reshaping electoral races. WAMU offers a look at a heavily Latine district in the area and how the White House’s actions are shifting voter attitudes. 🤖 One to watch this fall.

• Follow student protests against cuts. KCUR features interviews with students who disagree with university decisions to cut services for diverse campus constituencies. 💢 As the DEI rollback continues, this will be a local story for many organizations.

• Follow moving trends. Documented has a thoughtful piece on how housing costs in New York City are prompting more Latinos to move to the suburbs. 🚉 Affordability is a major election issue, and this will be a story in your community.

The next OIGO arrives April 24. Pew Research has issued a report on the rise of religious broadcasters, a sector of noncommercial broadcasting public media does not talk often about. ⛪ I will explore the data and tell you some things you should know as it relates to diverse audience engagement and ways you can innovate.

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Some interviews start with a list of questions. This one started over Thai food.

Sitting down to lunch with Blanca Torres of KQED, I was immediately struck by her candor. Torres speaks with a mix of clarity, urgency and warmth about the work of journalism, particularly the responsibility to broaden whose voices are heard. As a Latina working in public media, she doesn’t shy away from that responsibility. She embraces it.

What you will discover in this conversation is a journalist animated by the mission of public media and unwilling to accept its limitations. Torres brings a thoughtful and empathetic perspective to the work, paired with an insistence that the stories we tell must reflect the full complexity of American life.

Public media often presents itself as a civic space, one where communities can hear themselves reflected in the news. But building that kind of journalism requires more than good intentions. It demands people willing to challenge traditional assumptions about who counts as experts, whose stories get told, and how audiences are reached.

Blanca Torres works on Forum, a live, daily, call-in show, and is the editor of K Onda KQED, a newsletter focused on the Bay Area’s Latino community. Before joining KQED in 2020, she spent 16 years as a reporter and columnist for newspapers including the San Francisco Business Times, The Seattle Times and the Baltimore Sun. She is a lifetime member and former board member for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Blanca earned her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville and a master’s in fine arts in creative writing at Mills College.

At KQED, Torres produces conversations that range from politics and economics to culture and literature. At the same time, she has built a reputation for expanding the range of Latino voices in public media, from booking experts and artists on Forum to writing features highlighting important stories to launching K Onda KQED.

In this conversation, Torres discusses her path from newspapers to public radio, the work of diversifying voices in journalism, and the importance of staying curious throughout a reporting career. 👇🏽

What first drew you to public media?

I started listening to public radio when I was in college at Vanderbilt University. I had a part-time job doing publicity for one of the departments, and my supervisor always had a public radio station playing in the background.

I didn’t grow up with public radio. In my house there was always a radio on, but it was usually Spanish-language music stations. So public radio felt new to me.

One of my strongest memories of it happened during my junior year in college, when the September 11 attacks happened. I woke up early to move my car and heard the news on NPR. Hearing that kind of breaking news live on the radio made it feel incredibly immediate. It was one of those moments where you realize something truly serious is happening in the world. That experience stuck with me.

What led you to make the shift to public radio?

Most of my career was in local newspapers covering business, particularly real estate and economic development. I loved being a reporter in the Bay Area because it’s such a dynamic and diverse place to tell stories.

Even though my beat might have been real estate, I was always looking for ways to tell broader stories about diversity, careers, the economy or community change. There’s always a bigger human story behind the business news.

I was working at the San Francisco Business Times when a former manager reached out to encourage me to apply for a producer position at Forum. I had been listening to the show for years, but honestly, if I had seen the job posting on my own, I might not have applied. I had always pictured myself staying in newspapers.

But once I looked more closely, I realized the role offered something exciting: the chance to cover almost anything. Forum might feature a policy expert one day and an author the next. Since I have a master’s in creative writing from Mills College and love books, the idea of interviewing writers was appealing.

The biggest adjustment was realizing I wouldn’t have a byline anymore. As a producer, you’re behind the scenes. I had to ask myself whether I would be okay with that. Six years later, I think the answer is yes.

You joined KQED in 2020. What was it like starting just before the pandemic?

It was a strange time to start a new job in news. I was in the office for about six weeks before everything shut down.

But in journalism, when big news happens, that’s where you want to be. It pushes you to learn quickly and adapt. And the show itself keeps evolving. Hosts change, teams shift, the news cycle changes. Even though the basic task is the same—producing an hour of radio—it never feels repetitive. The topics are always different, and we’re constantly responding to what’s happening in the world.

You’ve worked intentionally to bring more Latino voices onto the air. What has that process been like?

When I joined in 2020, there was a broader reckoning in journalism about race and representation. Suddenly many news organizations were acknowledging that they hadn’t covered communities of color well. I remember thinking, “people have been saying this for decades.” But at least it was finally being recognized.

Public media today is very different from the public media I heard in college. Back then, it often felt like mostly white voices discussing stories that reflected their experiences. The reporting was excellent, but it didn’t always reflect the communities around us. In a region like the Bay Area, that’s a missed opportunity.

On Forum, we bring in experts to explain complicated topics. But when people imagine an “expert,” they still often picture a white man. That’s who tends to get book deals, academic positions, TV appearances and publicists. So part of our job is to look harder, to find experts who have the credentials, but haven’t been given those platforms. That includes finding people with lived experience, not just traditional authority.

How do you approach Latino communities without reducing stories to a single theme?

Too often, Latino stories in the media are framed almost entirely around immigration. That’s an important topic—my own parents are immigrants. But Latino culture in the United States is far broader than that. Many of us are second-generation Americans. Our culture is part of American culture. So I try to approach stories from that perspective.

For example, in one week I produced two Forum shows where every guest happened to be Latino. One was a policy conversation analyzing the death of Mexican drug kingpin and the broader dynamics of the drug trade. The guests were two Mexican academics who offered nuanced analysis I hadn’t heard elsewhere. Later that week, we did a show about a play at Berkeley Repertory Theatre starring actors Jimmy Smits and Wanda De Jesus.

Those conversations show the range of stories: policy analysis, culture, theater. All with Latino voices.

If I don’t pitch those stories, they probably won’t happen. That’s not because I’m special. It’s just because everyone brings their own perspective into the newsroom. If I’m going to be in the room, I want to bring something that other people aren’t bringing. And I think that should be true of any journalist.

Your reporting also covers culture and entrepreneurship. How do you find those stories?

Curiosity is the starting point.

Sometimes a story begins with something small. I once received a pitch about a Latina nail artist in San Francisco who creates elaborate, high-end nail designs. At first it seemed like a simple feature. But as I reported it, I realized there was a much bigger story about the nail industry and how women of color, particularly Black and Latina women, have shaped trends in nail art.

I interviewed an academic who studies the cultural history of nail design, and the story became much richer than I initially expected. It ended up performing extremely well online. That’s a reminder that interesting stories are everywhere if you take the time to dig deeper.

You also write K Onda KQED. How do you balance that with producing Forum?

Fortunately, KQED gives me dedicated time each month to work on the newsletter. That’s essential. Projects focused on reaching specific communities, whether it’s a newsletter or a diversity initiative, can’t just be “extra work.” If organizations don’t provide time and resources, people burn out.

A big part of the newsletter is community outreach. Digital tools are important, but personal connections matter too. Attending events, meeting people, building relationships. That’s especially important when reaching audiences that haven’t traditionally engaged with public media.

What advice would you give newsrooms considering a similar newsletter?

First, be clear about who your audience is. “Latinos” is an enormous category. It includes many nationalities, languages and experiences. You can’t serve everyone at once. When we developed the newsletter, research suggested a particular audience: Latino parents who wanted to pass culture on to their kids. That helped shape our tone and coverage.

The other key is voice. I try to write the newsletter in a conversational way, almost like I’m talking to friends and sharing things I’ve found interesting.

How should organizations think about metrics and audience goals?

Metrics matter, but they need to be used thoughtfully.

At KQED, we have an audience team that helps track things like open rates and subscriptions. I had to learn skills I’d never used before, like writing strong subject lines that make people want to open an email.

The bigger lesson is to focus on what actually moves the needle. If your time is limited, invest it in the pieces that matter most. And be open to feedback, even negative feedback. That’s something newspapers taught me early on. You develop a thick skin, and you learn from criticism.

What advice would you give journalists considering a move into public media?

Be open. Journalism jobs are shrinking, and the field is changing quickly. If you’re willing to learn new formats, you’ll have more opportunities.

For me, moving into public media allowed me to apply the reporting skills I had already built, but in a new medium. Writing broadcast scripts is different from writing for the web. Producing a newsletter involves marketing and audience strategy. But if you love storytelling, there are many ways to do it.

Looking back, what would you tell your younger self entering journalism?

Lean into who you are. When I was starting out, journalism emphasized a very narrow idea of objectivity. We were taught to tell stories the way they had always been told. Over time, we’ve realized those traditions had blind spots.

If you come from a background that has been underrepresented in the media, your perspective is a strength. You may see stories or ask questions others wouldn’t think of. The challenge is being willing to push against the status quo. But if journalists don’t challenge old assumptions, who will? 🟢

Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Chavez. The New York Times’ investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by Cesar Chavez is reverberating all over. 🔴 The paper has since published six takeaways from the reporting, including the scandal being buried for years by the UFW and others.

  • Politico has an interview with biographer, Miriam Pawel. Telling line: “[The] power of what he did and why he succeeded was because of the inspiration and bringing all these people together, and yet the downside of that was that people then looked away from a lot of different kinds of abuse.”

• Diverse podcast audiences. Good data on Latine podcast listening, and a related conversation about audio business ownership. 🔥

• Streaming undercounts. Mike Shields has an examination of whether Latinx audiences are undercounted by Nielsen when it comes to terrestrial and streaming. 🧮

• Influencer shift. New research indicates younger audiences (of which a good percentage are Latino) are increasingly seeking news on social media rather than outlets directly. ✅ TV News Check has details.

• Midterm talk. An Univision exec spoke at SXSW about Hispanic voting in November. 🐘 Axios shares comments that include Democrats revising their pitch.

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El radar: try this 📡

• Track long Covid in Latinx communities. Spokane Public Radio has an investigation of how the ailment is affecting farmworkers. 🫚 However, one can localize this issue anywhere.

• Track Hispanics and faith trends. KJZZ hosted a recent conversation about the growth of Latino membership in the Mormon Church. ✨ This comes after years of tensions within the religion.

• Watch top local hiring. Chalkbeat has a roundup of reactions to the fact no Latinos are being considered for a top role in running Chicago’s public school system. 👀 Even as DEI has become a third rail in many businesses, parents and teachers still note representation in education.

• Continue tracking deportation downstream impact. WBEZ reports on how the city’s Latinx business districts are faring, post-ICE incursions. 💢

• Follow the entrepreneurship heat. 🌶️ WHYY covered a local lobbying effort by Hispanic small-business leaders. Sharing their interests and needs with public radio’s audience seems to be a great connector.

• See how campus Latine groups are preserving history. The Harvard Crimson spotlights a local story that may be in your area. 📦 When student groups are moved from their offices, what happens to their records and history?

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The next OIGO arrives April 10. I’ll be cross-referencing the latest Infinite Dial study against demographic data to offer you insights about Latino audiences your organization can put to work now.

Join me in SLO. The deadline to sign up for the Maynard Institute’s Propel Initiative Regional Training Series at California Polytechnic State University is April 13. I am among the faculty. Sign up here.

SF panel. Next month, I’ll be part of a great panel in San Francisco on AI in journalism. Register here.

🍵 You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.

A new national report from iHeartMedia and Collage Group should be on your reading list.

For public media organizations that have long discussed reaching new audiences, an increasing amount of data makes clear that the audiences in question are not emerging someday. They are already here, influential and shaping American culture in real time.

Titled New American Consumer: Bicultural Latinos, the study focuses on Latinos who identify as equally American and Hispanic. The study notes this is a population that now represents nearly 40 percent of all U.S. Latinos. The notion of biculturalism is thus is a cultural, economic and strategic driver to watch.

Takeaways 📝

Identity: The first major takeaway is that bicultural Latinos are not navigating between two identities as many narratives assume. Instead, the research indicates respondents feel they are creating a new one.

• About two thirds say they feel equally Hispanic and American, and an overwhelming majority report growing pride in their heritage, with 78 percent saying they feel more connected to it than they did just a year ago.

This is not assimilation in the traditional sense, nor is it preservation of a static past. It is active cultural production.

Spanish: Language, meanwhile, emerges as far more nuanced than conventional wisdom suggests.

• Nearly 90 percent of bicultural Latinos consume audio content in English, yet one in three prefers Spanish for music or radio. Many want sponsor language to match the language of the content they are consuming, while a substantial portion prefers English regardless.

Public media has sometimes treated language as a proxy for identity. The research argues that such an approach is insufficient. Bilingual or English dominant programming can still fail if it does not reflect cultural realities, while Spanish language content can resonate deeply when it captures shared experiences rather than relying on surface markers.

Money: The economic dimension is equally striking. Latino purchasing power has reached $4.1 trillion and is growing more than twice as fast as that of non Latinos. If a public media organization is navigating underwriting challenges and long term sustainability questions, this is more than an interesting statistic. It signals where future membership, philanthropy and sponsorship potential will increasingly reside.

Radio: Audio, encouragingly, remains central. Broadcast radio reaches 90 percent of Latino adults monthly, and bicultural Latino listening habits span both English and Spanish content. Many listen with family members, share recommendations and treat audio as a communal experience rather than an individual one. Music listening is nearly universal, podcast engagement is strong and live audio events like sports also play a significant role.

For public radio organizations concerned about aging audiences, this should be a moment of cautious optimism. Audio is not fading in Latino communities. It is evolving as a cultural ritual that connects generations. The opportunity lies in programming that acknowledges that shared listening dynamic rather than assuming solitary consumption.

Assessment 📋

Trust is available, but not automatic. It must be earned through visible commitment.

Respondents’ perspectives should challenge lingering assumptions about audience segmentation. Too often, institutions treat Latino audiences as either Spanish dominant or English dominant, immigrant or second generation, niche or general market. Bicultural audiences do not fit those boxes. They expect content that reflects their lived experience as fully American and fully rooted in heritage at the same time. That means coverage, storytelling and staffing strategies that move toward cultural fluency.

Cultural competence is a core strategy for future relevance. This includes hiring practices, source diversity, community partnerships, programming decisions and marketing approaches. It also requires recognizing that bicultural audiences are co-creators of the cultural landscape.

One of the most powerful lines in the report suggests that culture is the strategy, while language is the tactic. Public media institutions would benefit from internalizing that distinction. Translation alone will not build loyalty. Representation requires authority to build trust. Our hope remains in sustained engagement. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• New playbook. The Covering Immigration tool offers a range of resources and intel for public media organizations looking to up their immigration coverage game. ✍️

• Fresh support. The Latino Media Consortium has launched the Assessment & Capacity Building Program and Dashboard, a new initiative developed in partnership with New Media Venture’s Latine Voices for Democracy Accelerator, to expand operational support for independent Latino-serving media across the United States. 💻 Details.

• Detention. A coalition of groups are calling for the release of journalist Estefany Rodriguez from ICE custody. ⛓️‍ Free Press has more.

• Radio to TikTok. iHeart has announced Venezuelan artist Lele Pons is among the personalities to lead its new TikTok Radio channel, where creators will share and discuss music, trends and more, starting at SXSW. 📱 RadioInk has more.

• News creator economies. Poynter sits down with former journalist Chris Vazquez, who has transitioned to the news creator space, about his approach to this work. 📌

• New network. Comercio TV, a new Spanish-language financial news channel, has launched on cable and streaming networks. 📺 Cablefax offers the story.

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El radar: try this 📡

• Check the community pulse. WFYI covered a local forum on bipartisan solutions to issues in Indiana. 🏢 Immigration was front of mind.

• See who is connecting Latinx residents to winter sports. New Hampshire Public Radio has a fresh piece about regional groups seeking to encourage involvement in skiing and other winter athletics by Hispanic residents. 🎿

• Share family stories. Avanza has introduced Latino Legacy, a new series that presents “the stories, history and cultural contributions of Latinos in Utah and beyond.” 🔊

• Investigate crackdowns aimed at criticism. The Denton Record-Chronicle, via KERA, takes a deep dive into allegations a local art exhibit on a university campus was closed due to criticism of ICE. 💡 I’d be surprised if similar contentions were not happening elsewhere.

• Follow up on local Venezuelan communities. In the period since the arrest of Nicolas Maduro, Venezuelans in the United States are considering a range of needs. 💭 KQED highlights its local Venezuelan residents to talk about culture and the news cycle affecting their homeland.

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The next OIGO arrives Mar. 27. Next OIGO, it will be an honor to present my KQED colleague, Blanca Torres. She’s a fantastic journalist and authors K Onda KQED, a station newsletter aimed at Latine audiences. You’re certain to learn a lot from her.

My interview after receiving the Public Media for All award is live here.

I am honored to be leading AI and also broadcast training at the Maynard Institute’s Propel Initiative Regional Training Series with California Polytechnic State University on April 24-25. Registration is open. Sign up here.

🫖 You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.

WBUR’s Chief Content Officer, Victor Hernandez is one of those people who brings newsroom experience and strategic vision, but is equally focused on a real commitment to community engagement. He has spent around three decades in journalism, which has included local TV stations to CNN, and now to public media leadership roles in Seattle and now Boston. Hernandez has witnessed firsthand how media evolves and, sometimes, falters.

He’s got quite a story to tell this OIGO.

Today, with waning public trust in journalism and shifting audience behavior, what you will learn is that Hernandez is tackling how public media redefines how the industry connects with the communities it serves. Like many in public broadcasting, he is expressly not about chasing clicks or gaming algorithms. Instead, you will get a glimpse at how Hernandez maps out building relationships, honoring our mission, and transforming the people who engage with public media into lifelong listeners and advocates.

Hernandez talks about his career as a series of “happy accidents.” You’ll learn why in a sec. In this wide-ranging conversation, he’ll also open up about the moments that shaped his career and the hard lessons he learned along the way. He will also give you a glimpse into the strategies WBUR is using to deepen trust, improve representation, and strengthen public media for the long haul. 👇

Why do you describe your career as a series of “happy accidents”?

Not so much because it was random, but because early choices, especially internships, opened doors I didn’t expect.

I started in print journalism, thinking I’d follow in my mom’s footsteps. But a summer TV internship, originally just to escape the Fresno heat, turned into a part‑time job in a newsroom. That experience changed everything. It pulled me into broadcast journalism and set me on a path that eventually led to national work at CNN.

Later, a recruiter called about CNN after a convention I didn’t even attend. That’s the kind of unexpected moment that, looking back, feels accidental, but incredibly influential. The lesson I share with young journalists: internships matter, and being present, even if you don’t know why at the time, pays off.

What core principles did you take from your time at CNN into public media?

Journalism fundamentals such as ethics, integrity, a commitment to telling important stories are constants no matter the newsroom size. Whether you’re in a small town or a global network, you’re accountable to the public. The scale, like the resources or audience size, may change, but the essence of what makes journalism meaningful stays the same.

One of the biggest takeaways from my time in broadcast news was how deeply those principles matter in every decision. That’s a lesson I carry into every strategy conversation now: integrity isn’t negotiable.

What inspired your move from commercial media to public media?

After almost 20 years in commercial news and some time at a tech startup, I realized I missed being in the newsroom trenches, leading people and ideas every day. The opportunity at Cascade Public Media came at the right time. It was a chance to bring together legacy broadcast and digital newsrooms, innovate and help shape the future of local public media. Being in a tech‑rich environment like Seattle was very exciting.

So, that was another “happy accident” in timing, but a deeply intentional next step in my career.

What’s changed at WBUR since you arrived?

There’s so much change! In journalism broadly and at WBUR specifically. One key shift has been a deeper focus on relationships rather than transactions. In commercial media, success is often measured by reach and volume. In public media, we want to reach audiences, but we’re equally committed to building transformational connections. People should feel: “I can count on this station. They know me, and they care about this community.”

That means listening deeply, engaging directly with audiences, and reinforcing trust every day.

With public trust in media declining, how can public media help bridge those divides?

It starts with connection. Pew Research found that over 80 percent of Americans have never met a journalist. That distance erodes trust. So we go into the community. We meet people where they are. In person, at events, conversations, listening sessions. We show up not as distant observers, but as neighbors.

It also means understanding discoverability. People don’t wait for headlines anymore. The algorithms shape what they see. So part of our work is making sure valuable journalism finds people, not just hoping they stumble upon it.

How do you think about representation and inclusion?

Representation can’t be superficial or performative. After 2020, many organizations made quick gestures that didn’t last. True change requires building deeper pathways: mentorship programs, training, partnerships with journalism education and ongoing investment in underserved communities. It’s not a quarterly target. For me and us, it’s a long‑term commitment.

When I joined WBUR, about three percent of our live listeners were Hispanic or Latino, while that demographic makes up roughly 12 percent of Boston’s population. Through intentional work like better coverage and community engagement, we grew that audience to nearly nine percent. That’s real progress, but still short of where we want to be. It underscores that this work is slow, intentional, and ongoing.

What achievements are you most proud of at WBUR?

We’ve launched a lot — but one highlight is the WBUR Ideas Festival. In its first year, nearly 10,000 people participated across 200 sessions. It became a new space for community engagement, conversation, and connection — and it has helped fill gaps left by federal funding cuts. We’re planning to build on that in 2026.

I’m also proud of the pace of innovation here. We’re constantly experimenting, collaborating, learning from other stations, and sharing what works. Public media thrives when we work together.

What advice do you have for early‑career journalists?

My top piece of advice: do informational interviews. They’re low‑pressure but incredibly helpful ways to learn about roles, skills needed and what success looks like. They build relationships long before a job opens, and they give you insight into areas you might need to grow into.

And remember: imposter syndrome is real for everyone, even senior leaders. But people don’t put you in rooms because they feel sorry for you. You earned your place. Speak up, contribute your perspective, and keep learning.

What does it take to succeed in media today?

I learned as much from bad bosses as good ones. Use those experiences to define how you want to lead differently. And above all, enjoy the work.

Newsrooms are intense, messy and chaotic. If you love that, you’ll find joy in the challenge. As someone once said to me: If we wanted easy, we would’ve gone to med school. We’re in this because we believe in the mission, and that’s what will sustain us. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• New leadership. Luis Estrada, formerly of KPBS, has been chosen to lead community radio station KVMR. 📻 Current has the news.

• Watching Latinx voter viewpoints. Arizona PBS dives into a new Pew Research Center study. With midterms this fall, Hispanic perspectives on President Trump are souring. 📉 The BBC is among many tracking this story as well.

• Funding for ICE counter-organizing. The Latino Community Foundation has announced the creation of the Community Protection Fund, “a bold investment in grassroots responses to the escalating threat of chaotic, violent immigration enforcement.” 🌩️ I’m guessing many organizations may apply.

• New media. Arkansas GRITA is a new volunteer-based organization seeking to fill information gaps related to immigration in the state. 💻 The Arkansas Times has the full story.

Leave a comment

El radar: try this 📡

• See if universities are consolidating student services, including those for Latinos. Wisconsin Public Radio investigates a new initiative by its university to merge its Black, Latino, veteran and other student groups like a single unit. Reactions of students and faculty are featured. 📣

• Investigate the aftermath of ICE. The Chicago Sun Times comes back to communities impacted by November’s flood of ICE agents and national showdown that ensued. 💥 Residents told the nonprofit affiliated with Chicago Public Media about their feelings since.

• Keep tracking Latinx perspectives on the environment. This one from KNPR offers a fresh view on an issue Hispanic communities oftentimes express care about. 🌳 Well worth diving in.

• Spotlight areas of community growth. KMOV highlights gains in St. Louis among Latine populations. 📊 It’s not breaking news, per se, but such is also one of those core stories public media audiences like: reports that help them understand changes in their community and their neighbors.

• Check in on local construction jobs. USA Today has a release that seems generic, but contains an important undercurrent. 🏗️ With immigration enforcement presumed to affect some sectors of industry, what is happening among blue-collar labor forces? It seems like a valuable story for all communities.

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The next OIGO arrives Mar. 13. We’re headed back to the spreadsheets and talking about what you need to know about bicultural Latinos — listening habits, consumer trends and more for public media to keep an eye on. New data is in, and you will be in the know.

🥤 You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.

Originally from Nassau, Bahamas, Washington brings both a personal connection to migration and a passion to tell community-centered stories. Her documentary, which highlights recent waves of immigration to the region, began in the wake of national conversations about inclusion and belonging. The result is a powerful, intimate look at individuals and families carving out new lives in a place with a long and complex history of immigration.

Kara Washington earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications from King’s College in Wilkes-Barre. In addition, she is an award-winning marketing professional with five American Advertising Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania Awards, three Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Awards and a Mid-Atlantic Emmy nomination to her credit. With five years of experience in marketing campaigns, Washington specializes in video editing and graphic design, bringing creative vision and strategic execution to projects. Making NEPA Home is her directorial debut. She has also produced a Heritage Awareness digital series, showcasing cultural preservation efforts and is a producer of WVIA Pop Shop, a pop culture podcast that explores films through an engaging lens.

I spoke to Washington about her journey, the collaborative process behind the film, and what she hopes audiences will carry with them after watching. 👇🏼

Tell me a little bit about the area. What made it feel like the right place to ground this story?

Northeastern Pennsylvania has a deep history rooted in immigration. It started with the coal mining industry, and it’s grown from there. This region has always been shaped by waves of new families and different cultures making a home here.

At WVIA, we’ve told a lot of historical stories about this area, and it just made sense to build Making NEPA Home here. The community has always been diverse, and that history was already telling us that these are stories worth sharing.

You’re not a lifelong filmmaker—you’ve worn a lot of hats at WVIA. What compelled you to create this documentary?

It came from two places. Personally, I’m originally from Nassau in the Bahamas. My dad is American, so I was born a U.S. citizen—I’ve never had to worry about paperwork or visas—but I do know what it feels like to leave the only home you’ve known and start fresh in a new place.

Professionally, at WVIA, we’d been having internal conversations about how we reflect our community—how we hold up a mirror. If people are talking about something, we want to be part of that dialogue. So it felt really natural to build something that reflected both where I come from and the conversations we were already having as a station.

WVIA is a relatively small station. Do you think that gave you more room to take on something like this?

Absolutely. We’re a small team, and yeah, that sometimes means you’re doing a little bit of everything, but it also means you can bring ideas to the table and actually see them happen. We have radio, TV, digital—we touch all of it. And our CEO, Carla McCabe, is really open to creative ideas. If you have something you’re passionate about, and the team is behind it, you’re empowered to make it happen. That’s how this project came to be.

What sparked the original idea?

After the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, we started having conversations about hate and extremism, and we produced a program called Holocaust Warnings, which looked at antisemitism and how history can help us understand what’s happening now.

That opened the door to deeper conversations, and we wanted to expand that lens—look at more communities, more experiences. That’s how Making NEPA Home started. We’d done a lot on historical immigration, especially around coal mining. This time, we wanted to focus on more recent immigrant and refugee experiences.

How did you connect with the people featured in the film?

We relied heavily on local organizations like United Neighborhood Centers of NEPA and Catholic Social Services. They work directly with refugees and immigrants. We didn’t go in with a checklist of who we wanted to feature. It really came down to who felt comfortable sharing their story on camera.

We were very transparent from the beginning. We let people know where the film would be shown, how it would be used. It was important to us that people felt fully informed and in control of their own stories.

You’ve done other storytelling work that connects with the community. What led up to this?

A few years ago, I produced a digital heritage awareness series where we spoke with people throughout the region to celebrate cultural history—Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. We just wanted to make it clear: WVIA is here, and we care about the full picture of who lives here.

Doing that kind of outreach helped us build trust. It helped people see that we’re not just showing up with a camera. We sre really trying to listen. All of that led up to Making NEPA Home.

You captured such a range of personalities and experiences. What was it like working with these families?

Honestly, it was a blessing. With documentary filmmaking, you don’t know where things will go. You can plan all you want, but you have to stay open to what unfolds.

I knew I couldn’t just show up with a camera and expect people to open up. So I spent time getting to know them first. Hearing their stories, learning what felt important to them. I wanted them to guide the narrative.

It wasn’t just about the big moments. It was the everyday stuff, like going to work, attending church, hanging out with friends. Those small, human moments remind you: these are our neighbors. They’re not just subjects in a documentary.

You were filming during a time of big national conversations about immigration. Did that affect the documentary?

It did. We feature a Ukrainian couple in the film, and Taras, the husband, had been a soldier in the war with Russia. His story—and his decision to leave—was deeply tied to what was unfolding globally.

We also saw how policy shifts affected local support systems. Catholic Social Services had a refugee program that was impacted by changes in federal immigration policy. So all of that—war, policy, politics—it shaped what people wanted to talk about, and what they were living through as we filmed.

What kind of response have you received that really stuck with you?

People are seeing themselves in these stories. That’s the feedback that means the most. Someone said, “That man looks like my uncle,” or “She reminds me of my sister.” That tells me we did what we set out to do. These aren’t just stories. They’re people. They live here. They matter.

What do you hope people take away from the film?

Empathy, above all. These stories often get reduced to headlines or statistics. But when you see someone smile, or hear them speak in their own language, or watch them celebrate a tradition—that makes it real.

I hope people feel inspired by the resilience in these stories. And I hope it sparks more conversations about how we can support each other, about what it means to welcome someone new, whether that’s through schools, services or just everyday kindness.

This documentary doesn’t have all the answers. But I hope it helps people see how much stronger and more vibrant a community can be when we embrace all the stories within it. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Newsroom mobilization to cover ICE actions. When ICE escalation shook Minneapolis, the Star Tribune had to spring into action. 🎬 Here is a great look by the Associated Press at how the newspaper tried to represent its community.

• Mentorship models. Amanda Zamora has launched a newsletter, and Altavoz Lab’s program for early- and mid-career leaders is the focus for the first one. 🗞️ Read it at Agencia Media.

• Immigrant media interest. Nieman Lab puts focus on growing audience interest in news organizations that cover immigrant communities. ✍🏽 ICE enforcement is a driver of this attention.

• Black and Latine college enrollment to watch. The New York Times reports on how the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision on college admissions could be reshaping university applications from Latinx and Black students. 🎓

• Passing. Ruben Garcia, Texas Public Radio leader and an on-air voice at the organization, died following a sudden brain aneurysm. 🙏 He was 66. Texas Public Radio shares the news.

Leave a comment

El radar: try this 📡

• See how immigration enforcement is impacting local creative economies. Iowa Public Radio reported on how worries over visas and travel are affecting international artists coming to the Midwest. ✈️ This story can likely be explored in your area.

• Shine a light on Hispanic arts. Wisconsin Public Radio has a fabulous YouTube on how a local program provides scholarships for students hoping to study music and cultural celebration. 🎼 This one will brighten your morning.

• Note uninsured children. KERA shares the news about the number of people without insurance in Texas. Latino kids are among those without healthcare coverage. Some of the local impacts are examined, too.

• Keep talking about local implications of national events. You may be inspired by this roundtable at WTTW on the national immigration news, and its impact on area residents. 🗨️

• Underscore the fight against misinformation targeting Puerto Ricans. I prefer Bad Bunny from his "Chambea" era, but many more people followed his Super Bowl performance and its significance. 🏈 CBS Milwaukee highlighted groups seeking to educate about Puerto Ricans amid opinions mischaracterizing the country and culture. I expect such campaigns might also be happening near you.

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The next OIGO arrives Feb. 27. Next newsletter, you will get to know WBUR leader Victor Hernandez. He’s one of the most high-profile Latinos in public media and shapes content at a major-market broadcaster. We explore his journey and thoughts about representation and the future of the industry.

🍵 You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.

Public media has been here before. Moments of reckoning followed by moments of recalibration. This cycle didn’t begin with the latest round of layoffs. It simply became harder to overlook.

I know because I helped build one of those efforts.

Earlier this month, I was honored with the Public Media for All award, a gesture that meant a great deal to me even as it stirred memories of how challenging this work can be in practice. Recognition is gratifying, but it doesn’t erase the complexity of what it takes to move institutions forward.

Not so long ago, I helped lead a DEI Council that advocated for the creation of a Chief DEI Officer role. We organized. We aligned. We made the case. We succeeded. The learnings from our effort, in small part, informed my co-authored Brevity & Wit resource guide to DEI Councils.

And yet, years later, I can say this with clarity. The work remained unfinished.

There are many reasons, but how our systems often struggle to translate intention into durability is a fundamental challenge.

A difficult but necessary lesson 🔧

Last year, Current covered the reorganization at KQED, including the departure of Chief DEI Officer Eric Abrams, a respected colleague and friend. I supported the role. I supported Eric.

Creating the position felt like a meaningful step forward. But the role alone was never meant to carry the full weight of transformation.

That distinction matters.

A familiar pattern 🔁

Across all industry sectors, organizations responded to the national reckoning after George Floyd’s murder with new roles, new language and new commitments.

In many cases, those efforts were sincere. They were also unevenly integrated.

As political and economic conditions shifted, some of those roles proved difficult to sustain. Yet periods of constraint test institutions.

Trust, belonging, community relevance and internal cohesion are central to resilience. We all see that. We also appreciate that staff engagement and inclusion are necessary. We miss that longevity requires mapping.

Public media is not exempt from these dynamics. We navigate them alongside everyone else.

When needs outpace structure 👟

Culture work rarely falters because of individual failure. More often, it reflects limits in organizational design.

Public media frequently talks about DEI being embedded. Less frequently do we define how authority, accountability and decision rights follow that language.

In practice, this can look like:

• Culture leaders positioned adjacent to, rather than inside, core strategy.

• Committees taking broad responsibility without clear outcomes or conclusions.

• DEI skillsets are seen as additive to operational expertise.

When financial pressures emerge, roles without clear lines of authority or integration are more vulnerable. Committees without deliverables erode faith. It is not because leaders doubt the importance of culture, but because the work and performance of it has not been structurally tied to business-critical functions.

What I would approach differently now 🤔

With the benefit of hindsight, I would have asked for more specificity.

• Clearer connections between the function and multiple divisions.

• Documented decision pathways that flowed through the role.

• Authority that was written into structure, not assumed over time.

I also would have paid closer attention to the limits of council-based models without intervention points or sunset clauses.

I assumed some of this would evolve naturally. That was an incomplete assumption.

So what does integration actually require? 👀

If culture work is to endure across economic cycles, it must be treated like other core functions. That starts with accountability.

• Culture outcomes owned within leadership portfolios.

• Committees evaluated on outcomes, not just participation or input.

• Values translated into measurable goals and shared methodology.

Governance matters here too. Boards cannot delegate culture entirely to leadership. Decisions about strategy, risk and workforce shape institutional culture. So, oversight must reflect that reality.

A clarifying moment ⏱️

This is a difficult period for public media. It is also an instructive one. We can continue rebuilding familiar structures, or we can redesign them with greater intention.

Many culture leaders navigating this moment bring deep expertise in organizational change, community trust and engagement. That knowledge remains essential to public media’s future. Expertise, however, is not enough. Systems have to invite it in.

The culture of public media relies on how we are willing to align our structures with those commitments. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Serving communities. “Our job is to build those bridges and give voice to those neighborhood stories, supermarkets and Latino businesses that go unnoticed,” says Enlace Latino NC’s Paola Jaramillo to the Reynolds Journalism Institute.

• YouTube pivot. An Oregon Public Broadcasting story shares the efforts of a former Univision broadcaster Antonio Sánchez to reach Hispanic Oregonians, not on legacy television, but YouTube. 📺

• TV representation. A new University of Southern California study notes only six percent of on-screen roles are held by Latine actors. Yahoo! Entertainment presents some of the findings. 🎭

• Watching the polls. Newsweek notes a new Emerson College survey that indicates growing support for the president among Latinos. 📈

Leave a comment

El radar: try this 📡

• Power of Latinx business. Marketplace reflects on the importance of Hispanic businesses to the U.S. economy. 💰 Such a story feels ripe for regional viewpoints and storytelling.

• See what new places ICE conversations are happening. This Washington Post analysis of how outrage over the Alex Pretti killing has gone beyond traditional political spaces. ✊ It may be worth localizing.

• Explain irritants used by ICE. Many cities are seeing protests over immigration enforcement excesses. Nieman Lab offers a look at less-than-lethal weapons ICE officers are employing. 🧪 Experts in your region might also be able to address audience questions.

• Investigate Latinx pollution worries. Texas Public Radio examines how Hispanic Texans are feeling about air pollution in the state. ♻️ Latinos tend to poll more concerned than many demographics about the environment, and this may be a good time to check on locals’ opinions.

• Black velvet resurgence. Not going to lie… my tios had garish art on black velvet! Dogs playing pool like this. 🎨 WLNS has a fun piece on the origins of black velvet art in Michigan’s Latine community. In the heavy news cycle, this one may brighten your audiences’ day.

• Track Latinx moving trends. Los Angeles-based nonprofit newsroom Parriva has been tracking where Latino/a families are moving when they leave California. 🧳 Are they moving to your state, or away?

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The next OIGO arrives Feb. 13. WVIA’s Kara Washington sits with you to discuss the station’s efforts to represent the lives of immigrants in its community. Kara’s documentary Making NEPA Home is streaming now. 💻

🍵 You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.

Few leaders embody the arc of modern public media quite like Lisa Rodriguez.

Born in Santiago, Chile, and raised in the Kansas City area, Rodriguez brings a personal understanding of the region’s diversity and its stories. KCUR’s director of journalism has shaped the station’s coverage and culture from almost every chair. She started as an intern, moved into producing for local program Up To Date in 2015, and quickly earned a reputation for sharp reporting at City Hall and as an afternoon newscaster. By 2020, she was leading the newsroom as news director, guiding reporters, editors, producers and interns through daily coverage and the long-term projects that define KCUR’s service to Kansas City.

Her leadership was tested early. Just months into the role, reporter Aviva Okeson-Haberman was killed. Rodriguez managed the public-facing demands of that moment, while supporting a grieving staff. She later led the effort to rename the station’s internship program in Okeson-Haberman’s honor, keeping her legacy central to the newsroom’s commitment to mentoring the next generation of journalists.

Alongside these responsibilities, Rodriguez strengthened collaborations across the region. Her peers took notice. In 2023, the Public Media Journalists Association recognized her as Editor of the Year.

Lisa Rodriguez’s role today is one charged with ensuring KCUR and its affiliates continue delivering trusted coverage that reflects and responds to the communities they serve. This OIGO, she talks about her path, her vision for KCUR and what it means to lead a newsroom at a time when local journalism matters immensely. 👇🏻

Let’s start at the beginning. What led you to this place in public media?

Yeah, we can start all the way back. I was born in Santiago, Chile. My dad’s Chilean, my mom’s an American who used to work for the Foreign Service. We lived in Chile for a bit, then moved to Germany, and eventually landed in Kansas City, which is closer to where my mom grew up.

I went to school in the suburbs here and spent a lot of time going back and forth to Chile. From a pretty young age, like 12 or so, I had two visions for my life: I was either going to be on Broadway, or I was going to be an international correspondent for CNN. So, either journalism or theater. But either way, something big.

I went the journalism route. I attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas and was focused on TV broadcast. I had great internships, both local and national, but by junior or senior year, I was starting to feel like… I don’t know, maybe this isn’t it.

So I spent my last year of college in Buenos Aires, and kind of let go of that whole big dream for a bit. I just lived life, fell in love, was a student. And when I came back to Kansas City, I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do, but I had an open mind.

And then, actually, it was a guy I was dating who turned on NPR for the first time for me. My family didn’t grow up listening to it. And I was like “oh.” This is what I was missing. This kind of storytelling, where you really hear people sharing their own stories, and it’s not about a news anchor delivering it all to you.

I started interning at KCUR in 2014, unpaid. I took any job they had—talk show producer, weekend reporter, whatever. Eventually I became the afternoon newscaster when that position opened up, suddenly and tragically. Then I started covering City Hall, and then the pandemic hit and everything changed. We were dealing with crisis, turnover and also with big questions about who we are and who we serve.

That’s when I decided to apply to be news director. And now I’m the director of journalism. So… it’s been a ride.

What’s exciting you right now, and what’s keeping you up at night?

What’s exciting is that these moments of instability—when everything’s kind of in flux—are the best times to try something new. And public radio doesn’t always do that well. We’re so good at talking about change. We talk about it to death. Then we talk ourselves out of it, and eventually back into it again.

But a time like this gives you cover to just go for it. It gives you permission to break out of those ruts. And you can build a lot of energy and unity when you’re doing something bold together. You have to do it with care for the people in the room.

The terrifying part? There’s a real risk of failure. And the farther I go in leadership, the fewer people I have above me who can guide me. The support is still there, but it’s on me now. I have to lead.

And then, you know—on a personal level, I had a baby two years ago, and I’m pregnant again. So there’s also that voice in the back of my head asking, “Can I really do all of this?” I think I can. But yeah, it’s a lot of new all at once.

Is there something about Kansas City that surprised you, even after living here most of your life?

Something really shifted here around 2015, mostly tied to sports, of course. That was when the Royals won the World Series for the first time in 30 years. And since then, Kansas City has just really started to like itself. Like, in a big way. You see people all over wearing Kansas City hats and shirts. There are stores just for KC-branded swag. It’s this intense municipal pride, which is kind of funny because for so long, we were the underdog in sports, in economic development, in national attention.

We still have a long way to go. The city’s still built for cars. Our transit system doesn’t match where we want to be. But there’s more energy now. Our dining scene is amazing. I’ll say it, but I think we have better coffee than Chicago. So, yeah, the pride is sometimes overblown, but it’s also made the city more fun. And yeah, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift didn’t hurt.

Has that vibe shift changed how you think about local coverage?

Definitely. It’s about finding the right balance. It means holding the city accountable and also celebrating it. There are other outlets that lean hard into cheerleading, and people love that content. But our audience wants both. They love Kansas City, and they want it to be better.

That’s why something like A People’s History of Kansas City works so well. It taps into that curiosity and pride. People want to know these stories they never learned in school. And they’re asking, “Why didn’t anyone ever tell me this before?”

When you’re not sure what the right move is, what helps you decide?

A few things. At work, it’s surrounding myself with people I trust, people who aren’t afraid to disagree with me. I’ll often say, “Okay, here’s what I’m thinking. What do you think?” And then the next day I’ve changed my mind, and we talk through it again.

That process of inviting people in early gets me to a better decision, and also helps build buy-in. People feel like they’re already part of the solution.

Outside of work? Honestly, having a toddler is the most grounding thing in the world.

Say more!

Every morning, I have these very simple tasks I need to complete. Get her dressed, fed, out the door. Then I switch to work mode, which is go-go-go. But by the end of the day, when I come home, I have to shut that off. Because there’s this tiny person who needs me to set up a tea party or find her doll. There’s no room for spiraling about work when you’re hiding under a blanket pretending to be in a tent.

And by the time she’s in bed, what’s really important has sort of risen to the top. Most things? They can wait.

Where does your confidence come from?

I’m my father’s daughter. You should meet my dad. He’s this flashy, charismatic Chilean guy. About 5’4” but somehow always the biggest person in the room. There’s definitely an element of performance in how I move through the world, and I got that from him. Theater helped, too. That stage presence never really goes away.

But I also think confidence comes from staying busy and having balance. When things are too quiet, that’s when self-doubt creeps in. I try to keep the different parts of my life like work, family and community full. That helps.

You’ve been at KCUR a bit. What have you learned about yourself?

I’ve learned that building real relationships is huge. The trust I’ve built here comes from knowing people, how they work, what their dog’s name is. That’s helped me move into leadership. I’ve built social capital. It gives me some grace when I try new things, because people know me. They know I care.

And I’ve been lucky. Opportunities have come up at just the right time.

If I had to name one regret or insecurity, it’s that I haven’t worked in other newsrooms. KCUR is where I’ve grown up, both personally and professionally. So sometimes I wonder what lessons I might’ve learned from being in a totally different environment.

That said, this place is why I am where I am. It’s why I’ve been able to take these steps and bring others along with me.

What are you most energized about in the new year?

We’re in the middle of a major shift—splitting from the university, moving buildings, redefining our structure and funding. It’s a chance to build a public media model that’s sustainable and accountable to the community, not tied to a university or federal funding.

It’s a big challenge, but also a huge opportunity. And there’s a clock on it because, you know, I’ve got this baby coming. So I’ve got to get far enough down the road before then. But I’m really hopeful about where we can go. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Community profile. Discover Our Coast has a feature on a Latin music DJ programming on community radio station KMUN. 🎼

• Smartphone access. Pew Research has data on internet and broadband penetration among Hispanic adults, who have high rates of smartphone reliance.

• System collapse. Editor & Publisher has a look on the worries facing PBS. 📺

• Journalists and Venezuela. The National Press Club is criticizing the detainment of reporters following the arrest of Nicolas Maduro. 🚨 Venezuela has long had one of the lowest ratings for press freedom.

• Turning Point USA coverage. Nieman Lab profiles conservative influencer Savanah Hernandez, whose online reporting sparked a recent ICE action in New York City. 🚓 “The goal of my journalism is to enact positive change,” she says.

• New program. Documented has started an initiative to help organizations to better report on immigrant communities. 📝 Nieman Lab has details.

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El radar: try this 📡

• Explore why Latinx families don’t send kids to kindergarten. LAist has a CalMatters piece on the 32 states that don’t require five-year-olds to go to school, in spite of clear advantages for children’s futures. 🍎 Hispanics are the least likely to enroll kids in kindergarten.

• Ask about access for Spanish-dominant drivers. The Spokesman-Review has a thoughtful piece on a Washington State nonprofit that has created a bilingual driving school to help Spanish-speaking speakers attain driver education and greater autonomy. 🚙 Barriers exist especially in smaller communities.

• See how immigration enforcement is impacting local childcare. KJZZ covered the effect of ICE actions on the workforce at Arizona nursery schools, preschool programs and other childcare centers. 👶

• Pulse check with locals from Venezuela. KCCI and KQED talked with residents with ties to the embattled South American nation. 📰 How they are feeling about the country’s future is central to the discussion.

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The next OIGO arrives Jan. 30. I was honored with the Public Media for All award for my contributions to the industry. This occasion offers a chance to look forward. 🧭 I want to explore the hurdles we can’t seem to clear, and ask what it will take to sustain diverse culture in public media. I’d love your thoughts.

🍵 You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.

It could be the best year, or the worst.

Among Latine communities, 2025 was a year of fear, resilience and a high-stakes fight for visibility. As public media strives to cover diverse neighborhoods nationwide, 2026 is looking like something different.

The new year may be when public media will have to track slower, deeper shifts beneath the headlines. Midterm elections will grab oxygen. Yet the industry cannot afford to miss the stories reshaping Latino/a/e/x residents.

What stories will lead 2026? Here are a few issues that should be on your radar. There is also a bigger narrative in play: how the country’s diversity landscape is being redefined, often quietly, at the local level.

The financial and political pressures facing public media are real. So are the openings for more grounded, people-centered reporting that cuts through national noise and reflects local reality.

Immigration’s long tail 🧭

In 2026, public media will need to treat immigration as a daily life story, not just a policy story.

Everyone seems to expect the White House’s immigration actions to continue. Thus enforcement and legal uncertainty will not suddenly vanish. What will change is the space to look beyond crisis coverage and into the less-seen rhythms of daily life.

Watch for colleagues’ stories that follow:

• How families rebuild routines under persistent enforcement pressure

• What schools, churches and local agencies do to stabilize anxious communities

• How neighborhoods adapt culturally when fear becomes normalized

Coverage that follows people over time, not just lawmakers, will matter more than it might have in years past. Such will especially be the case in cities where immigration is treated as background noise, not breaking news.

Latino/a/e/x economic futures 💸

The economy is going to be a major issue in the midterms. Even now, prosperity is in the current of conversation. Local public media leaders will have to explain 2025’s economic aftershocks and what they mean on specific blocks, bus lines and workplaces.

Even if policy shock softens, the impact of Trump admin moves and the action (or inaction) of Congress will still be big stories, especially come summer and fall. As Pew Research points out, Latino/a households already have strong opinions about how President Trump and politicians are affecting their pocketbooks. Great public media outlets will highlight how these constituencies sit at the intersection of:

• Rising rents and unstable housing

• Childcare shortages that limit workforce participation

• Persistent wage gaps

• Job markets reshaped by automation and AI

What should public media watch for regarding the economy? Expect more coverage from commercial media (and be ready to jump in and lead that coverage) of topics like:

• Small-business closures and reopenings

• New labor organizing and worker centers

• Growing dependence on gig work

• AI-driven workplace changes that hit Hispanic workers first

As Kyla Scanlon points out, there’s a trust gap emerging, where economic stress mixed with information overload erodes institutional trust.

Stories about economic mobility, skills training and community financial innovation will surface as powerful threads. To me, the more public media journalists stay close to households, not just data, the more ahead we’ll be.

Cultural identity in flux 🎭

After a year when many cultural events shrank or went dark because of safety concerns, 2026 could become a stress test for renewal. The story to watch: How communities are rebuilding public celebrations and rebuilding public confidence.

Public media will have rich opportunities to cover how:

• Festivals reimagine security and belonging

• Museums rethink exhibits and outreach

• Schools navigate which performances feel “safe” to put on

• Civic celebrations renegotiate who feels visible and invited

At the same time, journalists can track a deeper set of questions: Does Latine cultural life feel protected or precarious in local communities? Who gets to decide?

No matter how your organization treats matters of race and diversity, the identity shift is going to be a critical story.

Representation in media 📺

The Latino content disparity did not resolve in 2025. 2026 is a chance to measure where progress is real and where it is just branding.

Key questions for public media:

• Which stations are investing in bilingual or bicultural programming?

• Which podcasts or digital desks are emerging as trusted spaces?

• How are Latino/a/e/x journalists navigating new hiring rules and shrinking newsrooms?

Public media can keep reporting on the gap between audience demographics and newsroom composition. We’ll also hear more about the individuals trying to close that distance from inside the system.

Related, as DEI structures keep shifting, public media’s role will grow in terms of documenting institutional impacts. These stories are not just about policy reversals. They are about real-world consequences. It will be important for public media to cover stories for millions of people who may never use the term “DEI,” but live with the outcomes.

Community innovation 🌱

With federal and state support in flux, Latino/a-led organizations are stepping into new leadership roles. In 2026, expect more opportunities to tell stories about:

• Grassroots disability advocates

• Language justice coalitions

• Youth mental health innovators

• Neighborhood-based health and mutual aid networks

Public media can track how local problem-solving evolves when communities cannot rely on traditional systems. Public media can explain who is building the new safety nets. Public media can also explore who gets left out.

The civic information gap 📡

Midterms will amplify how misinformation remains central in 2026. Latinx audiences will still be navigating parallel information ecosystems that often contradict one another. To help, public media can cover:

• How trust is built or broken in local news environments

• How Spanish-language and bilingual outlets respond to fast-moving narratives

• What audiences say they actually need from institutions that claim to serve them

The key is listening first, then designing coverage.

Why these stories matter

Taken together, these threads point to a pivotal year for public media. It will be the first without federal funding, and one where attention on industry challenges may wane.

How can public media hold the spotlight? I wish I could tell you everything. But I do know one thing: public media will benefit by showing that Latino/a/e/x communities are not just subjects of coverage, but central to understanding how the country is changing.

The stories of 2026 will ask public media to listen more deeply; to question assumptions more openly; and to tell narratives that reflect complexity. 🟢

Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Year’s best. Alt.Latino has issued its list of the great Latin songs of 2025. 🎵

• Radio Mambi out. The longtime Miami broadcast voice of Cuban exiles is going off the air. 🔒 This comes a few years after the station was acquired by a group that sought to make it more moderate. WLRN has the story.

• Seeking asylum. If you’re following the immigration news cycle, Beyond the Border was a well-reported piece on those awaiting hearings in Mexico, after the United States cut off application pathways. 🏛️

• Journalists of color, post-DEI. Media layoffs affecting Black and brown staff, but not white employees is the focus of a Guardian investigation. ✍️ “I’m not accusing any one person of looking at my department and deciding to lay off all the people of color,” a source said, “but I am saying that it’s not a coincidence that the layoffs that they chose to do fell along racial lines.”

• Just announced. New Media Ventures has launched a cohort for Latine Voices for Democracy, aimed at building capacity among Latino publishers. 👾

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El radar: try this 📡

• Share stories of tamales and the holidays. Tamale sales seem to sprout during the holiday season and always bring out great memories for residents. 😺 KQED has a story about a local entrepreneur and what the tradition means to customers.

  • Related: Spokane Public Radio on La Posada.

• See how churches are engaging around social services. Colorado Public Radio examines how faith organizations rooted in Latino and other communities are plugged in these days to health care access. ⚕️ Considering churches’ place of trust, they’ve emerged as a valuable stakeholder.

• Ask how Hispanic voters are feeling as midterms approach. WLRN is among many organizations doing valuable work tracking the topics on the minds of their area’s Latino/a/e/x voters. 🏗️ There’s a ton of voter sentiment tracking, but local stories really help bring the big picture home to audiences.

• Keep tabs on how communities are navigating. A new story at Wyoming Public Radio/Mountain West News Bureau looks at the news cycle and its effect on the town of Rock Springs. 🗻 It’s an smart angle to a story that deserves constant attention.

  • Related: KHOL recently featured a local therapist examining the impacts of the current policy cycle on Latine communities. 😶‍🌫️ And Current reports on how some stations are serving in a know-your-rights capacity.

The next OIGO arrives Jan. 16. It’s time for a holiday break, but I’ll have LinkedIn newsletters flowing as stories break. Subscribe to OIGO RMX here.

You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter. 🤎

If you work anywhere near public media, you felt it: 2025 was a year when Latino communities and diversity issues weren’t just part of the national conversation, they shaped it.

Across newsrooms, podcasts and local stations, journalists followed stories of fear, resilience, identity and belonging. It was not easy, but was important as it was valued. What emerged was a vivid portrait of communities navigating extraordinary pressure while still insisting on visibility, values and voice.

Immigration and civil rights on edge

Much of the year’s reporting circled back to one defining emotion for many Latinos: uncertainty. With stepped-up immigration enforcement during President Trump’s second term, countless families were living on edge.

Roughly half of Latino Americans said they feared deportation for themselves or loved ones. Reporters documented increased ICE activity in neighborhoods, school drop-offs and workplaces; and the day-to-day anxiety that followed.

Public media tied these fears to the wider fight over Constitutional rights and to sweeping proposals like the rollback of birthright citizenship. Stations have done a great job at bringing policy, history and lived experience into the same frame.

Economic and community strain

The economy was another throughline. Inflation, housing shortages, childcare costs and unstable jobs hit Latino communities with particular force.

Public radio journalists captured families squeezed by rising expenses and the long tail of the pandemic. The most compelling pieces zoomed in on how economic strain shaped every corner of life, from health decisions to school choices to small-business stability.

These stories underscored a truth stations heard again and again: many Latino audiences are navigating crisis inside a crisis.

Visibility and the media gap

Even cultural moments weren’t immune.

In several cities, Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations were canceled or pared down because communities didn’t feel safe gathering publicly. At the same time, public media and the media world looked inward.

The industry revisited its longstanding Latino content crisis, where representation still trails far behind demographics. Despite Latinos making up nearly 20 percent of the country, public media and national entertainment platforms continue to offer only a sliver of Latino voices, perspectives and leadership roles. The movement to change it continues, including important launches of broadcast media, but the disconnect was impossible to ignore in 2025.

Post-DEI: a turning point with consequences

This was also the year DEI retreated, in public media and elsewhere.

Organizations dismantled investments and commitments with startling speed, and similar pressures reached public media internally. I try to be optimistic about public media, but am often told otherwise.

Externally, public media covered how new compliance rules around hiring and language reshaped newsroom culture and editorial decisions. Journalists and community partners described an environment where important stories risked going untold, and where inclusion efforts now carried new political and legal scrutiny.

Lastly, the loss of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and its service to communities will be felt for generations.

Community, narratives and quiet power

Still, 2025 wasn’t only about loss or risk. Public media highlighted innovative, community-driven responses in education and language.

Latino-led work stepped into the vacuum left by shifting conversations, offering new solutions and new civic imagination. And lastly, efforts to connect stations to ideas offer newsrooms fresh ways to listen, collaborate and build trust.

Bye 2025

Taken together, 2025’s coverage painted a difficult but honest picture: Latino communities are facing profound challenges, but we’re also pushing forward with creativity and determination.

Public media saw not just the pressure, but the potential.

And if this year taught anything, it’s that serving Latino audiences well is fundamental to the future of public media itself. 🟢

Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Voting education in Spanish. We Are Más received a Shorty Impact Award for its multilingual voter education campaign for Broward County. ✌️

• WBEZ shakeup. Executive Editor Gilbert Bailon has been laid off from the Chicago public broadcaster amid a restructure. 💔 Journal-isms offers details on changes at the organization.

• Peer support. Latinx staff often point out the need for peer support. 😺 Open News surfaced a great study by PEN America on a variety of models, common themes for successful support and ways you could apply a system for yourself or your organization.

• Kerger speaks. PBS CEO Paula Kerger joined Semafor’s video podcast to talk about the challenges facing public media and our future. 🎙️

• Culture nod. Public Media for All has extended the nominations deadline for its annual award. 🏆

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El radar: try this 📡

• Discuss the effect of immigration enforcement on church attendance. Blue Ridge Public Radio has a thoughtful story on how faith leaders are responding to fear among parishioners, and how they’re advocating for safety to local decisionmakers. 🙏

  • Related: WUNC explores the matter of immigration enforcement too.

• Ask about teacher hiring. KCUR offered a report on how area schools are hiring Latino/a teachers as they try to engage students and connect with families. 👩‍🏫 The results are encouraging so far.

• Cover stomach cancer and Hispanics. Texas Public Radio has a piece on a health subject you don’t hear much about. 🩺 Latinos are among the ethnic groups with a higher incidence of this form of cancer than others.

• Make Latine information needs a story. American Press Institute highlights the efforts of Planeta Venus, a Kansas nonprofit, that includes residents sharing how the community gets its news. 🧑‍💻 More than a focus group, these videos are content themselves.

  • Related: Journalism + Design Lab published a community news framework that outlines how people contribute to local information ecosystems. 🪧 Instead of reporting, they’re creating connections.

Leave a comment

The next OIGO arrives Dec. 19. The final OIGO of 2025 will track the stories public media will likely be following next year. I’d love your thoughts about that.

If you are able, you are encouraged to support your local public media organization. If you’re at a station, our programming team has developed quite a monthlong campaign in coordination with other departments; I’d love to share our work to inspire you.

You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter. 💵

Johanna Bejarano is a bilingual media and communication professional whose work spans over 15 years across Latin America and the U.S., marked by a deep commitment to public service journalism and community storytelling. Originally from Colombia, her journalism roots lie in vibrant regional newsrooms and classrooms, where she worked as both a reporter and instructor guiding future journalists. Today, she’s a multiplatform content producer at Northwest Public Broadcasting, focused on telling nuanced, community-centered stories across radio, video, and digital platforms.

Bejarano’s reporting in Central Washington spotlights voices often underrepresented in public media, especially those of Hispanic communities. Her coverage explores issues like immigration, labor, voting rights and the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women. She also produces and hosts Resumen Semanal de Noticias, a Spanish-language news show that brings timely, accessible journalism to audiences across the region.

With academic credentials and a background in digital journalism research, Johanna Bejarano bridges theory and practice in her work. She brings both a global and deeply local lens to storytelling, and her journalism is driven by trust-building, authenticity and a desire to reflect the full complexity of community life.

In this conversation with OIGO, Bejarano shares what led her to public broadcasting in Central Washington, how she navigates community-centered journalism across cultures and platforms, and why collaborative, bilingual storytelling is essential for public media today.

How did you get into public broadcasting in this community?

I’m originally from Colombia. I immigrated to the United States in 2014 because my mom had been living here and many people in my family were already here. But when we migrate, we basically need to start over. So all the experience we have in our country doesn’t necessarily transfer.

In Colombia, I worked for regional newspapers, and I also worked for over nine years as a professor in journalism, guiding students in deep reporting.

When I came here, I started looking for opportunities where I could apply my bilingual skills. So I applied to different places, one of them being this position as a bilingual multiplatform reporter in Washington State.

It was really interesting because, in our minds, the largest Latino populations are in Florida, California, Texas and New York, but I never thought about Central Washington State. So I began investigating a lot about the Yakima Valley and the Bracero program and the Mexican communities here. Many places have large Hispanic populations. I was so happy to come here and serve these communities with my reporting.

I had always worked as a reporter for newspapers, magazines, digital media, but I had never done public radio or radio before. So that also made it exciting to try something different. I worried a bit about having a heavy accent, but it has been challenging and also rewarding in many ways — being able to tell stories I think are important for many people here. Not just for the Latino/Hispanic community, but also for people who are non‑Latino and want to understand who we are and what happens every day for us.

What has been the most interesting facet of being in this community and presenting the community story?

One of the beautiful things I’ve experienced is that there are so many stories to cover and so many dynamics within our own communities. When I first came, I was a Colombian, with my partner, another Colombian. I didn’t know many people. I knew Mexican people and some Salvadorans. Now I see people from other places arriving — Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba are among the backgrounds.

Getting all this knowledge and finding both similarities as well as things that make us different and powerful as a diverse group is so interesting. This is a community that cares, that helps, and tries to provide the cultural enrichment it has to share with others, Latinos and non‑Latinos.

I’ve also seen different attitudes of support from people who are not part of these specific communities, but want to learn and understand the challenges or barriers that these communities experience. That’s very interesting.

Another thing is that in Central Washington, the Latino community is different from what you might see on the western part of the state. So I try to show cultural expressions. For example, there is a Peruvian community on the west side, there are Colombians or other groups here, and it shows that even though we’re all in the same state, we’re multi‑faceted, different “colors,” mixing and trying to show themselves.

From your observation with the community and your sources, what motivates people to move to Central Washington? How does that shape your stories?

In part, it’s because of the labor market. I’ve heard from people who come here because they know there is work in agriculture or warehouses and that they can get good pay. Some friends they may have came before them and told them that. Also, they find that this state has other kinds of opportunities for them. The quality of life and the attractiveness of the region are also part of it.

I would also say — and this is anecdotal from what I’ve heard — that some people come here because they feel they will not face discrimination like they might in other states. That’s a reality I’ve heard about.

As far as my work, I try to show that we are really diverse. Because sometimes, you know, we love Mexican culture, but everyone thinks that because we speak Spanish, we are all Mexican. That’s not the case. We may love mariachi, but there’s also salsa, there are Peruvian rhythms and many aspects that don’t necessarily fit one view of Latino culture. For example, I learned about a project at Washington State University (WSU) where an Argentinian professor is collecting stories about Latinas in Benton County. Many have Mexican heritage, but not all. So I try to find ways to show the aspects that involve this community and teach people that there are nuances among us, and that it’s important to recognize and be proud of those.

What story stands out for you as something you’re really proud of?

I cover Hispanic/Latino issues mainly, but also other groups. One I’ll never forget was a story about a woman was deported, and years later she was able to come back and see her kids again because she got her residency. That was very emotional.

I also did a multiplatform project with Palabra journalist Lygia Navarro about long COVID and how it’s affecting the community here. I feel very proud of that one because we covered something that nobody was talking about locally, especially when the Yakima Valley was hit hard by COVID.

Another I’m proud of is the series called Harvest at the Crossroads, a bilingual, multiplatform project about the impact of immigration in an area with lots of agriculture, local and guest workers. Some are on H‑2A visas, some are local workers, some families of workers or deported workers. We also looked at the industry: how the harvest itself was affected. This series shows the importance of collaboration because we had to pool resources, reporters, an editor at the local Spanish‑language newspaper and team members at NWPB, working with a grant from the Poynter Institute.

Tell me more about how your collaboration practically worked. Did you meet regularly? How did you decide the approach and how it came together?

For those specific cases, yes. Another reporter approached me and we started looking for ideas. Then together we shaped the whole thing: “What stories will we do? Who will interview? Which sources? How will we compile the work?” Some collaborations were external with other groups and some internal with social media and website teams to figure out how to show the work best, such as with landing pages, bilingual content and so on.

Sometimes you have dreams, but those dreams may not be technically or realistically possible. So I try to plan in advance: what I want to discuss, what we can do. We have a lot of conversation. When there is heavy reporting, we say: “Okay, we need to stop and just organize what we actually have.” But also everyone on the team needs to go toward the same goal: showing a strong piece with all the information, fact‑checked.

How did you decide what was realistic vs unrealistic in terms of doing this coverage?

Good question. In my mind everything is realistic. I’ll give an example: I did a series of stories I really loved about mariachi for Hispanic Heritage Month — one about the mariachi culture in Washington State, one about mariachi education, one about the visit of Lupita Infante to Washington State. Three features for radio; three web versions in English; three web versions in Spanish; a landing page with all that. That on paper might seem unrealistic given time and resources. But if you organize the structure — story goes here, interview these people, web version, Spanish version, etc. — you can do it, if you have the time. If you’re also producing your weekly/daily spot for the regular newscast at the same time, then maybe it’s not feasible.

In the Harvest at the Crossroads case: it was a series of four stories, bilingual, radio/web/social media. We realized early on it was a lot. We collaborated: local Spanish‑language newspaper, other reporters at NWPB, editors. The key I found: you must have the structure in your head. If you can’t imagine what goes where, it won’t work. So I try to imagine: “Topic to radio story one, radio story two; web story one in English, web story one in Spanish; social post this; schedule release this week, next week, etc.” Also talk with the team: “Do we have time? Are we doing this too soon? Can we finish this?” Planning and being realistic helps.

What advice would you give to a public media organization or someone working at a station who wants to report in the community?

The most important part is knowing the community. Approaching the community with real intentions of getting to know them and establishing a long‑term relationship. Because what I’ve seen: organizations sometimes schedule a meeting, go there to “connect,” but then they leave. They might listen, but they don’t really listen or follow up. Or they aren’t prepared. For example: if you go to a community meeting for folks who don’t have cable‑TV, or they don’t have reliable internet or cell service, and you ask, “Are you listening to our station?” That means you didn’t really investigate beforehand. You need to know how people get information.

Another thing: have advisory or focus groups periodically meet to ask: “What do you really want?” Then build the content around what audiences say, not just what your resources or time allow.

For reporters: attend community celebrations and events; if community members play soccer, go play soccer with them. These are places where you make connections and understand lives, not just show up for interviews. Especially in our communities: we talk, we socialize, we are involved in events. So showing up matters.

One more practical tip: We started a weekly news piece on YouTube in Spanish (we’re in the second year). That shows that if media are interested in serving Hispanic and Latino communities, they should have a strategy, not just scattered efforts. Everything should be connected: the YouTube channel, a newsletter, WhatsApp group, social media, website… all integrated. And you need a team and budget for that. It’s not just a side project. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• SLC coverage. KSL spotlights the work of new public media station Avanza to serve bilingual Utahns. 📻

• More on Latinx voting. Worth following as we head to midterms, Semafor digs into the data you’re hearing about — Latinos’ wavering support for the GOP — with additional context around Democrats’ gains (or lack thereof) among our constituency. ✍🏻

• Pioneer passes. ABC news reporter Jim Avila, one of the most visible Hispanic journalists on network TV for many years, has died. 🙏 The New York Times offered an obituary.

• New media venture. Puerto Rican hitmaker Ozuna has announced the launch of a new platform, called Mucho, devoted to “celebrating and amplifying the voice of young US Latinos through music, sports, fashion, and pop culture.” Music Ally says streaming TV is the first initiative.

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El radar: try this 📡

• See how restaurants are tackling tariffs. Connecticut Public has a great angle on a story you’ve heard lots about: how are Latino establishments dealing with tariffs? 💰 I’m unsure public media is covering this much, but it is a big deal to local small business.

• Find what Latine population growth means locally. Plenty of outlets are covering the remarkable growth of Hispanic populations nationwide, but how does that shape communities? 📈 Colorado Public Radio investigated the trends with a focus on its state.

• Highlight Latinx civil rights history locally. Texas Public Radio has a thoughtful story on a new exhibit chronicling the fight to end Mexican American segregation in Texas schools. 🏫 It revolves around a 1968 case in which Black and Mexican American families sued a school district to ensure school desegregation.

• Share veteran stories. KCUR has a thoughtful story about Mexican American veterans and their contributions to the military. 🫡 This matter bears mentioning far beyond Veterans Day locally.

• Pay attention to eating disorders and Hispanics. An important story via De Los talks about binge eating disorder and the number of Latinos affected, but how few have formal diagnoses. 🍔

Give a gift subscription

The next OIGO arrives Dec. 5. I’ll be in Austin in late January as part of a Google News Initiative cohort. If you are in my home state and want to get coffee, I’d love to say hola. Please reach out.

In the weeks ahead, I’ll share word on social media about a limited-run documentary narrative podcast I’m producing for release in 2026. The series traces the true story of a controversial new religious movement group and how it evolved into something entirely unexpected. This is my first big step into podcasts, and I’d welcome your guidance or insights as I shape this passion project.

And because I believe deeply in the mission of public media, if you’re at a station and see opportunity in partnering as a host, I’d love to hear from you. (Disclosure: I’m not seeking money.)

You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter. 🤎

Your responses to the last OIGO made one thing clear: we’re all feeling this moment deeply; and searching urgently for practical, grounded, and local ways to respond.

This is an extraordinarily difficult time for Latino communities, and for public media. A recent NPR investigation on the masking of agents and cars shows but one facet of the problem. ICE enforcement dominates headlines, stoking fear of racial profiling and family separation. People are living with daily anxiety. As the New York Times editorial board wrote, the brutality toward undocumented immigrants and the unfairness toward American citizens caught in its wake is an affront to decency.

Audiences are yearning for something increasingly rare: a shared reality built on safety and respect.

Polarization defines public life, misinformation is multiplying, and social media is fraying community ties. Meanwhile, media itself faces devastating pressures: newsrooms are shrinking, public broadcasters are cutting back, and the training grounds for young journalists are vanishing. Still, the work of public media has never been more consequential, or more tested.

After the last OIGO, KCSB’s Jennifer Kiser told me something that’s stayed with me: Our journalism is essential, but so is trust between people. It’s true. Information alone isn’t enough in this moment. Public media can do more than report the news; we can help rebuild the sense of community that holds neighbors together.

Why showing up matters

When people fear being targeted, or their neighbors being taken away, institutions like ours must be steady sources of reassurance and truth. Public media’s responsibility isn’t just to inform. It’s to help re-weave the civic fabric that’s coming apart.

The next election cycle won’t just test our institutions. It will test our capacity for empathy. What communities are asking of their stations, especially those under duress, is simple and profound: Show us you care enough to listen. Help others to see our experience. Stand with us.

The question is: will we meet that call?

The Neighbor Test

Here’s a simple, powerful measure for public media in the political moment ahead.

Would your coverage and tone make your neighbors—including Latino neighbors and new immigrants—feel proud to call your station theirs? If not, what needs to change?

Passing the Neighbor Test isn’t just about accuracy. It’s about empathy. It’s journalism that sounds like it was made by people who live here too.

It moves beyond “Who’s winning?” to ask “Who’s being heard, and who’s afraid?”

It means sharing not only what divides us but what genuinely binds us: our parks, the panadería on the corner, the quiet collective sigh when hard news hits.

Trust is built in these small, human moments. When a reporter pronounces a town’s name correctly, when a story reflects dignity instead of caricature, when neighbors hear each other through the static of national politics.

The question now isn’t “Why should we do this?” but “How?”

The answer lies in shifting our mindset from content creation to community building.

Ways to reach, serve and connect

These ideas are offered in that same spirit, to give you tangible ways to build connection on-air, online and in your neighborhoods.

So, I share critical shifts inspired by peers and partners that can help your efforts, no matter how big or small.

Breaking down proximity

The coverage that builds deep trust today isn’t obsessed with the spectacle of politics, but rooted in the impact of policy. Families want to know how decisions shape their lives: their status, their schools, their ability to care for a parent or seek citizenship. They want people they like and believe in to help them understand.

The strongest stories now start on the ground, long before they ever become a segment. At KQED, we’ve begun presenting reporters not just as experts but as neighbors. That’s the spirit behind Trusted Voice Content, reminding audiences that we feel these stories too, and that the best information often comes from those living the experience.

Presenting immigration coverage, and journalism on any topic, can be done in ways that make both the stories and the journalists behind them more relatable, fostering genuine human connection.

From neutrality to neighborliness

These moments always stir the old debate about objectivity. But serving everyone doesn’t mean standing apart. It means standing with.

Organizations like Avanza model this beautifully. They meet people in churches, libraries, and centros comunitarios—spaces where journalism becomes a shared act of curiosity. These aren’t just events. They’re acts of belonging. Such endeavors are reminders that public media’s work is rooted in the public itself.

Broadcast to bridgework

The most sustainable path forward is not to report to people, but to build with them. That means re-imagining public media as civic bridgework connecting journalists, residents and institutions.

At WVIA, a bilingual advisory board* led by Vicki Austin has helped the organization serve a growing audience more authentically. When the team discussed its community survey, the advisory board offered a perspective, suggesting two queries:

“How has WVIA helped you feel connected?”
“How has WVIA created a sense of belonging for you?”

Those questions echo the craving for human connection as well as the Neighbor Test by measuring impact not by reach, but by relationship. And progress is happening. One board member even said they felt proud to live where their station listened. That’s the future worth striving for.

Closer, not louder

Meeting a moment defined by fear, division, and anxiety doesn’t require us to reinvent our mission. It calls us back to its essence: service and empathy.

We don’t need to shout to be heard. We need to listen to be trusted.

Public media’s job now is to make that trust visible through our presence, our partnerships and our tone. The work ahead is about rebuilding human connection and showing that public media staff have the capacity for care that audiences are desperate to see.

The coming months may be volatile, but they can also be transformative. While the country wrestles with division, public media can quietly restore belonging… one story, one act of listening, one neighbor at a time. 🟢

[* = I’m fortunate enough to participate remotely on WVIA’s bilingual advisory board.]

Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• New immigration resource. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists has released the 2025 edition of the Cultural Competence Handbook, a guide for covering immigration and identity. 📖 Nieman Lab shares the details.

• New Latino data. Pew Research Center has released new findings on the growth of the Latine population in the United States. 🗂️ A rapidly growing group, it’s also very young and mostly U.S.-born.

• Voter shifts. Post-Election Day journalism features a lot of analysis of the Hispanic vote. ✍🏽 Vox and Newsweek are among those interviewing election strategists about data to watch in the midterms.

• “Meaning accrues in duration.” Speaking of demographics, and relevant to public media, Ken Burns argues on Mixed Signals that Gen Z doesn’t fear longform content and documentaries as much as we think. 🎞️

• Community reporting and AI. I also write about AI and am tracking how tools are being used for service to Spanish-speaking communities. ⌨️ If you’re exploring too, the American Journalism Project just released a new resource.

Subscribe now

El radar: try this 📡

• See how the time is sparking Latinx political engagement. The U.S. immigration situation is prompting much reflection and action. WUNC and Virginia Public Media both look at one outcome: the growing number of Latino/a residents running for public office. ☑️ With midterms next year, this may be a story to watch.

• And infrastructure. Nebraska Public Media highlights the expansion of an Omaha Latino center to serve increasing local needs. 🏢 Is this happening near you too?

• Track in-person voting effects. Also related, Election Day is done for now, but CalMatters (via LAist) recently offered an investigation of how ICE enforcement actions could scare Latinos away from future polls. 👀

• Examine ways local Hispanic businesses are attracting customers right now. The Oregon Capital Chronicle (via OPB) asked area business owners serving the community how they’re attracting customers who may be afraid of ICE enforcement. ⛶ Sources also talked about ways they’re trying to make customers feel safe enough to shop.

• Document clashes between ICE protesters and agents. From Beyond the Border, San Diego residents who followed an ICE officer and the police stop that followed; and an Oaklandside story on an individual shot after reportedly accelerating a rental truck at officers are but two of what are many stories around the country. 🚓

• Note support for Latine survivors. For Domestic Violence Awareness Month, WORT sat down with a local nonprofit supporting Hispanic survivors in navigating the justice system and connecting them to services. 📞

• Highlight the healing potential of art. Arizona PBS looked at a local nonprofit’s efforts at using art to prompt dialogue among Latine residents. 🖼️

Share OIGO

The next OIGO arrives Nov. 21. Northwest Public Broadcasting’s Johanna Bejarano sits down with you to discuss her work in sharing the stories of Washington State’s Latino population as well as her journey as a journalist.

I want to hear from you. It’s been a un momentito since I said this, but if you are working on a public media initiative you’re proud of and would like me to share it in OIGO, message me. 📨 I am keenly interested in your efforts that serve audiences newer to public broadcasting, bilingual content and engagement and ways to connect public media to local communities. Don’t be shy or defer. Let us all see your work and to shine a light on what you’re doing.

Welcome to everyone who subscribed after the generous recommendation of Yoni Greenbaum at Backstory & Strategy as well as by Tom Roe at Turn on the News. 📥 I appreciate your presence.

You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter. 🤎