What Immigrant-Serving Newsrooms Need Now

Spanish-Language newsrooms covering immigrant communities are essential, underfunded, and undeterred

As federal immigration crackdowns intensify and fear ripples through immigrant communities, Spanish-language newsrooms are responding with urgency, clarity, and care. These outlets aren’t just translating headlines—they’re filling critical gaps left by traditional media: offering culturally grounded coverage, countering misinformation, connecting families to vital resources, and telling stories of resilience and dignity. And they’re doing it all on tight budgets, under immense pressure, and with minimal institutional support.

At a recent webinar hosted by The Pivot Fund, leaders from three such newsrooms—Acción Latina (publisher of El Tecolote), Enlace Latino NC, and Radio Campesina Network—shared how they’re serving communities in crisis and what they need to continue. Their message was clear: they are building trust and impact daily, but without sustained investment, they are being stretched to the breaking point.

Journalism as Service—and Survival

Each outlet centers its work around one principle: listening. “The community is the center of what we do,” said Walter Gómez of Enlace Latino NC, which produces Spanish-language explainers on topics ranging from immigration policy to Medicaid expansion. Their goal: not just to report policy changes, but to explain how those changes will affect daily life—and how to prepare.

In San Francisco, Acción Latina realized that many immigrant families living in RVs weren’t being reached by existing communication efforts. In response, they launched WhatsApp groups specifically for these families and immigrant women—tailoring content to where people are and how they live. “We created a channel to inform these communities,” said Executive Director Imelda Carrasco, “especially amid constant policy shifts.”

Similarly, Radio Campesina Network’s “Conoce Tus Derechos” campaign arose from a need to combat fear and misinformation. “We no longer rely on studio phone lines—we use WhatsApp,” said Maria Barquin. “That’s where our people are.”

Why Traditional Media Isn’t Enough

Panelists were united in their critique of legacy media: it’s often extractive, trauma-centered, and blind to cultural context. “Mainstream coverage too often reduces immigrants to stories of suffering,” Barquin explained. “They ignore our community’s dignity, resilience, and leadership.”

Gómez added that trust comes from proximity. “Traditional journalism doesn’t go deep enough—it lacks context and contact with our communities. Being in direct relationship means understanding people’s joy, pain, and what they truly need.”

These newsrooms are doing the opposite: amplifying what communities already know and share—then turning that into actionable tools.

Turning Journalism into Tools

What sets these outlets apart isn’t just cultural fluency—it’s their deep service orientation. Carrasco’s team partners with legal experts to translate complex legislation into plain language, distributed through WhatsApp and physical newspapers. Gómez’s team livestreams legislative sessions, offers live analysis, and interviews lawmakers to keep people informed in real time.

And for these teams, reporting is not simply about publishing—it’s about equipping. “Our reporters need training—not just in journalism, but in how government works and how to interview with empathy and cultural awareness,” said Barquin.

The Stakes: From Burnout to Deportation

The needs are urgent and growing. All three outlets identified immediate funding priorities:

• Hiring freelance reporters to expand coverage in underserved markets
• Mental health and wellness support for staff carrying heavy emotional burdens
• Legal and physical safety infrastructure to protect journalists on the frontlines

Carrasco described creating a Bay Area-wide safety network of partner organizations offering journalists safe spaces when covering protests or crises. Gómez’s newsroom is building a security protocol but lacks funds to support rest and recovery. “All the problems come to us—and we hold them,” he said.

These aren’t hypothetical risks. The recent arrest and pending deportation of Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara—an Atlanta-based reporter covering immigrant communities—has sent shockwaves through the field. Despite video evidence showing his compliance with police orders while covering a protest, Guevara is now in immigration detention awaiting a bond hearing. His case underscores what immigrant-serving journalists are up against: criminalization, surveillance, and deportation for simply doing their jobs.

A Proven Model, a Critical Moment

These outlets are not just surviving—they are innovating, adapting, and earning community trust every day. They’ve proven that culturally grounded journalism doesn’t just inform—it protects. It empowers. It saves lives.

But this work cannot continue without meaningful, long-term investment.

“These aren’t just Facebook groups or community blogs,” said Nicolás Ríos of Documented, who moderated the conversation. “They’re vital public infrastructure. And the way they adapt language and culture is essential—not optional—to building trust.”

Gómez put it plainly: “We’re a source of real, actionable help—and our community knows it.”

What Funders Can Do

If philanthropy wants to meet this moment, it must fund what’s already working—and do so boldly. That means:

• Flexible funding for core operations, not just short-term project grants
• Support for reporter training, legal defense, hiring freelancers, and digital as well as physical security
• Investment in staff wellness and resilience, including mental health resources

What Spanish-Language Newsrooms Need from Funders

1. Funding for Freelancers: There’s urgent demand for funding to hire and fairly compensate local journalists—especially freelancers producing video and on-the-ground coverage.
2. Investments in Safety: Newsrooms need resources to create legal and physical safety protocols, including access to attorneys if reporters are jailed or harmed. Safety funding should also include tools to help journalists feel secure and prepared in high-risk environments.
3. Support for Specialized Training and Mental Health: Ongoing training is essential—especially around government systems, legal rights, trauma-informed interviewing, fact-checking, and ethical, empathetic reporting. Further, journalists are carrying immense emotional weight. Funders can help by supporting mental health resources.
4. Help Strengthening Local Networks: Collaborative infrastructure—like shared WhatsApp groups and safety agreements with local orgs—requires time and coordination. Support for this connective work helps reporters stay safe, informed, and grounded in community.

These leaders are not waiting for permission. They are already serving their communities with urgency, empathy, and innovation. With deeper and sustained funding, they can do even more—reach more people, tell more stories, and protect more lives.

For funders committed to equity, safety, and civic resilience, the path forward is clear: back the newsrooms already doing the work.