Planeta Venus | 7 de febrero, 2024
Latino communities are not homogeneous, and this collaboration demonstrates this by bringing together differences and similarities in the Latino vote in different parts of the United States.
In July 2023, the Solutions Journalism Network's Local Media Project initiated the Latino Local News Collaborative, a collaborative experiment with the urgency to explore the issue of electoral participation among Latino communities.
The Latino Local News Collaborative, comprised of Claudia Amaro, Planeta Venus in Wichita, KS, Jennie Dallas, La Voz Latina Central in Central Pennsylvania, Edgar Ramirez Philatinos Radio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Jesus del Toro La Raza in Chicago, IL, along with Emma Restrepo and Julian Carreno, 2PuntosPlatform in Philadelphia, PA as coordination team. The group was supported by Liza Gross and Alex Frost from Solutions Journalism Network.
The collaborative designed a survey to measure interest in voting among Latino populations in their localities and, in general, learn and measure attitudes towards politics in the country. This consortium of hyperlocal news media had each outlet include questions specific to regional informational needs and specific community groups, such as Latinos with or without United States citizenship, first or second-generation immigrants, or both.
Each local media outlet executed a survey and each of them decided the best option to apply it in their own communities. Some surveyed in-person at cultural events, others did it online, others hosted focus groups, and others combined more than one of these methods.
“This collaboration has provided new insights into Latino residents' feelings about voting in Pennsylvania and other states,” said Dallas from La Voz, after obtaining the results of the consolidated report. “The language barrier is one of the reasons why Latinos are disconnected. Interested entities would be wise to use hyperlocal news organizations to reach the same audience we reached to conclude this report. The larger media focuses on the federal aspects, which is what Latinos are NOT interested in hearing. La Voz Latina Central and the rest of the LLNC members could play a vital role in providing a sample of objective information on the Latino votes.”
The collaborative provided valuable insights not only through the survey results but also for the nature of the research group.
Liza Gross, from Solutions Journalism Network, values the connection of these media with their communities.
“The mainstream media coverage of views and attitudes of U.S. Hispanics towards political candidates and the voting process does not always provide fresh and nuanced insights,” Gross said. “This project by Hispanic community journalists deeply embedded in their communities offers revealing perspectives that add new clarity and understanding of this crucial voting bloc going into a presidential election year.”
This group will share the full report soon as they aim to continue their collaboration, expanding coverage and adding more members in the near future.