Think Big. Act Now: A Call to Action from Latinx Coloradans for Equitable and Just Local News
This Latinx Voices: Colorado report dreams up a future for local news that reflects the experiences, needs and demands of Latinx people throughout the state.
In 2021, a group of Latinx Coloradans from across generations, regions and professions began meeting to tackle a series of questions: What would it take to ensure that local-news coverage reflects, respects and reaches out to the state's Latinx communities? What actions must newsrooms, community members and funders take to create a future in which Latinx communities have the power to prevent the media from sidelining, stereotyping and silencing them?
Our conversations took place as part of a collaboration among Free Press' News Voices: Colorado project, the Colorado Media Project and the Colorado News Collaborative (COLab). The organizations convened the working group to support a community-led effort to answer those questions and to push for action from newsrooms, communities, funders, and policymakers. The group's recommendations reflect these discussions:
- Hold newsrooms accountable for increasing Latinx diversity on staff, among sources and in stories.
- Create programs for Latinx youth to learn about the impacts of news media and participate in its change toward accurate, fair and equitable coverage.
- Support existing and emerging networks of Latinx information providers, storytellers and community members.
- Build Latinx-owned media power.
WEBINAR: The Past as Prologue
A conversation grounded in the historical arc of Latinx leaders organizing for a more reflective and responsive media in Colorado. (2021)