Changing media landscape affecting Hispanic community

25Mar10

By now most people are aware of the toll our nation’s economic crisis has taken on the print media forum. Already suffering from a failure to proactively deal with the advent of the internet over a decade ago, the newspaper industry is now playing catch-up and losing readers and advertisers along the way.

One area especially feeling the crunch is the Hispanic newspaper market, both Spanish-language publications and those written in English. Just in the last year several major U.S. cities have either ceased publishing of dailies altogether or have gone to an online-only format. Houston lost El Día after 30 years, El Nuevo DM-ma Orlando folded in August 2008 and Dallas-based Al Día decided to go to a twice-a-week publication schedule.

But Hispanic or Spanish-only weeklies are doing a good job of dodging the newspaper apocalypse.

The annual survey of the Hispanic print industry conducted by Latino Print Network, based in Carlsbad, California, found that the number of daily Spanish-language newspapers fell 31 percent to 29 between 2005 and 2008. Circulation for these newspapers dropped 29.2 percent.

However, the number of weekly newspapers tracked by Latino Print Network rose 21 percent, to 424, in the last three years. Circulation for weekly newspapers expanded as well – up 5.9 percent to 11.8 million readers in the same period.

Advertising revenue for Spanish-language daily newspapers reflect the same pattern. Revenue fell 30.1 percent, to $427 million, between 2005 and 2008 after exponential growth since 1990, when the total was just $76 million.

But revenue growth has continued for weekly newspapers – increasing 27.3 percent to $440 million. Spanish-language magazines also saw revenue expand 6.8 percent, to $352 million.

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