US: Major papers realizing Latino market potential

The results of this survey of 3,000 Hispanics in 3 major American markets has been obvious to newspapers for some time. Publishers, however, have had difficulties launching their own Hispanic-focused product, partly because Latinos view Spanish-language papers published by mainstream companies, which to some extent are translations of their regional flagship English-language papers, as lacking "cultural competency." Other problems have been wariness about advertising but with Advertising Age predicting a 10% growth in the Latino national advertising market in 2005, big publishers are becoming more interested.

A day before the report was released, the St. Petersburg Times printed an article describing the efforts of Media General in launching Spanish-language products in the Tampa Bay, Florida area. The publisher is poised to launch a free weekly tabloid, a website and news updates for radio and TV stations for Tampa's 450,000 Hispanics, a population that exploded in size almost 100% between 1990 and 2000. Other Florida newspapers such as the Miami Herald already cater to Latinos with Spanish-language versions in their own markets and more are expected to follow. Diane Hockenberry, an expert on niche publications at the Newspaper Association of America said, "I think you're going to see more and more mainstream newspapers targeting this niche, because it is growing. To capture the attention of young people or Hispanics, (major publishers are) realizing the need to customize content. . . . It's really a logical next step."

Sources: Asociacion de la Prensa de Madrid (with Hoy study), St. Petersburg Times