For Immediate Release:
Dateline: Indianapolis,
IN
Friday, February 10, 2023
CONTACT: Claire Regan, SPJ National President, cregan@spj.org
Zoë Berg, SPJ Communications Specialist, 317-920-4785, zberg@spj.org
INDIANAPOLIS — The Society of Professional Journalists is disappointed to hear that Al Día, the Dallas Morning News’ Spanish-language newspaper, will be disbanded at the end of the month.
Al Día has been covering the Hispanic community in North Texas for nearly two decades. On Monday, the staff members were told they will be reassigned to different teams in the newsroom, no longer creating Spanish-language content.
"It's unfortunate that a prominent Spanish-language newspaper in Texas that has served its community for 19 years is closing," said Eleanore Vega, chair of SPJ's Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and Daniela Ibarra, vice-chair and SPJ director at-large. "It gives the appearance that it is not of value to the community it's supposed to serve. We hope the publisher and editors at the Dallas Morning News will reconsider their decision."
The closure of Al Día is part of a worrying trend of news publishers cutting Spanish-language coverage. In 2019, The New York Times, BuzzFeed News Mexico and HuffPost Mexico stopped producing Spanish-language coverage. Tribune Publishing also closed Hoy, a Spanish-language weekly newspaper in Chicago. Although content is sometimes still published in Spanish, as will be the case at the Dallas Morning News, it is no longer original reporting.
According Census data, the Hispanic population is the largest minority group in the United States and Spanish is the most common non-English language spoken in U.S. homes. Not providing news content in Spanish does a disservice to a large portion of Americans. Furthermore, false political information is more likely to reach U.S. Latinos and Spanish-language mis- and dis-information often goes unchecked. This is why it is important to provide more news in Spanish, not less.
In a statement about Al Día’s closure, the Dallas News Guild said, “Dismantling this team affects not only the employees but also the entire Hispanic community of North Texas.”
SPJ values the original content produced in Spanish and hopes more Spanish-language news will be published across the U.S. including in Texas with the reinstatement of Al Día.
SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to informing citizens; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and fights to protect First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. Support excellent journalism and fight for your right to know. Become a member, give to the Legal Defense Fund or give to the SPJ Foundation.
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