The Latino Newsletter is a new, independent nonprofit journalism outlet founded by Julio Ricardo Varela, award-winning journalist and founder of the breakthrough digital news site Latino Rebels. It is a daily, subscriber-only offering that will publish stories and audio podcasts through a clear Latino lens.

At the start of 2024, massive layoffs at the Los Angeles Times, The Messenger and other outlets left several A-list Latino and Latina journalists with no work. As NBC News reported, this daily void is raising concerns about how our community stays informed with accurate information.

Latino political power in the United States is still elusive. It does not exist at the level we perceive it to be. Over the past few years, several outlets (Axios, NPR, The City, The Atlantic) have covered this. A 2016 New York Times opinion piece said it best: Whatever Happened to Latino Political Power? It’s time to face reality. Growing demographics have not equaled real political power and respect.

In January of 2024, Pew Research published new data about eligible Latino voters in the United States. In 2022, it also published a comprehensive data analysis of Latinos, political parties and the issues the community cares most about. The findings show an electorate that is still evolving and trying to figure itself out. They challenged several assumptions about party identification and partisanship.

The lesson from the data is clear—generalizations about the U.S. Latino community and their political leanings are shifting. We are currently in a time of flux and new possibilities. With an information void clearly happening, there is an opportunity.

The community must own and drive the narrative. We cannot let non-Latino outlets and voices be the sole “experts” of how the U.S. views us. That is already happening and will only continue. The latest 2024 presidential election coverage shows that. We need to create more lanes for our community.

All reporting and commentary must be of the highest quality. It needs to be premium. There must be diversity of voice and opinion. Our stories can be syndicated to other outlets who want to feature our community.

This is your newsroom.

We would be honored to have you support us.