When building capacity means providing legal support

We are well into the new year and a second Trump administration, and our mission to expand Latino media infrastructure feels more urgent than ever. Since we launched the Latino Media Consortium last September, we’ve seen: 

• an increase in attacks on individual news outlets, public broadcasters and retaliation against the Associated Press for calling the Gulf of Mexico what it is

• the purging of federal grants, programs and employees deemed to be promoting diversity, equity and inclusion

• dozens of policy changes upending our nation’s immigration system and putting millions at risk of losing legal protections or being deported

• and, as of March 1, an executive order making English the official language of the United States, despite the substantial and growing share of multilingual Americans 

These represent a tiny fraction of Trump administration policies putting a free press — and the Latino communities they serve — on their heels. They are also the stories LMC publishers exist to unpack on behalf of Latino audiences. 

Our publishers have been making sense of the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant and anti-DEI policies for Latino readers in English and in Spanish. Most recently, that includes a look at the legal fight to preserve Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants; an explanation of who can be arrested under a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement directive authorizing detentions on courthouse grounds; and an in-depth look at the humiliating experience of visa revocations occurring along the U.S.-Mexico border.      

With their journalism, LMC publishers are validating the lived experiences of immigrants navigating extraordinary challenges and equipping Latino communities with reliable information that cuts through the noise and uncertainty of social media. This is why LMC exists: to expand Latino media infrastructure by investing directly in publishers meeting the needs of Latino communities with relevant, trustworthy content. 

To all publishers engaging in this important work, we see you and we appreciate you. 

To those of you resourcing this work, we’d love to speak with you about investing in the Latino Media Consortium. Please reach out to set up a time to learn more about our 2025 priorities and ways to support. 

In community, 
Amanda & Lucy

Consortium news & notes

📆 Announcing our first event: a legal briefing for publishers

Given the extraordinary challenges facing immigrant communities, we are especially pleased to announce our first virtual event with co-hosts Tiny News Collective and URL Media: a legal briefing for publishers serving immigrant communities in the Trump era. 

Please join us on March 25 with attorney Erin Morrissey Victoria to discuss best practices, including public records strategies; source confidentiality and protections; risk management for small newsrooms; cybersecurity considerations and more.

Space is limited; RSVP now to save your seat. 

🙏 Thank you, Latino Community Foundation!

Mil gracias to the Latino Community Foundation for their generous and ongoing support of our work. LCF was one of our first funders, and we’re thrilled that they have decided to renew that support with an additional investment in our mission and members. 

🎉 New ways to support 

Wondering how you can support LMC’s mission? We’re happy to report that — with the support of our fiscal sponsor, Tiny News Collective — you can now donate to the Latino Media Consortium. Your donation will help us 

📊 assess the needs of independent Latino media operators
🤝 provide them with customized infrastructure support
🛣️ bridge the capacity gap in Latino media

Every bit makes a difference as we work to provide financial and capacity building support for our member publishers. Thanks for considering! 

And a huge thanks to Amy Kovac-Ashley and Jason Tompkins at Tiny News Collective for getting us up and running in short order. We’re grateful for the support and looking forward to partnering more with you to make local news more diverse and sustainable.