Spanish-language newspapers face challenges in establishing a niche and achieving long-term success due to the closure of several major papers, but growth is still expected in this market. Experts note that papers need to carefully define their target audience and community to build credibility and attract consistent advertisers. While the Hispanic population and potential for Spanish-language print is expanding, the industry is still maturing and the future success of these newspapers remains uncertain.

1. Spanish-language papers face
hurdles in finding right niche
by·Kelly Shermach
Staff Writer Some have died, graves await others
Despite some recent deaths in the industry, experts on the Hispanic
Spanish-language print is keeping its market predict growth among ~panish-l~nguage n~wspapers in the future.
head above agua, but some newspapers
have bid adios.
The recent deaths ofgiants such as El
Daily News published by The Daily News,
New York, and La Raza Domingo, the
Chicago Sun-Times supplement, among
others, have given the Spanish-language
print indusny the reputation of being
unreliable in a "here one day, gone the
next" sort ofway.
"I think everybody wants to jwnp on
the bandwagon, and that's giving print a Graphic by John Foster Jr./Marketing News
bad name," said Norma Gonzalez, vice
president-director of media at Monte- very difficult to maintain readers where keters have been turned off because [the
mayor & Asociadas, San Antonio, Texas. you don't have the news that they papers] are fly-by-night."
"Evetyone who wants to expand wants to want"-and marketing the publication to "Growth is going to come with publi-
put out a Spanish-language publication." the community as well as to advertisers. cations defining their niche," she said
And the challengers aren't confined Because some papers have closed, and predicted opportunity in "targeting
to overcoming a bad rep. Without fol- Gonzalez said, "advertisers and mar- affluent professional women and house-
lowing a formula for success, others will wives as well." She suggested publishers
die, too. start small, identifYing their conswners
Success, she said, requires determining and not trying to capture all Spanish
the necessary frequency for the reader-
~ ---~----~ speakers, to set a firm foundation that
ship, distribution, news content-with _--. the community and advertisers can rec-
competition from broadcast media, "it's ! ! . . . . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _I '
.... see Spanish on page 14

2. Spanish supplement since 1976. Now'known vertisers will place more in print, es-
as El Nuevo Hem/J, the 40-page pecially to reinforce their broadcast
paper has a daily subscription base of campaigns. "Print may survive more
continuedfrom page 1 103,000 and a Sunday subscription than any other media," she said.
base of 128,000. Sam Verdeja, vice However, she said publications must
president ofcommunity.relations, look to "a nontraditional future," not
ognize and respect. said the publication has grown in only in the big markets but in the
Right now "They try to start off readership every year, and advertis- emerging secondary markets, such as
too big and want advertiser support, ing has grown to five times what it the "sizable pockets" in Oregon and
but the advertisers don't want to com- started out at 20 years ago. He claims Oklahoma. Because these smaller
mit because they want some credibili- the paper is a success because it markets are isolated, chances are they
ty to fall back on," Gonzalez said. meets the needs ofthe market, will be catered to not by their own
"The Hispanic market as a whole changing content as the market local radio and TV stations but by
is still in the infancy stage," said changes and keeping in close touch cable and community-based newspa-
George SanJose, president of San with its advertisers. pers, said Adams.
Jose and Associates, Chicago. And Communication with the market "I think there's an explosion going
though "small community newspa- and advertisers helps foster equity in on," said Octavio Nuiry, PR manager
pers have learned the language of such publications. Loretta Adarris, at Ad Rendon & A$ociados, Newport
Corporate America," supplements in president ofMarket Development Beach, Calif. He and Kirk Whisler
the general market have the tough Inc., Chula Vista, Calif., said publish- just compiled The 1996 Complete His-
challenge ofunderstanding what will ers ofSpanish-language newspapers panic Media DiTectory for ADR Pub-
succeed in the segment. need to nurture brand image, which lishing, Newport Beach. The book
"Regardless of the people you includes frequency, and news and ad- identifies about 1,100 publications in
bring in to manage the supplement, vertising content. For instance, His- the U.S. that target Hispanics in En-
you're never going to have the entre- panics like the coupon supplements glish, Spanish, or a combination of
preneur spirit or the know-how ofthe that run in Thursday and Sunday the languages.
entrepreneur that's necessary," said editions ofgeneral market dailies, she "Not only is it a boom in terms of
SanJose, when the manager's whole said, and the sports coverage in the numbers of papers," Nuiry said, "but
life depends on the publication, when Spanish-language papers provides the ad budgets·are growing at double-
marketing isn't just a matter of visuals the audience is accustomed to digit rates." But, he cautioned, those
money but a matter ofheart and soul. watching on Spanish-language who don't write for and advertise to
SanJose said the issue ofsurvival broadcasts. That type ofmarketing the Spanish-speaking market the
for Spanish-language newspapers aims for crossover from TV to print. right way will find themselves out of
goes much deeper than big opera- Newspaper marketers must learn jobs. A foothold in the community is
tion, big budget vs. small. Those in- to put marketing principles in place necessary to know what it wants and ·
volved have to know the systems, and accommodate the.marketing needs and to produce a popular
procedures, and culture ofthe His- function completely, Adams said, be- product.
panic community they target. The cause advertisers, who have learned "Hispanics are hungry for infor-
top editors and marketers at general marketing principles, expect no less mation, and while they are the heavi-
market publications tend to stick to from newspapers. est users of broadcast media, print of
the rules established for the general "I think there's a big future in the all types fills a void," said Gary L.
market, he said, and ignore signs of industry because I see advertising be- Berman, president ofMarket Seg-
what works within the Hispanic cul- coming more mature," she said. It ment Research, Coral Gables, Fla.
ture and what doesn't. Marketing to a used to be "a no-brainer" to advertise "That void is often community-
specific cultural group requires flexi- to the Spanish-speaking market, in based." The small publications will
bility and changing the rules, he said. part because there wasn't much com- expand as the Hispanic population
The Miami HeTa!J is an example of petition in marketing to Hispanics. expands, he predicted, yet he said, "I
these lessons taken to heart. It has As advertising to this market con- don't think anybody knows the truth
published a daily Spanish-language tinues to evolve, Adams predicts ad- about Spanish-language print." •
George L. San Jose President & Chief Creative Officer of The San Jose Group a Multicultural Advertising Agency