The Latino News Network (LNN) is expanding its local media coverage to Rhode Island and Illinois today.
The announcement represents the first move for the multimedia news source outside New England, where it was first founded in Connecticut in 2012.
The network’s statewide coverage and community-focused editorial approach provide visibility and raise voices about the challenges and opportunities that matter most to Hispanics-Latinos in a total of five states, including Massachusetts and New Hampshire that launched in 2020.
Hugo and Adrian Balta, owners of the LNN will make the formal announcement at the Latina Expo Chicago’s networking event Friday evening.
Hugo Balta will lead a panel discussion at the Latina Expo on Saturday about the increasing challenges and opportunities of serving a diverse community that’s separated by language, country of origin, and race (to name a few).
The guest speakers for the Covering Latinos: A Total Market Approach are Araceli Gomez-Aldana, WBEZ, Irene Romulo, Cicero Independiente, and Jackie Serratos, South Side Weekly.
LNN will continue to focus on covering the New England area, and its move into Rhode Island aligns with the rising state population of Hispanics-Latinos which now represents 16.6 percent of the state population, up from 12.4 percent.
While the latest Census numbers show the Hispanic-Latino population growing as the largest racial or ethnic group in Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois, there is no independent, English-dominant news and information source dedicated statewide for Hispanics-Latinos.
“In over 20 years in the industry, I’ve been tasked as an experienced, successful change agent to help evolve newsrooms,” said Hugo Balta, LNN Owner/Publisher. “While it’s apparent that there are well-intended local and national newsrooms, the reality is that our industry — and our democracy — need more independent outlets owned by publishers of color.”
“The majority of Hispanics-Latinos are U.S. born and as such are English language dominant,” says Adriana Balta, Owner/General Sales Manager, LNN. “Not enough messaging is produced in English with the cultural sensibility and authenticity necessary to reflect the experience of the increasingly culturally and economically influential group.”
LNN’s expansion builds on the success of the response to coverage of current events in order to spark public engagement. With topics ranging from arts and culture to business and politics, and an emphasis on Hispanic-Latinos in all sectors of society, news outlets will continue to provide original reports and coverage of the rapidly growing population in local communities.
About Latino News Network
The award-winning online news publication LatinoNewsNetwork.com (LNN) was founded by veteran journalist and former president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), Diane Alverio in 2012.
Since 2019, LNN is under the ownership and leadership of nationally recognized journalist and media advocate, Hugo Balta and his wife Adriana, a Sales and Marketing executive with domestic and international experience.
Hugo serves as Publisher and Adriana as General Sales Manager for the six online sites created by the LNN team to provide professional, journalistic coverage for and about the local communities’ fast-growing Hispanic-Latino population.
Latino News Network outlets include multimedia reporting and explore partnerships that promote similar focused strategies.
Follow the English language online news sources for Latinos on Twitter: @CTLatinoNews, @MALatinoNews, @NHLatinoNews, @RILatinoNews, and @ILLatinoNews.
