Spanish diocesan paper serves LA's Latino immigrants

National Catholic Reporter, Dec 15, 1995 by Leslie Wirpsa

LOS ANGELES--Members of the editorial staff at Vida Nueva, the Los Angeles archdiocesan Spanish-language newspaper, admit they have never tried to make their publication an "objective" one.

That's because, said staff journalist Alicia Morandi, the biweekly tabloid maintains one main objective: "favoring the most vulnerable in this society"--Latino immigrants.

With press runs of more than 100,000 and an estimated readership three to four times that, Vida Nueva, which in English means "New Life," has become a road map of survival for many of the 6 million members of the Latino community in Los Angeles. The newspaper, founded in 1991 by Cardinal Roger Mahony against 12 nay votes from his own cabinet, is distributed free every other Saturday morning. Staff members say it is hard to find a copy of the publication by noon on distribution days.

"Most immigrants arrive here frightened," said reporter Patricia Prieto. "And we at Vida Nueva are saying to them, Use these services; you can receive education here.' The newspaper lets them see they can have a better life, a life of dignity. We don't write just words."

Noticias en espanol

Vida Nueva is among the largest Spanish-language, diocesan-run newspapers in the United States. It is a dynamic example of a genre of newspapers that is growing as the church awakens to the need to communicate with Hispanics, who compose a full third of the church and in 20 years, under present trends, will claim majority status among U.S. Catholics.

Many Spanish-language diocesan' newspapers or Spanish supplements to English diocesan publications focus primarily on church-related and pastoral news. But some, with Vida Nueva at the forefront, are taking a different approach: They are committed to "service journalism" that goes far beyond religious news.

For Vida Nueva, says Editor Victor Aleman, a first-generation immigrant from El Salvador, that means a two-pronged approach to journalism. "We inform, but we also tell people what they can do with that information, where they can get involved," Aleman said. Packed with practical stories about people's lives and struggles, and with addresses, phone numbers and calendars of church and community events, the newspaper has become "an organizing tool," said Aleman, who worked with the late Cesar Chavez in communications for a decade before coming to Vida Nueva.

"People began to collect the newspaper, and they became leaders in their communities because they had all this stored information. They collected it so they could pass it on to other people. It became very participative," he said.

Said Morandi: "We share a common denominator of social conscience. We came here leaving our families behind, not speaking the language, in precarious economic conditions. We have had this experience, so we can put ourselves in the place of other immigrants very easily. We understand their needs and desires."

Award winner

This formula has brought wide notice to Vida Nueva. In 1995, the publication raked in 10 awards from the National Association of Hispanic Publications including the prestigious "Best Overall Publication" from among a pool of several hundred secular and religious newspapers. The publication was commended in a variety of categories, including design, photography and editorial content.

Vida Nueva gets high praise from readers, too. According to a survey released in late November, 67 percent of the newspaper's readers would like to see it published more frequently; 68 percent said they read the entire newspaper; 60 percent said they spent between one and two hours reading it; 81 percent of those who responded said they used the newspaper to plan their activities.

Aleman said Vida Nueva's secret was that it let the needs of the Hispanic community shape everything about the newspaper. "The paper is easy to read. It's written so that people can read it quickly after work. Our people work two and three jobs. They come home, and their children need them. They need to get their information quickly," he said. "People don't have time to look up words in the dictionary. If they have to do that, they will throw the paper aside and flip on soaps on the television."

Simple language, however, does not mean articles lack depth or integrity, said Rogelio Stelmanchuk, a Uruguayan who writes cover-story features. "Most media companies treat people as if they are stupid. Our philosophy is, people are intelligent, they have a natural wisdom many times superior to that of the journalists, but they need simple and direct language," Stelmanchuk said. "So we are a publication for very intelligent people written in a way that the pueblo can understand."

Nothing boring here

Visual designs that speak boldly to the Latino culture are also essential, Aleman said. To illustrate his point, Aleman pulled out an issue of Vida Nueva with a main story about Mayan culture. The cover of the newspaper portrays an elderly Mayan woman dressed in a vibrant, red huipil. The words of the title, "El tiempo pasa: Los Mayas quedan," ("Time passes: The Mayas remain"), are cleverly molded into pyramid shapes, and bright colors accent headlines and subtitles.