Spanish diocesan paper serves LA's Latino immigrants

National Catholic Reporter, Dec 15, 1995 by Leslie Wirpsa

"Communication with my children has improved, and they are happier and more relaxed. I feel like my life is now a new book," the woman concluded.

A sidebar provided a description of what constitutes child abuse; another profiled a community prevention center and requested donations of clothing and toys for the program.

Vida Nueva is an active forum for Catholic social thought with regular columns by Mahony and Oblate priest Luis Valbuena and articles on everything from Proposition 187 to the labor conditions of Mexican oil workers.

The paper's appeal reaches beyond Catholics. Twenty percent of its readers are from other faiths or do not consider themselves connected to any church.

"We are evangelizing. We are reaching all kinds of people," said Ed Alvarez, head of advertising for Vida Nueva and for The Tidings, the archdiocese's 20,000 circulation English-language newspaper.

Like the communities they serve, the newspaper's editorial teammates are immigrants: There is Prieto, a reporter, from Colombia; the Uruguayan wife and husband team of Morandi and Stelmanchuk; photographer and editor Aleman from El Salvador; and Nicaraguan writer, copy editor and proofreader Roger Sanchez. They have broad professional backgrounds, some in print and others in radio, Several worked for Los Angeles' Spanish language daily, La Opinion, before coming to Vida Nueva.

The staff is backed by a handful of freelancers, a seven-member production team and a 10-person advertising department.

`It is like a child'

"We love this project. It is extremely innovative. It is like a child we are raising together: We watched its birth, and we are all here to see it grow," Morandi said, noting that members of the editorial team have been there practically since the paper's inception.

"We respect our readers. We write so that they feel that they have all of the ability in the world, just like anyone else, to get ahead," she said.

Aleman agreed: "The experts who have a voice in this newspaper are people who clean houses. They are migrant campesinos. We don't look for other `experts.' It is the people who give us their opinion, and that is just as valid as someone who has studied in the university."

Prieto said that given the current anti-immigrant climate, a publication like Vida Nueva takes on new significance. "Southern California is closing off roads for the undocumented, for migrants, and these people are our readers. They are the most vulnerable, and we are getting vital information into the hands of those people who have nowhere to turn."

Buen negocio?

Vida Nueva's budget still receives significant subsidies from the archdiocese. But advertising director Alvarez said he expects the newspaper to be self-supporting within four or five years. "We have planted the seeds of success," Alvarez said.

As advertisers confirm that the newspaper is a successful vehicle for sales, they agree to rate increases, Alvarez said. Consequently, ads and revenues are growing. Three years ago, Alvarez said, advertising revenues supported a 16- to 20-page paper; today, 48 pages is the norm and the biggest issue, packed with ads, ran 105 pages.