As a union, we support the efforts of our journalists in shaping a newsroom that is more reflective of the people we serve and the communities we cover. Despite being the largest demographic group in the State of California, Latinos at the Los Angeles Times remain chronically underrepresented in the newsroom. In an effort to advocate for better representation, The Times’ Latino employees have come together as the Latino Caucus under the L.A. Times Guild. They are sharing the following demands for change:
To: Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong
Cc: Norman Pearlstine, Kimi Yoshino, Scott Kraft
For much of its history, the Los Angeles Times has covered the Latino community in dehumanizing ways, painting us as criminals or victims or simply ignoring us.
The Times slurred Mexicans as “greasers” and “wetbacks” and immigrants without legal status as “border jumpers” and “illegal aliens.” It advocated for the invasion of Latin American countries, and vilified Central Americans as they sought refuge in Los Angeles during the exodus of the 1980s.
Today The Times continues to fail, in its staffing and coverage, to reflect a region where nearly one of every two residents is Latino. In doing so it has neglected to serve what should be its largest audience.
For decades, we’ve asked management to hire more of us, promote us and make us editors. But those calls have largely gone unanswered. Today, only 13% of The Times newsroom is Latino. Of 109 editors and managers, only 11% of them are Latino. The Times has only ever had three Latino masthead editors.
Despite it all, The Times has a powerful history of achievement by Latino journalists.
The Times was the home of Ruben Salazar, who inspired a generation of Latino reporters. It is the newspaper that won Pulitzers for “Latinos” in 1984, “Enrique’s Journey” in 2003 and “Bell Corruption” in 2011. It is the newspaper that continues to publish numerous stories by Latino writers that resonate locally and nationally.
We believe The Times must be a newspaper where this type of coverage isn’t the exception, but rather our guiding light toward a better future. And we believe The Times can only survive if it becomes a news organization whose staff truly reflects the community it purports to serve.
The Latino Caucus was established in July 2020 to call for change. We did so inspired by our Black colleagues, who formed the L.A. Times Guild’s first Black Caucus and pushed open the doors of what is possible.
We are speaking up now because we want The Times to succeed. And we believe that in order for us to do so, our owner and management must act on the following demands.
1) We stand in solidarity with the Black Caucus and want continued commitment to their demands.
2) Stop treating Latinos as a minority group. The newspaper must center our stories — online, in images, podcasts and L.A. Times Studio projects. Latino subscribers are fundamental to our survival, and how we regard or disregard this demographic moving forward determines our journalistic relevance and market value.
3) Build a newsroom that reflects the demographics of L.A. County, where Latinos are nearly 50% of the population. To start, we ask for a pledge that you hire enough Latino journalists to, at a minimum, meet the county’s demographics halfway within a period of five years. (This should not include interns, Metpros or editorial assistants). Ensure that these hires won’t be tokenized or only expected to tell Latino stories. While we take pride in telling the stories of our community, we can report on others just like anyone else. Prioritize hiring Latinos to the following posts or departments, which currently list zero or only one permanent Latino staffer:
Campaign 2020
Courts / Police / Crime
Investigations
Latin America
National Desk
Washington D.C.
Food
4) Formally apologize for fomenting episodes of anti-Latino hysteria in California and the United States.
5) Correct pay disparities for Latinos and other journalists of color and women whose salaries, post-Guild contract, remain glaringly low compared to white counterparts.
6) Guarantee that at least two Latino Caucus members, in addition to Black journalists and other journalists of color, are kept informed about the creation of new jobs, the search for candidates and the vetting of finalists.
7) Create a path for Latinos on staff to grow into influential roles: columnists, critics, editors and managers. We ask that in the next five years, you hire enough Latino editors and managers to, at a minimum, meet the county’s demographics halfway. We request that our company nurture those at Times Community Newspapers and also in entry-level positions where Latinos are now better represented, such as Metpro and editorial assistants.
8) Establish a robust pipeline for Latino talent. Connect with and contribute to Latino journalism organizations such as the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California. We request that you build a database of Latino candidates recommended by staff; reach out to them and track their careers.
9) Guarantee that in the next three years, you will increase outreach and hiring from public university systems with large Latino student bodies, such as the Cal State University system, where Latinos make up 43% of the student population. In nearly a decade, The Times has hosted more than 250 interns and Metpro fellows. Only 4% of those spots have gone to students from Cal State universities.
10) Provide L.A. Times en Español the resources it needs to succeed as a key L.A. Times brand representing Southern California’s vast Spanish-speaking market. We ask that management meet with their team regularly, market their work, and elevate and respect their voice in our newsroom.
11) Institute employee reviews for management and hold managers accountable for their track records of recruiting and retaining Black, Latino and other journalists of color.
12) End the practice of relying on Spanish speakers and other multilingual journalists as translators without providing a byline or additional pay. Hire Spanish-speaking translators or compensate Latino journalists for taking on additional labor translating for monolingual colleagues.
13) Commit to adding more Latinos on The Times’ business side. Hire publicists, consultants, marketing specialists and salespeople who have an intimate sense of Los Angeles’ diverse Latino market.
14) Invest in having The Times brand present in Latino Los Angeles. Host food, music, sports and cultural events catering to Latino audiences. Highlight Latino Times writers, invite them to create conversations and town halls across Southern California.
Signed,
Tony Barboza
Dylan Hernandez
Maria Torres
Eduardo M. Gonzalez
Carolina A. Miranda
Tomás Mier
Brittny Mejia
Jorge Castillo
Jackeline Luna
Cindy Carcamo
Nancy Rivera Brooks
Esmeralda Bermudez
Gabriela Fernandez
Patricia Escárcega
Jessica Perez
Fidel Martinez
Paloma Esquivel
Andrew J. Campa
Elsie Ramos
Ruben Vives
Andrea Castillo
Nicole Santa Cruz
R. Marina Levario
Martina Ibanez-Baldor
Christian Orozco
Gustavo Arellano
Denise Florez
Raul Roa
Javier Panzar
Nick Leyva
Soudi Jimenez
Betty Chavarria
Eduard Cauich
Jad El Reda
Alejandra Reyes-Velarde
Selene Rivera
Steve Saldivar
Leila Miller
Sergio Burstein
Dania Maxwell
Alexa Díaz
Julia Barajas
Brian Contreras
Joseph Serna
Yadira Flores
Priscella Vega
Laura Zornosa
Jose Salvador Mancia
Melissa Gomez
Gregory Diaz
Jared Servantez
Jade Cuevas
Marilyn Ruiz
Vanessa Martínez
Dorany Pineda
Mariel Garza
Victor Barajas
Diego Medrano
Vera Castaneda
Hillary Davis
Hugo Martin
Hector Becerra
Vilma Cruz
Efrain Hernandez Jr.
Melody Gutierrez
Ruthanne Salido
Julissa James
Yvonne Villarreal
Carlos Santana
Steve Padilla
Frank Rojas
Carlos Lozano
J.R Lizarraga
Taryn Luna
Elsa Luna Jones
Victoria Hernandez
Laurie Ochoa
Lorena Elebee
Jessica Martinez
Stephanie Chavez
David Carrillo Peñaloza
This letter was signed by members of the Latino Caucus of the L.A. Times Guild, other Non-Guild Latino staffers, and the L.A. Times Guild Black Caucus in solidarity