The Guardian does powerful, necessary reporting on the horrors being inflicted on Latino communities through ICE raids, detention, and racial profiling. Your own reporting shows how brown, visibly Indigenous Latino people can be singled out because of their appearance.
But I rarely hear Latinos represented positively as successful, multidimensional members of mainstream society. When nearly every Latino story concerns immigration, crime, victimization, or entertainment, even compassionate reporting can begin to feel like “news porn.” I do not believe that is your intention, but without balance, the result still reduces an extraordinarily dynamic population to its suffering.
Brown Latinos whose Indigenous heritage is visible became an identifiable scapegoat for creating the horrifying political situation now hurting children, families, the economy, and—because of America’s global influence—the wider world. By design or not, the media helped create this climate. Preventing it from happening again requires incorporating Latinos throughout mainstream media—not confining them to Hispanic Heritage Month and immigration stories.
Hire more Latino journalists—especially “brown” Latinos with visibly Indigenous heritage—to report and appear on podcasts across every beat: science, technology, business, finance, medicine, politics, travel, culture, and everyday life. Cover Latino entrepreneurs, scientists, executives, homeowners, investors, customers, and leaders—not only immigrants, victims, criminals, or entertainers. Latinos should be telling stories about the entire world, not confined to explaining immigration.
That inclusion should extend to the Guardian’s subscription advertising. Show brown Latinos as the informed readers and paying subscribers who support serious journalism—not merely as the subjects of tragic stories. Finding the right message may require experimentation, but keep testing until it connects. This enormous and underserved audience represents real potential for subscriber and revenue growth — possibly by about 20%.
The Latino Donor Collaborative reports that the U.S. Latino economy reached $4.4 trillion in 2024. The Guardian has much to gain by recognizing this community as a major economic audience. When Latinos feel safe again, the economy will improve, with effects extending far beyond the United States. The Guardian can help correct media’s distorted picture of Latino life by showing Latinos as the integral, successful, and powerful members of society they already are.
