Spanish-Language Media Bridges the Information Gap

Spanish-Language Media Bridges the Information Gap

In the midst of a national pandemic, it is more important than ever that every American has access to comprehensive health information. Government COVID reports, however, are often initially—or exclusively—provided in just one language: English. This poses a distinct challenge for non-English speaking Americans. Additionally, many mainstream media outlets are not dedicating significant coverage to issues pertaining to specific subsets of the population. To overcome this hurdle and ensure that Spanish-speaking Americans stay well-informed on important and relevant news stories, Spanish-language media has risen to bridge the information gap.

The federal government has failed to make crucial public health information widely accessible. When the CDC published a set of coronavirus guidelines in early March, it took them three days to post the same report in Spanish. Daily White House reports are only available in English, and the Spanish-language White House webpage has been out of service since Trump took office. Over 10 million Hispanic residents do not speak English well or at all and instead rely on Spanish. It is concerning that a significant portion of US residents could be left in the dark about critical health reports simply because governmental agencies have not made language accessibility a priority. In order for new policies such as social distancing or business restrictions to be effective, they must be understood by all the people they apply to.

In light of this concern, Spanish-language media has taken over the task of keeping Spanish-speaking Americans up to date on the latest pandemic developments. One Spanish-language radio station in Kansas draws listeners from the Hispanic community who either do not speak English, distrust government officials, or are concerned about misinformation on social media platforms. The Latin American Coalition, a Hispanic community organization in North Carolina, has been swamped with requests for COVID information and translations of public health information. The Coalition’s executive director compares the task to “changing a tire while the car is rolling,” while the publisher of a Spanish-language newspaper says the new translation work is forcing Spanish-speaking journalists “to work double.” Spanish-language news outlets such as these are filling the gaps left by governmental agencies.

Spanish-language media has also taken a distinct approach to its COVID coverage as the pandemic wears on. Mainstream media outlets have largely stuck to very generalized information or stories about the national response as a whole. While initially, Spanish-language news outlets also reported on the pandemic through a general interest lens, they have since shifted their focus to news stories particularly relevant to the Hispanic community. Many stories delve into the effects that the pandemic has had on the immigrant community, undocumented residents, and farm workers.




While these groups are clearly not representative of all Spanish-speaking residents, they have been hit especially hard by the health and economic crisis. Hispanic and black Americans face disproportionately high hospitalization and death rates from COVID, Hispanic workers are experiencing greater job or wage losses than either their black or white counterparts, and undocumented residents are not entitled to many government stimulus benefits.

The COVID pandemic has brought to the surface deep underlying issues with the current administration’s approach to disseminating important information. It has also highlighted the need for more mainstream media outlets to diversify their news coverage. Although the pandemic may have exacerbated these issues, it did not independently create them. The COVID crisis is just one of many national situations that Spanish-speaking US residents should remain apprised of. Going forward, our nation’s governmental agencies and mainstream media should use the lessons learned during this crisis to ensure that, in the future, every US resident—whether or not they speak English—has access to high-quality news coverage.