El Vocero Hispano is the largest Spanish language weekly newspaper in West Michigan that presents local and international news to its readers.[1] The newspaper is edited by its founder, Andres Abreu.[2]
Andrés Abreu, founder of El Vocero Hispano
Dominican journalist Andres Abreu moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1991.[2] Seeing the growing number of Hispanic and Latino Americans in West Michigan, with the demographic tripling between 1990 and 2000, he sought to create a Spanish language newspaper to serve the community.[3] When interviewed by Instituto Cervantes at Harvard University, Abreu said that he chose to publish only in Spanish "because it is the Spanish-speaking community that is interested in the Latino world; Hispanics who speak English are more integrated in the Anglo than in the Hispanic community."[4] While he was working at a factory full-time, Abreu and his wife published the first edition of El Vocero Hispano on February 24, 1993, using an old Apple Inc. computer.[2][3][5] The newspaper was originally in a tabloid format with a circulation of 3,000 papers weekly.[3]
In 1999, the paper launched its news website.[1] By 2008, the newspaper had grown to a weekly circulation of 20,000.[2] The Great Recession affected the paper's funding and circulation due to the lack of revenue from advertisements, selling its pre-printing press and moving to smaller offices.[6]El Vocero Hispano previously collaborated with The Grand Rapids Press, though as the Press was restructured, contacts between the papers diminished by 2009.[6][7] By 2016, the paper saw a rebound in revenue since the recession.[6] It then expanded its presence on social media and created a studio for guests and interviews.[1]
El Vocero Hispano has collaborated with Grand Rapids television station WOOD-TV, with the news station allowing the publication of its weather forecasts in exchange for assistance with some news segments.[6] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the paper and WOOD-TV reported on the effects that the pandemic had on the Latino community.[8]
12Covarrubias, Jorge Ignacio (February 17, 2016). "Spanish-language Journalism in the United States". Informes del Observatorio / Observatorio Reports. Harvard University. doi:10.15427/OR019-03/2016EN.
