As a first Blog, I would like to thank Ed for his work, and his continued support, in helping the people of this company have a voice. I don't know just how extensive this network is, but I imagine that it can be very useful for many in the industry to see just what the LA Times is all about.
Javier J. Aldape, I wish you the best of luck in the most sincere manner.
Only time will tell, if Hoy will really be the paper of choice for the Hispanic audience. I have my own reservations about Hoy, but then again, I've lived in So Cal my entire life, and coming from a Mexican town called Guadalajara, puts me and my family in a very special position to have this feeling. For the last 32 years, I have seen my family grow up and grow apart from La Opinion, the only "real" Spanish paper. In recent years Hoy has made an attempt to grow in a Hispanic market that has a population figure that would put many cities in Mexico to shame, yet we only distribute how many papers in Spanish??? The Spanish newspaper should have equal if not, numbers close to our English counterpart, but none have come close. This is based on the fact that So Cal has a population that is over 50% hispanic. In asking all of the people that live here in So. Cal, the answer that I always get is that all Spanish papers in Los Angeles are "boring" and have "bad news stories", so I ask, what would you like to see???? The overwhelming answer is " I want the Los Angeles Times in Spanish. I don't know about you, but most marketing firms that do their homework will do small test like this, and study the results before launching a product. I don't recall that ever happening here in L.A with Hoy. I might have missed it. But if Hoy is to be the paper of tomorrow, it needs much work and much effort. Good Luck. If I had to do this, I would make it easy, and start from scratch, and call Hoy, "The Los Angeles Times en Espanol", use all of my current resources, use the same size paper to print it, saving money on newsprint, and that alone is in line with our current financial need. But most importantly, I guarantee you, subscription would go up, and that would make advertisers very happy.
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8 comments:
I am tired of having to cater to every group in every way. The LA Times should never be printed in spanish. I think they will lose respect from the core readers in doing this. The readers of the Times are more educated than other newspapers in socal. Tribune should sell Hoy they are not making any money on this paper, they are giving it away. Tribune needs to focus more on the Times after all this is the company that makes them loads of cash.
Finally the people that are here need to learn OUR language. Most of the people around the world want to know the english language, they should too.
MR.OC
I disagree with Mr. Orange County, my father is from Oklahoma and my mother is from Mexico, so I see Los Angeles differently.
I think a Spanish edition of the Los Angeles Times would increase circulation, and that equals additional income from advertisers.
With newspapers across the country showing negative circulation numbers, newspapers must do something completely different than they have done so in the past.
I agree! The demographics of this area have changed enormously over the last twenty years and the Times will need to evolve to attract new core readers, or risk going the way of the other dinosaurs. mr.oc, change is unstoppable, we can either embrace it or be left behind.
Guys I agree change is inevitable, I look forward to change, If you dont change you will be left behind in business. Whether you like it or not people that come to this country need to speak english. Everywhere we go people speak english . If you go to your doctor and he ONLY spoke spanish OR any other language would you want him to perform brain surgery on you or a family member? You could insert this same analogy with any career.
I am in know means suggesting people need to give up there culture, beleifs, heritage, etc,etc. I am simply saying they need to speak english. Ed when you go to Mexico I am sure there are plenty of people tring to communicate with you in english.
When do stop with all of this? Are all people in America expected to learn spanish? Why stop there what about Chinese,Russian,German,Italian, French. There are hundreds of languages . We only need one.
It is obvious to all socal is changing rapidly, but these people will never acheive the same sucess we all enjoy not knowing OUR language.
MR.OC
Mr. OC,
I, too, would have to disagree with you. As tired as I am of what we call 'catering' to others, we have to come to grips with the very essence of what our country stands for, and say: "It's okay." There are other (and more severe) instances where our selfish attitudes are more justifiable.
Let's look at it as a "change in the 'times'. (No pun intended)
Nubia
Mr OC,
Ahhh, I see the confusion. I believe Ed, nubia, and I are looking at this issue from the business point of view, newspapers need to attract new readers, and printing a Spanish edition may be a good way to accomplish that. You, on the other hand, are thinking globally and considering the societal need for immigrants to assimilate into the established culture. I agree with you on that point, when in Rome.....
I do not beleive the spanish LA Times would evere make it financialy. After I sent my first email on this matter this morning I read online that Tribune is selling Hoy in New York. Why? I would assume it is not making any money otherwise they would keep it. When Tribune started Hoy in socal they had huge plans for this area and it never succeeded. At its best time there were many zoned sections. Now there is only 1, Hoy-LA. The circulation started in the 200k+ range. The paid circulation never went above 300 people. Now the circulation is around 60-70k. , and it is a free giveaway. Have you seen a Hoy paper? It is very scandalous, women not wearing much for clothing.Do you think the Times would include that in there spanish version?
Nubia American companies are catering certain groups. B OF A is going to give undocumented people free credit cards and NO social security card is necessary for identification.Can you open an account without proper documentation? Do you all want 400.00 for free? This is what you do, go to B OF A and open an account, deposit 99.00 dollars and keep the account in good standing for 3-4 months, at this point BofA will raise your credit limit to 500.00 dollars. Than run up the ballance to 500.00 dollars and walk away from the debt. What is the bank going to do they cant track you down because you dont have a SSN #. What do you think the illegals are going to do now? What will happen is the bank will pass the losses off to to all that bank with them.
President Bush just released the budget for all to vomit on , and as usual California is getting nothing to deal with the immigration disaster. Who do you think is paying for all of this?
We all are.
MR.OC
La Opinion began publication in 1926. It's highest recorded circulation was 125,624. It has been the newspaper of choice for most Spanish speaking residents in LA for over 80 years!
Hoy is given away for free by the LAT. It prints between 70,000 and 110,000. It loses money.
Maybe if we gave away free copies of Hoy to illegals crossing our border with Mexico we could drive circulation numbers to the moon. Maybe street-racks in the desert sands and canyons would show gains.
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