There is more access to receiving news from around the world but people really care about what is happening around the corner too. Local television news cover stories that has a larger effect on the lives of people in a small community.

“Many of the Latin American immigrants only understand Spanish, and it is our responsibility as reporters to keep these people informed,” Alfredo Carrera, forecaster for Telemundo Lubbock, said. “That is how we play the role we claim as a watchdog for our societies.”

Spanish programs in the Texas Panhandle inform their audiences about occurrences in the community including their health, children, government, law enforcement, education, economy, and agriculture that directly affect the Latino community.

“Hispanics want to see something that relates to them, that affects them and not their neighbor really,” Vanessa Abuchaibe, forecaster for Telemundo Amarillo and reporter for news channel 10, said. “Therefore we have to act by being involved with the community or simply reading other articles.”

Hispanic television is a large industry in the U.S. and the largest Spanish-language network by far, reaching audience sizes that compete with the three major English-language broadcast networks ABC, CBS, and NBC.

“Covering news in Spanish is really no different than in a big market. The stories come in and need to be turned around for news,” Gabriel Martinez, news anchor for Telemundo and FOX 34, said. “The only challenge is really having to turn copy from English to Spanish which is an extra step in the whole process.”

The Latino community in the U.S. has been growing consistently, and it is important for everyone to be aware of what is happening around them. If a group of people does not have access to credible information just because it is not available in its native language, its success will be limited.