It’s no news that both newspaper readers and radio listeners have declined over the last few years.
Pew Research says that from 2005 to 2021, 2,200 newspapers closed in this country. From 2008 to 2020, the number of American journalists fell by more than half.
On the radio side, about one in five Americans say they often get their news from radio.
At the same time, 48% of Black Americans say they get news from radio at least some of the time; that’s 42% for Hispanic adults and 37% for Asian adults.
Yet in a very diverse market like Las Vegas, radio stations and print media cater to many different communities. At a time when news can come from so many different sources, how do they stay in business, and what’s their support from listeners and readers look like?
LAS VEGAS BLACK IMAGE MAGAZINE
Fifteen years ago, Charles and Kimberly-Bailey Tureaud founded Las Vegas Black Image Magazine, a lifestyle and culture magazine, shortly before Barack Obama's presidency. They were inspired by President Obama and the nation's embrace of the first Black U.S. president and founded the magazine to showcase and expand the Black image in Nevada with Kimberly-Bailey Tureaud as publisher.
"We [needed] something to keep the positive imagery of the Black community alive and as an inspiration, not just to Black people, but as education to people who maybe [were] not in our community and not culturally familiar," said Tureaud. "I tell people all the time, it's not color, it's culture. And sometimes people get hung up even when we call the magazine Black Image. We get calls, "you know, I'm gonna do a white image magazine as well." But, "I just feel as though there was a void and it needed to be filled."
Kimberly-Bailey Tureaud said 15 years later, the magazine is growing, but she still feels like the Black community is still not getting the awareness and help it needs, especially when compared to other communities.
"I do believe there are a lot of systemic things that's caused the community to not elevate as fast as we would like to," said Tureaud. "I grew up on the Historic West Side. The deserts that were there are still there; it is moving towards a more positive development area, but I do question how many of those developments are owned by African Americans, by locals. There are also procurement opportunities that stem from the hotel community. We have the Raiders, we have all of these wonderful professional teams coming in. How many local business owners are African American that are really a part of that and a benefactor of that? I do believe we have a ways to go; I think there's a lot of introspection that has to be done within the community, but I think we're headed in the right direction."
LATINO MEDIA NETWORK
The U.S. population is growing, and Latinos have been the largest contributor to it. In Nevada, Latinos are the most populous minority, at just over 30%. But why does this matter? Well, many companies are looking to tap into the Latino market, one of those being the Latino Media Network. They were founded last year and secured an 80 million dollar purchase of 18 radio stations across the U.S., three of which are in Las Vegas.
Sylvia Banderas-Coffinet is CEO of the Latino Media Network, and said she sees the Latino market as a powerful economic force.
"U.S. Latinos now comprise the fifth GDP in the world, and US Latinos are also the third fastest growing economy in the country," said Coffinet. "Paying attention to this market is not something that I think is a gamble at all. We're excited to serve our community but also because we understand the importance and the intrinsic connection between the success of this country and the success of the Latino cohort."
Latino Media Network's stations will be entirely in Spanish, as well as provide music and cultural programming with additional efforts to inform and educate the community.
"We're known for our morning shows, and we serve everything from podcasts, but really at the core of it is music," said Coffinet. "We believe in the power of music when it comes to connecting to Latinos to their culture. A piece of music for us is not just a favorite Reggaeton song or a Mexican regional band that comes on, it's like a piece of home. Our DJs are not just voices on the radio, they are family to our listeners. And one of the best things about us is that we do it in Spanish, and that matters because as it turns out, 78% of Latinos prefer Spanish language radio."
Latino Media Network is also female-led, and aims to empower Latina women through their programming efforts.
Latino Media Network purchased the 18 radio stations from TelevisaUnivision, and the three stations in Las Vegas will be fully operated by Latino Media Network by the end of this year.
PHLV RADIO AND THE FILIPINO AMERICAN MEDIA ASSOCIATION OF NEVADA
The Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) population is the fastest growing ethnic group in Las Vegas, and if you've lived in Las Vegas for any extended period of time you know the valley offers a lot of Asian media, mostly print publications. But, Johann Sayson, President of the Filipino American Media Association of Nevada and CEO of PHLV Radio (Philippines Las Vegas Radio) thinks there is still a lot of work to be done, and a lot of possible growth.
Sayson founded PHLV Radio, a Filipino focused streaming service, in 2019. It offers talk show programming, Filipino music, community focused content, among other things. Sayson said the program boomed during the pandemic and is still growing, a lot of it due to its accessibility.
"We do not have the capacity to be on terrestrial radio, nor the funding to do that," said Sayson. "So, we did the online route. We have an app to broadcast and stream our service, as well as a website. And also, historically, Filipinos are very much into the latest gadgets. In the Philippines, everybody texts, everybody has a cell phone, tablets, etc; so we thought of distributing content to the devices that they already have. We found that it's very effective."
Additionally, through the Filipino American Media Association, reach and impact to the Asian community has increased according to Sayson.
"We have newspapers as well as TV, and now online radio," said Sayson. "And this combination of delivery platforms are now able to reach a wider age group among the community."
Sayson has also become politically engaged to see if there are ways local and state governments can help bolster minority media organizations like PHLV Radio. Sayson's met with Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo and legislators in Carson City, but his biggest goal is to increase Asian American coverage and awareness in media.
"We've made it a mission with the Filipino American Media Association of Nevada to amplify the voice of the Filipino American community," said Sayson. "We have a program to create a library of content for Filipino American content, sort of like a B-roll library, so that our mainstream media partners, like KNPR or TV stations, can easily access cultural content and easily pitch a story. Because, that is the challenge right now, for our stories to be picked up."
Guests: Kimberly Bailey Tureaud, founder and publisher, Las Vegas Black Image Magazine; Johann Sayson, president, Filipino American Media Association of Nevada, and president/CEO, Philippines Las Vegas Radio (PHLV Radio); Sylvia Banderas Coffinet, CEO, Latino Media Network
