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Latino issues beat lost in 'Republic' newsroom shakeup

Internal changes at The Arizona Republic have eliminated the Hispanic issues beat at a time when booming Latino demographics are influencing all facets of Arizona life.

In addition, a team of Latino reporters led by editor Teclo Garcia to staff the Republic's now-defunct íExtra! section has been dismantled and will be reintegrated into other teams, according to sources at the state's largest daily.

The restructuring is part of an initiative throughout Gannett Co.-owned newspapers, but Hispanic community members wonder if Latino news will be slighted.

Olga Briseño, director of the Media, Democracy & Policy Initiative at the University of Arizona, says, "Right now more information is needed, not less, because you have the immigration issue, which is a powerful and divisive issue, especially in Phoenix."

Briseño, a former journalist, adds newspaper newsrooms across the country must change to meet the competitive challenges of the Internet and other new communication channels. But a media outlet's highest standard is still whether they are "accurately reflecting" the community they serve, she says.

(At LP Journal press time, calls to Republic executives were not returned.)

According to Wired News, Gannett, the publisher of USA Today as well as 90 other American daily newspapers, will test a news-gathering theory called "crowd sourcing."

Under this initiative to drive more traffic to newspaper web sites, Gannett newsrooms were rechristened "information centers." Instead of being organized into separate metro, state or sports departments, staff will now work within one of seven desks with names like "data," "digital" and "community conversation."

"This is a huge restructuring for us," said Michael Maness, the VP for strategic planning of news, in the Wired story. Maness says the restructuring will be started in all of Gannett's newspapers by May.

Sources say Arizona Republic newsroom employees were required to "re-apply" for their positions by Gannett management, a move that worried some reporters who are not as tech savvy as others.

A report by the Knight Foundation on newsroom diversity shows that in 2005 about 24.2 percent of The Arizona Republic's newsroom was Hispanic, Black, Native American or Asian. The state's Latino population is about 25 percent overall, according to the Census Bureau.

While the Gannett Phoenix daily is getting rid of its Hispanic beat, another local media outlet is experiencing success with its new Latino News Desk. KJZZ radio station News Director Mark Moran says station listeners have responded favorably to the addition of two Latino reporters focusing on Hispanic issues.

"White people, Brown people, it doesn't really matter. The listeners are really appreciating the coverage," Moran says.