The founding president of the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP), Kirk Whisler, highlighted the power of the Latino press in the country, and predicted that it “will survive and grow” in the future. Kirk Whisler, also believes in a “tremendous growth” of the digital media. This sector, in fact, today generates “$50 million in advertising” through all the Hispanic online newspaper and magazines.
The NAHP was founded in 1982 to encourage and promote publications in Spanish. It is an independent organization, and it represents the media in 39 U.S. states, in the District of Columbia and in Puerto Rico. According to recent data, it has a circulation of 23 million copies, and it gathers representatives of different media like Univision, Efe News Service, El Mundo, Los Angeles Times, El Editor or La Voz Bilingüe.
At the last conference of the NAHP annual convention held in Dallas (Texas), Whisler made such a prediction based on data that reflect the great potential of this sector. He indicated that Hispanic publications currently reach about 180 local markets in the United States –130 more than in 2000.
Not only the daily press is growing, but also the weekly papers. In 2014, there were about 455 in circulation. This proves that there has been an evolution, for only less than 100 copies circulated in 1982.
Another important aspect is that, because 24.6% of the Hispanic audience is bilingual, the print and digital media have tried to effectively reach those who read in Spanish as well as those who read in English.