TUCSON, Arizona — Two years ago, Susana Barnett had been working at a local newspaper, La Estrella de Tucsón, the Spanish-language counterpart to the Arizona Daily Star.

That all changed when Barnett got a phone call from her editor and mentor, Liliana Lopez Ruelas.

“I’ve just been laid off. I am sure by the end of the day, you will be too. They’re shutting down La Estrella,” Lopez Ruelas said.

She was right.

By the end of that day, La Estrella was officially shuttered, and the 25-year-old Barnett had also lost her job.

Born in Tucson to parents who had immigrated from Mexico, Barnett was the first U.S. citizen in her family. Before she graduated high school, her father, a native of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, had been deported three times, eventually deciding the best and safest choice for himself and his family would be to stay in Mexico and build a life there. Separated by little more than a tall fence and a few dozen miles, the Barnett family remains strong and manages to spend plenty of time together when they can, a reality that many immigrant families in the Southwest understand all too well.

Barnett didn’t start out wanting to be a journalist. Like many college students with an uncertain plan for the future, she chose communications. Not long after, her passion for journalism was unlocked. After La Estrella closed, she began to understand just how valuable Spanish-language news is to a community like Tucson, and how devastating it was to have lost it.

In a city where more than 40% of the population identifies as Hispanic, losing the most reliable source of community-focused, Spanish-language news was devastating.

Something had to be done.

For veteran journalist Caitlin Schmidt, many for-profit outlets have lost their connection to the communities they’re meant to serve. It was, in part, this realization that led Schmidt to leave the for-profit news outlets behind and jump into the world of independent, nonprofit journalism.

Barnett joined the journey.

It took a little time, but armed with an idea and a philosophy rooted in community, the pair founded the Tucson Spotlight and its Spanish-language counterpart, El Foco de Tucson, as a nonprofit newsroom. Utilizing a social media distribution model, the pair has achieved initial success as a startup, securing funding and building an audience. They publish a daily newsletter on the Ghost platform and update their site Monday through Friday.

Both Barnett and Schmidt credit the hard work of their small team and focus on impactful, community-oriented storytelling. Still, growth on the Spanish-language side has been slower, and getting the stories that matter most to the Spanish-speaking members of the community has always been, and remains, a priority for them — particularly for Barnett.

“From the very beginning, you know, we were very committed to doing something for the Hispanic community,” Barnett told The Latino Newsletter. “All of the stories that we do on South Tucson are translated into Spanish. We're hoping to grow it. We're welcoming some bilingual interns to our team this fall. Our mission is to just continue growing both sides, and I'm really focusing on the Spanish side now.”

Although Barnett and El Foco are working hard to bring quality, independent, community-focused Spanish-language news back to Tucson, they are not the first to do so. Independent news organizations such as Conecta Arizona (2020) and AZ Luminaria (2022) have been providing Spanish-only or bilingual news for southern Arizona. Their coverage, however, is not limited to Tucson, and they may be unable to cover some of the more hyperlocal stories. It's a reason why Spotlight and El Foco were founded, and why other independent outlets have joined the cause. Most notably, perhaps, is Somos Tucson, founded by Lopez Ruelas, Barnett's mentor and former editor at La Estrella.

According to Schmidt, none of these news organizations are competitors, though. In fact, they are collaborators.

“If we can’t cover an event, we’ll reach out to one of the other ones to make sure they do. It’s a collaborative effort, which is what I really love about independent journalism,” Schmidt said.

This sentiment was echoed by Lopez Ruelas: “Se puede hacer mucho más si nos unimos.”

It’s a lesson Barnett has already learned.

“I am really about community. That is my whole thing,” Barnett said.

This mission to provide Spanish-language news for those who need it is a personal one.

“Being from that community," she added, "it drove me to want to cover our stories because a lot of people don't feel like they have a voice or they don't have that power. I feel like, because of the privilege that I have of not being scared to be deported or detained, I have to use that to support people like my parents and my sister, who didn't feel like they have that voice.”

Joe Wright is a philosophical columnist, author, and educator whose work blends storytelling, critical thinking, and empathy to challenge social norms and foster meaningful dialogue. He runs community-based education programs focused on history, ethics, and creative expression, driven by a deep commitment to justice, voluntary cooperation, and human connection.

Editor’s Note: The Latino Newsletter and Tucson Spotlight/El Foco De Tucson are both members of the Tiny News Collective. Our shared membership did not influence the publication of this story. It was an independent pitch by a contributor that we accepted. More about our editorial independence policy here.

Trump and American Latino Museum: Via Spectrum News, “The future of the planned Smithsonian Museum of the American Latino is in doubt after President Donald Trump provided no money for the project in his proposed federal budget.”

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