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BOSTON — It’s been an intense few days up here. The historic blizzard that ripped through the country's Northeast is past us. On this post-storm day, I’ve learned to value and appreciate what you do have, rather than chase what you don't.
A lot is happening right now, especially on the night of The State of the Union. The news cycle has been a whirlwind, relentless, but it’s felt like that for a while.
We are taking a pause at The Latino Newsletter to update our community on where we are. This is our 90th week. In another 14 weeks, The Latino Newsletter will be celebrating its 2-year anniversary.
In the coming weeks, The Latino Newsletter is launching its most ambitious funding campaign yet. As Founder and Publisher/Executive Director, I have been intentional in sharing the startup journey — the wins, the challenges, and the honest reality of building an independent Latino newsroom from scratch.
That won't change, so here are some updates to share:
American Colony: The response to our open call for pitches was phenomenal. We received more than 20 pitches, and in the next couple of weeks, we will announce which ones will be part of the series’ debut season. It is going to be a tough decision, but Senior Producer Joaquín Cotler and I just want to thank everyone who took the time to send us their ideas and trust us with them.
The Latino Newsletter Podcast: Season 2 continues with host Michelle Zacarias, and we are actively raising funds for a third season. Our goal is to announce a distribution and/or production partner soon. Our tiny production team is — simply put — crushing it. Check the latest episode at the end of this newsletter edition. Get the audio version here.
Our Audience: As of tonight, The Latino Newsletter has 25,882 followers across all platforms. Our main newsletter — hosted by Beehiiv — has 1,344 active subscribers and a 60% open rate over the last three months, along with a 2.43 percent click-through rate. We have 1,843 LinkedIn newsletter subscribers, who receive the same newsletter edition on that platform. Over the last three months, our website generated 12,990 unique visitors (up 284 percent), 24,010 page views (up 268.7 percent), and 16,560 sessions (up 283 percent).
A lot more is coming. In the next few weeks, we will be sharing our Spring 2026 Funder Briefing, and once our presentation video is ready, we will post it on YouTube and across all our platforms. Stay tuned.
Watching the recording of our funder town hall was emotional for me. In less than two years, this went from a solo founder to a cohesive, brilliant team of editors, journalists, producers, communicators, fundraisers, and talent. We passed our proof-of-concept phase with five stars. Now comes our most ambitious chapter yet.
The state of The Latino Newsletter is joyful, hopeful, and exciting. Now it’s time to keep doing the work and delivering, as we have for the last 90 weeks.
Julio
The Latino Newsletter is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Help us reach our $50,000 goal to fund our podcast’s third season and to offer more opportunities for journalists to file their stories without paywalls or paid subscriptions.
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What We’re Watching
New Podcast Episode: The video version of our latest podcast episode is out. Six-time Emmy award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker shares his unconventional journey from Hollywood actor to investigative reporter covering immigration and border issues — a transition sparked by learning about the horrors that transpired on California's All-American Canal.
Julio Ricardo Varela is the founder of The Latino Newsletter. He is also its current part-time publisher and executive director. He edited and published this edition of The Latino Newsletter.
Consider donating to The Latino Newsletter. Any contribution, no matter how small, helps keep this newsletter free and accessible to all. ¡Gracias mil!