JFP Partners with Vida en el Valle for Ethnic Media Outreach Grant
Posting: Thursday, June 16, 2022
The California State Library has awarded a grant to Journalism Funding Partners for Vida en el Valle for the Ethnic Media Outreach Grant Project.
The Ethnic Media Outreach Grant Project is keen on serving with media outlets that serve communities that are historically vulnerable to hate incidents and hate crimes because of their ethnic, racial, religious, gender/gender expression, sexual orientation or other identities.
Grantees support the public awareness efforts of the Stop the Hate Program administered by the California Department of Social Services. They provide aid and services to victims and survivors of hate incidents and hate crimes and facilitate hate incidents or hate crime prevention measures.
JFP asked Editor Juan Loera Esparaza at Vida en el Villa about the grant and what it means for the media group.
Q. As part of 50 ethnic media outlets and organizations from diverse and underserved communities chosen for grants, you're in good company. What does it mean to you for Vida to be included?
The Ethnic Media Grant from the California Library underscores the mission that Vida en el Valle began in August 1990 when it started publishing to provide news of interest to the Latino community in the center of the San Joaquín Valley. The partnership with Journalism Funding Partners validates the work that Vida en el Valle has been reporting on for more than three decades.
The weekly publication – which has zoned editions in Fresno (also serving the major cities of Merced, Modesto and Visalia) and in Stockton – has been named the country’s top bilingual newspaper 14 times by the National Association of Hispanic Publications. And, it has won several awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association (CNPA), including once for best weekly publication in its circulation category. The partnership further cements Vida en el Valle as a publication that is as valued for its journalism as major dailies like The Miami Herald and others. We are in solid company.
Q. What are some examples of how Vida will use this grant?
Vida en el Valle will use this grant to focus on the California State Library’s Stop the Hate campaign. Latinos account for more than half of the residents in the six-county region (Fresno, Tulare, Kings, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus, and San Joaquín) that Vida en el Valle serves. The region is diverse with large communities of Hmong, Sikh, Black, Portuguese, and Armenian ethnicities. Even the Latino community is diverse, with residents who are from El Salvador and other Central American countries as well as from diverse states in México. Vida en el Valle will report on how surging demographic changes have led to an increase in hate incidents/crimes in the region; and, how local governments have responded.
Our planned reporting will look at how racial tensions have impacted high school sports, if racial differences are handed down from generation to generation, how Latino LGBTQ+ residents come out to their families, and, how current political rhetoric can threaten the future of the LGBTQ+ community. We will also publish available resources for those who believe they have become victims of a racial/hate crime. Our reporting will be published online and in print in both English and Spanish.
3. For someone who doesn't live in California's Central Valley, how would you describe your community and audience?
California’s Central Valley has often been described as the Appalachia of the West because of its high poverty rates, low college degree attainment rates, and high unemployment rates. The region is rich beyond its agriculture which helps feed the nation and the world. Farmers have made grapes, pistachios, almonds and other crops a multi-billion dollar industry that drives the area’s economy. The Central Valley, however, is much more than agriculture and poverty. It is home to 4.3 million people Fresno hosts the largest Mexican folkloric dance festival in the world.
Fresno State University organizes the largest Latino graduation ceremony in the country. More than 14,000 will crowd into the Save Mart Center to watch about 1,000 Latinos earn their bachelor, master’s or doctoral degrees. Arte Américas Casa de la Cultura is the largest Latino cultural center between San Francisco and Los Ángeles and is the organizer of the largest Day of the Dead celebrations in the area.
U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrrea was born in the Fresno County community of Fowler, and taught at Fresno State and UC Riverside. He will have an elementary school in Fresno named for him this fall. One of the largest private employers in the area is Márquez Brothers, with plants in Fresno and Hanford, that produce cheese and other Mexican food products. Ruiz Foods, founded in 1964 and based in Dinuba, will become a $1 billion-company this year. The company is the nation’s largest manufacturer of frozen Mexican food. The Mexican influence in the region goes beyond the names of area cities like Fresno (ash tree), Madera (lumber), and Los Baños (springs).
Not only are there virtually taco trucks on every corner, but Fresno’s minor league baseball organization is the official owner of the taco meme and organizes an annual Taco Truck Throwdown, as well as sporting Fresno Tacos jerseys from time to time. Famous natives include author William Saroyan, singer/actress Audra McDonald, NFL Hall of Famer Tom Flores, NBA players Brook and Robin López, and author Gary Soto. César E. Chávez founded the United Farm Workers in 1963 in Delano, and led a social movement that is reflected in the increasing number of college graduates and professionals. This is our audience. It includes newly arrived immigrants, fourth-generation (and older) Latinos, farmworkers, professionals, students, instructors, Dreamers and more.
Out of 86 applicants, 46 ethnic media outlets and organizations from diverse and underserved communities were selected. The press release containing the list of the total grantees can be viewed here.
About Vida en el Valle: Vida en el Valle was created to provide news of importance to the Latino community of the central San Joaquín Valley. Each year, The Fresno Bee provides assistance to nonprofit organizations in the Valley whose missions fit within the areas of emphasis of the arts, youth, diversity, social services, environment, literacy, education, and community services. Visit online: www.fresnobee.com/vida-en-el-valle/
About JFP: The mission of Journalism Funding Partners is to strengthen the depth, diversity and sustainability of local news by building and shepherding relationships between funders and local news organizations. JFP is a recognized nonprofit that acts as fiscal sponsor, allowing foundations and individual funders to contribute directly to local news, regardless of the news organization’s business model. JFP manages the funds feeding numerous news initiatives, including more than a dozen Climate reporters in the Southeast, an Equity Desk at The Sacramento Bee, an Education and Economic Mobility Desk in California’s Central Valley, the Investigative Fund of The Miami Herald and for Inclusivity and Investigative funds at the Associated Press.
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Media Contact: Rusty Coats, Executive Director | rusty@jfp-local.org | (813) 277-8959
