The Impact of Hispanic Immigration in South Carolina Has Contributed to the Development of Spanish Newspapers in South Carolina

Hispanic immigration has brought numerous changes at all levels in the United States, especially in the news media. With a growing population that speaks Spanish as its first language at home and other public places as well, the purpose of journalism has changed the vision of the media. As a result, diverse community newspapers have been launched to fill in the gap of information in this popular Romance language. 

Day after day, people from different countries, from Mexico to Argentina, come to this country in search of a better way of life. Some states, like California and Texas, receive a big influx of them; others, like South Carolina receive just a few, a tendency that has been changing slowly in the last five years. 

According to SC Hispanic Outreach, an 11-year old non-profit organization that encourages and enriches the way of life of the Hispanic community in South Carolina, “until recently, Spanish-speakers were a tiny minority in South Carolina, exercising little, if any, influence in the state's political or economic culture. Now, the number of Hispanics in the state officially stands at 95,076, and could double to 190,152 by 2010, according to the U.S. Census.” 

This tendency has favored the introduction of newspapers written in Spanish, something that has been increasing gradually. Thirty years ago, there were no newspapers in Spanish in South Carolina. But, the present boom of Hispanic immigration, has made possible the establishment of a few community newspapers published in this language to give the Latino reader the news and information he would get from an American newspaper if he were able to read in English. 

“We have to learn from the American culture and try to cross the bridge between both cultures,” said Oswaldo V. García, director and editor of “Nuestra Gente,” a Hispanic newspaper that covers four important counties in South Carolina. “Our goal is to let the Hispanic community know more about their rights.”