Yes. We know what you’re thinking. “Ethnic NewsWatch” sounds like an earnest mimeographed pamphlet from the 1970s. And the interface: just another generic library database. For heaven’s sake, you can’t even browse the periodicals cover-to-cover like you can on microfilm. It’s all plain text – no PDFs or page images. We get that.
But we’re here to tell you, Ethnic NewsWatch is a hidden gem. A little time and patience spent with this database will yield unique items you won’t find anywhere else in our collections.
Created in 1991 to fill a critical gap in library collections, Ethnic NewsWatch presents full-text newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press. It includes popular, organization-based, and advocacy periodicals as well as scholarly journals on ethnicity and ethnic studies. The database offers both national and regional coverage. Ethnic NewsWatch has recently added a historical file with articles dating back to the late 1950s to complement the current coverage from contemporary publications.
Ethnic NewsWatch provides coverage for the following communities in North America:
- African American/Caribbean/African
- Arab/Middle Eastern
- Asian/Pacific Islander
- European/Eastern European
- First Nations
Spanish-Language Content in Ethnic NewsWatch
Nearly a quarter of the 2.5 million articles in Ethnic NewsWatch are in Spanish. making it a rich resource for exploring Latinx politics and cultures through newspapers. Some noteworthy Latinx titles include:
- El Diario La Prensa, New York, 1992-present
Also known as El Diario Nueva York, the oldest Spanish-language daily in the United States.
- El Latino, San Diego, 1992-present
The leading Hispanic newspaper in San Diego and the largest Hispanic owned Spanish-language newspaper in California. - La Opinión, Los Angeles, 1992-present (some exceptions)
The highest-circulating Spanish-language newspaper in the United States and the second-most read newspaper in Los Angeles.
- Mundo Hispanico, Atlanta, 1991-present
Georgia’s largest Spanish-language publication. - La Raza, Chicago, Dec 2007 – present
This weekly covers local news. - Impacto, New York, June 1992-present
This weekly began publishing in 1967.
In addition to news dailies and weeklies, Ethnic NewsWatch offers several scholarly journal treating Hispanic history and culture, including: Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, 2001-, Chiricú Journal, 2019-, and The Latin Americanist, 2019-.
Access to Ethnic NewsWatch is supported in part by the Arkansas State Library Traveler Project. This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
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Independent Voices is an open access, collaborative digitization project of the alternative press. Hispanic titles in the collection include: El Alacran (University of Texas student paper, few issues), Basta Ya! (Los Siete de la Raza, 1 issue), La Cucaracha (Pueblo, CO), El Gallo (Denver, CO), and more.