This week’s guests on the “Beyond the Headlines” podcast are two of Spotlight’s newest reporters, Cristal Sanchez and Nathaly Suquinagua. Together, they form the reporting team behind Spotlight Delaware on Español, which delivers news to Spanish-speaking residents of the First State.
Cristal and Nathaly share a little about their backgrounds, discuss the challenges and joys of reporting on Latino communities in Delaware, and explore how Spanish-language coverage intersects with our English-language reporting.
The podcast was hosted by Director of Community Engagement David Stradley.
This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
I wanted to start off here sharing with our listeners a little of your backgrounds and your decision to join the Spotlight reporting team here.
Cristal, I want to start with you, as you’re not entirely new to Spotlight Delaware. Can you share a little about your previous work here, and why you wanted to come back and join the newsroom?
CRISTAL: I was actually an intern for Spotlight Delaware last summer, and I was on the operational side. I was really working hand-in-hand with the marketing team and community engagement team, so with you David, trying to come up with ideas and ways on how we could build up the news that was presented to the Spanish-speaking community.
I actually got a call from [editor-in-chief] Jake Owens, [to see] if I would like to come back and join the Spotlight Delaware team. I said yes because I honestly had a lot of fun working with the newsroom last summer. Sometimes in newsrooms I think that the environment is sometimes really competitive or there’s not a lot of care, and I saw that as a strength for Spotlight Delaware.
Spotlight Delaware also has a really good startup mentality. We’re really just interested in experimenting and trying to better our community engagement and also better how news is presented to various different communities.
And you recently graduated with a journalism degree, correct?
CRISTAL: I did, from the University of Missouri.
Well, we are glad that you were enticed to come back and join us full-time as a reporter.
Nathaly, you on the other hand, are totally new to Spotlight Delaware. Can you tell listeners a little bit about yourself and what drew you to want to work here?
NATHALY: I graduated [from] Temple, Became pretty good friends [there] with Julia [Merola], who’s another reporter here at Spotlight. I follow her on social media and she posted that she started working at Spotlight Delaware. I’m like, “Oh, what’s Spotlight Delaware?”
At the time, I moved back home to New Jersey. I read a couple articles and I thought the reporting was really well done, in-depth reporting. [I] was just keeping track and reading a little bit here and there. I saw that they were hiring a Hispanic reporter. And I ended up applying.
I spoke with Tim [deputy editor] and Jake. They really took their time to get to know me, where I came from, being first generation, and my background. They were like, “We really want to emphasize a lot on the Hispanic community.” I thought that was really nice to hear because I haven’t heard anybody really else want to focus on Hispanics and make that connection.
So, I got the job and I was really excited to get to know Delaware.
Let’s set the table a little bit for our listeners here, and let people know what are the current offerings for Spotlight Delaware on Español?
CRISTAL: We are trying to provide news to the large Spanish-speaking community that is here in Delaware. There is a need in the community to provide news that they can use. So for example, cuts in Medicaid and Medicare, or just even uplifting voices that perhaps otherwise wouldn’t have happened.
It’s really just being able to build trust within the community and offering Spotlight Delaware as a trustworthy resource
Right now, our biggest strategy has really been to meet the community where they are at. Based on some community engagement that we’ve done, there’s a really big Spanish-speaking community in Facebook groups and WhatsApp. From both of our personal experiences, short-form video is honestly where the Spanish-speaking community in Delaware tends to get their news.
So we’ve really been trying to hone in and brand our Spotlight Delaware short-form video every week on Fridays. They’re branded as “Tell Your Tia,” which is something that we were able to come up with last summer, and the concept behind that is, “Here’s some news [for] your aunt or your mom or your grandma.” So [we’re]’ trying to not only translate our material, but really culturally translate the news.
One thing that Spotlight Delaware on Español is not is a weekly standalone newsletter of strictly Spanish-language content. Why is that? Why the focus on video and not a Spanish-language newsletter?
NATHALY: For the Hispanic community, from my experience and watching my parents, the communities around me, they tend to watch very short videos online. Something quick.
I always mention my dad because he’s just a great example. A lot of the time he watches news on TikTok, videos online, social media. And he’s like, “Oh, I saw this news,” and he would send it to me. I’m like, “Okay, so like that’s how you get your news?” He would send me only videos, because it’s just quick, easy, he understands it, and that’s it. Simple.
People sometimes just want quick videos to be able to see what’s going on in their communities. Since we speak Spanish, I think it’s so much easier for them to be clicking the videos and understanding what we’re saying in the communities.
There are also articles that appear on our website that are in English, but that deal specifically with Latino communities. [Note: every article on the Spotlight Delaware website can be immediately translated into Spanish or Haitian-Creole by using the “Select Your Language” toggle immediately under the main navigation toolbar.]
Most recently, for example, articles about how the Guatemalan community in Georgetown rallies to support families when they face tragedies, or about how a teacher at Sussex Central High School has created a mentorship program for multilingual learners.
How do you see those articles written in English as connecting to the work of Spotlight Delaware on Español?
NATHALY: When it comes to watching the news, I think we see a lot of immigration headlines nationally and locally. I think our goal is also to show the good part of it, to show that these Hispanic communities rally together.
It’s not just immigration. I think coming together is really important to show people and Hispanics that we’re here, we’re working together, we’re getting through this. I think it’s just really important to show the community together right now.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but when you are out there reporting these articles, you are doing your interviews in Spanish. Does that play into this idea, again, of Spotlight Delaware en Español?
These articles are in English, but your reporting has been very definitely “en Español.” How does that play into getting trustworthy reporting?
CRISTAL: Oh, yeah. I mean, just right off the bat, I always start with letting people know that I do speak Spanish. Since I am white-passing, I can I almost describe it as I can feel barriers are sort of lifted whenever I do speak with people and let them know that I am a part of the community and that there are things that I do understand that are going on in the community that require, for example, using anonymity.
So I think the fact that Nathaly and I both speak Spanish is the reason why we are able to write the stories that we do, and it’s the reason why people trust us to write the stories, is because we connect with them in a way that perhaps other reporters couldn’t due to language barriers or cultural barriers.
The fact that we both have that knowledge under our belt has helped immensely.
NATHALY: Yeah, I definitely agree.
I think when we start off talking in Spanish, introducing who we are – I know for me, I usually start a lot of my interviews with “My parents are Colombian and Ecuadorian.” I talk a little bit about my background just so I can relate with them. And once I kind of give them who I am –
it’s all in Spanish – it gives them more of, like, “Okay, well, I trust you. I’m going to be able to tell you my story. I’m going to give you details.” [Detail that] I think a lot of reporters who don’t speak Spanish kind of miss. Speaking to people in Spanish, their native language,they feel super comfortable talking.
Cristal and I – I think we’re doing a good job. I hope we are.
Two years ago when we were starting to come up with the Spanish-language strategy, it was clear, as you all have mentioned, that video was going to be a big part of it. Then we actually thought, “Well, if we’re creating a Spanish-language video each week, we should also be creating an English-language video each week.”
We asked the question: should those videos be about the same story, or should they be about different news stories? There were arguments on each side.
On the one side, there was this [sense of], “Well, let’s do the same story so that we’re creating this kind of shared knowledge base for all Delawareans.”
On the other side, there was the argument that, “Hey, if you really want to specifically serve the Latino community, sometimes those stories are going to need to be different.”
You have walked into this setup here at Spotlight Delaware. Is that a tension you feel, serving those two different audiences? If so, how do you navigate that?
CRISTAL: Yeah, I think it’s important to recognize that different communities are going to have different needs. When you have reporters on the ground who are covering different types of communities, we obviously hear topics that are of priority in the community that maybe aren’t also the same priorities for other communities as well. In recognizing that, it means that we have to be cognizant of, “Okay, what is the most important information that the community needs as of right now?”
That may mean focusing on a story on immigration enforcement, but that also may mean also not focusing on a story on immigration enforcement, because not all Spanish speakers are immigrants. And so also leaning into if either of us attended an interesting Hispanic cultural festival, highlighting that in that week’s story.
As you’re a journalist on the ground, it’s just different because needs are different and because this is a community that isn’t largely covered in mainstream media, or if they are, it largely falls under negative news.
I’m guessing that when you are out there in the community meeting people, that you also are spreading some trustworthy news and information.
You’ve got the videos out there, but do you find yourself when you’re out there in the community, people are just asking you, “Hey, what’s the news about this?” And are you able to connect and spread information that way too?
NATHALY: Yeah, the more I put myself out there, the more I have these stories written, the more people will trust me and ask me questions to give them answers. That’s our whole job and our goal is to inform these people, teach them, and also let them know that there are things going on in our community that we need to have a conversation about.
CRISTAL: Yesterday I saw one of the people who I’ve spoken with, speak with regularly for my stories. She has a lot of good information. And she was recently impacted by the Medicare cuts. She was asking me if there were any updates, asking me if there were any resources.
So I think just the fact that I can point to the reporting that I’ve done, just be able to keep the community up to date on what we find out, and if there’s any resources that they can use. Like Nathaly said, getting to that point where people can trust us in the community is why we got into journalism, because I sort of think of it as a public service.
Information to me is a right that everyone should have.
As you both have been getting to know Delaware, has anything struck you as being unique about the Latino communities in the state?
NATHALY: The big population of Guatemalans. I didn’t know there were so many Guatemalans in Delaware. Where I come from, I don’t have a lot of Guatemalan friends. I didn’t know really about the community and the culture.
The story I did on the Georgetown Guatemalan community coming together that much in crisis, I thought that was really nice. I haven’t seen anything like that in my time in Philly or in Jersey as well.
CRISTAL: I am really surprised and interested in how the Spanish-speaking community gets their news. This is even something that caught me off guard or caught me by surprise last summer – to know how much the community really does rely on Spanish-speaking influencers or organizational leaders who have a really big social media presence for their news.
[The reason] Spotlight Delaware en Español is very video, social media-focused is because the truth of the matter is if a community isn’t being covered in mainstream media, that just paves the road for something else to come in and fill in that gap and that need for local news or just local information overall.
So I find that there’s also a really big community of Hispanic influencers that’s particularly unique.
What have you been finding so far are challenges of reporting on the Latino communities in Delaware? And what are the joys?
NATHALY: Cristal came in already kind of knowing some people in the community and they kind of knew who she was. I’m a little struggling with getting my name out there. A lot of people don’t know who I am, what my name is. I think it’s just that and making the connection and people trust me the more they get to know me.
So that’s one of my biggest struggles. I’m trying to go on coffee dates, go on festivals, just making sure people know who I am and making sure I’m a person that they can rely on and trust.
The joy is just talking to people. I love to know people’s stories. Just getting to know who they are, their communities, their culture. That’s why I got into journalism, because that connection is just amazing and I love it
CRISTAL: I think a challenge has been, as all my attorney sources will tell you, is just keeping up with the endless changes of anything relating to federal immigration policy right now. A lot of newsletters and my inbox is just flooded with those notifications. So it’s been really challenging to sift through the weeds and determine what is most particularly relevant to Delaware. This may be happening nationally, but is it happening in Delaware? It may or may not be.
And this leads to my joy, which is just keeping those constant connections with people who I meet. I’m in constant connection with a local Latino DJ who he’s really well in tune with what’s going on in the community. Leaders from La Plaza, who I know I can just text and ask. Bryant from La Esperanza has been great.
So in my mind, it’s just knowing that those people trust me to cover particularly sensitive stories.
Let’s close with this fill-in-the-blank question.
In your reporting work for Spotlight Delaware en Español, you will know you’ve done your job well if…
NATHALY: I like this question. I think if I get some sort of reaction on one of my articles. Knowing that people took the time to read, even if it’s a good reaction or bad reaction.
I got an email, not nice, on my immigration story. It wasn’t nice, but it gave me sort of like, okay, well you had the time [to write] a three paragraph email, a reaction out of that article and it had an impact in some way. It made you think about what I wrote.
That gives me sort of like, okay, you know what’s going on, you read it.
Just having a reaction, I think that’s important, whether it’s good or bad.
CRISTAL: It’s when someone else reaches out to me because of the story that I wrote and wants to share their story or is able to provide a different angle on the story that I wrote as well.
A couple weeks ago, I did a story on how Flock cameras were being used in Georgetown, and I received a lot of emails with talking points and angles and basically just more ideas to follow up.
So for me, a great story is going to be one of many follow-up stories that continues to raise more questions and to create a public forum where people can critically think about what I wrote and offer different opinions and, and perspectives
Thank you both for your time today. It’s great to have you on the team strengthening Spotlight’s service to Spanish-speaking Delawareans.