Boyle Heights Beat is ‘Por y Para la Comunidad’

As news deserts expand across the country, the tight-knit historic immigrant community of Boyle Heights is home to a groundbreaking journalism project that has become the community’s trusted source. 

Praised nationally for its unique model of community reporting, Boyle Heights Beat is driven by journalist-trained high school reporters who are often the first-generation children of immigrant residents. The news agenda is driven by youth and input from the community members who read it. This is news done differently. 

“That’s what we pride ourselves on, “por y para la comunidad,” which means, ‘for and by the community,’” says Kris Rivera, executive director and publisher. “This isn’t about reporters from outside the community, scooping in and doing a story and heading back out. We train youth reporters who live and are invested in the community.”  

This was never more important than during COVID. As Los Angeles was asked to lock down and work from home, the narrative was very different for communities like Boyle Heights.

“This is a community that was really affected by COVID,” Rivera says. “We did a lot of amazing pieces about what it was like for parents, uncles, aunts, who had that fear of going to work every day. They didn’t have a choice. They worked in fast food or as janitors or as first responders. Many residents here didn’t have the luxury of working from home.”

They also sought out answers for residents, especially those seeking information in Spanish to questions about vaccines, testing, why numbers were so high or simply  what was safe. 

Boyle Heights Beat publishes bi-lingual Spanish and English quarterly print editions with a circulation of 38,000 and a monthly podcast Radio Pulso. A fixture in the community after 12 years, they are now followed by mainstream publications looking for insight. 

This year, Boyle Heights Beat opened a dual office/community space in the heart of the neighborhood and were able to hire a former student reporter as a full-time community news reporter after he graduated from college.

“Boyle Heights Beat offered me the guidance and mentorship I needed to find my way in life,” says Alex Medina, that newly hired community news reporter. “My mentors helped me transform my hobby of writing into journalism. As a recent college graduate, I’ve returned to the program that gave me the support I needed in order to give back and support other students and community members.“

Its unique model also provides vital support and education, including professional mentorship for hundreds of student reporters. Most go onto college and some into journalism. Many return to give back to Boyle Heights. 

“You see them become curious and care and develop a relationship with their own community,” says Rivera. “It’s inspiring. It’s what this is about.”