Hispanic Personal Finance Reporting Program

"This training was extremely valuable and important because there is no other type of workshop that exists like this one. Thank you very much," - José Melendrez, a Peruvian-born journalist and founder of www.laalcancia.com , the first NYC-based Hispanic personal finance website.

Reporting on personal finance topics is a priority for many journalists, but often they lack the in-depth knowledge to effectively report on topics like mortgages, interest rates and retirement plans. To bridge this gap, The McGraw-Hill Companies sponsored two workshops for Latino journalists at Spanish-and English-language Hispanic news organizations in New York City and the Washington, D.C., metro areas. The program, conducted by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), taught journalists how their work can help to improve personal financial literacy in Hispanic communities in the United States.

The participating journalists came from print, radio, television and on-line news outlets. The two-day workshops addressed the full spectrum of critical personal finance topics, including investing, consumer debt, financial planning, mortgages and retirement planning. In addition, the robust program included visits to financial institutions and training sessions on service journalism. Participants learned about auto buying vs. leasing, college loans, rent-to-own schemes for household goods, advance-fee loans, fraud and identity theft. These issues particularly impact Latinos in the United States.

To increase the reach and duration of this outreach, the ICFJ created the first online personal finance tutorial for Hispanic journalists, which was launched in English and Spanish.

The success of the workshop was demonstrated by the many articles and broadcasts on the topic that were produced after the program. Outlets included Epicentro Politico, Radio Fiesta 1480 AM, and La Razón.