Disappearing Voices, Emerging Resistance: Journalism, Language, and Social Inequality in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands

This article examines how linguistic, geographic, and racial inequalities shape journalism in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. Focusing on Southern Arizona, it analyzes the rise of two community-driven Spanish-language news startups following the closure of the city’s only Spanish-language newspaper. Emerging in connection with a bilingual journalism initiative at a local university, these projects developed through collaborative research, community engagement, and newsroom experimentation aimed at addressing gaps in local news coverage. Drawing on research-action practices, collaborative research, and self-ethnography, the study examines how marginalized communities resist exclusion by producing culturally relevant media. It situates these efforts within broader discussions of news deserts, institutional inequality, and the systemic neglect of linguistic minorities, offering insight into how grassroots journalism—and the institutional spaces that can help incubate it—can challenge dominant media norms and reimagine local news in underserved, multilingual communities.