Las Vegas Review-Journal shuts down Spanish-language news coverage

The Las Vegas Review-Journal en español weekly newspaper has ended publication. The Review-Journal en español website, RJespanol.com, and mobile app were taken down, and the “7@7 en español” streaming weekday newscast stopped production Tuesday. Four full-time employees lost their jobs.

“We’re proud of the work done by the entire Review-Journal en español team,” Keith Moyer, the Review-Journal’s publisher and editor, said Tuesday. “Unfortunately, because of the shifting media landscape, we weren’t able to build a sizable, sustainable audience for these excellent products.”

Moyer said the decision to end the company’s publication of Spanish-language news was exceptionally difficult. The Review-Journal began delivering news to the valley’s Spanish-speaking community 30 years ago with the 1994 launch of El Tiempo Libre. That newspaper was rebranded El Tiempo in 2001, then rebranded again to Review-Journal en español in April 2022. That relaunch coincided with the debut of the newscast and the new website.

But that coverage and platform expansion 2½ years ago did not produce the readership and viewership needed to maintain operations, Moyer said. Identical problems have claimed many other Spanish-language news outlets across the country or led to cutbacks, Moyer said.

“This summer, the Fresno Bee stopped printing its Spanish-language newspaper. The San Diego Union-Tribune did the same last December,” Moyer said. “Before that, it was The Dallas Morning News. Those markets preserved their Spanish-language websites, but the Chicago Tribune shut down its Spanish-language newspaper and its website. California, which has a massive Spanish-speaking population, has seen many Spanish-language newspapers and weeklies close in recent years.”

Tuesday’s action by the company affects no other Review-Journal news products or employees, Moyer said. The Review-Journal newspaper, lvrj.com, the English-language “7@7” streaming newscast, rjmagazine, the Pahrump Valley Times, the Boulder City Review, the Tonopah Times-Bonanza and other publications and digital initiatives will continue operating normally, Moyer said.