Newspapers and media of North, Central and South America

The Americas offer a press in four major languages, English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, with reference titles such as The New York Times, La Presse in Montreal, Clarín and Folha de S.Paulo, often behind digital subscriptions but with some free articles.

From colonial gazettes to large media groups

The continent's first newspapers appeared in the British and Spanish colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In the nineteenth century, Latin American independence produced lasting titles such as El Mercurio in Chile and La Nación, founded in Buenos Aires in 1870.

The dailies that set the tone from New York to Santiago

The New York Times and The Washington Post are the US reference titles, broadly centre-left, facing The Wall Street Journal, whose editorials are more conservative. Further south, Clarín, El Tiempo in Bogotá and El Universal in Mexico City shape national debate.

English, Spanish, Portuguese, French: a multilingual continent

Spanish dominates from Mexico City to Tierra del Fuego, Portuguese rules in Brazil, and English in the United States and English-speaking Canada. French is read in Quebec and Haiti, while outlets in Quechua, Guarani or Creole exist at local level.

How is local news holding up in the United States?

American city newspapers, from The Boston Globe to the Los Angeles Times, have lost many reporters since 2008. Non-profit newsrooms such as ProPublica and The Texas Tribune fill part of the gap, as described on the page about the US press.

Digital outlets and newsletters

The continent has produced many digital-native outlets: Axios and Politico in Washington, Infobae in Argentina, and El Faro in El Salvador, known for its investigations. Paid newsletters and daily podcasts, such as The Daily from The New York Times, attract a mobile audience.

Associated Press, Canadian Press, Agência Brasil: the wire services

Associated Press, a cooperative founded in New York in 1846, supplies thousands of newsrooms. The Canadian Press covers Canada, Argentina's agency Télam has gone through deep recent upheaval, and Agência Brasil distributes the Brazilian public service's wire stories free of charge.

Public broadcasting: PBS, CBC and Radio-Canada

In the United States, NPR and PBS rely on local member stations and donations. Canada has the CBC in English and Radio-Canada in French. In Latin America, commercial television dominates, led by Globo in Brazil and Televisa in Mexico.

Hispanic media and diasporas

The United States has more than sixty million Hispanics, served by Univision, Telemundo and newspapers such as La Opinión in Los Angeles. The Haitian diaspora in Miami and the Brazilian community in Boston have their own media; see the Haitian press and its radio stations.

Wall Street, Bovespa and football in the specialist sections

The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg follow the New York markets, Valor Econômico those of São Paulo, and El Economista those of Mexico City. In sport, Olé in Buenos Aires and Lance! in Brazil live to the rhythm of football and the Copa Libertadores.

What risks do journalists face on the continent?

Constitutional protection of the press is strong in the United States through the First Amendment, and Canada also guarantees this freedom. Mexico, Colombia and Honduras remain marked by violence against journalists, documented by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Subscriptions, article meters and the French-language press

The New York Times and Folha use a meter of free articles before asking readers to subscribe. La Presse in Montreal chose to be entirely free, funded by donations. French speakers will find the Quebec press online useful for following North America.

Cross-checking Washington, Mexico City and Brasília

On migration or regional trade, compare an American outlet, a Mexican outlet and a Brazilian one. Fact-checkers such as Chequeado in Argentina and PolitiFact in the United States help sort out political statements, especially during election campaigns.

Following news from the Americas at a distance

1. Choose one reference daily per major region, for example The New York Times, La Presse and Folha de S.Paulo.
2. Add Associated Press for breaking news and a national agency such as Agência Brasil for domestic Brazilian stories.
3. Sign up for one or two morning newsletters, handy given the time difference between Europe and the Pacific coast.
4. Listen to NPR, CBC or Radio-Canada online for regular, free public-service news bulletins.
5. Compare a conservative and a progressive title on US or Brazilian elections before forming your own opinion.
6. Check the date, author and regional edition of each article, since many newspapers publish several local versions.

Subscriptions and free access across the Americas

Useful pointers on the US and Latin American press

• Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French
• Agencies: Associated Press, The Canadian Press, Agência Brasil
• Public broadcasting: NPR, PBS, CBC, Radio-Canada
• Business titles: The Wall Street Journal, Valor Econômico, El Economista
• Time zones: from UTC-10 in Hawaii to UTC-3 in Buenos Aires and São Paulo
• Currencies: US and Canadian dollars, real, peso

Common traps with the press of the Americas

• Confusing the many papers called El Universal or La Nación: they exist in Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina and Costa Rica.
• Taking a satirical article from The Onion or a Latin American parody site for real news.
• Assuming an opinion column commits the newsroom, when American editorial pages are kept separate from news reporting.
• Using paywall-bypass sites that illegally copy articles and can spread malware onto your device.
• Forgetting that some videos from public broadcasters or Globo are geo-blocked outside their home country.

Frequent questions about newspapers in the Americas