Havana/Cuban independent media theTOUCH and Strong Coffee announced this Saturday the launch of elTOQUE USAa journalistic initiative aimed at covering current events in the immigrant communities of Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties, in southern Florida. The project was born in the midst of a deep crisis in the Spanish-language media in the region, marked by closures, layoffs and a significant reduction in local newsrooms.
The new platform aims take advantage of the experience of journalists who have lost their jobs in recent months and combine it with digital content distribution tools. Its objective is to recover coverage that has been weakened in matters such as housing, the cost of living, immigration laws, public services and the decisions of local governments.
The initiative is financially supported by the Knight Foundation and Press Forward South Florida, which committed $75,000 in matching funds. To reach the $100,000 needed to sustain the first year of operation, promoters will need to raise another $25,000 through community donations before December 31. For every dollar contributed, funding organizations will add another three.
The launch occurs after a succession of blows to the Hispanic press in Miami. América TeVé, Channel 41, ended its live production after three decades of broadcasts; Univision 23 reduced its local news team and the McClatchy company recently eliminated 32 jobs in Miami, a decision that left The New Herald practically without reporters in Spanish.
The new platform aims to take advantage of the experience of journalists who have lost their jobs in recent months
The disappearance of these positions has especially affected journalism dedicated to supervising municipal and county institutions, following the courts and explaining administrative decisions that impact the daily lives of immigrants. At the same time, numerous professionals with decades of experience, sources and knowledge of the community have been left out of the newsrooms.
elTOQUE USA It will work through a collaboration between both publications. Wilfredo Cancio Isla, founder of Strong Coffee and former journalist The New Herald, will lead the editing of a team of independent collaborators. For its part, theTOUCH will contribute its experience in audiovisual production, social networks and audience development to distribute the reports through videos, newsletters and messaging services such as WhatsApp.
“We don’t want to build a smaller version of The New Herald“explained José Jasán Nieves, executive director of Mas Voces Foundation, an organization that operates theTOUCH. The intention, he added, is for the work of experienced journalists to reach the platforms where a good part of the community is currently informed.
The announcement comes just four days after Nieves, editor-in-chief of theTOUCHreceived the 2026 Knight Prize for International Journalism in Washingtonawarded by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ). The recognition especially highlighted the exchange rate monitor of the Cuban informal market and the La Travesía project, dedicated to documenting missing Cuban migrants.
With this expansion, ‘elTOQUE’, born as an information project aimed at Cubans inside and outside the Island, expands its field of action towards American journalism
The funding campaign will begin with Give Miami Day, an annual day of giving organized by The Miami Foundation. Between November 14 and 19, promoters aim to initially raise $5,000, while the general campaign will remain open until the end of the year.
With this expansion, theTOUCHborn as an information project aimed at Cubans inside and outside the Island, expands its field of action towards local American journalism. The bet comes when the Hispanic community in South Florida loses traditional media, but retains a wide pool of professionals capable of telling their own stories.
