Mission

Boyle Heights Beat is a bilingual community news project produced by youth, offering “noticias por y para la comunidad,” or “news by and for the community.”

Purpose

Boyle Heights Beat is a thriving youth development program and bilingual community news source that has been operating for a decade and became a force for change in Boyle Heights. Long overlooked by citywide media outlets, Boyle Heights is a culturally rich, albeit challenged, community

The paper, its companion website, podcast and social media presence serve as important news sources in a low-income, largely immigrant community that is otherwise a media desert. As part of the program model, professional journalists train youth to report news by and for the community – “por y para la comunidad.” A healthy community requires opportunities for residents to engage with each other and their leaders and a way to know their voices are heard, which Boyle Heights Beat provides.