Stephanie Valencia, 40, and her business partner, Jess Morales Rocketto, 36, last year bought 18 Spanish-language radio stations from TelevisaUnivision and said they wanted to maximize the cultivation of local Latin culture.

As we previously reported, the Latino Media Network (LMN) began to operate in March on three radio stations in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, a region of highly coveted Latino votes that has attracted renewed attention in recent election cycles.

In that context, Latino Media Network stated that it would seek to ensure reliable news and information to local and Latino communities. The announcement of the purchase came after the launch of the first conservative Spanish-language satellite radio network, Americano Media.  There was much more fanfare and backlash when the purchase involved 18 radio stations by the Latinas, including the three stations in the Valley, and became public.

And it sparked protests from Republicans, who said the purchase would silence conservative voices, though conservative media owners have also expanded into Spanish-language media.

“Valencia and Morales Rocketto, who worked for former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton respectively, have downplayed their partisan backgrounds and fended off conservatives' criticism that they secured financing from an investment firm associated with the foundation of liberal philanthropist George Soros. Repeatedly, they have said they do not plan to use the stations to push the Democratic Party’s message”, according to NBC News.

In a recent interview with NBC News, the two women said their vision is to harness the touchstones of Latin culture in music, sports and entertainment to build reliable news and consumer information sources.

“Maria Contreras-Sweet, one of several Latino minority partners or advisers in the purchase, said that while Latinas have made political strides, they need to accelerate their economic parity”, according to the publication.

Radio reaches 97% of the Latino population monthly, more than live or recorded television, smartphone content, TV-connected devices, computers or tablets, according to a 2022 Nielsen report.

“For this growing segment of Americans, radio is a prime source of information. Its popularity has also put a focus on stations’ content and elevated criticism of conservative voices propagating the spread of misinformation. The stations Valencia and Morales Rocketto purchased are in eight of the top 10 markets, which the Latinas said reach 33% of the U.S. Latinos”, according to NBC.

“We own the properties that are serving our community, which is a huge reason why we took this leap and took the chance when we knew Univision was selling these stations and that they could potentially end up in non-Latino hands”, Valencia told to NBC.

According to Morales Rocketto, because of their previous work in administrations, she and Valencia understand the limits of political discourse and messaging. “We really believe in the power of not only the legislative process or only the government to make change; we really see how the media and culture and entertainment influence how you think and feel”, she said.

The two women said they would like to provide more programming and content on financial literacy, particularly with so many Latinos starting small businesses, as well as on health and parenting.

“The radio stations they now own in the Rio Grande Valley are an AM sports station, an FM station that plays ‘Spanish oldies’ and another FM station that plays regional Mexican music. Valencia said their objective is to ensure there are more sources of entertainment and information out there, so ‘Latinos can make up their own minds’.”