Say goodbye to NBCLatino.com. The English-language lifestyle website targeting Latinos, which officially launched July 2, 2012, will no longer have its own home. It will become part of NBCNews.com when the site re-launches in early January.
An NBC spokesperson insists NBCLatino won’t “disappear” and will continue live on NBCNews.com. A company statement assures “This move will allow its content to reach a much larger audience and it will further enhance NBC News’s commitment and ability to cover news and issues that matter to the Latino community.”
The move, allegedly intending to “reach a much larger audience” includes eliminating the staff that produces the Latino-themed content. The NBC spokesperson would not comment on whether Chris Peña, the site’s executive editor, or which of its current team members would remain.
“We are grateful to those affected for their contributions and are actively looking for other roles for them inside the company,” says the statement.
Perhaps the writing was on the wall. Several NBCLatino.com staffers left the site this year, including Adrian Carrasquillo who took job at BuzzFeed in May and Ignacio Torres, who joined Fusion in June.
Chris also moved to Miami in August, leading the site from Telemundo’s headquarters.
The question is, who’ll remain to continue to oversee content relevant to the Latino community?
In addition to Chris, the site currently employs Sandra Lilley as Managing Editor; Nina Terrero, Entertainment Editor; Kristina Puga, Web Producer; Norma Rubio, West Coast Web Producer; and the most recent addition: Suzanne Gamboa, who left the Associated Press in September after 13 years to take on a new job as Political Editor for NBCLatino.com.