TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – 8 On Your Side is working harder every day to make sure that everyone in our community has the vital information they need with a new website; TampaHoy.com.
With over 600 thousand Hispanic residents in Hillsborough and Pinellas County alone WFLA is making sure the Latino community knows we’re On Your Side.
You’ve probably seen the ads. Aa new home for Spanish language news. TampaHoy.com, a product of WFLA, will now serve Spanish speaking Hispanics across Tampa Bay.
“We have more than half a million Hispanics in this area so we have to give them good information and the way that WFLA News Channel 8 does it, but in Spanish. It’s going to great,” says Sadiel Castro, a digital content producer for the site.
Bringing in journalists that understand the diverse and rich community in the Bay Area TampaHoy.com will feature a variety of articles, videos, and interactivity with its users.
“Also Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Colombian people. A lot of people come from other countries and they don’t know anything in English. They need this forum. So that’s what we’re going to give them,” said Castro.
One of the main on air talents for the website will be News Channel 8’s Marco Villarreal. Over the years he has developed a strong relationship with the Hispanic community, and has quickly become a favorite for Latino viewers in Tampa Bay. Shifting his role from anchoring and reporting in English he will work with Castro to put together stories important to the community in Spanish. He will continue to report on air in English throughout the weekly on air newscasts.
This is a great example of putting the resources already available at WFLA News Channel 8. General Manager Mark Higgins saw the need for news in Spanish and answered the call.
“This is an area that was underserved. So I felt, given my heritage and my background as being part Latino myself, that this is something that I’m passionate about,” said Higgins.
TampaHoy.com will lean on influential leaders in the Hispanic community to form a home for local, timely, and relevant news.
“I want to see people that have a resource and a guide they can count on, they can go to. They can get the information that they need as we do for our WFLA.com population as well,” said Higgins.
TampaHoy.com will not only have daily news headlines and videos, but users will be able to share pictures and videos of their communities and what’s important to them.