El Tímpano

2025

Feb 27

Overview

El Tímpano—Spanish for "eardrum"—is a civic media organization created with and for immigrants who face systemic barriers to information, civic participation, and representation. In a region where more than 16% of residents speak Spanish at home, local news rarely reflected their realities or reached them in accessible ways.

Rather than just broadcasting news, El Tímpano built something different: a platform where people could text back. Ask questions. Share their stories. Get help navigating systems that weren't built for them.

Over 6,000 subscribers now use El Tímpano's SMS service, which has connected community members to information about COVID vaccines, rent relief, worker protections, and more.

Their civic partnerships newsroom model—where they work with public agencies to get critical info to hard-to-reach communities while maintaining editorial independence—is now being replicated across the country. El Tímpano started with one journalist listening to what a community actually needed.

Quote from the keynote speech
"For a source of information in an age of rampant disinformation, trust is your greatest asset. Not facts, not number of people reached, but trust."
— Madeleine Bair