KTEP news is part of a unique binational journalism collaboration that will begin airing and publishing stories this week about significant issues facing El Paso and Ciudad Juárez.
The partnership, called Puente News Collaborative, begins with a two-week series of stories that looks at how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our region. This month is the first anniversary of the arrival of COVID-19 in our region, as well as the pandemic travel restrictions at border crossings that disrupted life in our region.
The Puente News Collaborative includes news organizations from both sides of the border. Along with KTEP, partners are La Verdad in Ciudad Juárez; ABC 7, El Paso Inc., El Paso Matters, El Paso Times, Univision 26 and the UTEP multimedia journalism program with students reporting for Borderzine.
The collaboration is made possible by financial support from Microsoft as part of its efforts to preserve and protect journalism and local newsrooms.
Because Ciudad Juárez and El Paso are so closely linked, the Puente News Collaborative will approach stories from a binational perspective. We will look at how events impact our region and look for binational approaches to addressing events and issues.
In December, for the first time, partners in the collaboration shared an El Paso Times story about the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” program that was published in both English and Spanish.
In the coming months, Puente News Collaborative will explore immigration, drugs, security and other issues that impact our region. The partners also will work together on important breaking news stories.
We believe this binational, collaborative approach to news will provide border residents with a deeper understanding of the issues in our region. It will strengthen journalism and enhance democracy on both sides of the border.
