Kansas based Universal Press Syndicate (UPS) is seeking to increase its presence in Latin American and US Hispanic markets. “We currently have 150-200 sales a year in Mexico, Central and South America” Lee Salem, vice president and editor of UPS, tells Portadatm. “Our goal for the US is to increase sales of Spanish-language content written specifically for US Hispanics.” UPS also plans to increase the U.S. circulation of popular Latin American features and comic strips.
…in two very different markets…
According to Salem, newspaper syndication in the Latin American and U.S. markets is very different. Latin American newspapers ask for more exclusivity than their U.S. counterparts. “[In Latin America], when you are in the major cities, you have pretty much covered the whole country,” he says. “In the U.S., a few miles of distance between competitors are enough.” Salem's comments suggest that print is a more local phenomenon in the U.S. than in many Latin American countries, where major newspapers have a large regional or even national reach.
…Latin America…
A cornerstone of UPS's Latin American strategy is the recent acquisition of Atlantic Syndication, purchased from Evening Post Publishing Company of Charleston, S.C. Evening Post owns seven daily newspapers across the United States and The Buenos Herald, an English-language newspaper in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Atlantic Syndication, an international syndication company formerly known as Editors Press Service, will operate as a wholly-owned agency of UPS. It will maintain its Latin American sales offices in Sarasota, Fla.
UPS syndicates popular Latin American comic strips such as La Cucaracha, Garfield and Condorito. World Editors Inc., which owns the rights to Condorito, recently granted worldwide distribution rights to Universal Press Syndicate (UPS) and Atlantic Syndication, UPS's international sales arm. Rights include worldwide sales and distribution to English speaking and Spanish language newspapers and online media (excluding Chile). The half-bird, half-human Condorito already runs in more than 75 Spanish-language dailies throughout the Americas.
…and the U.S. Hispanic market.
Since 1994, UPS has also syndicated the Column of the Americas written by journalists Patricia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez. These writers offer unique Latino/indigenous perspectives on issues of general interest, as well as issues specific to Latinos and indigenous peoples throughout Latin America. UPS also syndicates features from the Spanish news agency Efe.
Last October, the cartoon strip “Baldo,” syndicated by UPS, was incorporated into a public awareness campaign to encourage the Latino community in and around Dallas to walk more. “Baldo,” which appears in approximately 200 U.S. newspapers, features the teenager Baldo Bermudez and his family, and is the most widely syndicated Latino cartoon strip in the country.
