By: Lucia Moses Seeking to capitalize on Dallas-Forth Worth's growing Hispanic population, Knight Ridder plans to take its twice-weekly Spanish-language paper there to five days a week beginning Sept. 2 -- four weeks before its Belo-owned rival,
The Dallas Morning News, expects to launch its own daily for Latinos.
An offshoot of the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the 10-year-old
La Estrella ("Star") will be renamed
Diario La Estrella and add news features when it goes daily. Free daily distribution of 25,000 is planned; the paper currently distributes 75,000 copies per week.
La Estrella Publisher Javier J. Aldape said executives have wanted to take the paper daily for a couple of years, but economic factors delayed a conversion. By launching at the end of summer, the paper hopes to benefit from excitement surrounding Mexican Independence Day Sept. 16 and a stronger ad spending climate. "We're excited about getting out there as soon as possible," he said.
The
Morning News'
Al Dia ("Up to Date"), set to launch Sept. 29, also will be a broadsheet available at racks and by subscription. Both papers will contain a mix of news content from staffers, wire services, and its parent company's other newspapers, but while
La Estrella will remain free,
Al Dia will charge 25 cents.
One of the fastest-growing Hispanic markets in the United States, Dallas-Fort Worth has experienced a 160% growth in its Latino population from 1980 to 2000. Overwhelmingly Mexican in origin, the area's Hispanics tend to speak Spanish exclusively or primarily.
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