Americano Expands Local News Coverage to Camden and Ocean Counties!
New Jersey – November 11, 2026 – By Christian Paulino
Americano Newspaper is expanding its coverage into Camden and Ocean counties, bringing its reporting to 12 counties across New Jersey.
The expansion is funded by a grant from Press Forward New Jersey, an initiative of the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Americano was one of 13 news organizations selected in the latest round of funding, announced Oct. 20. The grants focus on communities that local news has historically underserved.
The expansion builds on Americano’s long record of serving New Jersey’s Hispanic community. Since its founding in 1987, the newspaper has published news in English and Spanish, in print and online, so that language is never a barrier to staying informed.
The new coverage will focus on Latino communities in Camden and Ocean counties. Readers can expect stories about local residents, minority-owned businesses, community organizations, and the issues facing Hispanic families.
Both counties have large and growing Hispanic communities. In Camden County, about one in five residents is Hispanic or Latino, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. The City of Camden is the heart of that community: Hispanic residents make up more than half of the city’s population. In neighboring Pennsauken Township, they make up almost 40% of the population.
In Ocean County, Hispanic residents make up about 11% of the population, and that share is rising quickly. The county’s Hispanic population grew by nearly 39% between 2010 and 2020. The largest numbers of Hispanic residents live in Lakewood, the county’s most populous town, and in Toms River, the county seat. In each, roughly one in nine residents is Hispanic. South Toms River has one of the county’s highest concentrations, at more than a quarter of the borough’s residents.
In places like Lakewood and Brick Township, Hispanic families can still have a hard time finding reliable information about local resources. There, Americano’s reporting will focus on helping residents learn what services are available in their community.
The initiative also gives students hands-on reporting experience through the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium’s State House bureau, which covers state government and how its decisions affect the communities Americano serves. By connecting statewide coverage with local reporting, the project gives Hispanic residents in Camden and Ocean counties a more direct way to bring their concerns to elected leaders and representatives.
The expanded coverage is meant to serve a wide audience: families looking for information about local services, students considering careers in journalism, and community leaders who want to better understand the needs of the people they serve.
The move into Camden and Ocean counties starts a new chapter in Americano’s work to reach more of New Jersey’s diverse communities and tell more of their local stories.
