Two major players in the local ethnic press--the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder and the Latino Communications Network--announced last week that they had agreed to form a new partnership called Voices United.

The alliance will allow the two companies to exchange news content and share other expenses, according to a report in the Spokesman-Recorder. “It makes sense that we come together with a stronger voice through two well-respected newspapers that have long served our respective communities,” said Spokesman-Recorder president Tracey Williams.

Alberto Montserrate, CEO of the Latino Communications Network (which publishes La Prensa and Gente de Minnesota), noted that each company faces similar challenges. The alliance, he said, “will allow us to be a more effective united voice for our communities.”

In addition to collaborating editorially, the two companies will organize four community information fairs in the coming months to address issues of unemployment, health, housing, and education.