A Better Vista

Friday, 15 February 2013 00:00

When Orlando and Mayela Rosales started Media Vista a dozen years ago, all they started with was a camera and an editing station that cost $15,000.

Today, Media Vista has become the dominant Hispanic media company in the region that stretches from Charlotte County to Marco Island. Its properties include a television station affiliate of Azteca America, a magazine, and a website that all produce local content.

Now, Media Vista has an agreement to purchase the Univision station in Fort Myers and two other stations in Kansas City and Minneapolis. The deal is scheduled to close in the next few months for an undisclosed sum.

“We were waiting for this to happen for a long time,” says Mayela Rosales, vice president. “We have a lot of room to grow.”

Indeed, the Hispanic market has been one of the fastest-growing segments of the population. For example, in Collier County, Hispanics now account for 26% of the population and 52% of the school population. Hispanics make up 21% of the five-county region that includes Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee.

Despite Hispanics’ significant presence, some advertisers mistakenly believe that the population declined precipitously during the downturn, but many Hispanics are permanent residents. “They thought all the Hispanics were gone,” says Mayela Rosales.

Fact is, Hispanics are big spenders because they’re seeking greater opportunity than their country of birth, says Orlando Rosales. “People come here to have a better life,” he says.

The Rosaleses themselves moved to Naples from Maracaibo, Venezuela, for that reason in 1996. Orlando Rosales had been hired by a Naples company to handle software issues. Previously he had worked for Venezuela’s oil and phone companies. With Mayela Rosales’s background in journalism and public relations, they realized the opportunity to start a Hispanic media company in 2001.

They started by buying airtime on the local UPN affiliate and they filmed a show with Mayela Rosales as the host while Orlando Rosales shot the camera and edited the footage. The show quickly became a hit and the couple later partnered with a Miami investor who owned a television station affiliated with Azteca America in Cape Coral.

The Rosaleses also started a magazine called D’Latinos Magazine (circulation: 16,000) and launched a website, dlatinos.tv, that now has 150,000 unique visitors a month. “We sell advertising as a multi-platform package,” says Mayela Rosales.

One of the key selling points is that Media Vista produces shows and publishes articles that focus on the local Hispanic population. “We are content producers,” says Mayela Rosales.

Unfortunately, the economic downturn forced the couple’s Miami investor and partner into bankruptcy and the Rosaleses were forced to trim Media Vista’s employee count to 12 from 22. “We had no choice,” explains Mayela Rosales. “We had to do it to survive.”

By 2010, business started to pick up as advertisers began spending once more. While Orlando Rosales declines to cite revenues, he says annual sales rose 35% in 2011 and another 20% in 2012.

Significantly, the national elections in November reminded business owners of the power of the Hispanic population. In addition, a resolution of the immigration issue could be a plus for Media Vista. “People will feel more confident about spending money,” says Mayela Rosales.

With the economic recovery, the Rosaleses are confident that their proposed acquisition of the Univision affiliate in Fort Myers will turn out to be a smart move. “We don’t know the strategy yet; we don’t want to disclose that,” says Mayela Rosales.

For his part, Orlando Rosales says the Kansas City and Indianapolis markets present new opportunities to expand. “My plan is to spend months in these markets to make it work,” he says. “We have a lot of passion for this business.”

By: Jean Gruss | Editor/Lee-Collier
http://www.review.net/section/detail/a-better-vista/

Face Awards Event Draws National Speaker to Naples

Thursday, 24 January 2013 06:08

(Naples, Fla.) – Marcellus Alexander, Jr., the executive vice president of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), will visit Naples, Fla., on Friday, Feb. 1, as the keynote speaker for the third annual Face Awards, which recognizes Southwest Florida individuals and businesses that embrace and promote the positive values of diversity and help others.

The event will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Waldorf Astoria, 475 Seagate Drive, Naples, Fla.

D’Latino’s Hosts Fifth Third Bank’s eBus at Golden Gate Community Park

Monday, 15 October 2012 08:42

Free eBus Events Provide Families with Credit Counseling and Health Screenings

WHAT: On Saturday, Oct. 20, D’Latino’s – part of the Media Vista Multimedia Corporation – will host Fifth Third Bank’s Financial Empowerment Mobile, the “eBus,” at the Golden Gate Community Park, located at 4701 Golden Gate Pkwy.

“We are pleased to partner with organizations, like Fifth Third Bank, that provide free health and financial empowerment information to the Hispanic community in Golden Gate,” said Mayela Rosales, executive vice president of the Media Vista Group.

During the event, the Clinica los Amigos, will provide information and services in English, Spanish and Creole. Free health screenings for adults and children will also be offered.

U.S. Census: Hispanic population booming in Southwest Florida

Thursday, 18 August 2011 00:00

By TRACY X. MIGUEL
The Hispanic population nearly doubled in Collier County and exploded in Lee County from 2000 to 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau reports.

And, the total populations in both counties increased by more than one-fourth during the same time.

The Census Bureau today released detailed demographic information from the 2010 Census for Florida, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Michigan and South Carolina.

Collier’s Hispanic or Latino population increased 69 percent in the past decade, while Lee County’s Hispanic population increased 170 percent.

“We welcome the news of growth. It shows a sign that the economy, with this growth of the Hispanic market, is maybe taking a turn for a better economic time,” said Leonardo Garcia, president and CEO of the Hispanic American Business Alliance.

Hispanics now comprise 26 percent of Collier’s total population and 18.3 percent of Lee’s.

The Census Bureau reported a growth in the total population in Collier and Lee counties. Collier’s population grew by 28 percent, while Lee’s increased 40 percent.

In a different survey, which looked at race, white residents in 2010 made up 83.9 percent of Collier’s total population and 83 percent of Lee’s. In Lee, blacks comprised 8.3 percent of the population while they are 6.6 percent in Collier. Hispanic is an ethnicity.

News about an increase in the Hispanic community in Southwest Florida is good for retailers, restaurants and real estate, Garcia said. Investors and companies who may have not done so in the past will start marketing to the Hispanic market, he said.

With more Hispanics in Collier and Lee counties, the Literacy Council Gulf Coast saw a greater demand for residents seeking to learn how to speak English.

“Over this past decade we have seen a major increase,” said Susan Acuña, executive director of Literacy Council Gulf Coast, which recently merged Literacy Volunteers of Lee County with Literacy Council of Bonita Springs.

Despite the economic bust, with the lost construction employment, the organization still saw an increase in students, Acuña said.

Although Acuña could not say why there has been an increase in enrollment, she said students are looking for ways to make themselves more marketable to employers and improve their skills.

In 2000, the organization served 141 students. By the end of 2010, or this past fiscal year which ended June 30, the council served 2,554 students.

Connect with Tracy X. Miguel at www.naplesnews.com/staff/tracy_x_miguel/

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Collier County total population: 251,377 (2000); 321,520 (2010) -- 28 percent increase

Lee County total population: 440,888 (2000); 618,754 (2010) -- 40 percent increase

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Collier County

Hispanic total population: 49,296 (2000); 83,177 (2010) -- 69 percent increase

Mexican: 38,773 (2010)

Puerto Rican: 5,573 (2010)

Cuban: 17,179 (2010)

Dominican: 1,436 (2010)

Central America (excludes Mexican): 7,407 (2010)

South America: 9,133 (2010)

Other Hispanic 3,676

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Lee County

Hispanic total population: 42,042 (2000); 113,308 (2010) -- 170 percent increase

Mexican: 34,212 (2010)

Puerto Rican: 24,503 (2010)

Cuban: 20,253 (2010)

Dominican: 3,777 (2010)

Central American (excludes Mexican): 13,203 (2010)

South American: 10,894 (2010)

Other Hispanic or Latino: 6,466 (2010)

D’Latinos Magazine Expands Distribution to Connect with Readers

Wednesday, 06 April 2011 00:00

(Naples, FL) – In its continued quest to connect with readers, D’Latinos Magazine has added dozens of new distribution sites to its resume. As the leading Hispanic lifestyle magazine in Southwest Florida, D’Latinos Magazine has made it a priority to serve the growing Hispanic community.

The magazine will now connect with readers in 30 more Lee and Collier County Publix Supermarkets in the free publications area as well as in Walmart’s Neighborhood Markets and some Sweetbay Supermarkets. The monthly publication circulates 16,000 copies each month.

A Better Vista

Face Awards Event Draws National Speaker to Naples

D’Latino’s Hosts Fifth Third Bank’s eBus at Golden Gate Community Park

U.S. Census: Hispanic population booming in Southwest Florida

D’Latinos Magazine Expands Distribution to Connect with Readers

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