CAFÉ  LATINO LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

VISION:

Café seeks to become an important resource for acculturated English-dominant Latinos by providing culturally-relevant content that explores the contemporary Latino lifestyle.

MISSION:

1.       Inspire Latinos to live the most rewarding life possible, both at home and in the workplace.
2.       Educate Latinos on topics that matter to them and their extended families.
3.       Entertain Latinos by celebrating the richness and diversity that is inherent in their culture.

TARGET:

1.       Male/female acculturated Latinos (bilingual, English-language dominant readers who embrace their ethnic and mainstream cultural identities)
2.       18-34 years old
3.       College-educated

DISTRIBUTION:

Café magazine has 45,000 copies in circulation with a free, subscription-based distribution. It is also available in public spaces within Latino communities throughout the entire Chicago area.

CAFÉ MAGAZINE SECTIONS:

Café Espresso: Provides readers with quick bites of information on upcoming events, our culture, issues affecting the community and the people and organizations shaping them.
Café Filter: Covers the navigational tools that will help readers better manage their lives. Key components of this section are: finance, careers, health, technology, family, education, fashion and beauty.
Café Grande: Features the longer, meatier pieces of the magazine. Subjects and styles range from one-on-one interviews with key personalities to fashion spreads, stories on home design, investigative pieces and edgier articles on new aspects of the Latino lifestyle.
Café Blend: From art exhibits to film festivals, from restaurants to night clubs, this is a guide to Chicagoland's arts, culture and nightlife scenes.

OUR PHILOSOPHY AND VALUES

BALANCE:

Café, in its content, strives to maintain a balance among gender (male/female), geography (city/suburbs) and Latino ethnicities.

TONE AND VOICE:

Café strives to present its content in a tone that is reflective of the inherent qualities and attitudes found in Latino culture: colorful in expression and wit; passionate about its points of view; savvy with a sense for what is hip and interesting, in a sophisticated way; irreverent, without being insulting, when the subject matter allows; and, and most importantly, entertaining. Our readers should feel that they are engaging in a conversation with the writer(s).

STYLE:

Each article, irrespective of subject matter, must be easy to read, authentic and engaging.

WRITERS' GUIDELINES

Café is dedicated to delivering culturally-relevant content that reflects the richness and duality of the contemporary Latino lifestyle through multiple platforms, and in doing so, strives to inform, inspire and entertain its audience.
Café hopes to develop a robust team of thorough and insightful freelance writers to work on culturally-relevant articles about social issues, family, work, education, food, health, money, interior design, cultural heritage, fashion, arts, entertainment, travel, sports and technology.
People play a strong part in all our stories. We believe the best way to write a story is not to just tell it, but to let it speak through the anecdotes, quotes and experiences of past and present Latinos.
While the history behind a person or place would be included as a way to show the reader why a particular thing is happening, the focus should always be on the present and the vision should point towards the future.
Writers should look for ways to cast new light on well-known issues. Whenever possible, they are encouraged to provide an upbeat, colorful take on the topic of their article.
We are more interested in showcasing solutions than adding to the list of problems, to help readers add more value to their lives, not more work.
Café is committed to high journalistic standards and ethics. Work that is submitted and published will be factual and truthful. Café will not allow conflicts of interest, plagiarism or fabrication. Writers will be required to uphold these standards by signing a form indicating that they understand and agree to comply with those standards.

STYLE GUIDELINES:

Café magazine will utilize the Associated Press Stylebook as its primary style guide. When in doubt, writers are strongly encouraged to reference the AP guide prior to submitting work.

SOURCING:

Café expects work that is submitted to be researched, sourced and attributed. Cover stories and features are required to have a minimum of three attributed sources. In our departments, one or two sources are acceptable, except in personal commentaries where no sources are required (although encouraged, when appropriate).
Café strives to be objective. Work that is submitted should adhere to standards of objectivity, except in commentary and opinion columns.
Writers who choose to use information researched on the Internet must cite the original source. Given the nature of the Internet, where some information is not verifiable (i.e., Wikipedia), it may not be enough to cite a Web site as a source.
Café expects its writers to conduct interviews with the sources they cite in stories, whenever possible.

USE OF THE FIRST PERSON:

Use of the first person is appropriate only in those departments where personal reflection and commentary are expected. Use of the first person in a feature story may sometimes be allowed, but will require prior discussion with the editor.

FORMATTING SUBMISSIONS:

Spacing: Single, two spaces between paragraphs
Indents: None
Punctuation: Only ONE space after periods

Send your submission inquiries and/or story pitches to the following e-mail address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .