Abolition

The Pobladores’ unsung media legacy in California

Los Angeles’ roots trace back to a lesser-known story of its original settlers and the early multicultural press they created.

“The Founding of Los Angeles,” by Millard Sheets. From the J.J. Prats magazine collection. A crop of the supplement in Touring Topics, September 1931.

Los Angeles, the bustling metropolis of Southern California, is often associated with Hollywood, glamorous beaches, and a vibrant multicultural population. However, the city’s roots trace back to a lesser-known story of its original settlers, the Pobladores, and the early media they created, which played a critical role in shaping the city’s cultural and civic identity. This group of 44 settlers, made up of a diverse mix of ethnicities, embarked on a journey that would lay the foundation for Los Angeles, a city that has since become a global icon. Their contribution to news media, though less celebrated, offers an insightful look into how Los Angeles developed into a hub of communication and cultural exchange.

The Journey of the Pobladores

In 1781, under the instruction of Spanish Governor Felipe de Neve, a group of 44 settlers from New Spain (now Mexico) journeyed over 1,000 miles to found El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles, or “The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels.” These pioneers, known as the Pobladores, were tasked with establishing a pueblo that would serve as a vital agricultural outpost in the region.

What made the Pobladores unique was their diversity. Contrary to the popular image of early settlers being uniformly European, the founding families included individuals of African, indigenous, and mixed-race backgrounds, including Mestizos and Mullatos. This rich mix of ethnicities laid the groundwork for what would become one of the most diverse cities in the world.

Los Angeles was not the product of a singular European colonial power but of a multicultural effort—an aspect that would be reflected in the media and cultural institutions that followed. The Pobladores brought with them not just their labor but also their traditions, stories, and desire to communicate and record their experiences. As the city grew, so did its need for a media landscape that could reflect its diverse population.

The First Forms of Media: Oral Traditions and Religious Institutions

In the earliest days of Los Angeles, media in the traditional sense of newspapers or broadcast channels did not exist. However, communication within the fledgling community took root in two primary ways: through oral traditions and the Catholic Church.

For Indigenous and African-descended Pobladores, oral storytelling was the principal medium for passing down knowledge, cultural values, and news. Indigenous stories about the land, seasons, and wildlife merged with African narratives of resistance, spirituality, and survival, creating a blend of storytelling traditions unique to Los Angeles. These oral histories played a significant role in keeping the diverse community connected and informed, particularly in an era where literacy was not widespread among all groups.

The Catholic Church also played a central role as an early institution of communication. As a religious and social hub, the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, founded in 1771, served as a gathering place for the Pobladores. The Church became the location for not just spiritual matters but also for the dissemination of news, whether from distant parts of New Spain or local updates about the pueblo’s development. Clergy members kept records that would serve as some of the earliest written documentation of Los Angeles’s history, effectively functioning as the city’s first media archivists.

Los Angeles and the Early Press

As Los Angeles grew, the city’s media landscape evolved to meet the demands of its increasing population. By the mid-19th century, following the American acquisition of California in 1848, Los Angeles was ripe for the establishment of its first newspapers. The city had gone from a small agricultural pueblo to a rapidly growing settlement due to the California Gold Rush, and the demand for information was more urgent than ever.

In 1851, The Los Angeles Star was founded. This bilingual newspaper, published in both English and Spanish, was Los Angeles’s first significant media outlet. The paper became the voice of the city’s multilingual population, covering political issues, news about local agriculture, and the emerging economy. More importantly, the Star provided a forum for the city’s diverse residents to express their views, particularly in a time of significant social and political change.

The existence of a bilingual press speaks to the continued diversity of the Pobladores’ descendants and other settlers. Spanish remained a dominant language in the city, and the press reflected that reality. However, tensions were already rising as Anglo settlers began to outnumber the original Pobladores and imposed new laws and norms that often marginalized the city’s Mexican and Indigenous populations.

The Los Angeles Star wasn’t the only early media outlet in the city. Around the same period, La Crónica, another Spanish-language newspaper, emerged. Its focus on defending the rights of the Californios (Spanish-speaking residents of California) became a cornerstone of local activism, giving voice to communities that were increasingly disenfranchised by Anglo-American settlers and authorities. Newspapers like La Crónica helped preserve the influence of the original Pobladores and their descendants by offering a platform to address issues such as land ownership, legal rights, and social justice.

The Black Press and the Legacy of Diversity

Los Angeles’s founders left a legacy of multiculturalism that continued to shape the city’s media. The arrival of African Americans during the Great Migration of the early 20th century sparked a new chapter in the city’s media landscape. One notable example is the creation of the California Eagle, one of the oldest Black-owned newspapers in the United States.

Founded by John J. Neimore in 1879 and later run by Charlotta Bass, the California Eagle focused on issues affecting the city’s growing Black population, such as housing discrimination, labor rights, and police brutality. The paper’s roots can be traced back to the Pobladores’ legacy of diverse voices seeking to carve out spaces for representation and justice in an evolving media landscape. 

Ms. Bass aggressively grabbed the torch from the Pobladores and those after them who rallied in the race for right. In her own words, Ms. Bass explained, “I will not retire nor will I retreat, not one inch, so long as God gives me vision to see what is happening and strength to fight for the things I know are right.” In this fight, the California Eagle was one of Ms. Bass’s sharpest weapons.

Similarly, La Opinión, established in 1926, became the leading Spanish-language newspaper in Los Angeles. Much like the early bilingual efforts of The Los Angeles Star, La Opinión ensured that the city’s Spanish-speaking population remained informed and engaged. To this day, it continues to serve as a critical outlet for the city’s Mexican and Latino communities, upholding the legacy of multicultural media that the Pobladores set in motion.

A City Built on Stories

The Pobladores’ journey to Los Angeles in 1781 was not just the founding of a city but the beginning of a complex, layered media ecosystem that reflected the diverse backgrounds of the people who built it. From oral storytelling and the Church’s documentation to the rise of the bilingual press and the later flourishing of ethnic media outlets, the media history of Los Angeles is deeply rooted in the story of its founders.

The original settlers may not have had access to the modern technologies that define media today, but their contributions laid the groundwork for a city where communication across cultural and linguistic lines has always been essential. As Los Angeles continues to evolve, the spirit of the Pobladores—their resilience, diversity, and desire to tell their own stories—remains central to the city’s identity and media landscape.

About the Author

Allissa Richardson

Founding Director

Dr. Allissa V. Richardson, founding director of the USC Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab, researches how African Americans use emerging technologies to build independent news networks. Through the Bass Lab, she has established a central hub for advancing scholarly inquiry into media innovation and justice-driven journalism.

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