Nick Last updated: August 20, 2022

Learn from Spanish News: 25 of the Best Spanish News Sources to Learn the Language

News is everywhere, and when it comes to the enormous Spanish-speaking world, there’s a lot of it. This is why it’s such a great resource for learning Spanish.

By watching the news in Spanish, you can practice your language skills all while keeping up with current events.

We are familiar with many Spanish news sources and we created this list of the 25 best resources to help you practice Spanish through the news!

Use this list to find a resource that works for you, and soon you’ll be feeding your news addiction and working towards fluency!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

TV and Video News

1. Noticias Telemundo

For up-to-the-minute coverage of news in the Spanish-speaking world (and beyond), hop on over to YouTube and check out the Noticias Telemundo channel.

Constant updates keep you at the forefront of las noticias de última hora (breaking news).

The channel boasts thousands of videos, including both news reports and more in-depth coverage and investigative journalism.

The videos are neatly organized into topical playlists, so you can follow the developing events of specific stories.

If you’d prefer to read your news, Noticias Telemundo also has written news articles on its website.

This program includes many types of videos, like movie clips and music videos, but there’s also a whole section for news. Filter by the “news” category to find news segments from Telemundo, BBC Mundo, Univision and more.

Each news video you watch on FluentU comes with dual-language subtitles and its own custom-made quiz, so you can master new words and phrases—plus, you can easily add words to your vocabulary list and review them using FluentU’s multimedia-enhanced, virtual flashcards.

FluentU also has an iOS and Android app available.

3. Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE)

Radiotelevisión Española is Spain’s national public broadcaster. RTVE’s service allows viewers from all around the world to select from its programming list.

There’s a variety of news and current affairs programs such as “Informe Semanal” and the “Telediarios.”

For those of you who enjoy watching a solid half-hour of news over dinner every night, RTVE is an engrossing option.

Audio News

4. News in Slow Spanish

News in Slow Spanish is the definitive resource for beginning Spanish learners who wish to improve their comprehension. There are also options for intermediate and advanced learners with slightly faster readings.

The two hosts go over a selection of news items from the past week at a much slower speed than what you’d hear on a news channel. This may sound strange, but for most Spanish students, this little bit of extra time is all that’s needed to dramatically boost comprehension.

5. Radio Ambulante

This is a news podcast produced by NPR that focuses on Latino and Latin American stories.

Most episodes are downloadable and run between a half-hour and an hour long. There are also transcripts available for each episode.

The transcript is particularly helpful for beginners and lower-intermediate learners, allowing them to see what they are hearing.

Among other sources, Radio Ambulante (Walking Radio) is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. You can also have it delivered to you via RSS feed.

6. Voz de América

With a dozen different radio shows, downloadable as podcasts, the news from Voz de América (Voice of America) includes programs about specialized topics:

Buenos días América — Morning news coverage
Conversando con la VOA — Conversations with experts on current events
Deportivo Internacional — Sporting news around the world
Nota económica — Financial news
Entretenimiento — All the latest news about art, live shows and movie premieres

Written News

7. Noticias Google

Google News’ Spanish Service aggregates content from news media around the world into a scrolling list of articles, organized according to themes.

The site includes a variety of customization options to increase or decrease the presence of a certain media provider, region, or theme, in your news feed.

8. El País

El País is a major metropolitan daily paper based in Madrid, Spain. The site offers several portals that filter the high-quality content according to region.

El País also offers an English portal with translations of a small selection of articles featured on the main page. This makes it a good option for beginning Spanish learners, as these articles can provide a good first step into Spanish news.

9. ESPN Football

You don’t always have to read serious news!

Football is a huge part of the culture all across the Spanish-speaking world. If you’re learning Spanish to talk to Spanish people, you’re going to need to learn how to talk about football.

You can filter your results by country and by region if you’re interested in traveling to a particular region, or are already a fan of a Spanish team.

10. Vice

Vice publishes three Spanish editions: Spain, Mexico and Colombia. (You’ll see that there’s substantial content overlap between the three.)

The editions feature Vice’s distinctive style of journalism: focusing on marginal characters and themes, and many stories written with a Gonzo approach to journalistic immersion.

Vice has recently moved into covering major news stories; however, the approach of their journalists is unlike mainstream news media and may be very popular among people who don’t find major news providers appealing.

11. El Mundo

Even though El Mundo (The World) defines itself as a liberal newspaper free from any political affiliation, the truth is that it was originally created to be the main right-wing paper of the country. Today, it continues to take a critical stance towards the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party.

Politics aside, El Mundo is one of the leading Spanish newspapers, both in its printed and online versions.

It mainly covers national and international political news, although its opinion articles and its sports section are fantastic.

12. El Tiempo

El Tiempo (The Time) is one of the top Colombian newspapers in terms of printed copies and visits to its website.

With a history of over 110 years, El Tiempo is a centrist newspaper that includes news on national and international politics, business, sports, law and technology, among many others.

What I like the most about this newspaper is that you can personalize it. Just log in, choose the topics you’re interested in and create your own paper!

13. La Prensa

La Prensa (The Press) is a Mexican newspaper that covers nota roja (red note) news.

Nota roja refers to a very popular type of journalism in Mexico that specializes in crime, violence, accidents and natural disasters.

However, La Prensa is much more than just a nota roja newspaper. It includes sections like national and international news, opinion, sports, science and gossip (basically, news about celebrities), among others.

14. El Nacional

Originally a newspaper leaning to the left side of politics, El Nacional (The National) is now considered a centrist paper and one of the last independent newspapers in Venezuela.

This is probably why it has become one of the main newspapers in Venezuela.

El Nacional will give you plenty of Spanish-learning material in the form of national and international news, economic reports and opinion articles, among other interesting sections.

15. ABC

Another heavyweight in the world of news in Spain, ABC has traditionally been considered the country’s Conservative, monarchical and Catholic newspaper.

ABC has several local editions throughout Spain, with the one from Madrid being the most read. Its website, with a very clean layout, is also one of the most visited newspaper sites in the country.

This source covers everything from Spanish news and economy to international news and even sports and science.

16. La Jornada

La Jornada (The Working Day) is a 32-page, tabloid-format daily newspaper that was established by a group of journalists who didn’t feel there was real freedom of press in Mexico. Ever since its creation, La Jornada has been left-leaning and very critical of neoliberal globalization.

Among its different categories and sections including Mexican politics and economy, the one on culture (called “Cultura”) is especially interesting.

Mixed Format News

17. SBS Spanish News

The website of the Australian Special Broadcasting Service includes content in Spanish in a variety of formats.

Print news in Spanish is complemented by a collection of short news radio programs focusing on Australian and international news.

For Australian viewers, SBS also offers an on-demand option for their daily, one-hour Spanish TV news program.

18. Vogue

Vogue is the most prominent publication in fashion. The Spanish edition of Vogue was started only a few years after its American counterpart and is every bit an equal in the depth and quality of its coverage.

This includes coverage in a variety of media, including short videos. It’s a good mixed-media platform for those looking to improve their listening comprehension skills, as well as their reading skills.

19. La Nación

Considered the newspaper of record for Argentina, La Nación (The Nation) is also one of the most widely-read daily papers in the country.

It’s the main Argentinian conservative newspaper, and it’s been in circulation since 1870 (yup, that’s over 150 years!).

La Nación has different sections on politics, economics, international affairs, society, opinion, sports, lifestyle and entertainment.

What’s more, the lifestyle section hides a language-learning gem: Spanish podcasts!

20. El Nuevo Herald

El Nuevo Herald (The New Herald) originally consisted of a series of Spanish translations of different pieces of news published in The Miami Herald, but it’s been on its own since 1987.

The news source mainly focuses on news from the US (especially Florida), but still has other categories that are broken down into a very user-friendly interface.

If you want some native Spanish material to practice your listening skills, you’re going to love the “Video” section.

21. El Vocero

El Vocero (The Spokesperson) isn’t only the most read newspaper in Puerto Rico, but also the first to be completely free in the country (others have followed this strategy since).

This newspaper covers national and international news, with a special focus on politics and governmental information, but it also has sections on sports, opinion and economics, among others.

The section “Audionoticias” (Audionews) sums up the main news of the day in around four minutes. These short audio clips are perfect for Spanish study sessions.

22. La Tercera

La Tercera (The Third) is considered one of the most important newspapers in Chile.

La Tercera has a whopping 30 sections, some of which include the weekend news, several podcasts, sports, Qué pasa (What’s going on), politics, national and international news and even a cooking club!

23. El Observador

El Observador (The Observer) is a rather young newspaper (it was founded in 1991), but it’s already one of the main papers of Uruguay.

Its website is more like an information site where you can go read the latest news as it happens (it’s constantly updated).

Out of all the sections the website includes, the one I enjoyed the most was the one devoted to podcasts. If you’re a fan of reading and literature, you’ll especially enjoy “Te Cuento” (I Tell You).

24. BBC News: Mundo

Enjoy the world-renowned journalism of the BBC, delivered in Spanish.

Primarily written coverage keeps you up-to-date with news about Latin America, Central America and the international scene. You’ll also find stories about science, culture, technology, health and the economy.

For video versions of these articles and additional coverage, check out the BBC News Mundo channel on YouTube.

25. La Opinión

La Opinión (The Opinion) was originally created as a newspaper for Mexican immigrants in the Los Angeles area.

It later changed course to cover news from all of Latin America, and eventually, the entire Spanish-speaking world. This includes the people of Spanish descent who live in LA.

La Opinión covers a wide range of international news and even has a ten minute podcast feature every day that covers the hottest topics of the day. This is a great tool for a quick study session as it’s short and sweet, but you still get a summary of the biggest events.

News Vocabulary

Breaking news — las noticias de última hora

¡Interrumpimos este programa por las noticias de última hora! (We interrupt this program for breaking news!)

News bulletin — el boletín informativo

Tendremos más detalles más tarde, en el boletín informativo. (We will have more details later, in the news bulletin.)

World news — las noticias internacionales

Como directora de una corporación multinacional, siempre estaba interesada en las noticias internacionales. (As the head of a multinational corporation, she was always interested in world news.)

Local news — las noticias locales (Spain); los noticieros locales (Latin America)

Las noticias locales en Barcelona hicieron un reportaje sobre el próximo Festival Grec en Montjuïc. (The local news in Barcelona did a feature about the upcoming Grec Festival in Montjuïc.)

Financial news — las noticias financieras

El contable ve las noticias financieras todos los días. (The accountant watches the financial news every day.)

Sports news — la información deportiva

La información deportiva es lo más importante para mí, ya que soy un fanático del fútbol. (Sports news is most important for me, since I’m a soccer fanatic.)

Traffic report — el informe de tráfico (Spain); el reporte del tráfico (Latin America)

Siempre miro el informe de tráfico antes de salir a trabajar por las mañanas, para evitar cualquier atasco. (I always watch the traffic report before I leave for work in the mornings, to avoid any traffic jams.)

Tips for Learning Spanish Through the News

Read at least one article per day. Consistency will help you remember what you’ve learned!
Find a news source that actually interests you. This will keep you engaged.
Combine print, TV, and radio news. This will help you practice both reading and listening comprehension.
Read out loud. When you read out loud, you improve your pronunciation, rhythm and intonation.
Keep a notebook with the words you translate each day. Writing down what you learn will make your learning more active and help you remember better what you learn.
Revise your notes after each news reading session, and again at the end of each week. As you revise your notes, you’ll reinforce and refine what you’ve learned.
Try summarizing articles in a few short Spanish sentences. This will allow you to practice building your own sentences and also reinforce what you learned from the article.
Create flashcards. This will help you reinforce the words that you learn.

Whether you like focusing on local news, sports, fashion, money or science—or the happenings in dozens of other areas—there are Spanish news sources that can immerse you in the language and gradually improve your fluency.

Mix and match your news sources. Use the information you learn to spark conversations with Spanish-speaking partners.

You can use the news to practice both Spanish reading and listening comprehension—all while keeping on top of the latest news and getting a better understanding of the world we share.