Like most Americans, Roxana Wortman often gets her news from social media. She reads the local paper some, and listens to New York Times podcasts on her commute from Alpine, but when she’s in front of her computer or phone, there’s a good chance she’s looking at Todo TV, Jackson’s Spanish-language news and advertising service. Same goes for her friend group, she said.
“We are a big group of Spanish or bilingual people here living in Jackson and Teton and Wyoming,” said the Jackson Hole Community School Spanish teacher. “It’s just great to see that some sources can represent who we are in our language.”
Todo TV abandoned its television channel license in 2024 after a year and a half, said owner and former L.A.-based news anchor Alicia Unger.
Prisma TV features international news and cultural talk show programming in Spanish. It aims to have local news bulletins, too. (Sophia Boyd-Fliegel / KHOL)
She said the antenna audience was too small. Not enough people realized they didn’t have to pay for the channel, she said, since it wasn’t on cable. Unger liked keeping people informed but said tumultuous business relationships left her saddled with debt.
Now, she’s starting a platform from scratch, but hopes to carry over a dedicated audience of people like Wortman. She has expanded programs, and launched her new brand – Prisma – on the streaming service Roku on June 22. It’s still free.
“There is no more excuse to be uninformed,” she said.
Prisma aims to present a mix of international news, talk shows with community service providers and, once a week, the plan is to have a rundown of local news.
Unger funds a team of videographers, equipment and content with advertising. She said she needs about $350,000 per year.
The goal, she says, is to hire some Spanish-language reporters. And she is open to bilingual programming.
Streaming will make the content available everywhere with internet. She’s still waiting on the green-light from Apple TV to get an app off the ground.
“I’m pretty much coming from six feet underground to a new phase,” Unger said.
