Evictions went down in California during the pandemic, thanks to an eviction moratorium that protected tenants. But the housing struggles of undocumented communities aren’t being captured by authorities.

Author Archives: Madeleine Bair
Madeleine Bair is an award-winning journalist and media developer, and the founder of El Tímpano. Madeleine has been carrying a microphone in her backpack since she belonged to the Oakland bureau of the Peabody Award-winning youth media organization, Children’s Express. As Senior Program Manager at the international nonprofit, WITNESS, she led a pioneering initiative dedicated to advancing the use of citizen video as a tool for human rights. Madeleine has taught radio production to young adults, worked on a morning show at Chicago Public Radio, and produced multimedia for Human Rights Watch. Her stories have appeared in the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, Colorlines, and Orion, and broadcast on PRI’s The World and Independent Lens. She lives with her partner and son in Oakland, where she spends her free time making mixtapes, dancing cumbia, and exploring the region on bike.
El Tímpano expands its civic media to East Contra Costa
El Tímpano will conduct an in-depth listening process to hear from residents what they want to see in local Spanish-language media.
El Tímpano collaborates with Latino USA
This collaboration is the latest of El Tímpano’s ongoing coverage of health and housing produced with, for, and about the Bay Area’s Latino and Mayan immigrants.
El Tímpano is growing
First we built a community. Now we’re building a newsroom, and expanding to the wider Bay Area.
A new partnership with Libraries Without Borders US
El Tímpano and LWB US are supporting a community organizer to address information gaps facing Latino and Mayan immigrants in the Bay Area.
El Tímpano takes home major award
El Tímpano’s COVID-19 coverage was judged best by peers in journalism that centers communities and their information needs.
The immigrant renters the eviction moratorium didn’t protect
For many immigrant renters, protections on paper haven’t necessarily added up to protections in practice.
Comunidades Informadas
El Tímpano’s community-centered approach to combat misinformation in Latino and Mayan immigrant communities.
Building a bridge with a Maya frame of mind
On the relationship between local media and Oakland’s Mayan indigenous community, and more.
March 2020-March 2021 Impact Report
El Tímpano’s first impact report outlines how we expanded our work and organization as we informed, engaged, and amplified the voices of communities most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.