NAHJ 25th Anniversary Retrospective

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C E L E B R A T I N G 2 5 Y E A R S O F T A K I N G T H E L E A D 1

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

The Mission ................................................................................3

The Beginning ............................................................................4

The Organizers ...........................................................................5

The Presidents ............................................................................9

Our Progress...............................................................................27

Timeline .....................................................................................27

Profiles .......................................................................................49

Lifetime Members.......................................................................57

Be a 25th Anniversary Angel ......................................................59

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2 N A T I O N A L A S S O C I A T I O N O F H I S P A N I C J O U R N A L I S T S

S U B J E C T

CREDITS:Writers: Sam Diaz, The Washington Post

Veronica Garcia, Los Angeles Times

Frank Gómez, Founder

Peter Ortiz, Freelance writer, New York City

Frances Robles, The Miami Herald

Fernando Quintero, The Rocky Mountain News

Editor: Joanna Hernandez, New York Times Regional Media Group

Assistant Editors: Lisa Goodnight, National Association of Hispanic Journalists

Iván Román, National Association of Hispanic Journalists

Cover: Robert Holst, New York Times Regional Media Group

Layout: Paul Fisher, Fisher Design

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T H E M I S S I O N / L A M I S I O N

T h e M i s s i o nThe National Association of Hispanic Journalists(NAHJ) is dedicated to the recognition andprofessional advancement of Hispanics in the newsindustry. Established in April 1984, NAHJcreated a national voice and unified vision for allHispanic journalists.

The goals of the association are:

1 To organize and provide mutual support forHispanics involved in the gathering ordissemination of news.

2 To encourage and support the study andpractice of journalism and communications byHispanics.

3 To foster and promote fair treatment ofHispanics by the media.

4 To further the employment and careerdevelopment of Hispanics in the media.

5 To foster a greater understanding of Hispanicmedia professionals’ special cultural identity,interests, and concerns.

L a M i s i ó nLa Asociación Nacional de Periodistas Hispanos(NAHJ) se dedica al reconocimiento y al desarrolloprofesional de los hispanos en la prensa. Fundadaen abril del 1984, la NAHJ constituye una voz anivel nacional y una visión unida para todos losperiodistas hispanos.

Las metas de la NAHJ son:

1 Organizar y proveer una red de apoyo mutuo alos periodistas hispanos dedicados a larecopilación y a la diseminación de noticias.

2 Fomentar y apoyar entre los hispanos el estudioy el desempeño del periodismo y de lacomunicación.

3 Impulsar y promover el trato justo de loshispanos en los medios de información.

4 Promover el empleo y el desarrollo profesionalde los hispanos en los medios de difusión.

5 Fomentar un entendimiento mayor de laidentidad cultural, los intereses y laspreocupaciones de los profesionales hispanosque trabajan en los medios.

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N A H J

I N T H E B E G I N N I N G . . . .

Nothing was easy about putting together a national organization to represent the interests of Latinojournalists - and the cultures of people from more than 20 nations.

In the beginning, everything was up for debate: The use of the word Hispanic over Latino; how to classify“real” journalists and where they would fall among the various categories of membership; even where tolocate the headquarters.

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists was born of the California Chicano News MediaAssociation. Many held that being a strong promoter of the idea of a national organization, it was a naturalfor NAHJ’s location to be at CCNMA’s offices at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Othersargued for Chicago, largely for its accessibility to both coasts and growing number of Latino journalists.

The argument that made the most sense was to have the national headquarters in the nation’s capital,where we would seek to influence federal policy makers, trade associations and major media. There wewould also join with other national Hispanic organizations to help shape attitudes and policies to advancethe community’s agenda.

And still, there were many uncomfortable with the notion of another group that would be drawing fromthe same dwindling pool of funds and grants.

Difficult discussions were met face on, like when questions arose whether a Puerto Rican from New Yorkcould represent Puerto Ricans from the island. Ultimately, islanders were added to the committees.

In any case, overcoming these and many other differences required patience, diplomacy, resilience,perseverance and commitment. but they were overcome. And NAHJ became a reality because of thosequalities in the founders.

— Frank Gómez

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T h e O r g a n i z e r s : I n t h e i r o w n w o r d s

Quotes from the 15 Latino journalists who put their names on the line, signing the National

Association of Hispanic Journalists' Articles of Incorporation.

Some organizers and founding members gathered for a picture in 1982. Bottom row, from left, Teresa Abate Rodriguez, Guillermo Martinez,Elisabeth Perez-Luna, Maria Elena Salinas and Juan Gonzalez. Top row, Frank Newton, Charlie Ericksen, Manuel Galvan, Jesús Dávila, Henry Mendoza,Gerald Garcia, Victor Vazquez, Julio Moran, Phil Sisneros and Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez.

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JAY RODRIGUEZ He was then the VP of Corporate Information for NBC.

“I headed a panel discussion at the San Diego meeting....We held our meetings at various cities around the countryto seek information from interested journalists on what kindof organization would serve their interests, and also to seeif there was need for the organization. There wasunanimous approval that it would serve the Latinocommunity for many reasons.”

MARIA ELENA SALINASBack then, she was a reporter, anchor and public affairshost for KMEX-TV in Los Angeles and board member ofCCNMA.

“The 1982 meeting in San Diego was the second timeHispanic journalists from across the country got together fora conference. It has always been considered the firstbecause it included those who worked in mainstreammedia. It was impressive to see that so many Latinojournalists responded to both the conference and thecreation of NAHJ. The rest is history, and history in themaking.”

GUILLERMO MARTINEZHe was a columnist and on the editorial board of TheMiami Herald in 1982.

“There was a lot of skepticism about starting a nationalorganization. There were people who thought a) it wasn’tneeded; or b), if it was needed, it wasn’t possible. It wasn’teasy, but we overcame. We needed a national journalistsassociation to make the media in this country understandthat Hispanics were just as important as blacks, as women,as any other group in the newsroom.”

EDITH SAYRE AUSLANDERShe was an assistant professor of journalism at theUniversity of Arizona.

“After the 1982 conference, it became clear that weneeded a national organization. With the help of GeraldSass and the Gannett Foundation, 15 of us met withHispanics in key U.S. locations to determine the support fora national organization. The reaction was overwhelminglypositive. “

CHARLIE ERICKSENAlong with his wife Sebastiana Mendoza, and their son,Hector, he co-founded Hispanic Link bilingual news service.

“When the Gannett Foundation’s Jerry Sass suggested ...that Hispanic journalists organize nationally-and thenoffered foundation funding to help-it was a prayeranswered.”

HENRY MENDOZAHe was a reporter at the Los Angeles Times and recent pastpresident of the CCNMA.

“The Gannett Foundation’s Jerry Sass urged us to ask for agrant to explore interest in a national group for Latinojournalists. My role led to my election as chair of thecommittee leading this effort, an experience that remainsmy proudest professional achievement. Only after two moreyears of meetings throughout the country, a lot of work bya committee that was representative of our Latino culturesand all phases of media and communications, plus muchdebate and soul searching, were Articles of Incorporationsigned.”

T H E O R G A N I Z E R S

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PAULA MAESShe was the Public Affairs Director for KOB-TV, the NBCaffiliate in Albuquerque, N.M.

“We talked about getting New Mexico involved because ofthe large Hispanic population. CCNMA was feeling a lot ofpressure to start a national group, but their purpose was toserve Southern California, the journalists in the Los Angelesarea. They were really the only organized Hispanic mediagroup in the country and they were very visible. That’s kindof where the people wanting a national organizationmigrated to, maybe because I was in the Southwest. Wewere devoted to the pursuit of minorities in the media. Wetraveled to Chicago, Miami, Dallas, San Francisco-invitationswere sent out to all of these journalists in thosecommunities to meet with us over a two-day period. Theywould come in and tell us what they thought theorganization should be, what needs needed to be met. Outof that came NAHJ.”

NORMA SOSAShe was a reporter and editor at the Chicago Sun Times.

“When I was asked to consider sitting on the committeeformed to organize the National Association of HispanicJournalists, it took no deliberating about whether such agroup could do any good. I signed on without a secondthought. In the mid-1980s, there were few of us working innewsrooms and there were very wide information andexperience gaps about minority populations in general andabout Hispanic Americans in particular among those whocontrolled the mass media.”

FRANK GOMEZHe was the Deputy Assistant U.S. Secretary of State forPublic Affairs, invited at the request of Charlie Ericksen.

“I’ve always believed that the media shapes perception,perceptions shape attitudes and attitudes shape policies anddecisions. Given that we were so under represented in themedia, the perceptions of Hispanics across the country weredistorted. NAHJ has been a voice, a consistent voice. Weare in a position of influence today that we could onlydream about.”

JUAN GONZALEZAt the time, he was a reporter at the Philadelphia DailyNews.

“One of my biggest challenges in the meetings of thatinitial organizing committee became helping to resolve theethnic rivalry between Chicano, Cuban and Puerto Ricanjournalists that kept simmering below the surface, andwhich sometimes erupted into open shouting matches...Despite such occasional conflicts, all of us on the organizingcommittee became very close friends, and remain so to thisday. In retrospect, it was all part of both the pain and theecstasy that comes with giving birth to anythingworthwhile.”

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JUAN M. GARCIA-PASSALACQUAHe was an attorney for an educational foundation in PuertoRico.

“In 1982, I was visiting New York for official business. Itouched base with my good Puerto Rican friends, JuanGonzalez and Jesús Dávila.... They invited me to a meetingof 15 Mexican-American, Cuban and Puerto Ricanjournalists that might need an attorney to write articles ofincorporation to organize an association of Hispanicjournalists. Frank del Olmo, then editorial writer for the LosAngeles Times, had taken the red-eye to meet on the otherside of the country with us. Frank Gómez was chairing themeeting, and María Elena Salinas was the guiding spirit. Igladly accepted, and was very impressed when the wholegroup had a lot of cross-cultural, but essentially, Hispanicfun.”

ROBERT ALANIZHe was the manager of community affairs for KCBS-TV inLos Angeles and president of the California Association forLatinos in Broadcasting.

“We agreed in principle that if Hispanics were ever to getahead in the newsrooms of America, we needed to create anational voice that would gain respect and a permanentaudience with those that ran the news business inAmerica.”

GUSTAVO GODOYHe was vice president and news director of the SpanishInternational Network. SIN later became Univisión.

“We said, ‘We’re a minority, we have to struggle together,we have to get a plan together.’ This is a land ofinformation and opportunity and our people have to beinformed. If we pool our resources together, we’re going tobe able to say, ‘Hey, we’re here,’ and not be second-guessed all the time.”

JESUS DAVILAHe was a reporter for El Diario/LaPrensa in New York.

“One of my main concerns as a member of the committee,and later as a member of the board, was ethics. I think Iwould offend no one if I tell you that I was the personmainly responsible for the adoption of the NationalAssociation of Hispanic Journalists’ code of ethics. It tooksome work, but we put together of good code of ethics.”

MAGGIE RIVAS-RODRIGUEZShe was a reporter for the Boston Globe.

“One of the biggies for me was when those of us who hadworked on that first conference made the commitment togo for a national organization. That was pretty bold. I sentout a bunch of letters to the Hispanic journalists I knew inTexas, announcing the venture. Got a note back from oneof the longtime San Antonio journalists saying that thecreation of a national group had been attempted four orfive times before; good luck! I’m glad his pessimism wasn’tcontagious!”


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T h e P r e s i d e n t s

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T H E P R E S I D E N T S

NAHJ has a history of pushing for First Amendment issues,including calling for the passage of a federal shield law andencouraging more open government legislation. LastOctober, for the first time, members of the board and staffpartnered with the non-profit group Free Press to discusstwo issues with congressional staffers.

The first was media consolidation, which can be affected bygovernment action in the form of relaxing FCC regulations.We believe that putting more of the media in the hands offewer owners will have a negative effect on minorityownership and coverage of minority communities, two areasthat are important to our mission. We asked thegovernment to conduct a study on minority mediaownership, and when we were turned down, Free Pressconducted a study of its own.

Free Press found that greater media concentration does, infact, decrease opportunities for minority ownership. Otherstudies showed that higher rates of local ownership wererelated to higher rates of minority ownership, and that localownership is related to stronger local coverage.

The second issue we tackled was network neutrality, theprinciple that Web sites are restricted only by their own

resources. There is a movement afoot to make the Web lessfriendly to smaller, individual content providers in favor oflarger corporations and businesses that can pay a premiumto make their sites more accessible to the general public.

The Internet starts off as a level playing field for everyonewho puts up a site. Minority groups have an interest inmaintaining network neutrality to ensure all groups haveequal access to the Internet. Neither of these are partisanissues. In fact, the issue of network neutrality has unitedgroups as disparate as Moveon.org and the ChristianCoalition.

We at NAHJ are interested in these issues because they havean impact on the opportunities available to our people, thequality of the news programming we receive, and ourabilities as individuals and community groups to have equalaccess to the resources of the next generation ofcommunication.

It’s important work that we must do to remain relevant inthe coming years.

From left, NAHJ President Rafael Olmeda, left, greets Tina Griego and John Temple of the Rocky Mountain News, as well as Elizabeth Aguilera ofthe Denver Post. Aguilera is director of Region 7.

R a f a e l O l m e d a2006 to present

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When I took over the helm of the National Association ofHispanic Journalists at the UNITY convention, I neverimagined that my biggest challenge would be to lead ajournalism organization in times of change, downsizing anduncertainty in the media industry.

Knight-Ridder, the second largest newspaper chain in thecountry, would become history, after a forced sale byinvestors. The dismantling of the highly regarded company, achampion of diversity, has many journalists still in a state ofdisbelief.

Layoffs and buy-outs in many of the media companies werecontinuously announced during my term, including Spanish-language powerhouse Univisión, which positioned itself for asale. Hundreds of jobs were eliminated.

We aggressively advocated for retention of Latino journalistsin the newsroom and pursued more hiring opportunitiesthrough our Parity Project, with incredibly favorable results.But I felt it was never enough.

As a journalist who started her career in Spanish-languagemedia, I was constantly disappointed at the lack ofprogramming in Spanish at the convention. That changed,with an emphasis during my presidency to pay moreattention and provide much needed services to our

previously unattended Spanish-language membership.These efforts resulted in an increase in members who workin Spanish-language media.

In order to keep up with the changes in the industry, NAHJhas had to evolve. Everyone’s talking digital. Well, welistened and included more multimedia programmingopportunities, to better prepare our members for new on-the-job duties as online journalism takes over newsrooms.

Promoting diversity, advocating for better coverage of Latinoissues, elevating the importance of Spanish-language mediawithin our organization and increasing opportunities for ourmore seasoned journalists have been at the core of mymission during my two-year term.

When I was elected president, I had already been part of theboard of directors for three years. But leading was certainlydifferent. People look to you for guidance. And you wantto the best job possible. Needless to say, leading NAHJ was agreat learning experience.

From left: Verónica Villafañe and Gov. Bill Richardson in Fort Lauderdale in 2006.

V e r ó n i c a V i l l a f a ñ e2004 to 2006

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No profession or institution makes systemic change withouta firm kick in the butt. Thanks to the fantastic support ofNAHJ’s members, we shook up American journalism duringmy term as president, accomplishing goals others thoughtimpossible.

Stopping the FCC’s plan to deregulate media ownership wasby far the biggest achievement because it affected our entireprofession. But fashioning through the Parity Project awhole new approach to diversity in news coverage andhiring was certainly the most innovative endeavor.

J u a n G o n z a l e z2002 to 2004

John Quiñones, left, Nancy Quiñones, Juan Gonzalez and María Elena Salinas at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C., during Noche de Triunfos in 2004.

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NAHJ at 25. If this organization were a person, it would beready to take on the world. In many ways we have donethat. We have broken barriers, opened doors, diversifiednewsrooms, improved the quality of American journalism,raised our voice to defend journalistic principles. We haveearned our rightful place at the table. We have come a longway, chicas y chicos. But we have not yet reached the top.However, I know we will succeed.

As Al Martinez of the L.A. Times and other pioneeringLatino journalists leave the business, NAHJ must intensify itspressure on media companies to promote Latinos toleadership posts. As things stand now, there are no Latinoson the mastheads of the New York Times, the WashingtonPost or the Los Angeles Times. No Latino presidents orevening news anchors at the TV networks. No Latinos in thefront offices of the media companies. No Latino ownershipof the two major Spanish-language networks. No high

ranking Latinos at PBS. Yet, many of those media companiesare launching efforts to attract more Latino viewers orreaders. This is the time to expand the Parity Project andmake diversity at the top a major priority.

And speaking of priorities, it is no coincidence that themotto of this convention is “NAHJ@25: Building Today,Shaping Tomorrow” and that it meets in the heart of SiliconValley. The opening plenary will bring together new and oldmedia players to analyze the digital divide and explore waysin which we can become the leaders, the content providersand the owners of online journalism properties. We mayhave been latecomers to the world of print and broadcastmedia but now we are right on time. It is up to us, themembers and the leadership of the NAHJ, to get to the topof this brave new world.

HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY NAHJ!

C e c i l i a A l v e a r2000 to 2002

Cecilia Alvear, left, at a silent auction with Carolina Garcia, executive editor of The Monterey Herald.

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Those were the years of growth forNAHJ within the national office and asan essential part of Unity '99. We tookour conventions from Miami to Seattleto Houston.

The second Unity convention, held inSeattle in 1999, presented challengesand rewards. The convention drewmore than 6,000 journalists of colordemonstrating a sizeable force forchange in the news business. Theconvention made headlines with aspeech by presidential candidate AlGore. Candidate George W. Bushchanged his schedule to make anunannounced appearance at theconvention job fair.

Making the convention happen brought a new sense ofteamwork among the four minority journalismorganizations. We found through differences of opinion andapproach regarding how we would handle Washingtonstate's approval of anti- affirmative action legislation. Thedialogue and work to produce the convention made usstronger.

I served as president of the Unity board for the year 2000. Inthe national office we added support staff including

communications directorJoseph Torres. Through hisefforts, NAHJ was able tocraft immediate responsesto news affecting ourmembership. Membershipreached 1,500.

I ran for president afterserving on the board as aregion director and vicepresident for print. Myfocus centered onrecruiting young Latinojournalists. I continued thatworked as president,attending numerous jobfairs and conventions.

At the 2000 convention, we again made headlines with akeynote address by presidential candidate George W. Bush.

I was honored to serve the membership at a critical point inthe history of Latino journalists. During this time, our focusturned from simply encouraging Latino students to choosejournalism as a career to nurturing the growing ranks ofLatino managers, editors, publishers and news directors.Now, it is crucial to retain our membership and motivatethem to stay in the business.

N a n c y B a c a1998 to 2000

Nancy Baca, left, with Laura Bush in 2000.

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Every two years, NAHJ reinvents itself abit. Shortly after becoming president, itbecame evident the organization’sinfrastructure needed attention. I knewmany of these efforts would not beapparent to the general membership,but keeping the lights on was crucial toNAHJ’s existence.

We learned that Policies and Procedureshad not been updated since its creationin 1987. Executive board members,with the help of NAHJ’s attorney, spenta great deal of time bringing NAHJ up-to-date in 1996. The P&P was so wellcrafted, other journalism organizationshave used it as a model.

We realized the reserves fund had missed much of the stockmarket ride because of poor investments. We rectified thatby taking bids from investment firms and investing morewisely.

NAHJ is heavily funded by corporatedonations. We acknowledged that tomaintain and expand our revenue level,and improve our services, we needed toexpand our base of contributors toinclude consumer-product companies.

An important change was the use ofboard members to help raise money.We also began having the spring boardmeeting the week of the scholarshipbanquet, cutting back on travel for theboard and staff.

None of these changes occurredwithout support from board members.And none of this could have happenedwithout competent executive directors.

NAHJ’s future is secure with the systems put in place during1996-1998, and the tone set by the board and executivedirector.

D i n o C h i e c c h i1996 to 1998

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The mid-90s were marked by rapidgrowth in NAHJ membership and therising stature of Hispanic journalistsnationally within the media industry.The formulating stages of the first Unityconference were rocky at times, butleaders stayed the course in those yearsto lay the foundation for the historicconvention in 1999.

NAHJ created more programs andoutreach to students, academics andSpanish-language journalists. Thatconverged at the 1995 nationalconvention in El Paso, entitled “SinFronteras: Window of Opportunity -A bilingual, bicultural event.”

That year the first student campus,which became the role model for theindustry, was conducted at theUniversity of Texas at El Paso.Convention sessions were held in ElPaso and Ciudad Juarez. At night at acharreada, a Mexican rodeo, repletewith mariachis and great food, offereda new, authentic experience for manyattendees.

The Chicago convention demonstratedthe growth and influence of Latinojournalists in the Midwest. The increase,especially those who work in Spanish-language, has been phenomenal sincethen.

G i l b e r t B a i l ó n1994 to 1996

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The pressures and uncertainty of thefirst Unity convention, including thecontroversial cancellation of the NAHJconvention in Denver in 1993, markedthe two memorable years I served aspresident of NAHJ. They were years ofgrowth and soul searching for both theorganization and me.

Within months of taking office, Ilearned that a law discriminatingagainst gay and lesbian residents hadbeen passed in Colorado, the plannedsite of our 1993 convention. A nationalboycott was in place and we werecalled on to join. Board members whohad idealistically run for office to dotheir part to increase the Latinopresence in the media, suddenly found themselves in themidst of a national political firestorm. Major mediaorganizations kept calling to ask what we would do.

The tough decision was based on the philosophical basis ofNAHJ and its financial future. Should NAHJ take a positionon such an issue that journalists also had to cover on aregular basis? How would the financial loss of canceling ormoving the conference impact the organization? Could wesustain this loss in the tens of thousands? The annualconferences are a major source of revenue for NAHJ.

In the end, we voted to move theconference to Washington DC, adecision some thought compromisedour role as journalists while others saidwe had not acted quickly enough.

Our attention next turned to the Unity'94 conference. While it provided anexciting opportunity to capture theindustry’s attention, it also posed atremendous challenge for the foursponsoring organizations. While wewere all journalists of color, we learnedalong the way, sometimespainstakingly, of the many culturaldifferences among us. We were able towork through those, never losing sightof our joint mission.

Among my proudest moments with NAHJ was my workcreating “El Noticiero,” the student television trainingprogram, and guiding a dedicated board and membershipthrough the unchartered territory of Unity '94 and thenational spotlight during the turmoil over Denver.

The role NAHJ plays in this country is vital. Those of us past,present and future Latino journalists and other activists mustalways make sure NAHJ continues to have a voice in theeverchanging world of the media. Collectively, throughNAHJ, we help pave the road for Latinos in this country inthe future.

D i a n e A l v e r i o1992 to 1994

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I had managerial experience andhoped to bring some expertise to theassociation. Luckily the membershipthought the same and elected mepresident in 1990.

I was lucky to be surrounded by areally good board and officers. Ithelped that we had goodrepresentation of broadcast journalists.We addressed issues including thePuerto Rican plebiscite as well asCuba-related and Mexican-Americanissues.

We did a lot of leg work and a lot ofPR work. We worked with ASNE andits diversity committee. It was a timewhen we started seeing more Hispanics involved with Pulitzerjudging. NAHJ crashed through the glass ceiling during mytenure.

We also faced general apathy of our membership. We hadour share of ups and downs with various media companies.One year they were with you, the next year they were not.There was also inconsistency in their support of hiring andrecruiting Hispanic journalists.

UNITY: Journalists of Color started during my tenure. I remember the

heads of the associations meeting withGerald Garcia, chair of the minoritycommittee of the NAA. We said that thevarious associations of journalists of colorwould support it. It wasn’t a hard sell. Wejust needed to work out logistical issues,like how to handle money. I also served onthe Unity board.

NAHJ should continue to be a veryactive and proactive association. Itneeds to push the envelope, to be awatchdog, to help Hispanic journaliststhat are out there with the challengesthey face in the workplace and up thecareer ladder. The issues today arelargely the same issues we had whenwe got started, and when I was there:

An ongoing challenge to create enthusiasm among theranks, and among the media companies to diversify.

NAHJ, along with the CCNMA, a very important partner anda sister organization, has made a significant difference inallowing many of us to be successful in our careers.

We Hispanics tend to disappear into the framework. Wedon’t go out for the limelight—we just do our thing. I hopewe can do even more in the future to celebrate andremember their accomplishments.

D o n F l o r e s1990 to 1992

NAHJ board members top row, from left: BarbaraGutierrrez, Joe Rodriguez, Iván Román, RosalindSolis and Dino Chiecchi. Bottom row, from left:Melita Garza, Don Flores, Evelyn Hernandez,Patrisia Gonzales, Bea Garcia

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I was the first woman elected presidentof NAHJ, the first Puerto Rican-and theyoungest, at age 29. was blessed withhard-working board members, as wellas mentors and friends who weregenerous with their time and counsel.

Politics and sexism were issues wetackled in the early days. It's importantto note that NAHJ was the first of themajor journalism organizations-minorityor not-to elect a woman as president.We broke down that barrier.

One of my most difficult tasks waschanging the structure of the annualconvention. Previously, our conventionwas called the National Hispanic MediaConference & Expo, and we met in conjunction with theNational Association of Hispanic Publications and theHispanic Academy of Media Arts and Sciences, anassociation of performing artists. As each grew, putting on aconference that met the needs of all became more difficult.NAHJ was the only group with a staff, and we wereresponsible for the bulk of the planning, organizing andfund-raising.

There was support to break away from the other groups,but some of the criticism was harsh. Some people said thatwe board members were "anti-Hispanic."But I wasconvinced it was the right thing to do. We held our first soloconference in 1990.

Edna Negrón, head of the ScholarshipCommittee, spearheaded the FirstJournalism Scholarship Banquet, held inMarch 1989 at the Sheraton CentreHotel in New York City. Jay Rodríguez, afounder of the association, had helpedline up the guest speaker: Tom Brokaw.When it was over, we had raised tens ofthousands of dollars for scholarships.

With the three former NAHJ presidents,we developed a Five-Year Action Planthat was then approved by the board.The previous NAHJ board had met withthe board of the National Association ofBlack Journalists to discuss holding ajoint convention. Soon afterward, theAsian American Journalists Association

and the Native American Journalists Association joined thediscussion. During my presidency, we formally agreed tohold the first Unity convention in 1994.

In 1989, the conference was held in San Juan, P.R. The daybefore, an explosion on the USS Iowa near the coast causedmany journalists working on student projects to leave tocover this major story.

People on the board became my friends. We argued a lot,but we laughed a lot, too. People worked hard, all of it asvolunteers. We believed the work we were doing wasimportant for Latinos in journalism. I believe that to this day.

E v e l y n H e r n á n d e z1988 to 1990

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Norma Sosa’s mother and my mother hadgone to grade school together in CorpusChristi, Texas. Then there we were,working for rival newspapers in Chicago.Norma asked if I would represent theMidwest at an organizing conference. Idid and then found myself electedMidwest Regional Representative.

I served on the NAHJ board under GeraldGarcia and Guillermo Martinez. I thenfound myself being urged to run forpresident. It was not something that Iwas considering right at that time. But inthe 20 years that I have served on boards, I have found thatleadership means stepping forward when you’re called.

My tenure was one of diplomacy,smoothing the feelings of CCNMAbecause NAHJ was running full speedon it own, stressing friendships withNAHP and HAMAS even though NAHJchose to have it own conventions. Wealso were building relationships withNABJ that lead to the Unity gatherings.

NAHJ remains essential to assure thatthe mainstream media representsHispanics accurately. And it serves as abeacon for our people to show thatwe have arrived in this country and are

ready to be mentors for future generations.

M a n u e l G a l v a n1986 to 1988

NAHJ president Manuel Galvan with AlFitzpatrick, former president of NABJ.

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They said it couldn’t be done. Manystressed the differences between thedifferent ethnic groups that make upwhat this country calls Hispanics.Mexican, Puerto Ricans and Cubanswere different and had widely divergentagendas. A professional association thatbrought together Hispanic journalists ofall ethnic origins was simply an ideawhose time had not come, or soconventional wisdom said.

In California, the Chicanos hadorganized CCNMA. They feared theywould lose financial support if anational group took away part of its thunder. They hadreason to worry. In its first year, NAHJ took Frank Newtonaway from CCNMA and even though it was done in aprofessional manner, feathers were ruffled.

Back in those early years of the organization, it wasimportant to prove that we could work together. And with

the help of CCNMA President George Ramos,we did that. We had to prove that there weremore things that bound us together than thosethat keep us apart. We did that also.

In those early days, we set up programs tohelp young Hispanic journalism students withscholarships and a professional award to thetop journalism story in any type of media by orabout Hispanics—the Guillermo MartinezMarquez award.

My thanks to Gerald Garcia, our first president,to Manuel Galvan, who replaced me; to EvelynHernandez, our first Puerto Rican president.

By the first five years, we proved the skeptics wrong. By then,we had an association of Hispanic journalists. Where wecame from originally was finally behind us.

G u i l l e r m o M a r t i n e z1985 to 1986

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My most vivid recollection of our beginningsis the harsh contrast between our publicpersona and our backroom power plays. Inpublic, we were a united front. It wasstarkly different behind closed doors, whereegos, personal agendas and personal whimstook precedence over the overall needs ofthe association and its members. It seemedto me that a few of us did not want thenational movement to succeed.

In fact, if not for Henry Mendoza and ahandful of other members from CCNMA,the movement for a national group couldhave failed. There was strong oppositionfrom some influential Southern California journalists to starta national association. I understood then and I understandnow the apprehension from those opposing the formation ofa national group.

At the time, CCNMA was 10 years strong. It was apowerhouse group. It had most of the top-ranking journalistsin the business as members. It had the funding. So, anational group could possibly usurp its status.For those of us who believed a national group wasimportant, it was a constant struggle during those formativemonths. The back-room discussions were tense.

Yet, in public, we were united. We presented a powerfulforce to media executives and recruiters who were courtingour journalistic talents, skills, experience and diverse culture.

In public, it was a pleasure to be your firstpresident. Outside that environment, it wasan uncomfortable and unsettling never-ending battle.

To media executives and recruiters, ourstrengths were our diverse backgrounds—Latinos, Mexican-Americans, Cubans, PuertoRicans, Central Americans. In our meetings,our diversity, our differences, our varieddifferences of opinion, it seemed to me werealmost our most deadly enemies.

Somehow, we accepted our roles andmoved forward as one. But there were times

during my tenure that I thought all was lost, particularlywhen some of us could not accept the realities of the time.

But the perseverance of most of our members, particularlyHenry, who championed a national group though his strongties to CCNMA, patience by some of us, angry outbursts byothers and me, we made it work.

I am extremely humbled, privileged and honored that youallowed me to be your first president. And thanks to all ofyou, believers or not, who helped make it happen. I am soproud of us.

G e r a l d G a r c i a1984 to 1985

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O U R P R O G R E S S

2 0 0 7June 25th annual National Association of HispanicJournalists convention in San Jose, Calif.

MarchNAHJ board resigns in protest from AccreditingCouncil of Education in Journalism and MassCommunication, questioning its efforts toethnically diversify journalism schools.

FebruaryNAHJ protests a WWII PBS documentary thatexcludes the Latino experience. Filmmaker KenBurns agrees to rework the project, but it’s notclear what will be done.

As the National Association of HispanicJournalists celebrates its 25th year ofexistence, it also faces a medialandscape that its founders couldn’timagine in 1982-and it has left manyof the members reevaluating what itmeans to be a journalist.

The concerns of a quarter of a centuryago-whether Latino journalists of manydifferent countries could unite as onein a national organization-seem almostinsignificant today, though it oncethreatened the birth of NAHJ.

Today’s newsrooms have beenreshaped by the prevalence of onlinemedia, placing new demands andchallenges on journalists. Mediaconsolidation and the overall failure ofthe industry to meaningfully diversifyits newsrooms have forced NAHJ to

continuediligently in itsmission-almostto the point ofits membersbecomingnewsroomactivists inorder to affectchange.

Existence once meant “keeping thelights on and paying the bills on time,”wrote Dino Chiecchi, NAHJ presidentfrom 1996 to 1998. A decade later,NAHJ still deals with limited resources,but the largely volunteer organizationhas made great strides in raising recordamounts for scholarships and increating greater opportunities forLatino journalists. Even with thisprogress, there is still an urgent need

S t e p s i n t h e r i g h t d i r e c t i o n , w i t h m a n y m i l e s t o g o

Back in the day: Panelists in 1982.

By Peter Oritz NAHJ member

T i m e l i n e

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2 0 0 6NovemberThe San Jose Mercury News joins the ParityProject.

OctoberNAHJ submits comments with the FCCopposing the agency’s effort to rewrite ournation’s broadcast ownership regulations.

SeptemberNAHJ calls upon Congress to pass a federalshield law to protect journalists from forciblyrevealing confidential sources.


to raise awareness and advocate theimportance of having diverse voices inprint, online and in broadcast.

NAHJ continues to voice the concernsof Latino journalists, who serve aswatchdogs of their communities. Manymembers credit veteran journalist JuanGonzalez, a columnist for the NewYork Daily News, forreenergizing theorganization during histerm from 2002 to 2004-as well as for creating theParity Project.

Gonzalez notes thebiggest achievementduring his presidency was“stopping the FCC’s plansto deregulate mediaownership...because itaffected our entireprofession ... butfashioning through the

Parity Project a whole new approach todiversity in news coverage and hiringwas certainly the most innovativeendeavor.

“No profession or institution makessystemic change without a firm kick inthe butt,” Gonzalez says. “Thanks tothe fantastic support of NAHJ’s

members, we shook upAmerican journalismduring my term aspresident, accomplishinggoals others thoughtimpossible.”

While there are veteranjournalists like Gonzalezto thank for paving theway for futuregenerations, it is his peerswho have become thenewsroom’s latestcasualties. CharlieEricksen, a founder of

Miguel Perez, right, reactsfavorably to Phillip Sanchez'scomments in 1985.

Just like today, NAHJ members in1984 voice their opinions.

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June24th annual convention, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,with satellite conversation with RicardoAlarcón, president of Cuba’s nationalassembly.

The New York Times announces launch ofmultimedia training institute for student membersof NAHJ.

MayNAHJ holds its first online elections


NAHJ and co-founder and publisher ofHispanic Link News Service, expressedanger when he recently recounted the“retirement” of Al Martinez, longtimecolumnist for the Los Angeles Times.After more than 30 years with thepaper, Martinez felt that he was forcedto take a buyout. Martinez, a vocalcritic of media consolidation, sent an e-mail to newspaper colleagues at theend of May explaining that he was avictim of the paper’s “buyout/layofffrenzy,” noted LAObserved.com.

“If we are really concerned aboutgetting Hispanics into the business ofjournalism, we ought to do a better jobof convincing them to be bold, tobecome change agents in theirnewsrooms,” Ericksen says. “You haveto do that if you want to live withyourself and feel that your profession still has somehonor to it.”

NAHJ’s current leaders need only lookto the organization’s roots and growing

pains as it deals with today’schallenges. The idea of a nationalorganization germinated in 1982at the first National Hispanic MediaProfessionals Conference in SanDiego. There were mixed feelingsamong the members of theCalifornia Chicano News MediaAssociation, the prominent Latinojournalist organization at the time.A national group seemed a difficultconcept for many journalists, who

Some things never change - El Gran Baile!

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AprilThe Orlando Sentinel becomes partner in theParity Project.

NAHJ announces partnership with HispanicNational Bar Association.

MarchNAHJ and the Puerto Rico JournalistsAssociation hold a press conference inWashington, D.C., denouncing FBI’s aggressivetactics against journalists in Puerto Rico.

FebruaryThe Salt Lake Tribune becomes Parity Projectpartner.


were reluctant to let go of theirgeographic and ethnic roots,whether they were Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles,Puerto Ricans in New York orCuban-Americans in Miami.

But two months after the SanDiego gathering, Gerald Sass,then senior vice president ofthe Gannett Foundation-nowthe Freedom Forum—told theleaders of CCNMA thatGannett would support anational organization with or

without their blessing.

“Jerry Sass just told them, ‘Hey, we aregoing to go ahead and do it,” Ericksenrecalls. “So a few of them defectedand decided to join the nationalassociation.’ “

Ericksen credits Sass and Newton forhelping jump-start and guide the neworganization even as tension simmered.Gannett awarded NAHJ $50,000 in

1983 to organize and a year later itofficially became an organization.

The CCNMA “did not want us to exist,they did not want us around becausethey feared we would take theirfunders and they would be out ofbusiness,” Ericksen says.

In 1990, NAHJ put on its first conventionof its own in San Francisco. And CCNMAcontinues to flourish to this very day.

Overcoming differences and solidifying anational identity served as a source ofpride for Latinos at a time when few— ifany—were in newsrooms. RubénRosario, who started his 30-year careerwith the New York Daily News, is now acolumnist with the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

“I joined in terms of pride and to havesomething you can identify withbecause when we broke in ... we werepretty much the lone wolf,” Rosariosays. “To have an organization of

Al Gore speaks at the Unity '99convention in Seattle.

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2 0 0 5NovemberE. W. Scripps Company’s broadcast televisionstation group partners with the Parity Project.

SeptemberNAHJ sets up assistance plan for Latinojournalists affected by Hurricane Katrina

JuneNAHJ converts membership dues to calendar-year renewal structure.


numbers was a great comfort to me.”Latino journalists’ widespread growthacross the United States mirrors thegrowing and diverse Latino population,which comprises the largest minoritygroup in the nation. The Latinopopulation grew 3.4 percent betweenJuly 1, 2005 and July 1, 2006, for atotal of 44.3 million, according to theU.S. Census Bureau.

Much of that growth occurs in citieslike St. Paul that previously drew hardlyany attention. Now the newsroom haspeople like Rosario, who calls himself a“Minne-Rican,” a combination of hisMinnesota and Puerto Rican roots.

As time evolved, the organization realizedhow much power was gained innumbers. This eventually led to theorganization joining with the NationalAssociation of Black Journalists, the AsianAmerican Journalists Association and theNative American Journalists Association tohold the first UNITY: Journalists of Color

conference in1994.Félix Gutiérrez,who helpedsecure the 1983Gannettdevelopmentalgrant to startNAHJ, praisesconcrete efforts such as the Parity Project.Since its inception, 150 Latino journalistshave been hired and the participatingcompanies collectively saw a 45 percentnet gain of Latinos in their newsrooms.Gutiérrez, professor of journalism at theUniversity of Southern California’sAnnenberg School of Communication,also is encouraged by NAHJ’s stanceagainst media consolidation and the lossof jobs that have plagued journalism. Hesaid too many newsroom decisions arebeing made by the business side, bypeople with little or no respect foreditorial integrity.

These are the folks willing to sacrificecoverage and eliminate jobs if it means

Mariachis entertain the audiencein Dallas in 1988.

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June23nd annual Convention, Fort Worth, Texas.Los Angeles Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosaaddresses Town Hall. Close to 1,600 attend.

MayCNN Awards $335,000 to the Ruben SalazarScholarship Fund

AprilThe first NAHJ chapters started in centralFlorida and in Charlotte, N. C.


increased shareholder value. NAHJ andits members can’t afford to remainsilent, he says.

“We have been trying to help them[media industry] do the right thing, wehave been trying to help them catchupto where they should be,” Gutiérrezsays.

NAHJ’s current efforts follow a traditionof pushing for First Amendment issues,such as calling for a federal shield law

and encouragingmore opengovernmentlegislation.

Rafael Olmeda,NAHJ’s currentpresident, saysthat theorganizationjoined with thenonprofit groupFree Press inOctober to

address congressional staffers withtheir concerns over the emergence ofmedia consolidation aided by thegovernment easing FCC regulations. Ayear earlier, in 2005, the NAHJ boardpassed a resolution that opposedfurther deregulation of the nation’sbroadcast ownership rules until theFCC addressed how this could hurtminority ownership opportunities.Another resolution supportedmunicipalities that wanted to buildtheir own wireless broadband networksin response to commercial Internetproviders who were neglecting theircommunities.

“We believe that putting more of themedia in the hands of fewer ownerswill have a negative effect on minorityownership and coverage of minoritycommunities, two areas that areimportant to our mission,” Olmedawrites.

Iván Román, executive director ofNAHJ, echoes these concerns. If many

María Elena Salinas interviewed Mexico's President Vicente Foxin Tijuana, at the 2002 San Diego conference.

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journalists weren’t able to make theconnection between mediaconsolidation and jobs five years ago,there is little doubt today.

“Now it’s right in your face,” Románsays. “Media consolidation has a directeffect on the number of journalismjobs out there, and we can see overthe years ... [jobs] have gone downdramatically.”

Anotherconcernrevolvesaround theprinciples ofnetworkneutrality. Inshort,networkneutralitysymbolizes anequal playingfield for all

web content providers. If large Internetservice companies succeed in lobbyingefforts to require web contentproviders pay a premium for betteraccess, the Internet may becomeprohibitively expensive for many smallerproviders. Román likens it to the“redlining of broadband access ... andsegregation of information.”

Joseph Torres made it his business to

Charlie Ericksen, one of NAHJ’s founders, has been a mentor to many NAHJ students.

Los Angeles Mayor AntonioVillaraigosa spoke in FortWorth in 2005.

MarchThree Scripps newspapers in Florida—TheStuart News, The (Fort Pierce) Tribune,and the Press Journal in Vero Beach—jointhe Parity Project.

FebruaryThe Tampa Tribune and WFLA-TV becomeParity Project partners.

JanuaryThree California papers—the Napa ValleyRegister, the Hanford Sentinel and the SantaMaria Times—join the Parity Project.

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2 0 0 4DecemberThe Daily Camera in Boulder, Colo., joins theParity Project.

OctoberKCNC-TV in Denver becomes first U.S. NAHJParity Project broadcast partner

SeptemberCorpus Christi Caller-Times joins the ParityProject.


understand theconsequences ofefforts to stiflemedia access even ifthese efforts didn’tresonate withmainstreamjournalists or thepublic at large.Torres was NAHJ’sdeputy director forcommunications and

media policy before leaving in March towork as the government relationsmanager at Free Press.

Media consolidation has severelylimited the number of radio andtelevision stations owned by differententities and the ability for people ofcolor to be owners, Torres says. It alsoled to layoffs for many Latinojournalists who gave a voice tocommunities of color. Torres fears thatnow the Internet is under assault.

“I think you are messing with theability of people to receive news from adiversity of places, and it ultimately willhurt our community because we don’thave the economic means to compete -or the money to make sure our siteswill be seen faster,” Torres says.

NAHJ has shown it can play a crucialrole in the changing media landscapewith the help of partners. Torres pointsto April 2006 when NAHJ wrote Carlos

Students of journalism learn lessons of objectivity.

Newsday's Eli Reyes chats with Walter Middlebrookduring a scholarship banquet.

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AugustUnity’s third convention is NAHJ’s 22ndannual, held in Washington. More than 8,000attend. Presidential candidates John Kerry andincumbent George W. Bush speak.

Geraldo Rivera pledges $100,000 to NAHJand Unity.

MayNAHJ gets $1 million grant from McCormickTribune Foundation to expand Parity Project


M. Gutierrez, Secretary of the U.S.Department of Commerce, asking whythe National Telecommunications andInformation Agency had not done astudy on the state of minoritybroadcast ownership since 2000, eventhough it had done so in the past.

When the NTIA wrote they had noplans to do a report, the Free Presstook up the task. The Free Press studyfound that in 2006, people of colorowned just 3.26 percent of all localtelevision stations in the United Statescompared with 3.31 in 1998. NAHJ’s

advocacy also attracted theattention of theCongressional HispanicCaucus, which cited NAHJ’sconcern in a letter it sent tothe Senate leadership urginga study on minority mediaownership.“The decisions abouttomorrow are being madetoday,” Torres says. “It is anissue of our survival and to ensure thatour communities are empowered to betheir own storytellers.”

Throughout its history, NAHJ has playedwatchdog. The organization has takena stance on wide-ranging issuesincluding calling on the media tocorrect the use of offensive racial andethnic information. NAHJ alsoadvocates for balanced media coverageof the Latino community. It does notstand for any kind of discrimination, afact demonstrated one year when theannual convention had to be moved

Former co-workers John Quiñonesand Bertha Coombs.

Applauding our efforts.

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Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. becomes a partner inNAHJ’s Parity Project.

NAHJ approves creation of chapters

FebruaryNAHJ names a permanent award in the honorof the late Los Angeles Times editor and NAHJmember Frank del Olmo.

JanuaryNorth County Times in California joins theParity Project.


from a state that had passedlegislation that discriminatedagainst gays and lesbians. Ourconventions draw liveappearances from U.S.presidents, and in 1998 theNAHJ board met privately withBill Clinton in the White Houseto discuss the growing Latinopopulation.Román says the organization

widened its advocacy role, especially inthe last five years. But he wantsmembers to adopt that role in a waythat might have discomforted an oldergeneration of journalists in themainstream media. He notes manyLatino journalists were at one timereluctant to cover Hispanic issuesfearing it might pigeonhole theircareers.

“There were so few of us entering themainstream newsroom, that we felt weneeded to accommodate specifically to

the rigidity of notions in thenewsrooms,” Román says. “We had toendure many years of being told wehad to leave our Latino heritage at thedoor.”

Often times those notions meant whitemen deciding what was newsworthy.The lack of diversity has resulted innewsrooms failing to gauge whatcommunities of color value asimportant. Román attributes this lackof diversity to why many English-language publications and broadcasterswere surprised about the large

TV Host Cristina Saralegui and many admirers

President Bush spoke to NAHJ members inHouston in 2000.

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2 0 0 3DecemberThree Texas dailies—the San Angelo Standard-Times, the Times Record News and AbileneReporter-News—become Parity Projectpartners.

SeptemberNaples (Fla.) Daily News joins the ParityProject

June21st annual NAHJ convention, New York, NY.About 2,000 attend.

Ventura County Star becomes a Parity Projectpartner.


immigration protests last year. But evenif Latino journalists can’t always win inadvocating for better coverage, moreand more are emboldened to let theireditors know that being a journalistand Latino are not mutually exclusive.

“Bringing your ethnicity and yourexperience to journalism is OK,”Román says.

NAHJ also has spoken out on howsome media outlets taint their coverageand color their viewers’ or readers’perceptions. One notable example isthe use of “illegal aliens” and use of“illegals” as a noun. The organizationsays that such language dehumanizesimmigrants and creates an atmospherethat effectively removes the personfrom the debate while giving morecredence to anti-immigrantproponents.

“We wouldn’t challenge the anti-immigrant activist for saying what he

says. He can say whatever he wants tosay; this is the United States,” Románsays. “But what we would challenge isa medium that allows them to just saywhatever they say without offering thebalance or fairness in the coverage.”

Stella M. Chávez learned she wasn’talone when she started attending NAHJconventions. The annual event

Cultures are celebrated at NAHJ.

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AprilThe Parity Project launches at The RockyMountain News in Denver.

2 0 0 2DecemberNAHJ joins a coalition of 16 journalism groupsto urge the Bush Administration that in theevent that Iraq is invaded, it abide byguidelines the Pentagon and media groupsestablished after the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

OctoberThe NAHJ board approves the Parity Project asan initiative.


introduced her toother Latinojournalists, who likeher, embraced theirethnicity andculture in thenewsroom.

“I felt that growingup Latina-being a

daughter of immigrant parents-that Ihad insight into that world that maybeother people didn’t,” Chávez says. NAHJ “is like a support group forjournalists like me.”

Chávez, a reporter for The DallasMorning News, remembers watchingher father, an immigrant from Mexico,reading the newspaper she now writesfor even though his English was poor.Chávez’s father asked his daughter forhelp understanding stories and laterwhen she attended college, he clippedand mailed her articles on immigrationand the Latino community.

Though her newspaper doesn’t use theterm “illegal alien,” Chávez wouldhave no problem vocalizing herobjections to such language. She isgrateful that NAHJ lends its voice tothis and other issues about Latinos. Sheadvocates on a community level withher involvement in a local Latino mediagroup that issues scholarships forstudents. Still, Chávez wonders if shewill have a job in five years andlaments friends who have left thebusiness.

“I can’t see myself doing anything else,and at the end of the day I want to beable to tell stories that are not beingtold,” Chávez says, still drawinginspiration from her father. “I thinkabout my dad sometimes when I writestories, and sometimes when I’mwriting stories, it’s like I’m writing aboutmy dad. So that keeps me going.”

Like Chávez, Nancy San Martin creditsNAHJ for serving as a crucial network

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and for being “directly responsible forlaunching my career as a journalist.”San Martin graduated from stuffingbags as a volunteer at her firstconvention in 1986 to board memberfrom 1991 to 1994. Through an NAHJconvention she secured an internshipwith The Miami Herald while attendingcollege. Today she is a foreigncorrespondent for the Herald.

One of NAHJ’s biggest roles is ensuring

newsrooms adaptjournalistic principles totheir online websiteoperations, San Martin says.Today’s journalists are betterequipped to handlemultimedia demands, butthey also need tounderstand economicfactors that are reshapingnewsrooms, she says.

“As much as wewant asjournalists to doonly journalism, the reality isthat newspapers arebusinesses,” San Martinsays. “Unfortunately, wehave to figure out how tostay in business while stilldoing all those things thatjournalists do.”

June20th annual NAHJ convention, San Diego, at samecity and hotel where the first national gathering ofHispanic media professional was conducted. MexicoPresident Vicente Fox speaks at the opening night ofthe event in Tijuana, Baja California.

2 0 0 1SeptemberMany NAHJ members are involved in coveringthe aftermath of the terrorist attacks on theWorld Trade Center in New York City —writing, reporting, editing and/or shooting

photographs and video. NAHJ raises funds forthe children of TV employee Isaias Rivera, anative of Puerto Rico and 30-year employee ofCBS who died that morning working from thestation’s transmitter room at the top of theTwin Towers.


We partied hardy at the beach party in Fort Lauderdale.

We enjoy the food.

NAHJ 25-6.11.07.qxd 6/13/07 2:27 PM Page 39


San Martin toutsthe convention asa “kind ofuniversity” tohelp educate newand oldergenerations ofjournalists toadapt to change.NAHJ has

focused more attention providingmultimedia and online journalismtraining at its conventions.

“We can’t rely on the industry to makeus better journalists,” San Martin says.“We have to take it upon ourselves tobe the very best that we can be, andthat is how workshops, panels andeducation opportunities help Hispanicjournalists continue to hone their skillsas journalists.”

Every year San Martin helps organizeconvention workshops, and this year

she will organize two, including one onimmigration. For some, the conventionis perceived as a party despite its jobfair and educational workshops. But forSan Martin and many others, theconvention is the best way to meetface-to-face with potential employers.

“I hope that [party] perception haschanged because it certainly hasevolved into a leading journalismorganization,” she says. “I think we’ve


June19th annual NAHJ convention, Phoenix, Ariz.More than 1,500 attend. Mexico’s ForeignMinister Jorge Castañeda is a conventionspeaker.

2 0 0 0OctoberNAHJ board passes resolution calling for newsorganizations to provide domestic partnerbenefits to their employees.

June18th annual NAHJ convention, Houston, Texas.Almost 1,400 attend. Gov. George W. Bushspeaks opening night. NAHJ inducts first threehonorees into its new Hall of Fame, including

NAHJ conventions have offeredmany training workshops.

And there’s always time to mingle.

NAHJ 25-6.11.07.qxd 6/13/07 2:27 PM Page 40


had a direct role in ensuring diversity inthe newsroom and ensuring that thosenewsrooms are reflective of thecommunity.”

Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, an NAHJfounder, was instrumental in startingNAHJ’s first student newspaper, TheLatino Reporter, at the 1988convention in Dallas. It would serve asa model for the other organizations forjournalists of color. Today Rivas-Rodriguez teaches journalism at theUniversity of Texas at Austin.

“It seemed like the most natural thingto do, have a newspaper,” Rivas-Rodriguez says of her 1988 experience.

NAHJ created a newsroom in theconvention hotel restaurant so studentscould publish a daily newspaper withhelp from professional journalists. Fromthat start it expanded and nowincludes English and Spanish print

newspapers, television, radio and anonline news Web site. This year, for thefirst time, students will participate in aconvergence project, where they willwork together across different mediaplatforms. The student project runsabout $150,000 to $180,000 everyyear and is paid out of NAHJ’soperating budget with no outsidesupport.

Rivas-Rodriguez continues to ensureLatinos are represented in media, but ina different way. She has helped lead a


Rubén Salazar, Los Angeles Times columnistand news director for Spanish-languagestation KMEX, who was killed by a sheriff’sdeputy in 1970 while covering a protest.

AprilMore than 120 journalists attend NAHJ’s firstconference in Los Angeles for Spanish-language journalists.

MarchAbout 100 top-level Mexican and U.S. Latinojournalists meet in Mexico City for the “Mexico2000: Media and Democracy at a Crossroads”conference, sponsored by Region 5 and the

Steve Montiel answers a questionon a panel.

NAHJ 25-6.11.07.qxd 6/13/07 2:27 PM Page 41


coalition of Latinoorganizations, includingNAHJ, in demanding thata PBS World War IIdocumentary featureLatinos. Before thegroup’s involvement, theKen Burns’ documentary,“THE WAR,” scheduledfor release duringHispanic Heritage Month,

contained no interviews with Latinoveterans. PBS has since reversed courseand promised to re-edit the program toinclude Latino veterans.“It all has to do with making sure thatLatinos are represented fairly andaccurately,” she says.

Rivas-Rodriguez also worries aboutNAHJ staff burning out from fightingon so many fronts. She encouragesgreater involvement by members.

“It’s wonderful to say NAHJ needs to

take a position, that it needs to do this,it needs to do that, but ourmembership really have to take someresponsibility because we can’t expectthe staff to do everything,” Rivas-Rodriguez says.

Román leads a small staff that is verybusy during preparation for theconvention. But he says if NAHJ hopesto remain relevant, it has to push onmany different fronts. To make thatwork, NAHJ has focused moreattention on diversifying its fundraisingbase to more non-media companies,foundations and individual members,especially in the last three years.

The organization raised $222,000 fromindividuals from June 2005 to June2006 as part of Challenge Grant II, ajoint effort by the John S. and James L.Knight Foundation, Ford Foundationand Ethics and Excellence in JournalismFoundation. NAHJ is on track to reach


Dallas-Fort Worth Network of HispanicCommunicators. All three of Mexico’s toppresidential candidates speak at this historicevent.

FebruaryThe 11th annual NAHJ Scholarship Banquet atthe Plaza Hotel in New York City sets a record,raising more than $200,000.

1 9 9 9JanuaryThe NAHJ board votes to end its four-yearboycott of California sparked by the passageof Proposition 187 that called for denying

Remember the typewriter?

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the $12.6 million mark by 2008,money aimed at supportingeducational and professionaldevelopment, increasing advocacyefforts centered on coverage of Latinosand partnering with media companiesto help them reach newsroom parity.

“If you depend on a few fundingsources and one of them goes, you arein real deep trouble,” Román says.“And for a long time that is whatNAHJ did.”

Román says that the organization hasnot seen a measurable decline in whatmedia giants donate because ofpositions it takes on issues such asmedia consolidation, but adds “thatdoes not mean ... [it] can’t happen.”

“So it is all the more important todiversify your funding sources,” Románsays.

NAHJ’s in-houseadvocacyincludes itsannualNetworkBrownoutReport, whichexamines howLatinos areportrayed byeveningnetworktelevision news. In 2006, it released its10th annual report and started a newstudy of magazine coverage, showingjust 1.2 percent of stories in Time,Newsweek and U.S. News & WorldReport in 2005 were mainly aboutLatinos. NAHJ also partners withgroups on important issues so itdoesn’t expend major resources thatcome with leading the charge.


public schooling, health care and socialservices to undocumented immigrants. Theproposition had been struck down by the highcourts.

JuneThe 17th annual NAHJ convention is held inconjunction with the second Unity conventionin Seattle. About 7,000 from all four minorityjournalism organizations attend.

1 9 9 8June16th annual NAHJ convention, Miami. Morethan 1,400 attend.

Evelyn Hernandez, left, VeronicaGarcia and Michele Salcedo chatbetween workshops.

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Through UNITY, anorganization that joins allfour organizations forjournalists of color, thegroups are unifying onsome issues andmaximizing theiradvocacy efforts.Tracie Moralessymbolizes an energyand boldness many hopeto see more of as NAHJcontinues to evolve. The22-year-old worked asan intern for HispanicLink in March when shecovered a diversitysession at the AmericanSociety of NewspaperEditors’ annual

convention in Washington D.C.Throughout the convention, she

noticed that nearly all the speakers andpanelists were white men.

At the diversity session, Moralescommented to the panel participantsabout the lack of diversity among thespeakers for the various workshops.Then she questioned the failure of theASNE to achieve its own diversity goalsit set in 1978 when it committed toachieving parity by 2000. Instead thenumbers keep declining. Minoritiesrepresent 10.9 percent of newsroomsupervisors, a drop from last year. ASNEreadjusted their parity goal date to2025, but many journalists of color areskeptical.

Morales thanked her editor, CharlieEricksen, for entrusting her to coverlarge issues such as Attorney GeneralAlberto Gonzales’ Senate hearings, a


Spring— NAHJ board meets with PresidentClinton at the White House. Topics includerising prominence of Hispanic population andCuba.

1 9 9 7June15th annual NAHJ convention, Seattle. Morethan 1,000 attend.

1 9 9 6June

14th annual NAHJ convention, Chicago. Morethan 1,100 in attendance. Strong focus placedon new media and technology. First LadyHillary Rodham Clinton welcomes attendees atopening night reception.

NAHJ and NABJ membersgathering to discuss Unity.

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speech by President Bush and newsconferences on immigration. A seniorat the University of Texas at Arlington,Morales is interning for The Oregonianthis month.

“I feel my responsibility is more thanjust as a reporter ... and to come up

with story ideas,” Morales says. “I feelif people are more vocal about it[diversity] and start pushing, we willsee [more] people of color working innewsrooms. I definitely see myself asan advocate for that cause.”

T I M E L I N E

NAHJ conducts the first “Network BrownoutReport,” with the National Council of La Raza,documenting the number of times Latinos arecovered on network TV news. Results showdismal performance by networks.

1 9 9 5FallFor the first time, NAHJ raises membershipdues and other fees.

Audit conducted back to 1992; financialstructure reorganized.

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T I M E L I N E

June13th annual NAHJ convention, El Paso,Texas. Electronic Town Hall meeting linkspanelists on both coasts of the United States,in Mexico and South America to discussdifferences in journalism practices and waysto combat media stereotyping. NAHJlaunches its first student campus project atthe University of Texas at El Paso, a hands-onworkshop for 100 students before theconvention, with the help of a $100,000grant from the Freedom Forum.

AprilNAHJ denounces Howard Stern for offensivecomments about the slaying of Mexican-American singer Selena and about thecommunity in general. The outrage promptsNAHJ to create a plenary at its nextconvention in El Paso titled “Latinos and TalkRadio: Estamos Escuchando.”

1 9 9 4NovemberNAHJ board votes to keep all meetings out ofCalifornia to protest passage of Proposition187. NAHJ drops San Diego and two other California cities as possible sites for its 1998convention. Other Unity partners join theboycott, as does National Lesbian and GayJournalists Association, which canceled itsconvention in Beverly Hills.

JulyUnity ‘94, Atlanta, Ga., is the first gatheringof the four major minority journalistorganizations— NAHJ, NABJ, AAJA andNAJA. This marks NAHJ’s 12th convention.

1 9 9 3June11th annual NAHJ convention,Washington, D.C.

MayUnity ‘94 issues “Kerner Plus 25: A Call forAction,” blasting the news industry forproviding little more than “lip service” whenit comes to hiring and promoting journalistsof color; it offers specific plans for diversity.

MarchSpurred into action by the coverage of aPeruvian couple hired by a President Clintonnominee for attorney general, NAHJ IssuesCommittee revamps campaign to eliminatethe use of the term “illegal alien.”

JanuaryNAHJ board votes to move the 11th annualconvention from Denver to Washington, D.C.Many members had threatened to boycott theconvention after Colorado voters approved a constitutional amendment that allowed discrimination against gays and lesbians inthat state.

1 9 9 2April10th annual NAHJ convention, Albuquerque,N.M. NAHJ begins mid-career workshops.President George H.W. Bush addresses theconvention via satellite. Mexico author Carlos Fuentes addresses the conference. NAHJmembership approaches the 1,200 mark.With a $10,000 grant from NPR, NAHJproduces Radio Ondas, the student radioproject, for the first time.

1 9 9 1April9th annual NAHJ convention, Times Square,New York City.

1 9 9 0AprilNAHJ has its first convention on its own. It’sheld in San Francisco and is called the 8thannual convention.

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1 9 8 9JanuaryNAHJ board decides to hold its ownconvention, separate from the NationalMedia Conference, the following year.

MarchNAHJ holds its first Scholarship Banquet inNew York City. NBC anchor Tom Brokaw isthe keynote speaker. Jazz greats DaveValentin and Oscar Hernandez provideentertainment. About 250 people attend andNAHJ raises more than $30,000.

April7th National Hispanic Media Conference, SanJuan, P.R. More than 1,000 attend.Photojournalism panels canceled afterphotographers are called to cover explosionat USS Iowa on Puerto Rico’s east coast. Forthe first time, NAHJ produces “El Noticiero,”the TV training project, with Diane Alverio incharge.

1 9 8 8April6th National Hispanic Media Conference,Dallas. Nearly 1,200 people attend. NAHJpublishes the first Latino Reporter dailyconvention newspaper, with Maggie Rivas atthe helm of a host of volunteers.

OctoberFirst joint meeting of the boards of NAHJ,NABJ, AAJA and the Native American PressAssociation (now NAJA) takes place inBaltimore.

1 9 8 7OctoberNAHJ holds its first international conferencewith colleagues from Mexico inIxtapa/Zihuatanejo. More than 400journalists attend.

AprilNAHJ establishes a standing Issues Committeeto focus on monitoring and correcting offensiveracial and ethnic information in the media. Thecommittee also addresses ways to achievemore balanced coverage of the Latinocommunity.

5th annual National Hispanic MediaConference, Los Angeles. A record 1,600media professionals are in attendance.

MayNAHJ grants its first two scholarships, each inthe amount of $1,000.

1 9 8 6April4th annual National Hispanic MediaConference, Miami, Fla. More than 1,000media professionals attend.

SeptemberNAHJ staff doubles from two to four, includingthe person in charge of the new employmentreferral service, which would eventually becomean online job and resume exchange and database. The service helps place 50 people in jobsand internships during its first year.

1 9 8 5SeptemberNAHJ vacates interim headquarters in LosAngeles and moves across the country to theNational Press Building in Washington, D.C.

T I M E L I N E

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JuneBoard agrees to launch an annual award forjournalism excellence. It originally honorsGuillermo Martinez Marquez, a founder ofthe Inter American Press Association.

MayNAHJ membership tops 330.

April3rd National Hispanic Media Conference,Tucson, Ariz. More than 600 Hispanic mediaprofessionals attend.

JanuaryNAHJ launches its first national High SchoolWriting Contest in 15 cities.

1 9 8 4AprilNAHJ files its articles of incorporation, signedby 15 organizers, creating the country’s firstnationwide organization dedicated solely to Hispanic journalists. More than 80 peoplesign up as founding members that first year.

2nd annual National Hispanic MediaConference, Washington, D.C. More than 500 attend. First members of the NAHJ nationalboard of directors chosen.

1 9 8 3Gannett gives NAHJ a $50,000developmental grant to help Hispanicjournalists get organized on a national level.This is the first of a long history ofsubstantial annual grants to aid theorganization in its mission.

1 9 8 2DecemberFirst National Hispanic Media Conference,San Diego, Calif. About 300 attend.

T I M E L I N E

Betty Cortina, left, Maria Elenas Salinas and Carl Quintanilla at the 2006 Noche de Triunfos.

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P r o f i l e s


The NAHJ family

People join the National Association of Hispanic Journalists for different reasons. Some come seeking

support as they enter the field of journalism. Others are in the mid-career phase of their lives and are seeking

guidance. There are also the veterans who understand the need of mentoring our future talent. Then there

are the community activists, seeking to promote fair treatment of the Latino community in the media.

Twenty-five years of dedication-and the fruits of the founder’s labor continue. Here are some profiles of just

a few of our members-as varied as the more than 20 Spanish-speaking nations of our origins.

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P R O F I L E S

Two undocumented immigrants livedin obscurity when Leonor Ayalahelped them share their story with anational television audience. Throughthese two brothers, constructionworkers living in Colorado with 16other family members, the 30-year-oldassociate producer for Dateline NBCgave voice to an underclass distrustfulof a media that has oftendehumanized or ignored them.

The trust she and another Latina associate producernurtured with the two brothers and their family overeight months opened the door for Tom Brokaw to air aone-hour special in December 2006. The story marked ahigh point in Ayala’s nine-year journalism career thatdeveloped when she secured a job at the NAHJ Miamiconvention in 1998.

That experience also marked the beginning of arelationship with other NAHJ members who encouragedAyala to stick with journalism.

Ayala graduated from Rutgers University in 1998,attended the NAHJ convention in June and startedworking at The Record in Hackensack, N.J., in July. TheNew Jersey native, one of 10 children from a PuertoRican household, quickly progressed from writing obits atThe Record to covering small towns. But disappointedwith her own personal progress as a writer, she yearnedfor something different and in 2000 left the paper towork at Girls Inc., which focuses on nurturing andmentoring girls. There, she learned to network and really

assert herself, an experience thathelped her pursue and land televisionnews jobs.

“I didn’t really want to go back toprint because my heart was always intelevision,” Ayala says.

After a short stint at CBS News, ABCasked Ayala in 2002 to serve as a

bilingual production associate to research immigrationissues for a Peter Jennings documentary.

“I was the only Latina there and [my boss] wanted tomake sure that if there was something I had a problemwith, that I was vocal about it,” Ayala says. “I learnedfrom some of the best [producers] in long form[journalism].” As her career advanced, Ayala continued togive back to NAHJ through involvement with the Region2. She helped gather print and broadcast news reportsfrom Latino journalists who covered 9/11 in New YorkCity. From that she helped produce a video tribute aboutthese Latino journalists that was shown at the NAHJScholarship Banquet in New York City in 2002.

“I saw the value in the organization and I wanted to giveback and help as much as I could,” Ayala says.

After working with ABC News, MSBNC and on the NBCnetwork news assignment desk, Ayala moved to Datelinein January 2005.

—Peter Ortiz, freelancer, NYC

L E O N O R A Y A L A

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P R O F I L E S

NAHJ taught Robert Hernandez a thingor two about the importance ofdiversity in America’s newsrooms. AndHernandez, senior producer for newsat The Seattle Times’ Web site, isteaching NAHJ about the importanceof online journalism in today’snewsrooms.

A Los Angeles native, Hernandez hadjust returned home after spending hishigh school years living with hismother in El Salvador, when he learnedof NAHJ’s student projects.

At first, he said, he wondered whetherto apply.

“Just because I was a person of color, was it fair forme to take advantage of this?” he said. “In L.A., Ididn’t have any concept of how other cities would be.L.A. was pretty diverse.”

That year in Chicago and two years later in Miami,Hernandez participated in the student projects. In thesummer of 1999, he landed an internship at theYakima (Wash.) Herald Republic.

“That was the first time where NAHJreally, really resonated with me, whenthis city kid went to this really ‘Ag’town,’ he said. “Eighty percent of thecommunity was Latino and no one onstaff spoke Spanish. At the time, theyused to hire translators.”

No longer a student, he was back atNAHJ the next year and volunteered onthe spot to work on a convention Website. By the following year, he was co-directing the online student project. It’sa job he would keep for the next fiveyears - working to help the youngestNAHJ journalists recognize theimportance of this increasingly critical

skill for delivering the news.

This fall, he’ll celebrate his fifth anniversary with theTimes - each of those years working on the online sideof the operation.

“I had to decide whether I was going to go print oronline,” he said. “I picked online pretty early. I felt Icould be more of a pioneer there.”

-Sam Diaz, The Washington Post

R O B E R T H E R N A N D E Z

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P R O F I L E S

Luis Cruz gives this advice tostudents: “Don’t let circumstancesnow affect where you go in life.”The co-anchor of the morningweekend news programs at KVBC-TV in Las Vegas knows of what hespeaks. From humble beginningsliving in a San Francisco studioapartment with his parents andthree older brothers, Luis has gonefrom being a shy, poor kid toearning a bachelor’s degree inpolitical science at UC Berkeley tobecoming a TV newscaster in agrowing market. “My mom gets a kick out ofwatching me on TV,” says Cruz, 31.

Although his parents can’t watch his programs live, hetakes tapes to them when he makes his biannual visitsto Mexico. His parents moved to Teocaltiche, Jalisco,to be near relatives about two years ago after hismother suffered two strokes and now uses awheelchair. He credits his mother with sparking hisinterest in journalism, though NAHJ and mentors havehelped guide him in the profession.

“NAHJ has been there as a great resource throughoutmy career,” Cruz says.

While in college, he participated in student projects,beginning with the TV project at Unity ‘94 in Atlanta,and received an NAHJ scholarship. These days, he

helps critique students’ tapes atNAHJ conferences, where he alsogives his tapes to prospectiveemployers.

“I always leave the conference withmore confidence,” he says.

His commitment to the organizationled him to become a lifetimemember of NAHJ in 2006. The SanFrancisco native, who had wornthrift-store clothes as a boy, went onto become news director at KYMA-TV in Yuma, Ariz. There he led thenews team that won a regional

Edward R. Murrow award for spot news coverage of abomb-laden Harrier jet crash into a Yumaneighborhood in June 2005.

Among his mentors is Rigo Chacón, who will beinducted into NAHJ’s Hall of Fame at the San Joseconference. Cruz, then 17, met Chacón while workingas a co-host of a teen talk show on San Francisco’sKGO-TV in 1993. And now Cruz is doing the same forothers. He often speaks to students in Las Vegastoday, Cruz says, because words Chacón told himyears ago still ring: People in high-profile positionsshould use them to do good in their communities.

—Veronica Garcia, Los Angeles Times

L U I S C R U Z

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Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez’s résumésays associate professor, but it isstorytelling that’s in her soul.

She has combined her 17 years as aprofessional journalist and adoctorate in mass communicationsto produce a dual career: Universityof Texas at Austin journalismprofessor, and the woman behind anationwide oral history projectchronicling the testimonies of WorldWar II-era Latinos. Rivas-Rodriguezgave up America’s newsrooms, butshe didn’t stop telling the stories.

“When I meet people, I always say ‘former’journalist,’’ she said. “But when you are doinginterviews and editing, that’s journalism. Maybe it’snot working in a newsroom, but it’s journalism. Whenthere’s a big story that I feel either there’s an angle themedia is not using or perspective they are not seeing,that’s when I miss it and do something about it.’’

Rivas-Rodriguez did something about Ken Burns’WWII documentary, which lacked the Latinoexperience. She helped lead a coalition of Latinoorganizations, including NAHJ, in demanding thatLatinos be added. PBS reversed its stance andpromised to add the stories of Latino veterans.

Rivas-Rodriguez started out as acopy editor at UPI in 1977, and soonbecame the first Hispanic reporter atThe Boston Globe. The Mexican-American has worked in TV, in Peru,covering business, and for eightyears was the border bureau chieffor The Dallas Morning News. Thosewere years of plenty of “firsts.”Rivas-Rodriguez was on thecommittee that founded NAHJ in1984, and she initiated both TheLatino Reporter in 1988 and thenow-defunct high school essaycontest. In 1990, she won NAHJ’sfirst president’s award.

“There is something incredibly empowering about allthose Latino journalists in the same place,” she said.“It’s been a really big part of what has shaped me as ajournalist.”

Looking back at her 30 years in the business, she isrelieved to see that the stories Latino journalists oncehad to fight for are now everyday news.

“I am seeing a normalization of news concerningLatinos,’’ she said. “That’s largely because of Latinos innewsrooms who said, ‘Hey man, I want to do thosestories. That’s not just a Latino story, it’s goodjournalism.’ ‘’

—Frances Robles, The Miami Herald

M A G G I E R I V A S - R O D R I G U E Z

P R O F I L E S

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P R O F I L E S

Marilyn Garateix was frustrated withjournalism and on the verge ofpacking it in, when she made aquick pit stop that changed her life.On her way home to Miami after adiscouraging one-year internship inCalifornia, she stopped at the 1988NAHJ convention in Dallas. There,this Cuban-American student sawpeople who looked just like her. Andshe found people who cared.

“I was very frustrated withjournalism, unsure if I would evencontinue with it,” Garateix said. “Iwasn’t there for the wholeconvention - just the job fair-but it was enough for meto get inspired and really realize that I wanted to be injournalism, and I wanted to be a Hispanic injournalism.

That job fair netted an internship at The Seattle Times,the summer job that kick-started a rising career andNAHJ leader. Garateix is now metro editor at the St.Petersburg Times in Florida.

“NAHJ was there for me at a very key moment in mylife when I could have quit journalism and donesomething else,” she said.

After that summer in Seattle, theUniversity of Miami graduate wenton to reporting gigs at the FortMyers News Press and The MiamiHerald. She eventually became anassistant city editor there, and latereducation editor and city editor atThe Boston Globe, where she helpedguide 9/11 coverage.

In St. Pete, she supervises 30managers and reporters, includingthe ones who covered the TerrySchiavo right-to-die case. Garateixhas also left her mark on NAHJ,where she has been a regional

director, secretary, at large officer and vice presidentfor print. Garateix has worked on at least a dozeneditions of The Latino Reporter and organized the1998 conference in Miami.

“The contacts and friendships I have made throughNAHJ over the years have been invaluable. They havemade me a better reporter, editor and person. Mycareer and life is richer for it,” she said.

—Frances Robles, The Miami Herald

M A R I L Y N G A R A T E I X

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Fulvio Cativo’s journalistic ambitionsstarted at his Maryland elementaryschool newspaper, but the 24-year-old points to NAHJ as a steadypartner in nurturing that dream.

“The way I see it, I always wantedto be a journalist since the sixthgrade, but I didn’t know how topursue a career in journalism until Imet folks through NAHJ,” he says.

NAHJ created a journalism pipelinethat neither Cativo’s father, Miguel,a heavy machine mechanic in thecement industry, and mother, Vivian,a nurse administrator, could provide their son. Thatpipeline first took form after Cativo’s senior year inhigh school when The Washington Post in sponsorshipwith NAHJ, awarded Cativo a $10,000 scholarship.Now an education reporter with the Hartford Courant,Cativo found in NAHJ a willing financial, educationaland mentoring partner. Cativo lived in El Salvador untilage 10, when he emmigrated with his family to theUnited States in 1993.

Cativo grew up in Maryland. He interned at The DallasMorning News’ Washington D.C. bureau in 2001 anda year later he attended the NAHJ conference in SanDiego. There he spent a week with other studentslearning the craft from George Ramos, a three-time

Pulitzer prize winning journalist forthe Los Angeles Times.

In 2003, Cativo joined The LatinoReporter, NAHJ’s student newspaperproject, at the New York conference.In 2004 he worked on the UNITYstudent project in Washington D.C.The conventions served asreenergizing pit stops along Cativointernship track, which included theCourier-Journal in Kentucky in 2003,The Plain Dealer in Cleveland in2004 and The Washington Post in2005.

Cativo’s network of mentors and contacts also grewand provided an invaluable resource. Cativo singlesout Kevin Olivas, NAHJ Parity Project Director, forproviding career advice and writing letters ofrecommendation. “Just being involved with the NAHJnetwork helped me get in contact with leaders in thebusiness,” he says. NAHJ asked Cativo in 2004 tospeak at its annual Scholarship Banquet in New YorkCity. At the time he was serving his internship inKentucky and realized the fortune of working at apaper where there were few Latinos.

—Peter Ortiz, freelance writer, NYC

F U L V I O C A T I V O

P R O F I L E S

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P R O F I L E S

As a former state senator andbusiness woman, activist Polly Bacahas fought for years for minorityrepresentation in newsrooms. Now,the executive director of the LatinAmerican Research and ServiceAgency (LARASA) in Denver istaking her battle to the boardroom.

Baca is a member of the ParityProject’s advisory committee inDenver, providing guidance forNAHJ’s ongoing missions to bothincrease the number of Latinoreporters and improve coverage ofHispanics. A community memberwho took part in the Town Hall meeting that launchedthe Parity Project, she was invited by Juan González,then NAHJ president, to join the venture. She alsoserves on the Hispanic advisory council that workswith The Rocky Mountain News and KCNC, Denver’sCBS affiliate, where she was a political commentatorduring the 2004 elections.

“I think the Parity Project is important because I’vealways thought that a democracy is absolutelydependent upon a free press that fairly and accuratelycovers the community it serves,” Baca said. “Withoutrepresentation of that community in newsrooms, youcan’t have fairness and accuracy.”

Before joining LARASA, Baca servedas regional administrator of theGeneral Services Administration. Shehad also served as a special assistantto President Bill Clinton and directorof the United States Office ofConsumer Affairs in Washington,D.C. She was the first Hispanicwoman elected to the Colorado StateSenate, where she served for 12years. She was also the first Hispanicwoman to co-chair a NationalDemocratic Convention, in 1980 and1984. Today, she runs a nonprofitorganization that has worked since1964 to improve the quality of life for

Latinos throughout Colorado. She advocatesboycotting companies that advertise on newsprograms and in publications that encourage bigotryand racism.

“We learned from the civil rights days that you haveto hit these companies where it hurts - thepocketbook,” Baca said.

She blames a lack of newsroom diversity for themisinformation and bigotry against undocumentedimmigrants that has filled the airwaves as the issue ofillegal immigration is covered and debated.

—Fernando Quintero, The Rocky Mountain News

P o l l y B a c a

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N A H J L I F E T I M E M E M B E R S

Javier Aldape, HoyClaudio Alvarez Dunn, Primera Hora (Puerto Rico)Cecilia Alvear, former NAHJ presidentAlfredo Araiza, Arizona Daily StarRose Arce, CNNGustavo Arroyo, California State SenateJim Avila, ABC NewsNancy Baca, former NAHJ presidentGilbert Bailón, Al Dia (Dallas)Geraldine Berrios, The Miami HeraldMary Kay Blake, The Freedom ForumFrank Blethen, The Seattle TimesYbeth Bruzual, Central Florida News 13-Telemundo (Orlando)Gloria Campos Brown, WFAA-TV (Dallas)Romeo Cantu Jr., KGBT-TV (Harlingen, Texas)Jose Carreño, El Universal, MexicoDora Casanova de Toro, La Prensa (Longwood, Fla.)Nelson Castillo, Castillo Law Firm PLLCDavid Cazares, South Florida Sun-SentinelSergio Chapa, Al Día (Dallas)Gary Clark, The Denver PostAngela Clemmons, The Denver PostYamila Constantino-Méndez, BloombergPeter Copeland, Scripps Media CenterChristopher Crommett, CNN en EspañolCarolyn Curiel, The New York TimesGeorge de Lama, Chicago TribuneAraceli De Leon, KWHY-TV (Glendale, CA)Frank del Olmo*Sam Diaz, The Washington PostCathleen Farrell, Page One MediaCeleste Diaz Ferraro

Lou Dobbs, CNNCharles Ericksen, Hispanic Link News ServiceVictor Escobedo, CortazarMichele Fazekas, NBCLuis Alberto Ferre Rangel, El Nuevo Día (Puerto Rico)Angelo Figueroa, TuCiudadVeronica Flores, San Antonio Express-NewsJuan Forero, National Public RadioDiana Fuentes, Laredo Morning TimesErnie Garcia, The Journal NewsVeronica Garcia, Los Angeles TimesEldra Gillman, CBS CorporationFrank Gómez, Educational Testing ServiceRaymond Gomez, KGNS-TV (Laredo, Texas)Vince GonzalesJuan Gonzalez, New York Daily NewsJoe Grimm, Detroit Free PressLiza Gross, The Miami HeraldHernan Guaracao-Calderon, Al Día (Philadelphia)Felix Gutiérrez, USC Annenberg School of JournalismJoanna Hernandez, The New York Times

Regional Media GroupJodi Hernandez, KNTV-TV (San Jose, CA)Jorge Hidalgo, TelemundoJonathan Higuera, Arizona State UniversityMarina Hinestrosa, County of Santa ClaraClaudia Hinojosa, KXTX Telemundo 39 (Dallas)Mark Hinojosa, Chicago TribuneAlberto Ibargüen, John S. and James L. Knight FoundationMaite Junco, New York Daily NewsMichael Limón, Salt Lake Tribune

N A H J L I F E T I M E M E M B E R SThere are currently 123 Lifetime Members and 31 individuals who have pledged to become Lifetime Members within the next year.

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Jacqueline Llamas Espinoza, KWHY-KVEA Telemundo (Los Angeles)

Anna Lopez, former NAHJ executive directorDelton Lowery, The Fresno BeeLavonne Luquis, National Education AssociationTony Marcano, South Florida Sun-SentinelMekhalo Medina, KNBC (Los Angeles)Regina Medina, Philadelphia Daily NewsRuth Merino, El Nuevo Día (Puerto Rico)Oralia Michel, Oralia Michel Marketing &

Public Relations, Inc.Walter Middlebrook, The Detroit NewsSteve Montiel, Institute for Justice and JournalismAntonio Mora, WBBM-TV (Chicago)Frank Moraga, Ventura County Star/Mi EstrellaIbra Morales, Telemundo Station GroupRosa Morales, Michigan State University School of JournalismSylvia Moreno, The Washington PostMireya Navarro, The New York TimesEdna Negrón, The Ramapo College of New JerseyRafael Olmeda, South Florida Sun-SentinelLarry Olmstead, Leading Edge AssociatesRalph Ortega, Star-LedgerEdgar Ortega-Barrales, Bloomberg NewsMaria Padilla, Freelance WriterO. Ricardo Pimentel, Milwaukee Journal SentinelGary Piña, Fort Worth Star-TelegramFernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain NewsJohn Quiñones, ABC NewsMax Ramirez, Max Ramirez PhotographyGeorge Ramos, Cal Poly San Luis ObispoEli Reyes, NewsdayDenice Rios, South Florida Sun-SentinelRobert Rivard, San Antonio Express-News

Elaine Rivera, WNYCGeraldo Rivera, Fox News ChannelFrances Robles, The Miami HeraldCindy Rodriguez, The Detroit NewsRick Rodriguez, Sacramento BeeIván Román, National Association of Hispanic JournalistsRossana Rosado, el diario/LA PRENSAAlbor Ruiz, New York Daily NewsInez Russell, FreelanceMichele Salcedo, South Florida Sun-SentinelMaría Elena Salinas, Univisión NetworkNancy San Martin, The Miami HeraldEvelyn Santa Cruz-Tipacti, PR NewswireRoberto Santiago, The Miami HeraldFernanda Santos, The New York TimesClemson Smith Muñiz, Smith Muñiz Productions, Inc.Dianne Solís, Dallas Morning NewsSheila Solomon, The Chicago TribuneAlicia SotomayorErnest Sotomayor, Columbia University Graduate

School of JournalismRafael Suarez, The NewsHour with Jim LehrerArthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr., The New York TimesJohn Temple, Rocky Mountain NewsMercedes Torres, CNNRicardo Vazquez, University of CaliforniaVerónica Villafañe, Independent ProducerRoberto Vizcón, WTMO Telemundo (Orlando)Xochitl Yañez, State Farm InsuranceElizabeth Zavala, The Dallas Morning News

*=deceased

N A H J L I F E T I M E M E M B E R S

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This year marks 25 years that a group of Latino journalists first met in San Diego to createwhat has become the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

To commemorate this special year, NAHJ has created a 25th Anniversary Fund seeking toraise $250,000 from members and supporters like you through Dec. 31, 2007.

Each person that donates $2,500 or more will be recognized as a 25th Anniversary Angel.In addition, they will automatically become a Lifetime Member of NAHJ.

Your support will further our efforts to diversify America's newsrooms, strengthen theleadership capacity of Latino journalists and bring more young people into the profession.

NAHJ can arrange a payment schedule that best suits you. For more information pleasecontact NAHJ Development Director, Azuree Salazar, at 202-662-7482 or

[email protected].

D O N A T E T O D A Y !P.S. Your company may have a matching gift program,

which will enable your donation to go even further.

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Gannett has earned its reputation for being theindustry leader in diversity. We work hard tocarry out our commitment to equal opportunity.

“Arizona Republic andGannett editors recog-nized the diversity andexperience I brought to the table. They offered me an opportunity severalyears ago and I’ve beendeveloping, creating andgrowing ever since.Joining Gannett has beenthe best career move I’veever made.”

TECLO GARCIA,SENIOR MANAGER,ARIZONA REPUBLIC IN PHOENIX

“I’ve enjoyed countlessopportunities to learn newskills and grow my career.When I’ve reached for ahigher goal, the support hasalways been there. I haveworked with some of thebest people in the businessand have always beenproud of Gannett’s firmcommitment to diversity.”

MARIBEL PEREZ WADSWORTH,MANAGING EDITOR & GM/NON-DAILY PUBLICATIONS,THE NEWS-PRESS, FORT MYERS, FLA.

“In my seven years withGannett, I have been promoted three times. Mybosses believe in me and my abilities. They havechallenged me to be innovative, given me thefreedom to take risks, andcreated the conditions toallow me to succeed.”

DAVID PLAZAS, COMMUNITYCONVERSATIONS EDITOR, THE NEWS-PRESS, FORT MYERS, FLA.

“My passion, skills anddiverse viewpoint openedthe door for me toGannett. The mentoring I received at KUSA-TVwas priceless and I aminspired by working withequally passionate people. ”

LYNNE VALENCIA,DIRECTOR/COMMUNITYRELATIONS, KUSA-TV, DENVER

For people who want to learn and grow, Gannettoffers careers filled with challenge and opportunity.

Come see for yourself!W W W . G A N N E T T . C O M

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NAHJ 25th Anniversary Retrospective

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Transcript of NAHJ 25th Anniversary Retrospective