The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) traces its roots to 1982, when the first National Hispanic Media Professionals Conference was held in San Diego, Calif, but NAHJ did not officially exist until 1984, when its articles of incorporation were signed, and didn’t have its own convention until 1990. But it was at that first national gathering that journalists caught a tantalizing glimpse of what could be.

Two months after the San Diego conference, the idea of a national organization dedicated to Hispanic journalists suddenly solidified over dinner at a conference sponsored by the California Chicano News Media Association (CCNMA) when Gerald Sass, senior vice president of what is now the Freedon Forum (formerly the Gannett Foundation) announced that there was an interest in forming a national Hispanic journalists’ organization and that Gannett would support a national effort. Henry Mendoza (a former CCNMA president) was nominated as the chairman of a committee to organize the NAHJ.

A memo to CCNMA members from Frank Newton, executive director of CCNMA who was working half time on the national effort, summarized the purpose of NAHJ.

“The major hope concerning NAHJ is that it will provide the visibility and voice at a national level that Hispanic journalists have sorely lacked until now. Clearly, Hispanics’ need for more educational and employment opportunities in journalism, for fair treatment and less discrimination on the job, and for a more accurate portrayal of Hispanics by the media, cannot be achieved without national visibility on these issues. NAHJ will also be concerned with the needs of Hispanic women in the news media and the Spanish-language news media in general.”

Despite the many challenges and more than a few obstacles, the group persevered and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists was born, with Gerald Garcia (then, publisher of the Tucson Citizen) serving as the first president of NAHJ from 1984-85. Six years after that first gathering in San Diego, NAHJ joined with the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP) and the Hispanic Academy of Media Arts and Sciences (HAMAS), an association of performing artists, to put on the annual National Hispanic Media Conference & Expo.

By 1989, however, there was growing restlessness among many journalists who wanted their own convention. After intense debate, the board decided to separate. The first NAHJ convention was in San Francisco in 1990.

NAHJ continues to pursue its mission with zeal, striving to bring more Hispanics into newsrooms across the country and to aid those already in the field, professionally and culturally. Advocating for the fair treatment of Hispanics and of journalists, the board regularly interacts with industry and national leaders.

In October of 2002, NAHJ called on the news industry to increase dramatically the employment of Latino journalists during the next five years by announcing the creation of the Parity Project. Through the Parity Project, NAHJ identifies cities where Latinos are underrepresented in the newsrooms but make up a significant portion of the population, and works jointly with existing print and broadcast outlets, area journalism schools, foundations and Latino community leaders to develop comprehensive model programs that will increase Latino newsroom presence and influence. NAHJ’s first partner on the project was the E.W. Scripps Company.

As NAHJ looks toward the future, there will be new goals to achieve and rewards to garner, new challenges to face and obstacles to overcome.

We’re ready. Together, we will get it done.