Washington, DC- The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) has received a one-year, $100,000 grant from the McCormick Foundation for the next phase of NAHJ’s Parity Project program.

This new phase of NAHJ’s Parity Project calls for assessing how many of the nation’s Latinos use, view and participate in news media. This will be done with the help of more than 8,000 Latino community contacts that NAHJ has worked with through the Parity Project.

Through this assessment, the Parity Project will examine how Latinos in the U.S. receive their news and where information gaps might exist.

“It is imperative that Latinos be included in all news coverage as they occupy virtually every facet of American life. That is why this new phase of the Parity Project will help both Hispanic community leaders and journalists find ways to bridge news and information gaps,” said NAHJ Parity Project Director Kevin Olivas. “We thank the McCormick Foundation for their continued commitment to our mission.”

Results of this work can by used by community advocates in cities nationwide to increase their news literacy. This data can also generate more dialogue between Latino community leaders and journalists from all platforms to look for new ways to include Latinos in news coverage and cover Hispanic communities fairly and effectively.

NAHJ will also be continuing this dialogue between Latino community leaders and journalists through Parity Project-related programming at our 2010 convention in Denver.

Currently, there are 24 news organizations that are partners in NAHJ’s Parity Project. This program was conceived with the goal of improving news staff diversity as well as news coverage of, and media interaction with, Latino community leaders.

Founded in 1984, NAHJ’s mission is to increase the percentage of Latinos working in our nation’s newsrooms and to improve news coverage of the Latino community. NAHJ is the nation’s largest professional organization for Latino journalists with more than 1,400 members working in English and Spanish-language print, photo, broadcast and online media. NAHJ is a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization. For more information, visit www.nahj.org.

About the McCormick Foundation

The McCormick Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to strengthening our free, democratic society by investing in children, communities and country. Through its five grantmaking programs, Cantigny Park and Golf, and three world-class museums, the Foundation helps build a more active and engaged citizenry. It was established as a charitable trust in 1955, upon the death of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The McCormick Foundation is one of the nation’s largest charities, with $1.2 billion in assets. 

Media Contact: Kevin Olivas, (202) 662-7168