Jessica Durkin

On a Monday night last month, 25 people met to form a National Association of Hispanic Journalists chapter in the country’s largest media market.

Motivated to continue the networking momentum from NAHJ’s annual convention held in Denver weeks earlier, the turnout at that Monday night meeting on the New York University campus was more than double the number required to start a chapter.

NAHJ New York City, as the fledgling professional chapter is named, is the first in the city in NAHJ history, taking over where the now-disbanded Northern New Jersey chapter left off.

“New York City has a lot of members, many in positions of power in top [television and radio] stations and newspapers,” said Yvonne Latty, professor at the New York University Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and meeting host. “Having a chapter here, where members can network, can be really helpful.”

NAHJ counts 24 professional and student chapters across the country and Puerto Rico. Chapters are a grassroots way of communicating NAHJ’s mission and values while serving members at the local level by offering an outlet to connect, share ideas and plan career-building activities.

Latty credits NAHJ regional director Maria Burns Ortiz for backing NAHJ NYC, a necessary support. The chapter is under provisional status for one year during its incorporation.

Ralph Ortega, a staff writer at the Star Ledger in New Jersey, was among those at the NAHJ NYC meeting. Ortega said members had been active in the region until a few years ago and he heralds interest in a revitalized group.

Ortega said he would like to see the local group bring back former members while connecting journalists in the large New York-New Jersey market.

“We have several new faces who want fundraising, networking events and most importantly, leadership. This is a very busy market, if not the busiest in the country, and it’s historically been difficult to have participation in both states,” Ortega said. “I believe that, too, will be possible with some strong planning.”

NAHJ chapters are in a position to create their own identity and self-govern locally.  The Washington DC professional chapter usually holds fundraisers and networking mixers at the National Press Club. The group has launched a logo contest, is considering a website, and is planning journalism training workshops in the DC area, said chapter president Brandon Benavides.

The DC chapter is among NAHJ’s largest professional chapters and started about four years ago when it was founded by Diana Marrero, who served as its chapter president until this year.

DC chapter elections held last month brought a new roster of officers representing an array of media professionals. Benavides said the chapter has more than 100 members in the District, Maryland and Virginia.

“Our chapter is unique since we are in the nation’s capitol,” said Benavides, a content producer at WRC-4, an NBC affiliate station. “We have access to the policy makers. Our members work in the top media companies in the country covering local and national news. Some of the companies include NBC Universal, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Associated Press, Hispanic Link and Voice of America. We also have a large group of freelancers.”
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NYU professor Latty, who is heading up the “Beyond the Border” project, an immigration reporting program with the University of Arizona, and Burns Ortiz are planning a fundraiser for the national office and the NAHJ NYC chapter.

“The only way NAHJ can be all that members want it to be is for us to use our brainpower and resources to help,” Latty said. “We all have to push and reinvent. We have to be part of our turning it around. I am committed to doing that.”

NAHJ also encourages student chapters. There are 16 NAHJ student chapters on campuses across the US that are either active or in the process of being re-activated. Student chapters can be started with nearly the same requirements as pro chapters.

There are nine inactive pro and student chapters.

At least 10 NAHJ members in good standing and who live in the state or commonwealth of the proposed chapter are required to establish a professional or student chapter; all requirements, including provisional status, charter approval, dues, and elections are outlined in the NAHJ bylaws.

To begin, prospective chapter founders must complete a chapter certification application form, which can be used to file for a professional or student chapter.  Pro and student chapters require a letter of intent to be sent to NAHJ’s executive director, and a letter of recommendation from the regional director.

Contact NAHJ membership coordinator Paulo Luizaga for more information about chapter formation at pluizaga@nahj.org or (202) 662-7145 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (202) 662-7145      end_of_the_skype_highlighting. Also, check Facebook for NAHJ chapter pages.

Jessica Durkin is the NAHJ Region 3/Mid-Atlantic director. She is a freelance print journalist and founder of InOtherNews.us, a directory of independent, online news start-ups. Durkin is a Knight Fellow with the New America Foundation Media Policy Initiative studying new news ecologies.

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