WASHINGTON , D.C. – Amid tough times in the news industry, attendees said they were inspired by attending NAHJ’s 23rd Annual Noche de Triunfos Gala inside the National Press Club last week.
Award presenter Maggie Rodriguez of CBS, left, and Noche Mistress of Ceremonies Michelle Caruso-Cabrera of CNBC.
NAHJ awarded work in 16 categories and also picked the winners of the five ñ Awards – the association’s highest honors. As in previous years, some of the work focused on immigration, yet it also included stories of heroes, survivors, injustice, culture and environmental crusaders.
The stories ranged from a documentary hosted by Maria Hinojosa that told of the plight of child brides around the world to a photo essay by Lara Solt of The Dallas Morning News about a gravely injured Marine facing a grueling recovery. Also honored was a feature story from the Cleveland Plain Dealer that followed teenager Johanna Orozco after she was shot in the face at close range by her former boyfriend.
During his acceptance speech, Jim Avila of ABC News said he's glad to see more Latino journalists on air, but argued for greater diversity behind the scenes - in the editorial and management levels. Avila, senior justice correspondent for ABC News, was awarded the ñ Broadcast Journalist of the Year award.
Avila also won for his breaking news story of how undocumented farmworkers fared during last year's wildfires in San Diego.
“One of the important things that we want to note is how important it is for Hispanics to be inside the rooms where the decisions are made,” Avila said, adding that it was because Latinos were in the room during the coverage of the wildfires that his winning story made it to air.
Spanish-language media also got a nod with the winning breaking news entry, "Elvira Arellano Saldrá del Santuario" by Leticia Espinosa of HOY Chicago . Espinosa said that English-language news outlets are increasingly citing and relying on Spanish-language media to keep them informed about the Latino community.
Such was the case with her story about undocumented immigrant Elvira Arellano, who announced in an exclusive interview with Espinosa that she would leave the sanctuary of the church she'd been living in for a year.
Other Spanish-language winners included the Videography Feature award to Mario Barraza of Univision for his footage of children trying to cross the border alone; the group from El Nuevo Día for their story about 24 hours in Puerto Rico's largest trauma center, which won the Online Award; and Eva Sanchis of El Diario-La Prensa for her story about illegal logging in Honduras and the environmentalists risking their lives to fight it. The story won the Guillermo Martínez-Márquez Award for Latin American Reporting.
Also, the Television Investigative News award went to Telemundo for the shocking and moving story "Peligro en los Hospitales" about the death of a newborn due to an infection acquired in the hospital.
In the emotional acceptance speech, reporter Dunia Elvir said the parents of the newborn shared their story with viewers to try to save the lives of others, and they predicted the story would win an award.
The awards gala ended with the prestigious ñ Awards , which featured Maria Hinojosa who won the Leadership Award for the strength she shows in giving voice to all through stories on television, radio, online, print and books. "There was a time when I was not such a happy television journalist," Hinojosa said. "But right now I'm a happy television journalist."
Hinojosa received the award from Arlington County Board Chairman J. Walter Tejada .
In her acceptance speech, left , she said this is not the time for journalists to give up, but rather to fight harder. "If I had fire in the belly" when starting out, she said, "there is a volcano erupting now."
The Emerging Journalist Award went to Fernando Diaz of The Chicago Reporter who thanked, among others, the waiters serving dinner at the Gala. Diaz said that like his own parents, they were probably working late to give their children a better life. He also thanked his muse, the City of Chicago.
Ruben Navarrette , an editorial columnist at The San Diego Union-Tribune and syndicated columnist with The Washington Post Writers Group, presented the Frank del Olmo Print Journalist Award , stopping to thank del Olmo for being a mentor that got him started in the news industry years ago. Del Olmo himself, Navarrette said, started his career with the Los Angeles Times during the Watergate scandal, when he was dispatched by the newspaper to Washington to help cover the story because of his Spanish. He lasted 35 years at the paper. "This was a veterano, if there ever was a veterano," Navarrette said.
He handed the Frank del Olmo Print Journalist Award to Diana Washington Valdez of El Paso Times for her courage in writing about the murders of hundreds of women in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Júarez, depite threats from the mafia, Mexican government and others.
"People often ask me, how do you get through this? The threats, the indimidation," Washington valdez said of the dangerous stories she covers. "I have to say, it's my mother. She provided the example to me of how to respond to adversity and to obstacles."
Washington Valdez said the award represented recognition of all the murdered daughters, and their mothers who have shared their stories with her, so she could finally give them a voice.
"I'm just catching my second win," Washington Valdez ended. "So we're not done yet."
The Broadcast Journalist of the Year acceptance by Jim Avila included references to his parents who grew up in East Los Angeles, including his late father, Jim, who was also a newsman. Avila said his father taught him just about everything he knows about journalism.
"He took me to newsrooms when I was 12, 13 years old, so I grew up in this business and learned how important this business is," Avila said.
He said he's struck by how many more Latino journalists there are now than when he started. When Avila first went from San Francisco to Chicago, he applied at a major station, he said.
"But they already had their Hispanic reporter. And no matter how good I was and how much I wanted to be there, and they said 'Boy, we like your stuff. But we already have our Hispanic reporter. His name is John Quiñones, and he's here and you can't come."
Avila then got a job at another Chicago station, where reporter Freddie Villanueva already worked.
"Oh, that's cool, there will be two of us," Avila thought when he was hired, only to find out Villanueva was fired one week later.
"So that's pretty much how it used to be," Avila said, adding he was heartened by the room full of Latino journalists at the gala.
The Photojournalist of the Year Award was given to Ray Chavez of the Oakland Tribune for his stunning photography, leadership in the newsroom, teamwork, mentorship of young journalists and willingness to serve as a bridge with his newspaper's Latino community.
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists
1000 National Press Building
529 14th St., NW
Washington, DC 20045-2001, USA
E-mail: nahj@nahj.org
Phone: 202.662.7145
Fax: 202.662.7144
