LINK FELLOW:

Fresia Rodriguez Cadavid, a graduate of George Washington University, joined Hispanic Link News Service as its 2002-2003 reporting fellow Sept. 3. She was selected in its annual national competition.

Born and raised in the Bronx, Rodríguez Cadavid, 25, is of Colombian heritage. She earned her degree in international affairs, with a concentration in Latin American studies.

Before joining the Link, Rodr¡guez Cadavid reported for Arlington, Va.-based El Tiempo Latino, covering social issues affecting Latinos globally, nationally and locally.

SENIOR VP: MSNBC

Executive Producer Ramón Escobar is expected to be named the senior vice president for NBC's Telemundo station group, according to the trade publication Electronic Media.

Escobar will be responsible for all local news operations, news promotion and local programming.

PROTECTING NEWSPERSONS:

During a forum held in Tijuana, Mexico, Aug 29-30 on violence against journalists, the Inter American Press Association urged Mexican authorities to be aggressive in prosecuting drug lords who target journalists covering the drug trade along the Mexico-U.S. border.

IAPA President Robert Cox said the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has reported that 20 journalists have been killed and 40 have been threatened or attacked because of their coverage of the drug trade since 1995.