Press Release

CNN Awards $335,000 to NAHJ Scholarship Fund

WASHINGTON, June 1 – The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is proud to announce a $335,000 endowment for Hispanic journalism students from CNN.

The renowned cable channel is giving away the same amount to the NABJ and AAJA as well as to NAHJ, as part of celebrations to mark its 25th anniversary.

“CNN’s financial support will certainly be a big push towards getting more of our young people into television news – both on the air and behind the camera, where there is such a dearth of Latinos now,” said NAHJ's Executive Director, Iván Román. “CNN should be commended for providing these scholarships for people who are part of the fastest-growing demographic group in the country.”

NAHJ already offers several scholarships through its Rubén Salazar Scholarship Fund program, designed to encourage Latino students to pursue careers in journalism. Hispanics remain woefully underrepresented in mainstream U.S. newsrooms. One of NAHJ’s goals is to help more qualified Hispanic students move from the classroom to the newsroom. NAHJ offers scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing careers as print, photo, broadcast or online journalists.

Each year NAHJ awards scholarships to more than 30 journalism students throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The association has awarded nearly $1 million in scholarships since 1986. In 2004 it increased the annual amount from $75,000 to $105,000 awarded to 40 students. To be eligible, students must plan to attend a college or university in the United States or Puerto Rico full-time for the entire academic year.

NAHJ established its scholarship fund in 1986 in memory of Rubén Salazar, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and news director of Spanish-language television station KMEX. Salazar was covering the Chicano Anti-Vietnam War Moratorium in East Los Angeles when he was killed by a tear-gas projectile fired by a deputy sheriff in 1970. For journalists of color, his legacy symbolizes the ongoing fight to integrate mainstream media and to ensure accurate and fair coverage of Latino issues. Rubén Salazar was posthumously inducted into the NAHJ Hall of Fame in 2000.