Press Release

Controversy, New Programs and Important Accomplishments Fuel Successful NAHJ Convention

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Controversy, innovative programming and important accomplishments fueled another successful convention of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. The association attracted 1,800 journalists, students, academics and media professionals to its annual convention held this year in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., June 14-17.

Included among the highlights of the convention were the controversial discussion with Ricardo Alarcón, president of Cuba’s national assembly; an immigration reform debate which hosted, among others, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and CNN’s Lou Dobbs; the release of a research report examining the way Latinos are portrayed by U.S. magazines; the boom in lifetime members for the association; and the announcement of a training program for Latino journalism students.

The four-day convention formally began with the opening plenary headlined by Cuba’s Alarcón. The politician was interviewed via satellite from CNN’s Havana bureau by Mirta Ojito, a former New York Times journalist and current professor at Columbia University.

Considered one of the most powerful men in Cuba behind Fidel Castro, Alarcón was quizzed about press freedom in Cuba by Ojito, a Cuban exile. During the interview, Alarcón maintained that the journalists imprisoned by Castro’s regime had been paid by the U.S. government to spread anti-Cuban propaganda. He also noted that those Cuban exiles wishing to return to a post-Castro Cuba to reclaim their land and property would never have a place on the island.

Another major highlight of the convention was the immigration reform debate which took place during the Newsmaker Luncheon event on Friday, June 16. The luncheon brought together New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, CNN’s Lou Dobbs, former foreign minister of Mexico Jorge Castañeda, and Bread for the World president David Beckmann.

Dobbs espoused his views that illegal immigration could be stopped by erecting a wall along the U.S./Mexico border, deporting those currently living in the U.S. without documents and penalizing businesses that hire undocumented workers.

Castañeda stressed the need for the U.S. and Mexico to work together on the issue citing that the U.S. should invest more in Mexico in order to cultivate an economy that would keep workers in that country, while Gov. Richardson touted the need for immigration to be approached holistically in order to achieve a comprehensive solution that would benefit the U.S.

An important accomplishment of the convention was the release of a research study about magazine coverage of Latinos. The report was the result of a partnership between NAHJ and Arizona State University. The report found that Latinos are rarely covered by the country’s news magazines and often appear in immigration stories. Out of the 1,547 stories that appeared in Time, Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report in 2005, only 18 stories were predominantly about Latinos, and of those 18, 12 focused on immigration.

One major goal achieved by the association at this convention was the completion of its challenge grant fundraising efforts. In June 2005 the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, Ford Foundation, and John S. and James L. Knight Foundation awarded NAHJ a $100,000 challenge grant to encourage individual donations to the association.

In order to receive the grant, NAHJ had to raise $200,000 by July 1, and the association superseded the goal at its Florida convention. Overall, $214,000 was raised with $74,000 coming solely from donations made during the convention.

The association gained 53 new lifetime members, who each pledged at least $1,000 to the organization, at the convention.

Another accomplishment for NAHJ was the announcement of its partnership with The New York Times to establish a journalism training program for Latino students. The competitive, hands-on journalism program will have its inaugural session at Florida International University in Miami in January. Next year, the program will take place at the University of Arizona in Tucson and the subsequent programs will alternate between the two schools.

This new partnership allows NAHJ to offer Latino journalism students yet another opportunity to improve their skills as journalists. During the convention, students had the chance to produce a daily television and radio broadcast, a newspaper and a website.

Students also took intensive journalism classes from media professionals during the week leading up to the convention. This year, 81 students participated in these convention student programs. Read the student coverage of the convention.

The 2006 NAHJ convention played host to a variety of innovative workshops, sessions and other programs that met with great success among those who attended.

A new program titled, “On the Couch,” brought together different media professionals to speak to convention attendees in an informal setting on the floor of the Media & Career Expo hall. The relaxed and detailed discussions ranged from how to negotiate contracts to general life coaching.

Also for the first time on the expo hall floor, the convention hosted National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program. The radio show broadcasted live from the convention on June 15 with two shows covering various Hispanic issues.

The convention’s Media & Career Expo not only provided attendees with these new programs, but also served as a significant networking opportunity. More than 150 exhibitors and recruiters attended the convention to meet and speak with NAHJ convention attendees.

Convention goers were also able to network and mingle at the special events offered in the evenings during the convention which included a casino night on Thursday evening and a beach party on Friday.

The convention closed with a black-tie gala honoring the newest inductees into NAHJ’s Hall of Fame – María Elena Salinas of Univisión and pioneering television journalist Henry Alfaro from Los Angeles. The new president of the association, Rafael Olmeda, was also announced at the gala.

Olmeda laid out his plans for the next two years including furthering the work of the Parity Project, starting a program to mentor Latino high school students interested in journalism and strengthening NAHJ’s role in media policy reform and media research.

NAHJ will host its next convention in San Jose, California, June 15-18, 2007.

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