NAHJ Parity Project

All contributions made to the Campaign for Parity will be matched by the Challenge Fund for Journalism grant and will support NAHJ’s national programs and services, including:

THE PARITY PROJECT– The Parity Project is the most ambitious program ever undertaken by the association to dramatically increase the influence of Latinos in newsrooms across the United States. The program targets specific cities where Latinos make up a significant portion of the population, but are underrepresented in the newsrooms of local media outlets. NAHJ partners with the local media outlets to dramatically increase Hispanic representation in the newsrooms. The process includes conducting diversity training sessions with our parity partners and organizing the Hispanic community to work with media companies on a community task force. The goal of the organization is to double the percentage of Latinos working in our nation's newsrooms by 2008.

The growing list of Parity Project partners include:

The Rocky Mountain News, Denver, CO, launched April 2003
The Ventura County Star, Ventura, CA, launched June 2003
The Naples Daily News, Naples, FL, launched October 2003
Wichita Falls Times Record News, Wichita Falls, TX, December 2003
Abilene Reporter-News, Abilene, TX, December 2003
San Angelo Standard-Times, San Angelo, TX, December 2003

NAHJ LEADERSHIP TRAINING INSTITUTE – The institute will be launched in 2004 to create and nurture a steady flow of Hispanic leaders in newsrooms. The institute will work with our members on improving their leadership skills that will allow them to excel in the newsroom, whether in management or non-management positions.

INCREASED ADVOCACY – NAHJ will continue to speak out on matters affecting our mission, including issues impacting diversity, FCC regulations and the First Amendment. It is NAHJ’s effort to create a more visible, vocal and respected system to monitor how media companies cover Latinos and how changes in government policies are affecting the quality of that coverage.

RESEARCH – NAHJ will continue to publish periodic reports on the media industry. Among the reports are:

The annual Brownout Report on network television coverage of Latinos.
The NAHJ Resource Guide for journalists on covering the Latino community.

SPANISH-LANGUAGE STYLEBOOK – This publication will be released in 2004 as a first step toward a long-term goal to create the NAHJ Spanish-Language Training Institute.

SPANISH-LANGUAGE TRAINING – The institute aims to offer more comprehensive media training for our colleagues in Spanish-language newsrooms who often face more challenges with fewer resources at their disposal. In January, NAHJ will launch a six-city tour with EFE's Alberto Gomez Font on the proper use of Spanish in Spanish-language news stories.