Parity Works: Chronicling the Accomplishments of the Parity Project

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is proud to introduce its inaugural issue of Parity Works, the official e-newsletter of the association's Parity Project.

The goal of this quarterly e-newsletter is to inform both members of the Project's Latino advisory committees and partnering media companies about the accomplishments of the project.

NAHJ launched the Parity Project in 2003 in an effort to bolster the presence and influence of Latinos in our nation’s newsrooms. NAHJ partners with selected English-language media companies whose newsrooms do not reflect the Latino population in their readership or viewership areas.

NAHJ assists these news organizations with two main goals: 1) to hire more Latino journalists for newsroom job openings; 2) to establish stronger ties with Latino leaders and groups.

Most of the companies partnering with the Parity Project have formed Latino community advisory committees that provide guidance on improving coverage of the Latino community.

The project was first launched at the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. Currently, NAHJ is partnering with 19 media outlets in four states. Parity partners include 16 daily newspapers and two television stations. In May of 2005, National Public Radio became the first national news operation to join the project.

The Parity Project has accomplished a great deal in a short amount of time. So far, partnering companies have hired 75 full-time Latino newsroom professionals. In addition, more than 1,100 Latino community members have taken part in town hall meetings and close to 1,000 journalists have participated in newsroom cultural awareness sessions conducted by NAHJ.

Several media companies have dramatically increased the number of Latino journalists on staff.

• The San Angelo Standard-Times has more than tripled its Latino staff and is the only partnering company that has hired a Latino publisher and Latino editor.
• The Rocky Mountain News has doubled its Latino staff in two years.
• The Corpus Christi Caller-Times has increased its Latino staff by more than 50% in one year.

This inaugural e-newsletter features stories ranging from the work between partnering companies and Latino leaders to improve coverage of the community to the progress being made by companies in hiring Latino journalists.

NAHJ hopes you find this e-newsletter to be a useful tool for improving the presence and influence of Latinos at media companies in your city.