Parity Project Making Impact in Lone Star State

In some cases, a year is making a big difference when it comes to the impact of NAHJ’s Parity Projects at three newspapers in Texas.

About 150 people took part in three town halls that were co-sponsored by NAHJ during the week of Aug. 15, 2005 at the Abilene Reporter-News, the San Angelo Standard-Times and the Times Record News of Wichita Falls, Tex. All three newspapers are owned by the E.W. Scripps Company. At all three town halls, Latino readers said each paper needed to do a better job of covering the local community.

In Abilene, about 20 concerned members of the Hispanic community took part in the town hall with the Reporter-News on Aug. 16th. Area businessman Samuel Garcia, who has been an un-successful candidate for public office in that region, says the paper always seems to seek him out regarding stories about why Hispanics have a difficult time winning elections. “Instead of asking us, why not ask the Anglo elected officials why Hispanics have not won elections, that might make a more interesting story,” Garcia said.

Blanca Cantu, a staff writer at the Reporter-News who was hired through the Parity Project, covered the town hall for the paper and wrote, “Several attendees said more negative stories are written about Hispanics than positive stories.” (link to story in the Abilene Reporter-News: http://www.reporter-news.com).

Reporter-News Editor Terri Burke told the crowd that the paper remains committed to doing a better job of covering Hispanics, who make up about 20% of the region’s overall population of about 116,000. In addition to Cantu, the Reporter-News has also hired photographer Victor Cristales, who started as an intern at the paper.

A crowd of about 50 people turned out for a town hall the following night at the San Angelo Standard-Times, about an hour-and-a-half south of Abilene. Since the launch of the Parity Project at that paper, it has hired Robert Aguilar as a publisher. The paper now has an editor (Tim Archuleta) and a publisher (Aguilar), who are Latino.

Area activist Johnny Silvas says readers notice a difference when it comes to coverage of Latinos. “It’s like night and day since they came on board at the paper. Many people now feel they can approach the folks at the Standard-Times and have their concerns taken seriously.”

Since the launch of the Parity Project at the Standard-Times, the number of full-time Latino journalists at the paper has tripled from three to nine. Latinos make up approximately 34% of the area’s population. In addition to Aguilar and Archuleta, Latinos are making strides throughout the San Angelo community. The city’s mayor and police chief are both Latino. And NAHJ member Kathy Muñoz is news director of KSAN/KLST-TV, which is a combination NBC/CBS affiliate.

At the Times Record News in Wichita Falls, Tex., about 35 Latino readers packed into the paper’s conference room to talk about its coverage of their community. Long-time resident Ben Valadez says there are stories out there that the paper is missing. “There are folks in Wichita Falls, like dishwashers and janitors, who have bilingual skills and who are asked by their employers to translate for customers. But they receive no additional pay for this skill. Why not? That may be a story for the Times Record News to cover,” said Valadez.

Area activist Freddie Castillo also questioned the two recent hires of Latino journalists at that paper. “Is this just a coincidence?” asked Castillo. Managing Editor Deanna Watson responded, “No, this is not a coincidence. We intend to do a better job of hiring Hispanic journalists.”

Since June, the paper has hired recent Princeton University graduate and Wichita Falls native Michael Martinez as a political reporter and recent Midwestern State University graduate Marissa Villa. In addition to writing stories for the Times Record News, she is also editing its Spanish-language weekly, Fronteras.

And that publication also has folks in Wichita Falls concerned. “I know that you want to see more local news in Fronteras,” editor Carroll Wilson told the audience. “We are working to make this publication better,” he added.

Martinez and Villa are the first two Latino journalists hired at the Times Record News since the Parity Project was launched there. Latinos make up approximately 14% of the area’s 100,000+ residents.

NAHJ launched the Parity Project at all three publications in December 2003.