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February 15, 2005
Largest Turnout Yet Converges for NAHJ Parity Project Launch in Tampa, Flordia
by Kevin Olivas, Parity Project Director
Tampa resident Mario Guerrero got right to the heart of the matter. “I have been waiting 40 years for this.” He was one of more than 140 people who converged on The News Center in Tampa, Florida, where NAHJ’s Parity Project has been launched at its first convergence news partner. The Tampa Tribune and WFLA-TV Newschannel 8 are both owned by Media General and often work on stories together. The turnout for the Feb. 8, 2005 event was the largest yet for a Parity Project town hall.
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| More than 140 people pack into The News Center for Parity Project Town Hall with The Tampa Tribune and WFLA-TV on Feb. 8, 2005. |
The gathering was led by NAHJ Ex-Oficio Juan Gonzalez, Tampa Tribune Executive Editor Janet Weaver and WFLA-TV News Director Forrest Carr. WFLA-TV is an NBC affiliate. The Parity Project is Gonzalez’ brainchild.
Guerrero went on to say, “We’re more than about food and festivals. Our history in the Tampa area has not been covered. We have been ignored by The Tampa Tribune and WFLA. When we want news about the Hispanic community, we have to turn to media that is outside of this area.”
Slightly more than one-million people live in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area and about 20% of them are Hispanic. The 2000 U.S. Census pegged Hispanics as Florida’s largest group of people of color.
Tony Morejon, who works for the County of Hillsborough where Tampa is located, underscored Guerrero’s point. “If the Tribune and WFLA want to survive, they are going to have to engage us,” he said. “There are more Cubans here in the Tampa area than there are in Orlando, but news coverage of the Cuban-American community in that area is better than it is here.”
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| NAHJ Ex-Oficio Juan Gonzalez, Tampa Tribune Executive Editor Janet Weaver and WFLA-TV News Director Forrest Carr lead the Town Hall. |
Morejon and other Latino leaders who came to the town hall say they have seen little positive coverage of their community by either news organization and few Spanish surnames or Latino faces in bylines or on the air.
Tribune Publisher Gil Thelen says changes are on the way. “We would be stupid to ignore our growing Hispanic community, “he said. “We are committed to making sure our coverage is accurate and presents an entire picture of our area’s Hispanic community.”
But Dr. Jorge Nef of the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa told the town hall that covering the area’s Hispanic community means keeping up with the changes it is going through. “The Hispanic community here is in and of itself diverse. We have had Cuban-Americans living here for years. But now we are seeing more people from the Hidalgo area of México moving into this area for jobs in the tourism sector, among other reasons. You have to cover the complexities of each of our communities and not lump us in together.”
Donna Perriño is also on the USF faculty. “The Tampa Tribune and WFLA should go beyond single stories. Do a series on our community. Florida has the highest percentage of foreign born Latinos. There are serious issues affecting us like housing, education and immigration.”
Jose Valiente, a Tampa-area public accountant, echoed Perriño’s sentiments. “I don’t like the negative stuff about Hispanics when positive stories are out there, but are not being covered. Your priorities when it comes to covering Hispanics is on crime and other problems. But that is not a complete picture of our community.”
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| University of South Florida professor Dr. Patricia Alvarez-McHatton participates in cultural awareness session for news staffs of The Tampa Tribune and WFLA-TV. |
Since the launch of the Parity Project in Tampa, the Tribune has created a new Hispanic Affairs Columnist position. And it is considering a launch of a weekly Spanish-language publication, though that is still in the talking stages. The Hispanic Affairs Columnist position is posted here on NAHJ Web site.
Several in the audience also pointed to a handful of Latino journalists who work at The Tampa Tribune and WFLA-TV, but they say that is not enough. NAHJ member Cloe Cabrera covers has covered stories involving Hispanics in that area for years. The same goes for WFLA-TV reporter/anchor Yolanda Fernandez. Both were mentioned by Hispanic community leaders during the town hall as being reliable and trustworthy sources in the newsrooms of both organizations. But many town hall participants also said the entire staffs of the Tribune and WFLA must make more of an effort to cover Hispanics in that area.
The Tampa Tribune has a daily circulation of about 239,000. And that area is the 13th largest broadcast market in the U.S. NAHJ plans to work with The Tampa Tribune and WFLA Newschannel 8 for the next several years, helping both organizations to identify more Latino journalists to hire. And NAHJ will also help both newsrooms to establish stronger ties to the area’s Hispanic community.
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