Aug. 29, 2008

Dear News Industry leader:

The members of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists know well the revenue pressures besetting the industry. We’re familiar with how media companies are reacting to such pressures - letting go of many of the people who produce both print and broadcast news. We question the wisdom of cutting your way to profitability, of diminishing the news product and simultaneously wondering why fewer people are reading and viewing, but it’s safe to say we understand the pressures that many industry leaders feel compel such actions.

We understand because, like journalists everywhere, these are our friends and colleagues suddenly out of work. But, at NAHJ, we feel the pain acutely on another level. When a Latino journalist is voluntarily bought out, involuntarily laid off or otherwise dismissed, this erodes already inadequate Latino representation in the nation’s newsrooms. And this has consequences we’re not entirely certain that the industry is grasping given the number of Latinos we’re seeing being forced out of their jobs.

There is a link between the quality of journalism for and about Latinos and the dearth of news professionals able to report, write and otherwise produce news authoritatively and with expertise for and about Latinos. We fear that the Latinos forced to join the exodus from the nation’s newsrooms will have lasting consequences on how you cover the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. If they don’t see stories for and about them, competently done, Latinos will be less likely to read your newspapers or view your news broadcasts. It’s that simple.

We know that, in these trying times, news organizations are trying very hard to retain the expertise that keeps their journalism credible – that there is already some degree of subjectivity in who stays and who goes. We urge you to realize that a journalist who is bicultural and/or bilingual is an asset you should be protecting just as much as you’re protecting that expert on schools, health, science or whatever topic or skill you think it makes sense to retain. Having these skills and being able to do anything any other journalist can do, only adds to the value. In many cases, this is also cost-effective. You retain a journalist who understands and has an insight into various communities, and one who many times can reach both English and Spanish language audiences – invaluable synergy.

We speak here of both rank-and-file employees who produce the news and editors at levels in which important views and sensitivities are aired to determine what is news and who is hired or fired. Latino representation in this latter category is particularly dismal, especially at senior editor and publisher levels.

This is a difficult period for the industry, we know. NAHJ is ready to help you in any way we can to hire, train and retain Latino talent. We are already working with our membership to prepare them for the future, to help those suddenly out of work and are exploring new ways to do so. We are watching the current spate of departures from newsrooms to see if Latinos are disproportionately affected. This note, however, is simply to remind you of the simple math involved when you subtract from already paltry numbers. And also to remind you of the bottom-line consequences for viewership and readership when that happens.

If I can be of particular help, please feel free to call or e-mail me.

Respectfully,

O. Ricardo Pimentel
President, National Association of Hispanic Journalists
Editorial Page Editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel