DALLAS -- Close to 100 journalists and communicators attended the NAHJ Region 5 Conference on Feb. 28. Participants left the conference feeling energized by the sessions and about the upcoming national convention in Fort Worth scheduled for 2005.

The event, held at the Embassy Suites in Dallas, included three concurrent workshop sessions that focused on professional development; two in English and another in Spanish.

Juan Gonzalez, president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, gave the keynote address at lunchtime.

"The excellent attendance and enthusiastic participation at the conference reflects the remarkable growth in both numbers and influence of Latino journalists in the state of Texas," Gonzalez said. "We are getting better organized and are winning greater respect."

In addition to Gonzalez, two former NAHJ presidents attended, Dino Chiecchi of The Associated Press and Gilbert Bailon of The Dallas Morning News. All three participated in the daylong workshops.
The closing reception featured the unveiling of the Manual de Estilo, NAHJ's stylebook for Spanish-language media in the U.S. Excerpts from the book were handed out to the attendees.

The two-day conference began Friday night with a town-hall session, "Evaluating the Role of the Media in the Hispanic community," at the Women's Museum at Fair Park. About 90 people attended the free session sponsored by Univision KUVN/Channel 23.

News anchors Jaime Ruiz and Alexis Brito of Univision KUVN/Channel 23 moderated the discussion. Panelists included: Alfredo Carbajal-Madrid, editor of Al Día; Juan Antonio Ramos, editor of Diario La Estrella; Marcos Nelson Suarez, publisher of El Hispano News; Claudia Torrescano, community affairs director of Univision Radio; Zoltan Csanyi-Salcedo, news director of Telemundo KXTX/Channel 39; and Martha Cecilia Kattan, news director of Univision KUVN/Channel 23.

The conference was hosted by NAHJ's Region 5 and the Dallas-Fort Worth Network of Hispanic Communicators. The event was sponsored by: Al Día/The Dallas Morning News; Diario La Estrella/Fort Worth Star-Telegram; El Hispano News; Southwest Airlines; State Farm; Telemundo KXTX/Channel 39; Univision KUVN/Channel 23.

Founded in 1984, NAHJ's mission is to increase the percentage of Latinos working in our nation's newsrooms and to improve news coverage of the country's Latino community. NAHJ is the largest association for Hispanic journalists in the country with close to 2,000 members and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.