WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Association of Hispanic Journalists will induct Ignacio E. Lozano, Sr., founder of La Opinión, the nation's largest Spanish-language daily newspaper, into the association's Hall of Fame during the UNITY: Journalists of Color convention, August 4-8, in Washington, D.C.

Created in 2000, NAHJ's Hall of Fame honors those journalists whose efforts either nationally or locally have resulted in a greater number of Latinos entering the journalism profession or have helped to improve news coverage of the nation's Latino community.

Lozano will be inducted posthumously into NAHJ's Hall of Fame during a gala ceremony at the UNITY 2004 convention in Washington, D.C. The NAHJ Hall of Fame Gala will be held at the Washington D.C. Convention Center on Friday, August 6 at 7 p.m.

"We are honored that my father, Ignacio E. Lozano, has been inducted into the NAHJ Hall of Fame," said Ignacio E. Lozano, Jr. "His integrity and commitment to high journalistic standards is the foundation on which La Opinión has been built. It is because of his passion for serving the Latino community that La Opinión has been able to thrive since 1926. His commitment to serving the community is still evident in the pages of the newspaper and the family is proud to continue with his legacy today. We are humbled that the National Association of Hispanic Journalists has chosen to honor him into such a prestigious group."

Born in 1886 in Marín, Nuevo León, Mexico, Lozano moved to San Antonio, Texas, with his mother and five sisters to escape the social and political unrest of the Mexican Revolution at the age of 21. There he opened a Spanish-language bookstore and worked at two Spanish-language periodicals, La Revista Mensual and El Noticiero. Lozano would later manage and edit El Imparcial de Texas, a Spanish-language daily newspaper. However, his passion for journalism drove him to establish his own independent daily newspaper in 1913, La Prensa.

La Prensa faced frequent censorship in Mexico and for a time, Lozano was banned from traveling to his homeland due to the paper's critical coverage of then Mexican President Plutarco E. Calles' administration and other political developments in the country. Under Lozano, La Prensa became an outstanding Spanish-language daily with correspondents in Paris, Mexico City, and Washington.

As the Mexican immigrant community in Southern California flourished, Lozano saw the need for a paper that provided news in Spanish from their homeland and the United States. In 1926, he founded La Opinión in Los Angeles to coincide with Mexican Independence Day. The paper quickly grew to a circulation of 25,000 by 1930. Lozano presided over La Opinión until his death in 1953, when his son took over as publisher. Under the direction of Lozano's grandchildren, La Opinión has grown into the largest Spanish-language daily newspaper in the nation with a circulation of 127,000.

"Mr. Lozano was a true visionary ahead of his time." said NAHJ President Juan Gonzalez. "His passion for quality news coverage and an independent press raised the bar for the entire journalism profession. His commitment to the field and to the Spanish-language community has paved the way for today's burgeoning Spanish-language media industry."

NAHJ was founded in 1984 and has close to 2,000 members. The association's mission is to improve news coverage of the Latino community and to increase the number of Latinos working in our nation's newsrooms. For more information, visit www.nahj.org.