The acceptance speech:
Saludos a todos, y gracias.
This is one of the biggest thrills of my life.
I walked into my first NAHJ conference 10 years ago in Chicago. Somehow, I had made it into the news business at the New York Daily News without first connecting with NAHJ. I didn’t even spend a great deal of time thinking of myself as Hispanic. I was a proud individualist, one who took his heritage for granted. I enjoyed the workshops and the panels and a party or two, and then I was gone for another year. At the next conference in Seattle, something extraordinary happened. I attended a panel on whether there is a single Latino identity. At this panel, a young writer named Junot Diaz spoke about his desire to be perceived as an individual. But he went on to note that whenever he walked into a room, people saw the Latino first. It’s a profound truth. When we walk into a room, we walk in with all the glory, and all the baggage, that comes with the label of “Hispanic.” It is incumbent upon us, as journalists, to make sure the U.S. media tell the whole story of our people and our struggles – a story that includes our contributions to U.S. society instead of dwelling solely on the burdens we, as any group, may sometimes represent.
I don’t have NAHJ to thank directly for landing me my first job, but I thank NAHJ for something far more profound. You made me a Latino, and for that, I will be forever grateful.
I am grateful to individuals as well, and I would be remiss if I did not first mention my South Florida Sun-Sentinel colleague Michele S-lc-d-, one of the co-chairs of this outstanding convention. She gave me encouragement and honest critiques that have helped me in my career at NAHJ and at my day job. She is a loyal friend and a fierce ally. I don’t know if she really knows this, but I would not be standing here today if not for her. Michele, thank you.
The support I have received from the Sun-Sentinel during my involvement in NAHJ is something I treasure. Earl M--ck-r, Sharon R-s-h--s-, Philip W-rd, Dana B-nk-r, Robert Smith, Kathy Tr-mb-ll and so many others moved mountains to make sure that I could have the time I needed to devote to a cause that went far beyond the walls of our diverse newsroom, extending to a nation that increasingly needs us to make sure the citizens of the United States are informed of the true story of the Latino.
It’s that cause I’d like to discuss with you tonight, as I lay out my vision for how I want NAHJ to proceed over the next two years.
The world of professional journalism is increasingly insecure for those of us employed within it. News organizations are rightly seen as businesses, and that reality creates a situation that, coupled with high expectations from investors, can break up a successful media chain in a matter of months.
The Latino journalist now lives in this world, and the challenge to diversity could not be more profound. Thirty years ago, the American Society of Newspaper Editors committed itself to seeing newsroom parity by the year 2000. As that year approached, they extended their deadline by another 25 years. NAHJ became aggressive in its effort to achieve that goal under the presidency of Juan Gonzalez with the creation of the Parity Project. And while that project has been successful where it has been faithfully applied, the industry is still way behind in its stated goal. We have more work to do. I have more work to do.
Is parity an achievable goal? I say yes. It has to be. With the numbers of Latinos expected to grow year after year in the United States, the news media will eventually have no choice but to hire us in newsroom roles from editorial assistants to editors-in-chief. But I question whether that can happen, even if the numbers demand it, when the Latino high school dropout rate remains twice the national average. NAHJ needs to do something about that if our mission is to be fulfilled. I’m going to do something about it by finding a high school sophomore and serving as a mentor until he or she graduates. I’m asking you to join me in this effort. I’m going to call for the creation of an NAHJ 100 mentoring program, a three-year commitment to making a dent in the Latino high school dropout rate. I don’t know how much it will change the numbers, but I firmly believe it will change lives. And hopefully, many of those students will be inspired and become journalists themselves.
Earlier this year I spoke to our outgoing vice president of broadcast, Manny M-dr-n-, who told me that he was a lawyer before he became an ABC News correspondent who covers the Supreme Court. It occurred to me that we can help address the problem of newsroom retention by luring other professionals into the field of journalism. I pledge to work with NAHJ and other organizations, such as the Freedom Forum, to begin a more assertive campaign to make that happen.
Those who are familiar with my board service know that the chief asset I bring to the table is my insistence on strong advocacy for our issues, interests and members. You saw concrete evidence of that this week when NAHJ released its first-ever content audit of the nation’s news magazines. That was my idea, one year ago. I thank Arizona State University’s Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication for doing the research without cost to NAHJ. And when we couldn’t find a sponsor to cover the remaining cost for printing, I pledged $2,000 of my own money to see it through. I am proud of the report and look forward to seeing expansions of it in the future, fully-funded. Our research proves the point that the dearth of Hispanics in so many newsrooms has a direct bearing on the failure of the media to accurately and adequately cover our communities. Our research efforts, which include the Network Brownout Report, deserve funding.
So, of course, does the Parity Project, which now survives on a $1 million grant from the McCormick Tribune Foundation. That grant runs out in 2007, at which point we need to find new funding. The Parity Project must not fail. And it won’t. Not on my watch.
Tomorrow, when the NAHJ board meets, I will charge the board members with the task of reviewing our last strategic plan, which also runs out at the end of 2007. We will be the ones who set the vision for this association for another five years to come, through 2012. Having worked with most of these board members in the past, I can tell you with utmost confidence, your association is in good hands.
And NAHJ will continue to be at the forefront of the issues that shape our industry: media consolidation, access to audiences and information, and even such seemingly mundane but profoundly important issues like network neutrality and community wi-fi.
Finally, I pledge to continue the work that has been important to NAHJ presidents Cecilia Alv--r, Juan Gonzalez and Veronica V-ll-f-ñ- in the area of Spanish language journalism. Our leadership institute for Spanish language journalists simply must become a reality. The need is too great to delay any longer.
My friends, I stand before you humbled by a campaign that was way too easy. I offer this challenge to anyone who has served on the board of NAHJ in the past or present: Let this be the last uncontested presidential election in NAHJ’s history. Our members deserve better. They deserve leaders like Veronica V-ll-f-ñ- who are willing to step into gigantic shoes and fill them with grace and determination.
No one in NAHJ challenged me for this presidency, but I expect the members of NAHJ to challenge me in it, to hold me accountable and to expect the best.
Winning an uncontested race is not hard. Deserving to is.
My final pledge to you this night is that in two years, when it’s time to pass this office on to its next holder, you will look at my presidency as one hell of a tough act to follow.
