Latino Journalists Form New Group in Boston

From left: Alberto Vasallo III, Jose Masso, Marcela Garcia and Yadires Nova-Salcedo (photos: E. de Oliveira, EthnicNEWz.org)

In 1983, Yadires Nova-Salcedo was the young Hispanic girl who cleaned the Channel 5 (WCVB-TV, the Boston affiliate of ABC) studios. Her eyes glowed as she watched co-anchors Chet Curtis and Natalie Jacobson present the 6 o’clock news.

Today, Nova-Salcedo is the host and producer of "Centro," a weekly news segment of Channel 4 (WBZ-TV, the Boston affiliate of CBS).  With her husband, Angel Salcedo, she also produces "Encuentro Latino," a Spanish-language TV show that airs on Telemundo.

At another hidden corner of Boston many years ago, Alberto Vasallo III watched as his parents carefully put together one of the first Latino newspapers in the area, El Mundo. That was, and is, Vasallo’s mundo.

Meanwhile, Cuban-American Johnny Diaz strolled by Miami streets to tell stories with a unique perspective. His love for words and worlds led him to a position as a features writer for the Boston Globe, and the publication of two novels about Bean Town.  A third is in the oven.

Marcela Garcia followed the paths of Nova-Salcedo, Vasallo and Diaz, coming to the US in 2002. Fixated on honing her English writing skills, the Mexican economist aimed to one day work for the Boston Globe.  Today, she is one of its correspondents as well as an editor for El Planeta.

What all four of these persons have in common – besides being media professionals -- is their membership in the newly-created Boston chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ).

Boston is the NAHJ's 13th professional chapter.  The national association was established in 1984, dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanics in the news industry. Diversity in the newsroom is a huge flag carried by the NAHJ nationally.

At a panel discussion at the Boston Globe headquarters on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008, Vasallo said El Mundo had to adapt to keep the “bread and butter” readers -- those who speak only Spanish -- while engaging the new generation of English-speaking Hispanics.

“There was a lot of give-and-take conversation with my father, who is very old-school. Honestly, I will push further until I see the paper’s slogan as 'El Mundo, not your father’s newspaper,'” he said.

El Mundo became a bilingual publication several years ago, and El Planeta has picked up the pace since its launch in 2004 as a Spanish-language paper. 

But language is not the only challenge, said the moderator, José C. Massó, host of the local "Latin Music Salsa" radio show.

“How can someone talented like Betsy King [a student in the audience] be part of the Globe?” he asked.

A staff member of the Globe's operations department replied that for the past 15 years, “it has been very hard to find a Hispanic child who wanted to work for us.”

“Not a problem, we’ll send a lot of Latinos that look just like you,” Massó replied jokingly.

He also inquired:  What is the role that the panelists can play to open the door for boys and girls who go to Fenway Park and dream of being Big Papi [Red Sox home-run hitter David Ortiz] and Manny Ramirez [a former Red Sox player], when the chances of that happening are 1,000 to 1.

“We wouldn’t be able to put up a paper if it wasn’t for interns,” said Garcia.

“Find a mentor, and invest in getting experience in the field. I want the new generation not to be like me, but better than me,” said Nova-Salcedo, executive producer of "Encuentro Latino" TV show on Telemundo.

The president of the Boston chapter, Russell Contreras, a Globe staff writer, said the NAHJ can help find scholarships for the future generation of Latino journalists.

“We also want to create a Brazilian caucus within the chapter. Boston is in a unique position, as it has a large concentration of Portuguese-speaking immigrants. We want to extend the services to them,” said Contreras, who started his journalistic career with the assistance of the NAHJ in his hometown, Houston, Texas.

Nationally,  the NAHJ has 12 student chapters and 13 professional chapters. The Boston chapter, founded a few weeks ago, already has 25 members.

The group’s next meeting will be on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008, at the WBUR radio station's office in Boston.

“We’ll talk about a membership drive and efforts to build student chapters at area colleges for internships. Everybody’s ideas are welcome,” said Contreras.

Learn more about the Boston chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists at nahjboston.wordpress.com.

source:   EthnicNEWz.org 

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Russell Contreras, president of the Boston chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, applauds a mariachi band that performed at a meeting of the chapter. (photo: E. de Oliveira, EthnicNEWz.org)