Journalism, RTV students attend NAHJ Regional Conference; Dr. Flores speaks on history of Spanish-language newspapers in the U.S.

On the left of this posting is the logo of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. The organization has become increasingly important to communicators and journalists in our nation as the Hispanic population increases. For that reason, Texas A&M-Kingsville journalism, radio-television and design students have become actively involved with the organization. Through the Javelina Press Club and help from student engagement funds from the university, nine Texas A&M University-Kingsville students attended the Region V National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention in San Marcos, Texas, Feb. 29-March 1. At the convention the students listened to presentations and panel discussions on a variety of news issues impacting Hispanics and the nation, as well as received updates on a variety of new software for everything from blogging to podcasting. The students who attend were Ellie Tamez, Rubi Reyes, Roberta Flores, Catherine Myers, Adriana Garza, Carlos Alvarado, Edwin Vasquez, Bob Pena and Jaime Gonzalez. They were accompanied by Dr. Manuel Flores, associate professor of journalism/communications, at TAMUK. Dr. Flores opened the conference with a presentation on the celebration of 200 years of Spanish language journalism in the United States. Dr. Flores explained that in 1808, the first bi-lingual Spanish language newspaper was published in Louisiana. It was called "El Misisipi," which is featured at the top of this posting. Dr. Flores said that the tradition of Hispanic journalism in the United States is one that has been constant since those dates and that in the 19th century more than 1,000 Spanish language newspapers were published in what is now the United States. Today, there are Spanish radio stations, television stations, newspapers and magazines - many of which use a bi-lingual format - that flourish and continue to serve the nation's Hispanic population. Dr. Flores said is important for all journalism students in college today, in particular Hispanic students, to realize the contribution of Hispanics to the journalism traditions of the United States. "Many people think that Hispanics are Julios come lately to the journalism scene in our country. That's the furthest thing from the truth. The Spanish influence of newspapering in the new world has been with us since the 16th century and, in what is now the United States, dates back to the early 19th century. Hispanic journalism is evolving as our language becomes more acceptable. But, make no mistake about it, Spanish-language journalism in the United States has a long and honorable history."

KUDOS for Obama issue

Usually, KUDOS is reserved for one or two top quality performances by student journalists on The South Texan staff. However, after reviewing the Feb. 26 (Obama) issue, that trend will change. The issue was one of the best produced by TAMUK student during the past two years and congratulations are due to all. Add the stories of the search for the new student president, plus the excellent columns and endorsements of the editorial page, as well as solid sports coverage and you have a solid newspaper that had local, state and even national impact with its writing, layout and design and photography. Good job by all. There were some disappointments, however. In spite of the solid editorial double truck design and the excellent columns and comments on this page, I would have preferred for the endorsement editorial to be a little longer. Perhaps, however, that's all the room we had. In that case, Juan Carlos Reyes, ed-ops page editor, did a wonderful job. So, after much consternation, here are the KUDOS winners for this issue: Juan Carlos Reyes, Javier Quintanilla, Michelle Leal, Dominique Garcia, Roberta Flores, Mary Beth Cleavelin, Edwin Vasquez and Sabrina Salinas. However, if we had to single out some people, it would be the photographers. The baseball photo by Sabrina Salinas was excellent. Better yet, however, was Roberta Flores' striking photo of the Obama supporters by Corpus Christi Bay, which is featured with this posting. Roberta caught the moment and got all their names (not always an easy task). The photo carried the back page spread and, surprisingly, reproduced well. Congratulations to all of these students. Hard work pays off and I know

Endorsing candidates

In this week's issue of The South Texan, the editorial board of the newspaper will endorse candidates for the Democratic and Republican Texas primaries March 4. The editorial board of The South Texan will announce that it will endorse Barack Obama (pictured with this posting) for the Democratic Primary presidential bid, John McCain for the Republican presidential bid, and longtime state representative Juan Escobar for the District 43 seat. Some of the students in our journalism and RTV program questioned the ethics of this move. They feel as if the media's role is to inform and not to tell people how they should exercise their right to vote. They are correct, of course. Information is presented in news pages. Opinions are presented in editorial or op-ed pages. It is in the op-ed pages where newspaper staffs are allowed to take positions on a variety of issues, including elections. Endorsing candidates for office is a long-held American newspaper tradition. In most cases, the decision is arrived at after long discussion and consideration of the candidates' merits by an editorial board. Often, the editorial boards personally interview each candidate (this is a must rule for local races) before reaching a consensus and endorsing a candidate. In rare instances, the publisher or editor of the newspaper make the decision for the editorial staff. For The South Texan, the process of selecting whom was to be endorsed by the staff was handed by Juan Carlos Reyes, Editorial Page Editor and Associate Editor for the newspaper. He polled each member of the editorial staff - composed of editor Dominique Garcia, all the pages editors plus the advertising manger - and then informed them what the decision was. This is not an easy chore. Often, like in an election, the vote is close. The key here is that the newspaper endorses the candidate who received the most votes in the endorsement process. Consensus is reached and a candidate is chosen. Never do we say, flip a coin. They're both so wonderful, etc. An editorial is then written supporting this candidate. The opinion will appear in the newspaper without a byline. In other words, no one person will take credit for that article. The opinion, instead, is that of the entire newspaper staff or newspaper editorial board - a consensus that the candidate is the best person for the job. Editorials are never "signed." Editorials are never the opinion of one person. Editorials also should never use the pronoun "I." We joke about it in class that sometimes writers for an ed-op piece sound like a Mexican mariachi "I, I, I, I . . ." While this is allowed in columns, it is never allowed in editorials. One of the jobs of the newspaper in the editorial page is to add to the element of debate. Endorsing candidates adds to this. And, just for the record, every major daily newspaper in Texas has endorsed Barack Obama for the March 4 Democratic primary. I wonder how that will impact the election? Check and see whom the staff of The South Texan supports. The paper will be out Tuesday, Feb. 26, and online at tamuk.edu/southtexan that same day. Who are you supporting and, will you vote?

TAMUK student journalists on the road again

As Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. Barack Obama and former president Bill Clinton brought their campaign rhetoric to South Texas this week, student journalists from the journalism and radio-television programs from Texas A&M University-Kingsville were there to take photos, shoot video, do interviews, take notes and report news that impacts our university, South Texas and, of course, our state, nation and the world. It has been a pleasure to see the excitement in our students' eyes as they get the next "BIG" assignment and to get a taste of "real world" journalism. During these events, they get to "mingle" with the national press corps and touch shoulders, literally, with many of the area's professional journalists. They are there and I know it's a privilege they do not abuse.

It's great to cover TAMUK events and activities and our student journalists relish that experience, too. However, to be present for a speech delivered by a former or future president in a dynamic manner is inspiring and helps our students understand that - as journalists - that is their mission. It's their job to report what great minds think and to analyze how those great minds can impact us - the citizens.

During the past week, The South Texan sent reporter and Spanish Page Editor Edwin Vasquez to report on Sen. Ted Kennedy's visit to Corpus Christi. On Friday, a team of reporters was sent to cover Barack Obama's speech at the cavernous American Bank Center in Corpus Christi. That team included Juan Carlos Reyes, Kristie Ann Vela, Keiona Ausbie, Roberta Flores and Michelle Leal. All were under the direction of journalism lab instructor Adriana Garza, a staffer and columnist for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, as well. On Saturday, J.R. Quintanilla and Edwin Vasquez will report on former president Bill Clinton's visit to South Texas Vasquez's photo of Clinton is featured on this post. Read their reports on the Feb. 26 issue of The South Texan, catch it all on the web and maybe even listen to it on KTAI 91.1 FM.

If there is a story in our area that impacts US, the RTV and Journalism programs of TAMUK are dedicated to go and get the facts. And, in case you miss our print edition, radio or TV news, check out our news on the web at www.tamuk.edu/southtexan. Stay tuned......

KUDOs for Hillary Issue

During the past two years, we have had several good to great issues of The South Texan. The last issue (Feb. 19, 2008), however, stands out as one of the most outstanding. Staff members of The South Texan - under the leadership of editor Dominique Garcia - sent teams to McAllen and Robstown to cover the presidential campaign visit of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. The reporting was excellent and the photographs of top quality. For that reason, KUDOs this week goes to all of the TAMUK student journalists who made this coverage of Clinton's visit possible. KUDOs goes to Dominique Garcia, Rubi Reyes, Catherine Myers, Edwin Vasquez and Ellie Tamez (whose video was used on our website). Cat Myers' excellent photo of Hillary at the Nueces County Showbarn in Robstown is featured on this post. But, the quality of the newspaper did not stop there. Mary Beth Cleavlin had an excellent on TAMUK President Rumaldo Juarez stepping down. Edwin had a solid story on the battle for the State Representative battle between Juan Escobar and Tara Rios Ybarra. Our Page 2, designed by Roberta Flores, had some excellent items on the NAACP Image Awards. Kristie Ann Vela gets special recognition, too. While covering a story on the flu epidemic on campus, guess what? Kristie got the flu. Now, that's getting into the story. Angela Palacios, Lorraine Rodriguez, Jaime Gonzalez and Juan Carlos Reyes also had excellent stories. Jaime, our sports editor, continues to improve and is doing a solid job. Another special mention goes to our ed-ops writers. Carlos Alvarado had a timely and poignant piece on the shootings at Northern Illinois. Any other week - without the Hillary campaign coverage - Carlos would have won KUDOs all by himself and being in the pot for the $100 scholarship drawing at the end of the year. Still, Carlos, well done. All of these items and photos, of course, can be enjoyed in print and on our Internet site. Our Internet Editor Bob Pena has done a superb job. Visit us at www.tamuk.edu/southtexan. We'll see you there. Until then, congratulations to the KUDOs winners. You're in the pot for the $100.

TAMUK students to attend ADDY Awards

Journalism, design and RTV students from Texas A&M University-Kingsville will be attending the ADDYS 2007 Awards Banquet in Corpus Christi American Bank Center, Feb. 21. The students attending are part of TAMUK's American Advertising Federation National Student Advertising Competition team. The team is trying to raise money to attend the District 10 collegiate competition in Dallas, Texas, in April. There they will be competiting against some of the strongest universities in the nation with advertising, marketing and public relations programs. The group needs to raise $8,000 to $10,000 to make the trip possible. Any one wishing to donate to the group's fund-raising effort please contact Dr. Manuel Flores at 361-593-3913 or on the cell at 361-813-7808.

Hero Worship not a journalistic thing to do

In this celebrity-crazed world, it is difficult to not do a little "hero worshipping" when a celebrity appears. This may have been the case for some young journalists who covered the visit of Hillary Clinton to South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley as she drummed up support for her Democratic bid for president. Even professionals have a problem with this and, reportedly,  with visits from Barack Obama (whose photo is fetured with this post), Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy and other politicos in the horizon, the possibilities of someone getting a case of the "heroes" is more prevalent than ever. Young reporters must focus when covering important stories like a visit of a top presidential candidate to the area. They must remember that they are there on an assignment and not on a leisurely stroll down ga-ga land. To be able to accomplish this, a young reporter must prepare throughly for the assignment. Because there is a chance he or she may get "tongue-tied (a case or the heroes will do this)," questions must be prepared in advance. It is advisable, also, to carry a digital recorder just in case the "heroes" turn into jitters. Being prepared, for a journalist, is nothing new. Getting a case of the "heroes," however, can foil even a veteran reporter's attempt to get the story. So, stay calm, stay focused and get that story. Enjoy the moment. And, remember, nothing can replace the feeling of seeing your byline on an important story. Now, if you remember that, you can do your own hero worshipping. So, be a hero and get that story, no matter who or what is staring you in the face.