On Professional Decorum and Obama's Visit with Unity Journalists in Chicago

CHICAGO - When presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama visited the Unity Journalists of Color convention Sunday, July 27, there was a question about the professional decorum of the more than 2,500 journalists and associates present. Journalists, as a rule, should maintain their decorum and maintain a perception of balance and no favoritism. Alas, the Obama mystique and charisma overwhelmed many of the journalists present. When Obama walked up to the stage, the audience jumped to its feet, cheered and whistled and applauded loudly. There was a definite Obama bias in the air as the cheers and applause grew louder. I have to admit, I was among those who stood and applauded, but it was polite applause. Others cheered loudly, as if at a rock concert. The Obama presentation was televised live by CNN in the Chicago area and also picked up by many news networks. One of the live TV shots showed one of the audience members clearly wearing an Obama T-shirt. For the veteran journalists present that morning, that could have been the low-point of the Obama visit with minority journalists. Ouch! Jouralists don't do that. We don't publicly cheer for politicians or root for our favorite sports team when we are on assignment or at a convention. As the Obama interview continued, his remarks drew repeated applause and cheers. Again, this is wrong. Now, polite applause is warranted at the start and at the end of the speech or interview, but to openly display more than a cordial greeting in a situation like this is just wrong. Journalists don't do that. Period. Speaking of Obama and journalists, this display in Chicago only fuels the sentiment that's already out there about liberal bias in news media. The
perception is that these journalists will tilt their coverage in favor of Democrats or minorities. What do you think?

TAMUK at Unity Conference, NAHJ national convention

I had the privilege of traveling to the 2008 Unity Conference and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Convention in Chicago, Ill., July 23-27, with two Texas A&M University-Kingsville graduate students. The conference is the largest of its kind in the nation for journalists "of color." NAHJ held the conference in conjunction with professional associations for black, Asian and Native American journalists. Approximately 5,600 journalists were present.
The highlight of the TAMUK delegation's visit to the conference came during the NAHJ Hall of Fame Banquet, Friday July 25. During the banquet, two video/powerpoint presentations produced by the TAMUK Communications and Theatre Arts Department made their debut. The presentations were: "Los Periodiqueros: 200 Years of Spanish-Language Journalism in the United States" and "Francisco Ramirez: 19th Century Spanish-Language Pioneer." Both were met with much acclaim from the more than 2,500 present at the banquet. "Los Peridiqueros" is based on the research done for my book "Hispanis in the Media," but the work of putting together the presentation was all done by students and staff. Those who worked on the 17-minute "Los Peridiqueros" presentation and the 6-minute "Ramirez" presentation showed that our students and department were up to the task of preparing something for a prestigious national convention. Our students and I were seated right along other great journalism school like those at Northwestern, Columbia, USC, Notre Dame and others. It was fun to hear the names of the professors associated with these prestigious universities and than introduce us from Texas A&M-Kingsville. There were a couple of "uh?" moments in the audience but by the time our two students who attended the conference - Adriana Garza (left photo) and J.R. Quintanilla (right photo) - were introduced for having worked on the productions, they knew TAMUK was an integral part of the ceremonies that night at the Sheraton Chicago. Our students received a loud, long and appreciative ovation. It was very gratifying to see that. Adriana and J.R. were the two chief researchers for the project and also helped in compiling info for the book. Others who helped were Kirk Notarianni, radio-TV operations manager for TAMUK, Sam Eulenfeld, KTAI radio station director; Marco Iniquez, Spanish instructor; and Dr. Carl Saltarelli, assistant professor of communications. I served as producer and writer. Kirk was the director and production manager. Sam was in charge of sound. Marco and Adriana were the talent. The conference was well-worth attending, just for the information and networking possibilities. That we as TAMUK played an integral role in one of the key moments at the conference made our visit to the windy city that much more gratifying. TAMUK can now be counted on as a "player" in the field of journalism nationwide, especially in the eyes of hundreds of professional Hispanic journalists.

Plans for new South Texan staff underway

As Fall semester approaches, it's time for the staff of The South Texan, Texas A&M University-Kingsville's award-winning student newspaper, to again get active. New editor Juan Carlos Reyes and managing editor Jaime Gonzalez met with me and South Texan Lab Assistant last week to go over plans for the 2008-2009 school year. Already in the works is a Back-to-School issue planned for the week of August 21. It will be an insert in the first issue of the South Texan for the fall semester. Because of budget constraints, the Back-to-School issue will not be as permanent as it was last year, but it will still have all the information new and returning students need to succeed at TAMUK. Also, J.C. and Jaime discussed hiring an advertising manager and of naming advertising teams to start contacting potential sponsors and advertisers. Meanwhile, Adriana Garza will do an initial mailing with a rate sheet and publication date information to Kingsville and South Texas area businesses. Also in the works are a series of "J Camps" - Journalism workshops - for the new staff. These should be early to mid August. It's very exiting. The new year is upon us and a new staff is ready to start printing the news that impacts our university's students, faculty and staff. Can't wait.

Dr. Flores named new Communications, Theatre Arts Department Chair at TAMUK

KINGSVILLE - The phone rings in the office of the Texas A&M University-Kingsville student newspaper—The South Texan—on a Monday morning.
Bustling between reading proofs of the week’s newspaper and helping student journalists with the layout and design of the newspaper just hours before deadline, Dr. Manuel Flores, associate professor of journalism, finds himself in familiar territory.
Producing newspapers and meeting deadline have been part of his life for nearly 50 years.
Dr. Flores - a 1966 graduate of Hebbronville High School and grandson Pedro G. Chapa, former editor and publisher of the Jim Hogg County Enterprise - takes a break from the pressure of deadline to take the call.
On the other line is retired TAMUK journalism professor and former sports information director Fred Nuesch.
“We’re making sure The South Texan gets published,” Dr. Flores tells Nuesch.
“Your doing the same thing you were doing 42 years ago,” Nuesch said jokingly to Dr. Flores.
Forty years have passed since Dr. Flores served as a student editor of The South Texan and Nuesch was adviser, but his dedication to TAMUK journalism remains steadfast as he has inherited the role of his old adviser and appointed as Department Chair.
Dr. Flores, who was named Chair of the TAMUK Department of Communication and Theatre Arts June 1, graduated from Texas A&I University with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political science in 1970. He went on to earn two master’s degrees in the same areas from the university. He earned his doctorate degree in education from Texas A&M Corpus Christi and also did extensive graduate work at the University of North Texas.
His professional career has included more than 13 years of daily newspaper experience (most of it with the Corpus Christi Caller-Times), 11 years in public relations (with Central Power and Light Co.) and more than 18 years teaching journalism in the college and university classroom and advising award-winning collegiate student newspapers at Del Mar College and Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
Flores has presented at several national conventions including several sponsored by the College Media Advisers and Association for Educators in Journalism and Mass Communications. A scholar of Hispanics in the Media, Dr. Flores has also authored a book documenting the history and role of Hispanics in the U.S. media, to be published this summer. Dr. Flores is also a Tejano historian and has toured the state making presentations on the contributions of Tejanos to our state and nation.
Throughout it all, he has remained grateful to the education he received in Hebbronville.
“Hebbronville is just special. There is a strong sense of community that is hard to find elsewhere. The teachers truly cared and the advice you received came from the heart, and not just a paper evaluation. That’s the difference, teaching with heart and passion instead of nagging kids to tell them ‘You should do this and that’,” Flores said.
Flores credits his grandfather, as well as his English and journalism teachers in high school, for helping choose the profession of journalism.
“Mrs. (Pedro) Perez, Mrs. (Maude) Rogers, Mrs. (Josephine) Morris in one way or another had a tremendous impact in my life, either through writing English papers or helping produce or edit the monthly student newspaper (The Longhorn) or yearbook (Corral). It was a great educational experience,” he said. “As for my grandfather, I started working at the Enterprise when I was 10. He gave me my first job as a printer’s devil and later reporter. I own much to him. I have printer’s ink in my blood and once you have that you’re going to be involved with journalism in one way or another.”
Dr. Flores joined the TAMUK faculty in Fall 2006.
Since then, Dr. Flores has been instrumental in a variety of new initiatives for the department which include a sense of cooperation and innovation.
As adviser to The South Texan, Dr. Flores has encouraged cooperative efforts between university’s newspaper and the university’s radio station - KTAI. Both mediums join forces every weekday during the regular semester to bring 91 seconds of campus news to the TAMUK community every half-hour on KTAI. Plans are also to begin student-produced podcasts that will be simulcast on the university’s television station, he said.
Dr. Flores also was key in the joint effort between the Art Department and the Communications-Theatre Arts Department to send students to the regional American Advertising Federation competition.
As chair of the department, Dr. Flores hopes to continue the trend toward growth and development of departmental programs by increasing the use of multi-media technology, continuing to promote cooperation with national organizations, including the AAF and National Association of Hispanic Journalists to increase internship, scholarship and career opportunities for students.
“I want this department to gain state and national recognition so that our students will be able to compete for and accept jobs in today’s media-based society,” Dr. Flores said.
While much has changed both in media and at TAMUK in 40 years, Dr. Flores remains committed to ensuring the department he chairs at TAMUK continues to be a leader in South Texas for producing tomorrow’s media leaders.
“It’s an honor to think I’ve come to a point in my life that I can give back to the institution that prepared me to do well in my profession,” he said. “I also want to extend an invitation to any South Texas area student wanting a career in journalism to contact me or our department at the university.”

San Quilmas comes to Kingsville with new movie

The mood at Jones Auditorium May 30 on the campus of Texas A&M University-Kingsville was relaxed. Alumnus Domingo Chavez was busy greeting people who were flocking to the Kingsville debut of his latest movie - Barrio Tales/Historias del Barrio: Tops, Kites and Marbles - produced and directed by legendary Chicano filmmaker
and TAMUK-San Antonio alumnus Efrain Gutierrez. Chavez (l) and Gutierrez are featured in the photo above while working on the film. The posters of two of Gutierrrez's films are featured above that photo.

Most did not realize the magnitude of the event at aged Jones Auditorium. Gutierrez is recognized by scholars as the first Chicano filmmaker. His latest film was to be a touching tale of barrio life in San Antonio (affectionally known as San Quilmas by SA dudes, better known as vatos back in the day). The film premiered at CineFestival in San Antonio April 12. Following its Kingsville showing, it will run in the Cine Cuauhtemoc Pan American Film Festival at the University of Houston-Downtown June 16.

Chavez is an alumnus of then-Texas A&I University, graduating in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in communications and theatre arts. His photo is still depicted in the halls of the Speech Building on the TAMUK campus as one of the almuni who has gone on to greater things - a.k.a he made it to Hollywood - along with the likes of Eva Longoria and others in the display. He is the "star" of Barrio Tales and winds up portraying a super hero as an Aztec Warrior.


Barrio Tales is the fifth film Gutierrez has produced and directed during his illustrious and trailblazing career, which started back in 1976 with the revolutionary Please Don’t Bury Me Alive! or ¡Por Favor No Me Entierren Vivo! That film was the first feature directed by a Chicano, and its successful independent production and distribution served as a model for future Chicano filmmakers working outside of traditional Hollywood.

Barrio Tales is different and not as controversial. It tells the story of a grandfather suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, who is able to remember the days of his youth while teaching his granddaughter the classic childhood games of tops, kites and marbles. Comic relief comes from the characters Baby Marin, played by Chavez, and Primo. Both characters were featured in Gutierrez’s last movie Lowrider Spring Break en San Qilmas, released in 2001.

Gutierrez,who made an appearance after the Jones Auditorium showing and spoke to the audience of about 200 people, said Barrio Tales is the first in a series of films that wil feature other barrio activities such as the Skateboarding Barrio Olympics and games such as jacks. Chavez will continue to play his Baby Marin role and appear as an Aztec Warrior urging the children and all to read.

Gutierrez is simply a legend. That he took time to visit in Kingsville was quite an honor. Gutierrez founded the Chicano Arts Theatre in 1971, followed by his own film company in 1974, which he used to produce his first film. Please Don’t Bury Me Alive! and Gutierrez’s next two films have since been restored and preserved by the UCLA television and film archives, as part of their Chicano Cinema Recovery Project. In addition, Stanford University collected production papers from Gutierrez for their Green Library Archives.

Chavez moved to Kingsville two years ago to care for a sick relative, and has become known by young people around town through his work as a substitute teacher with the school district. Chavez wants that audience in particular to see the other side of him, which has been acting extensively in film, television and the voiceover arena for some 20 years. Acting credits for Chavez include parts in the films Robocop II and Selena, local and regional television roles, and voice work for Japanese anime.

But, now, Chavez is home and his Barrio Tales' role will more than likely endear him to thousands of new fans. Chavez's career has been revived and not a moment too soon. Gutierrez is a legend and a genius and his film - which will probably be released in DVD form by the end of the year - will certainly make its way into thousands of homes.

We wish Javelina alumni Domingo Chavez luck and hope for the best for Gutierrez. It would be wonderful if the two could return to the university during Hispanic Heritage Month and perhaps help us do a film festival on Chicano films - films that truly matter to South Texans and talk about our history and not films that depict the history of other Latin or Hispanic areas of the United States. These - Gutierrez's films - are the films which our students should be made aware of and be familiar with. It makes no sense to know about films from throughout the world and not know what is going on in our own backyards. We should all make an effort to make these films available.

Heading out into the real world

The semester is finally over, and students are scurrying to find summer work, enroll for summer classes or to just relax. That's the routine for most college and university students. Unless, of course, you are a senior and graduating. That's when the stark reality that your youth may be over hits you in the face like the chill from a Texas Blue Norther coming in early in September. It's time to head out into the real world, make decisions that will impact you for a lifetime and this time truly be out on your own.
For some Texas A&M University-Kingsville seniors in the Journalism Program of the Communications Theatre Arts Department that day came sometime this May. It was time to head out into the real world. Here are some of the results:
Rubi Reyes - accepted a job as education reporter with the Victoria Advocate.
Roberta Flores - accepted an internshihp with the Seguin Gazette
Dominique Garcia - accepted a job as copy editor/designer with the Victoria Advocate
Jami Rash - accepted a job as a reporter with the Childress Index.
For others, mainly juniors, it was a time to seek out internships to gain the experience they need when it comes time to apply after graduation. Here are some of the results:
Alitrinette Scott - has accepted an internship at KPIX-TV CBS5 in San Francisco, California.
Carlos Alvarado - has accepted a public relations internship with the International Broadcasting Corp. in Washington, D.C.
Pamela Hinojosa - has accepted an internship in public administration and public relations with the Centers for Diseases Control in Atlanta, Ga.
Michelle Leal - has accepted an internship and full-time position as an account executive with Planet 102.3, Classic Rock 104.5 and JAKE 107.3 radio stations in Corpus Christi.
Katrina Alejandro - is conintuing her internship with the Nueces County Record*Star in Robstown, Texas.
Juan Carlos Reyes - is continuing his internship with the Nueces County Record*Star in Robstown, Texas.
Jaime Gonzalez -has accepted an internship in sports information with the Corpus Christi Beach Dawgs of the Continental Baseball League.
We wish these students and others who are still searching the best of luck. And, please know, you will always have a home at Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

The irony of graduation

Graduation ceremonies at Texas A&M University-Kingsville were held at the Steinke Physical Education Center Friday, May 16. More than 400 TAMUK students walked the stage. Among them were 14 Communications/Theatre Arts Department graduates who had completed their coursework in journalism, radio-television, speech, theatre arts or communications.
Graduation is an event full of irony and metaphor. It is an end, and yet a beginning. It is a sign of maturity, and yet many of the graduates still have much to learn and some still must continue their march into adulthood. It is a time of celebration, and yet there are tears. Fear, hope and pride are feelings which transfix each graduate as they wait for their name to be called and to be congratulated by TAMUK President Dr. Rumaldo Z. Juarez.
As the moment gets closer, the heart beats faster, the eyes search for loved ones and friends among the thousands seated in the cavernous gymnasium and the stomach feels a little queasy.
Then, the moment is at hand. The name is called. Some rush toward President Juarez as if galloping toward their last meal. Others prance through the stage as if tiptoeing through broken glass. Still others puff out their chest, mainly the young men, and walk proudly toward their destination, knowing that a firm handshake is expected of them at this moment. Some, a few, walk quickly through the ceremony, as if the thought "it's time to get on with my life" is their primary motivation. Some, after receiving their diploma, raise their arms triumphantly over their heads, trophy (diploma) in hand, as the distant cheers of loved ones echo off the SPEC walls. Others give a sigh of relief and walk slowly toward President Juarez, as if trying to stall the impending end of their university education as long as possible.
Some cry. So do some professors.
Seeing young men and young women accomplish their goals is, perhaps, the most satisfying moment for the lecturers and professors in a university. It's bittersweet. As a professor, you hope and pray they are ready. You hope and pray you did as much as possible to teach them well and prepare them for the real world, realizing that each student is different and that there is no magic pill or one style of education to reach all of them. You wish them well. If you can, you look for them a give them a "abrazo" (hug) and shake the hands of their parents, who are swelling with pride and often wiping tears from their eyes. They realize, as many professors do, it's time to let go. . . .
For the Communications Theatre Arts Department, it was time to let go of several talented students. They were:

*Vanessa L. Arellano, San Benito, Texas, Bachelor of Arts (speech/journalism), cum laude
*Patrick William Desmond,San Antonio, Texas, Bachelor of Arts (minor journalism)
*Jacob F. Flores,Bishop, Texas, Bachelor of Arts (communications/journalism)
*Roberta Flores, Dilley, Texas, Bachelor of Arts (journalism), summa cum laude
*Griselda Gonzalez, Kingsville, Texas, Bachelor of Arts (theatre arts)
*Kathryn A. LaGesse, Alice, Texas, Bachelor of Science (educaiton/journalism), cum laude
*Analicia Valdez Martinez, San Antonio, Texas, Bachelor of Arts (radio-television)
*Catherine Skye Myers, Eagle Pass, Texas, Bachelor of Fine Arts (minor journalism)
*Sunnie Ann Odom, Corpus Christi, Texas, Bachelor of Arts (journalism)
*Javier Rene Quintanilla, Premont, Texas, Bachelor of Arts (minor journalism), cum laude
*Rubi A. Reyes, Weslaco, Texas, Bachelor of Arts (journalism)
*Jami Quinn Rash, Childress, Texas, Bachelor of Arts (journalism)
*Christi Rodriguez Lopez, Kingsville, Texas, Bachelor of Arts, (theatre arts)
*Jinelle Veronique Aguilar, Sandia, Texas, Bachelor of Arts, cum laude (theatre arts)




Many of these students were integral parts of our department. Many worked on the student newspaper or broadcast media and others were part of the drama productions. They left their marks on our university and programs. Congratulations. We will miss you.
Graduation is a strange time. It's a time to say goodbye to those who nurtured you during one of the most important periods of your life, as well as a time to say hello to a new and exciting time in your life.
Adios, y que dios los bendiga.