The Building Bridges conference held Friday, July 6 at the UNM Science and Technology Park was attended by a small, but diverse group of people. Community organizers, student activists, freelancers, radio and print journalists shared their thoughts and experiences about covering immigrant and largely Hispanic/Latino communities.
Watch for videos, audio and a Power Point presentation by presenters to be posted here on SPJ-Rio Grande in the next few days.
Richard Montenegro Brown
Richard Montenegro Brown, editor of the Imperial Valley Press, opened the conference with a presentation on how his paper, which covers five border towns and a population of 177,000 with only five reporters, tackled a series titled “What’s in a Name,” within which the paper tried to help readers understand the diversity of the Latino/Latina community. We’ll post his entire Power Point presentation soon.
The second panel included UNM students and community organizers Cindy Nava and Alejandro Mendiaz and UNM professor Francisco J. Ronquillo. Here were a few of their suggestions for the media to work with and be valuable to immigrant/minority/low income communities:
1. Put a lot of practical information in the newspaper and on the web with stories – resources, contact information, places for further assistance.
2. Put information in both Spanish and English if the community is largely Hispanic/Latino.
3. Look at who is on your staff and who you are sending into those communities. Can they speak the language? Can the people in the community identify with/be comfortable with the reporter?
4. Tap into “cultural brokers” in the communities – people who are the de facto leaders and influential people. They may not necessarily be the elected officials.
5. Strive to translate complex policy issues or stories affecting the community into the kind of language they will understand.
6. Look for stories about what Ronquillo called the “social determinants,” the things that lead to the problems in a community. Ronquillo has identified four primary concerns for the communities in Albuquerque: teen pregnancy, diabetes, obesity and lack of access to health care.
7. All three said the communities they work in are scared to talk to the media because they think reporters won’t want to talk to them. Nava suggested media send representatives to teach community groups how to work with the media.
8. Broaden sources beyond talking heads, CEOS and political figures. Build resource lists of students, parents, community activists, blue collar workers, etc.
9. Preview events when possible. That helps the smaller community nonprofits get people to their events and educate them.
10 Avoid just talking to people on the far left or far right. Find people in the middle on issues.
Henry Lopez of Lopez Web Works (and aka Guerilla Editor) gave an information-packed panel on social media and free tools and was followed by Russell Contreras, AP reporter in Albuquerque. Contreras had this advice for reporters venturing into new towns:
1. Drive around the town and get to know it well, geographically and socially. “See how it dresses, what it feels like, what it smells like,” he advised.
2. Look at FBI crime stats, school stats, important issues facing the town. Data and numbers tell stories. He mentioned one town he covered on the border of New Hampshire and Massachusetts – a dangerous town, he was told, because it was largely Hispanic. He looked at crime stats and found there had been no murders in the town for almost two years. A story waiting to be told.
4. He recommended audio taping short feature type interviews using iProRecorder and broadcast posting them through the website, Audioboo.
Gustavo Arellano enjoys local fare after the Building Bridges conference. Photo by Timothy Roberts.
Keynote speaker Gustavo Arellano, editor of OC Weekly and the brains behind the column “Ask a Mexican” ended the day. He advocated for reporters to stop being so politically correct and to go after everyone, regardless of political affiliation, if they’re not above board.
He also advocated for people to get involved documenting their communities as they see them. “You can’t get reporters to do it,” he said.