FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 2, 2021
NAHJ Addresses Departure of Two Prominent Latina Journalists from Major U.S. Markets
Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is disappointed at the recent departures of two high profile Latina broadcast journalists: Isis Romero, an anchor at KSAT-TV in San Antonio, and Tanzina Vega, a radio show host on WNYC in New York.
The onus is now on WNYC and KSAT to maintain standards of inclusivity as they work to fill these positions with journalists who should reflect our increasingly diverse country. Both situations involve journalists with significant roles in major markets whose voice and work impacted and served the needs of growing Latino communities.
As The Takeaway’s first Latina host, Vega played a prominent role in premier WNYC programming that informed listeners within the Latinx community.
Romero led the No. 1 newscast in the San Antonio market, a city that is predominantly Latino and where this representation is noticeably absent on newscasts.
In late May, NAHJ issued a statement calling on San Antonio TV news managers to create more inclusive anchor teams that reflect the majority-Latino demographics of San Antonio. After surveying KSAT-TV, KENS-TV, WOAI-TV and KABB-TV, the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists found Latinos represent just 25% of all anchors. However, in San Antonio, Latinos make up nearly 65% of the population, according to the U.S. Census.
NAHJ calls on Graham Media Group and New York Public Radio to replace these two influential women with equally talented Latinx journalists.
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About the NAHJ
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is the largest organization of Latino journalists in the United States and dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanics in the news industry. The mission of NAHJ is to increase the number of Latinos in the newsrooms and to work toward fair and accurate representation of Latinos in the news media. Established in April 1984, NAHJ created a national voice and unified vision for all Hispanic journalists. NAHJ has over 4,300 members, including working journalists, journalism students, other media-related professionals, and journalism educators. For more information please visit NAHJ.org or follow on Twitter @NAHJ.
Media Contact:
BA Snyder
Veritas Group for NAHJ
512.630.6337
BA@TheVeritasWay.com