The National Association of Hispanic Journalists annual conference last month was a celebration of the progress that Latinos have made in the news industry in the 40 years since the organization was founded, a reminder of how much remains to be done for newsrooms to fully reflect the communities they serve, and long days of skill-building and networking to help Latino journalists be the change they want to see.
A total of 1,840 journalists, media executives and exhibitors attended the NAHJ 40th Anniversary Conference and Expo in Hollywood, CA, the second highest attendance in the organization’s history. Founding members – who created NAHJ in 1984 with the support of the California Chicano News Media Association – drew standing ovations when they took the stage at key moments during the conference.
NAHJ members elected new National Board members, including Telemundo LA news anchor Dunia Elvir as president, and ratified new bylaws that expanded enfranchisement and broadened membership categories.Â
The progress of Latino journalists was reflected throughout the conference, though most attendees weren’t born when the 1970 killing of crusading journalist Ruben Salazar by an LA County Sheriff’s deputy sparked the movement that created NAHJ. It took another decade before the LA Times took a deep look at its expanding Latino population in a series that won a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1980. Los Angeles City Council officials acknowledged the organization’s rich history and strides towards equity during the opening ceremony.
This year, two NAHJ members who shared a 2024 Pulitzer Prize, Arelis Hernandez and Silvia Foster-Frau of the Washington Post, were on a panel to recount their experience. Hall of Fame inductees included Emmy-winning ABC News correspondent John Quiñones, who grew up as a farmworker, and Ingrid Ciprián-Matthews, who was born in the Dominican Republic and became the first Latina president of CBS News.
The 2024 Ă‘ Awards also spotlighted Latino excellence in journalism, including stories that would have gone untold without the cultural competence NAHJ members bring to their work.
While Latinos have made remarkable strides, NAHJ’s mission is far from done. Latinos are still underrepresented in newsrooms, especially at the senior management level, at a time when Hispanics represent close to 15% of eligible voters and 19% of the population. Journalists of color hired in the past few years have been disproportionately affected by recent newsroom layoffs.
The conference reflected the range of support that NAHJ provides its members to ensure they are the best qualified applicants for any journalism opportunity. The highlight was the Latina Leadership Program graduation, a celebration of 10 rising journalism stars who were the first cohort of NAHJ’s new Adelante Academy. It also offered more than 90 workshops, hands-on training sessions, and mainstage panels.
Several sessions were on working with AI tools, others on working with multimedia tools, and others on election coverage. On the main stage, panelists discussed everything from book bans to the myth of the monolithic Hispanic vote.
The conference opened with a public town hall on empowering Hispanic voters as AI amplifies misinformation after a day of training sessions on environmental journalism, data journalism and freedom of information that was open to all journalists, not just conference attendees, and free to students.
NAHJ does not just provide professional development; it’s also an advocate for diverse newsrooms and full and accurate coverage of communities of color. In that spirit, members did their own advocacy, printing t-shirts with “periodista” on the front and #MoreLatinosInNews on the back, and shared photographs of themselves wearing them on social media, with messages advocating for Latinos in journalism.
NAHJ’s 40th anniversary conference received unprecedented support. NBCUniversal was the presenting sponsor, while ABC News/ESPN is sponsoring the anniversary year celebration. And for the first time, a local Honorary Host Committee came together to provide vital connections and advice. Sponsorships combined with member support pushed NAHJ’s $250,000 40th anniversary fundraising campaign past the half-way mark. Meanwhile a silent auction raised $10,000 for NAHJ’s Ruben Salazar Scholarship Fund.
We look forwarding to continuing to advance our mission during next year’s #NAHJ2025 conference, which is tentatively set for July 8-12, 2025, at the Hilton Chicago.
View the full 2024 conference photo gallery here.
###
About the National Association of Hispanic Journalists
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is the largest organization of Latino journalists in the United States and is dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanics in the news industry. Established in April 1984, NAHJ created a national voice and unified vision for all Hispanic journalists. 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 news media. NAHJ has more than 3,600 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.
Press contact: Andrew Sherry, asherry@nahj.org, (305) 954-7571