NAHJ Members,

The percentage of Hispanics in U.S. newsrooms dropped from 4.63 percent in 2010 to 4.54 in 2011, according to the American Society of News Editors annual newsroom diversity survey.

You can be part of the effort to make those numbers improve by taking a leadership role among Latino journalists and providing training, networking and other opportunities as a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists DC chapter board.

The following officer positions are open for the NAHJ DC Chapter: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and At-Large. Anyone running for the chapter’s executive board must be a regular member of NAHJ and must have paid dues to NAHJ for this year and continue to pay while serving.

Nominations are due at the close of business Friday, June 10th. To nominate someone send an email to nahjdc@gmail.com with the following:

I ( STATE YOUR NAME ), of ( EMPLOYER OR FREELANCE )
nominate_________________ for (position) ___________________ in the 2011 election of the NAHJ DC Chapter Board of Directors. This
statement counts as my virtual signature and I have included my full contact information below.

Suzanne Gamboa will chair the elections committee. She will verify nominees’ eligibility and collect their information for the ballot.

Members who have paid their annual dues this year will have two weeks to cast their ballot.

Voting will begin Monday, July, 11th and end Friday, July 22nd.

Sincerely,
Brandon Benavides
Chapter President

Chapter Mission Statement:
Support the hiring, promotion and retention of Latino journalists in the news gathering and storytelling process, from entry-level to decision-making positions; and ensure the Latino community is fairly and accurately covered by media organizations in the D.C. metropolitan area.

Objetivos de la organización
Apoyar la contratación, promoción y la permanencia de periodistas hispanos en todo el proceso de recolección y diseminación de noticias desde el nivel principiante hasta las posiciones de gerencia dentro de todas las organizaciones de noticias; Además, asegurar que la comunidad latina sea representada por los medios de comunicación en el área metropolitana de Washington, D.C. de una manera concisa y acertada.

Click here for Chapter By-Laws http://nahjdc.org/about/

By Suzanne Gamboa

Did you miss NAHJ-DC’s May 21 resume workshop?

If you had been there you already would be following the advice in the headline of this posting.

Thanks to the free presentations organized by the NAHJ-DC chapter, Jill Olmsted, American University’s
Journalism Division Director
and Felicia Parks, AU Career Center director of American University, advised professional and student journalists to always provide their resume in PDF format.

Why think PDF when writing a resume?

Everyone can read a PDF. Your resume will appear as you designed it. Sometimes a resume design will change because the reader has different programs in the margin. Or, a potential employer may not be able to open a Word format at all. If you make it available as a Google Document, the employer may not be looking at the most up-to-date version, Olmsted and Parks said.

Even when your resume is online in a great looking web site you’ve built yourself, you should have a link or button that automatically turns your resume into a PDF. You never know when that potential employer wants to print out a version to read while on the way to a news meeting or while taking a quick coffee break. Make it easy for potential employers, so they don’t end up with a page full of all the other stuff on your web site, distracting from all the great things you’ve put on your resume to show you are the candidate to hire.

That was just a sampling of the sage advice handed out at the workshop. Because of the small group at the May 21 workshop, some attendees got personal reviews of their resumes and clips, as well as advice on how to polish them. NAHJ-DC provided the workshop free, but asked for $10 donation from those who wanted to see the chapter do more such training. Considering some of the one-on-one training that was provided, it was a bargain! Olmsted and Parks did not charge for the free time they gave to NAHJ-DC on a Saturday.

Other advice given:

_ If you don’t have an online resume you are dead (in the job market), according to Olmsted.
_ Check out the writing a resume or cover letter tutorials at MediaBistro.com
_ Be sure to put keywords particular to the job you are applying for on your resume because some resumes are first read by computers and search for keywords from the job descriptions.

The News Literacy Project www.thenewsliteracyproject.org is looking for mentors to help 8th grade students at the E.L. Haynes Public Charter School in the District starting in September. Haynes will be the third NLP partner in the region; the first two, both in Bethesda, Md., are Walt Whitman High School and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High.

Below is a description of the program.
Sincerely,
Brandon Benavides
Chapter President

The project is an innovative national program that is mobilizing journalists to give students an appreciation of quality journalism and to encourage them to consume and create credible information across all platforms.

The project is helping students learn how to distinguish verified information from unfiltered messages, opinion, advertising and propaganda — whether they are searching for websites with Google, assessing a viral e-mail, watching television news or reading a
newspaper.

You can see the project in action through a video on its YouTube channel at:
http://www.thenewsliteracyproject.org/blog/news_literacy_project_video_on_youtube/ NLP is headed by Alan Miller, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former investigative reporter with the Los Angeles Times. Twenty news organizations, including Univision, and more than 175 journalists are enrolled as participants.

Soledad O’Brien was a member of NLP’s founding board and was featured at the project’s initial kickoff event. David Gonzalez and Fernanda Santos of The New York Times, Fernando Diaz of the Chicago Tribune and Irene Tosdado of Univision have participated in the classroom program.

To learn more, visit the NLP website at: www.thenewsliteracyproject.org.
If you have questions to submit or want to become involved, you can do
so at:info@thenewsliteracyproject.org

Come review how to prepare media resumes and cover letters. The first 3 people registered will get a personal consultation by sending in their materials by Wed. May 18. American University Journalism Director Jill Olmsted and the university Career Center will showcase the examples at the workshop so that everyone can learn from the examples. Resume reels can also be critiqued, format online, DVD or VHS.

Register by emailing your name and contact information to nahjdc@gmail.com. Donations will benefit the NAHJ DC Chapter fund.

Resume Workshop
Date: Sat. May 21, 2011
Time: 10:00a.m

Freidheim Lab, Rm 331 3rd floor, Mary Graydon Center
American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016

FREE Parking in the Nebraska Avenue parking lot on weekends
Metro Station: Tenleytown-AU on the red line; take the shuttle bus to campus

Join the NAHJ DC Chapter Membership Meeting
When: April 12 at 7pm
Where: CBS News Bureau (2020 M Street NW Washington, DC 20036)
Speaker: CBS News Speaker-Jim McGlinchy, Deputy Bureau Chief
Metro Stops: Dupont Circle or Farragut North on the Redline
YOU MUST RSVP by emailing nahjdc@gmail.com to get through security

AGENDA
Introduction
Membership Update- Rosalba Ruiz
Account Update- Marisol Bello
Resume Workshop
American University
Date: TBD
Multimedia Convention & Career Expo
Walt Disney World
Orlando, Florida
June 15-18, 2011

Now we know why NAHJ Member Marisol Bello could not make it to our
membership meeting at USA Today. Check out her investigation that launched a probe in DC Public Schools. (Share your success story by emailing: nahjdc@gmail.com)

When standardized test scores soared in D.C., were the gains real?
By Jack Gillum and Marisol Bello, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-03-28-1Aschooltesting28_CV_N.htm
D.C. to dig deeper on test score irregularities
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-03-30-1Aschooltesting30_ST_N.htm

NAHJers,

Since we can’t meet at USA Today, let’s have a cocktail at Bus Boys and
Poets on 5th and K Norhtwest. I reserved a table at 6:30 pm. This is
informal and should be fun.

Bus Boys and Poets
1025 5th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

It’s a couple of blocks from Gallery Place/China Town on the red line
or the convention center stop on the yellow line.

Let me know if you plan to stop by.

Sincerely,

Brandon Benavides
President, DC Chapter

——

THIS USA TODAY EVENT will be rescheduled to a later date
NAHJ-DC Membership Meeting
Congressional and Immigration writer Alan Gomez and Political Blogger
Cat Camia, both from USA Today, will be on hand.
WHERE: USA Today Washington Bureau
1100 New York Avenue, NW—2nd Floor
Washington, DC 20005

METRO: Metro Center Stop on the Red, Blue, Orange Lines

NAHJ lifetime member and Hall of Fame member Ray Suarez was on hand for the January 11 membership drive at the National Press Club.

The NAHJ DC Chapter is offering convention assistance to paid members who need a little financial help. The chapter will pay for one professional early-bird registration fee valued at $325 and one student fee valued at $150.

The 29th Annual NAHJ Multimedia Convention & Career Expo is June 15-18, 2011 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

Write a one page essay describing your situation and what you hope to gain from the convention (i.e., training, job hunting, networking, etc..). Include your name and contact information. Email your submission to nahjdc@gmail.com.

You must be a paid member of NAHJ to qualify. The deadline to apply is Friday, February 18, 2011.

NAHJ-DC Chapter Membership Drive with special guest Ray Suarez from PBS Newshour
Time: 7 PM – 9 PM
Location: McClendon Room at the National Press Club. (It’s on the 13th floor upstairs behind the bar.)
Address: 529 14th St. NW,  Washington, DC
Cash bar

Come network with top journalists in the Washington area. NAHJ Lifetime member and Hall of Famer Ray Suarez will be on hand. Bring a friend and renew your NAHJ membership online. The full membership dues will go to the national fund. http://nahjdc.org/

SPECIAL RAFFLES AVAILABLE AT THE MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
National Convention Registration
Winner must register by the early bird registration date and be a paid NAHJ member.
Raffle ticket cost $25

Walt Disney Gift Basket
The Disney Basket contains: a picnic basket, hat, two Mickey toys,
picture frame, mug, wooden animal toys, and a Mickey watch.
Raffle ticket cost $25

 

FROM PBS NEWSHOUR
Ray Suarez joined The NewsHour in October 1999 as a Washington-based Senior Correspondent.

Suarez has more than thirty years of varied experience in the news business. He came to The NewsHour from National Public Radio where he had been host of the nationwide, call-in news program “Talk of the Nation” since 1993. Prior to that, he spent seven years covering local, national, and international stories for the NBC-owned station, WMAQ-TV in Chicago.

He is the author most recently of a book examining the tightening relationship between religion and politics in America, The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith in America.  Suarez also  wrote The Old Neighborhood: What We Lost in the Great Suburban Migration  (Free Press), and has contributed to several other books, including What We See  (New Village Press, 2010), How I Learned English (National Geographic, 2007), Brooklyn: A State of Mind (Workman, 2001), Local Heroes (Norton, 2000), Saving America’s Treasures (National Geographic, 2000),  and Las Christmas (Knopf, 1998).  Suarez currently hosts the monthly radio program “America Abroad” for Public Radio International, and the weekly politics program “Destination Casa Blanca” for Hispanic Information Telecommunications Network, HITN TV.

—

Antoine Sanfuentes Named NBC News Washington Bureau Chief
NBC News promoted Antonio Sanfuentes to Washington Bureau Chief. Sanfuentes spoke to members of the NAHJ DC Chapter last Fall at our first membership meeting at NBC studios in Northwest Washington.

More from the NBC Release
NEW YORK, NY— January 28, 2011— NBC News President Steve Capus announced today that Antoine Sanfuentes will be the next NBC News Washington Bureau Chief, effective February 7, 2011. Sanfuentes replaces Mark Whitaker, who held the position since July 2008. Most recently, Sanfuentes served as the Deputy Washington Bureau Chief for NBC News and NBC News Vice President.

In his new position, Sanfuentes will report to NBC News President Steve Capus, and his daily responsibilities will include the oversight of all bureau management, administration and editorial affairs, working closely with NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd and NBC News executives including Alexandra Wallace and David Verdi. In addition, Sanfuentes will have executive oversight of “Meet the Press.”

“Antoine’s inclusive management style combined with his expert knowledge and experience make him the ideal leader to guide the Washington Bureau into the next phase,” said NBC News President Steve Capus. “He is a true news producer through and through, with an outstanding dedication to integrity and professionalism in the field. He started his career in our DC newsroom and knows both the team and the political beat better than anyone.”

Sanfuentes built his career at NBC News, starting out as an intern for NBC News station WRC while at American University. Sanfuentes graduated in 1989, and in 1990 he became a desk assistant at the NBC News Washington Bureau. In 1995, he became a White House producer, then Senior White House producer— covering the White House for thirteen years. Over his time at NBC News, Sanfuentes has also produced notable coverage from across Africa alongside Ann Curry, including reports from Darfur, the eastern Congo and an historic interview with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.