March 7, 2006

Cronkite School evaluates nation's coverage of Latino issues

National Association of Hispanic Journalists selects Cronkite professor for research project

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University is conducting an in-depth analysis of news reporting on Latino issues in leading U.S. news magazines.

After a nationwide search for mass communication researchers, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), the nation's leading organization for Latino journalists, selected the Cronkite School and Assistant Professor Dina Gavrilos to lead the project.

"Since my academic research focuses on news media coverage of minorities, it was a natural fit," says Gavrilos, who, among many, submitted a proposal to NAHJ and was awarded the project in early 2006.

With a team of graduate assistants, Gavrilos will analyze all 2005 issues of Newsweek , Time and U.S. News and World Report to explore news trends and portrayals of Latinos and Latino-related issues by these magazines. The study's results will be unveiled during NAHJ's 24 th annual convention from June 14 - 17 in Fort Lauderdale , Fla.

"These three news magazines help shape the national news agenda every week and we believe it is important to evaluate their coverage of Latinos," says Iván Román, executive director of NAHJ.

In 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that Latinos were the largest minority group in the U.S. , with a population of 41 million and the highest birth rate in the country. According to Gavrilos, it is important to assess how the Latino community is portrayed by mainstream news media as Latinos are an increasingly influential group in all aspects of American society.

"Most news media either highlight super-achieving Latinos/as in high-profile professions, or examine the poor, illegal Mexican migrants. Yet, the majority of Latinos do not fall into either camp. A Latino is not often portrayed as an interwoven, interconnected natural part of everyday life," explains Gavrilos.

The NAHJ study is the latest Cronkite School initiative related to Latinos and journalism. This spring, advanced photojournalism students will travel to Mexico to produce an in-depth photo essay of the children of the borderlands region.

"This is just the kind of research that journalism schools and journalism educators should be conducting in order to help improve news reporting," says Cronkite Dean Christopher Callahan. "We're participating in this study with the ultimate goal of making this country's news products truly reflective of our diverse nation."

Callahan adds that Latinos and issues related to Latino communities are poorly covered by today's media, and the Cronkite School hopes to improve that coverage nationally through its research, curriculum and professional programs.

NAHJ is the largest association for Hispanic journalists in the country with more than 2,000 members. Founded in 1984, the mission of NAHJ is to increase the number of Latino journalists working in the nation's newsrooms and to improve the media's coverage of the Latino community. For more information, go to www.nahj.org .

ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication is a nationally accredited school that focuses on professional journalism education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Cronkite School , which was named in honor of longtime CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite in 1984, has finished in the top 10 of the highly competitive Hearst intercollegiate journalism awards for the past four years.