Latinas in Media Brings Hope to Hunter’s Future Careerwomen
By Mary Paz
In a 2006 report released by the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), women were shown to make up 40% of the local news workforce. Hispanics overall constituted only 9.6% of the television workforce and 1.9% of radio news broadcasters. Noticing such a low percentage for the Hispanic population, the Latino Honor Society, a student run organization based here in Hunter College decided to hold the Latinas in Media Event. The event was held April 25, 2006 in Thomas Hunter Hall and was open to the entire Hunter College community.
The Latinas in Media Event consisted of a five person panel, which included journalists, filmmakers, and writers. The panel was moderated by Elisha Miranda, Co-Founder of Sister Outsider Productions, a multimedia production company geared toward an urban audience. Along with another panelist, Sofia Quintero, Miranda is also a founder and Board Director of Chica Luna Productions. Each of the five panelists described their work and the difficulties and discrimination they faced as Latina women.
One journalist, Maria Alvarez from the New York Post, said the only time she would be recruited to write a story, was when a Spanish speaker was needed to communicate with the family. In an interview I conducted with her after the event Alvarez told me “It was hard to speak to the family members while they were still mourning the death of their son who was killed in a drive-by. I felt like I was intruding but I also knew it was my job to cover the story.” She went on to tell me that she stuck by it because she realized it was the only way for her to eventually cover stories that showed another side of the Latino community besides drug abuse and gang violence.
The panel discussion lasted two hours, followed by a short question and answer period. When asked by a student in the audience whether or not they felt pressured to cover Latina/o issues, there was a mixed response among the panelists. Erica Gonzalez, Editor of the Op-Ed page for El Diario newspaper, felt it was important to inform the public about Latino issues, because if they didn’t, no one else would. However, Michelle Herrera Mulligan, author of Border-Line Personalities: A New Generation of Latinas Dish on Sex, Sass, and Cultural Shifting had a different point of view. She believed that they shouldn’t be expected to cover only Latino issues just because they are Latinas. This is why Mulligan has published work in several different genres. The panelists all agreed they felt additional pressure to prove themselves as journalists, capable of covering other subjects.
I spoke to several students after the event in order to get their feedback and opinions. One of the females I spoke to was Monique Rivas, a junior here at Hunter, and she told me “I was really surprised to see how successful these women are in each of their fields. In news broadcasts today you see very few Latinas and it really gave me hope that as a minority I still have a chance of being successful in fields where we’re underrepresented”. Another student Esperanza Urbaez, a senior and journalism major, played a large role in organizing the event. When I spoke with her several days later and she said, “It’s reassuring to see that women like myself can be successful in the media field. In a few months I’ll be looking for a job and it’s nice to see that there are good role models out there doing what I strive to do”. I asked her if she had done any internships during her time here and she told me that she found all her internships on her own. Esperanza said, “Most of my contacts I made through conferences I attended or summer programs I participated in”.
However for those students who are less likely to go out to conferences, the Office of Student Services here at Hunter offers internships in several fields, including journalism. Many students visit the office, located on the 11th floor of the East Building, looking for opportunities to gain experience in their fields. One student I spoke to was Maria Ann Cruz. Currently working in the Accounts Payable Department at Fox News, she shed some light on the experience of past internships. Maria said, “At MTV I was limited to handing out scripts, standing there looking cute, and getting coffee for my superiors. Here at Fox it’s just a little more hands on. Last year they had their own intern pit, and responsibilities tend to vary based on the department. But all in all I’ve enjoyed my time with Fox a lot more”.
For those students looking to find paid jobs, the Career Development Center on the 8th Floor of the East building is a good place to start. It’s important to start gaining experience early and making as many contacts as possible because networking can make a difference. Knowing the right people can often give you the extra edge you need to get that internship or job, no matter what field you are interested in. Summer Journalism Programs are usually geared towards high school students, but major newspapers and television stations offer internship opportunities for college students. Internship information is available through their websites. Students that attended the Latinas in Media Event came away not only with contacts in the print media and filmmaking industry, but with encouragement. Whether you are a female, Latina, Black or all three, the panelist showed that if you fought hard enough for it, there was a place for you in the media field.
