Thread: How do Hispanic journalists see immigration stories?

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/opinion/16255302.htm

Posted on Sun, Dec. 17, 2006

How do Hispanic journalists see immigration stories?

By DAVID SEDEÑo
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Several weeks ago, after a column I wrote about the U.S. and Mexican flags, I received e-mails from irate readers disagreeing with me and my stance that you can pledge your loyalty to the Stars and Stripes and still have respect for another flag.

One Mexican-American said not only was I wrong, but Hispanic journalists are doing a disservice to this country by (in his words) dancing around the phrase "illegal immigrant."

Last week, in a forum sponsored by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Dallas/Fort Worth Network of Hispanic Journalists, journalists discussed their role in the coverage of our communities.

Specifically, we discussed the roles of those who have been reporting on the renters and English-as-the-official-language ordinances in Farmers Branch. We also talked about the raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Swift & Co. meat processing plants earlier in the week that had netted nearly 1,300 people in the use of fraudulent documents and identity theft.

My colleague Bob Ray Sanders served as the moderator and prodded the panelists, most of them Hispanic, on various points such as whether they feel more pressure or responsibility in the coverage of the controversial Farmers Branch ordinances.

Most said "no" to the pressure question, other than to "get it right" and to "be fair."

Some talked about the letters they have received from readers, including "Go back to Mexico" -- a favorite among many readers who believe that, because of a Spanish surname, the reporter cannot be an American.

Another editor shared that in several instances a Hispanic reporter, requesting an interview of Anglo residents in Farmers Branch, was asked to produce a visa before the interviews would be granted. He, of course, declined and sought other interviews.

Yet another said that although being bilingual provides the potential to better report a Farmers Branch story than monolingual colleagues, there's also the concern about being passed over for other, higher-profile stories that have nothing to do with Hispanics or minorities.

In the past three decades, the role of minority journalists has changed -- yet for many, it has stayed the same.

After the civil rights movements of the 1960s and early 1970s, media companies realized that they were not able to tell the true stories of their communities because their staffs were not culturally or linguistically diverse. During the past two decades, numerous media establishments have sought to have their employment demographics more closely reflect those of their communities. The industry has had its ups and downs in that effort.

The role of the Hispanic journalist is perhaps more important now than ever before in a country and a technologically connected global society that is becoming more multicultural, multiracial and multilingual.

So it was no surprise when Sanders asked: "Were the raids [in Cactus, Texas] right or wrong?"

No response, as the crowd pondered the question.

He asked again, and one reporter replied: "I wouldn't be happy if someone stole my identity, but you can't look at it as a black-and-white issue."

The discussion wound through various topics: people coming to the United States illegally to do hard jobs for low pay in order to feed families; American children separated from their parents who faced deportation; a company that may not face prosecution but could be in economic jeopardy because of the loss of vital and cheap labor; elected officials doing what is politically pragmatic in order to placate voters (Democratic or Republican) on their stance on immigration.

Is immigration reform a gray issue that can't be compartmentalized because it's emotional, touching on socioeconomics, politics, fear and bigotry?

Throughout the discussion, my mind kept racing back to an incident 17 years ago when I was working as a journalist in San Diego.

California is a state of opportunity-seeking immigrants, whether they're from Mexico or the Midwest.At the time, a group calling itself "Light Up the Border" frequently went on Dairy Mart Road in southern San Diego County to shine its headlights at the Mexican border in symbolic support of the U.S. Border Patrol.

At one such protest, I asked a white child why he was there. "To stop the dirty Mexicans from coming over here," the child said, looking up at a grandfather who was smiling, pleased with the response.

I went to the other side of the road to ask the same question of a young Hispanic girl, who said: "This land was ours and was taken from us by the white people, and we have to fight for justice."

Their responses, influenced by their upbringing, illustrate nonetheless that the immigration debate and resolution lie somewhere in the middle.

Sorting through the semantics of immigration is a complex exercise, and for many Hispanic journalists reporting that story, the issue is not always black or white.


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David Sedeño is publisher of Diario La Estrella and a member of the Star-Telegram's Editorial Board. dsedeno@star-telegram.com 817-390-7322

At one such protest, I asked a white child why he was there. "To stop the dirty Mexicans from coming over here," the child said, looking up at a grandfather who was smiling, pleased with the response.

I went to the other side of the road to ask the same question of a young Hispanic girl, who said: "This land was ours and was taken from us by the white people, and we have to fight for justice."

Their responses, influenced by their upbringing, illustrate nonetheless that the immigration debate and resolution lie somewhere in the middle.

The Americans on their side are racist while the ones on the other side
are noble fighters for justice & human rights!!! This guys shows his colors
at the end, but he had me going.