WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On this 40th anniversary of the slaying of the pioneer namesake of the organization's scholarship fund, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists awarded $71,000 in new scholarships this fall to 26 students pursing a career in journalism.
The scholarships are made possible through individual, corporate and foundation donations to the Ruben Salazar Scholarship Fund, named in honor of the prominent Latino print and broadcast journalist killed 40 years ago Sunday by a tear gas projectile a Los Angeles sheriff's deputy shot into a bar. Salazar had entered the East Los Angeles bar following his coverage of a Chicano anti-Vietnam War demonstration. Click here for NAHJ's tribute to Ruben Salazar, http://www.nahj.org/2010/08/ruben-salazar-tribute/.
With this year's awards, NAHJ has given out a total of more than $1.6 million in financial aid to about 600 aspiring journalists since the scholarship fund began operating in 1987.
"During these tough economic times, scholarships like these are needed even more and NAHJ is glad to be able to help these students reach their dreams," said Ivan Roman, NAHJ's Executive Director. "The significant hardships many of them are enduring to become journalists show that they are committed to giving a voice to our people, and to improving media coverage of the Latino community. We need more voices like theirs to join ours."
The scholarships are part of NAHJ's educational and professional development programs, which include annual conventions, student media projects, journalism workshops, multimedia training, an online career center and much more. Through these programs, NAHJ seeks to boost the number of Latinos in newsrooms and to create a path toward achieving more fair and accurate coverage of the Hispanic community.
NAHJ is also able to offer these scholarships in 2010 thanks to generous personal donations from Maria Elena Salinas, co-anchor of Noticiero Univision and syndicated columnist, Geraldo Rivera, senior correspondent for Fox News Channel, and new donations this year from CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien, and Mike and Maggie Rodriguez, who is co-anchor of CBS' The Early Show. This year's scholarships are also possible thanks to grants and donations from the Ford Motor Company Fund, the Gannett Foundation, CNN, Univision, and many members and friends of NAHJ.
Despite the economic downturn, NAHJ remains committed to continuing its support of the next generation of Latino storytellers. NAHJ's Denver Challenge fundraising campaign seeks to raise funds to bolster its educational and professional development programs in this changing news media landscape. For more information on the campaign or to donate, click here.
Click here for a list of 2010 NAHJ Scholars, http://www.nahj.org/2010/08/nahj-awards-71k-in-scholarships-in-2010
Founded in 1984, NAHJ's mission is to increase the percentage of Latinos working in our nation's newsrooms and to improve news coverage of the Latino community. NAHJ is the nation's largest professional organization for Latino journalists with more than 1,400 members working in English and Spanish-language print, photo, broadcast and online media. NAHJ is a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization. For more information, visit www.nahj.org.