Have Black Journalists Overcome?

GM Woos Hispanic Journalists at Detroit HQ

"A dozen Hispanic reporters and media representatives gathered in Detroit Aug. 15-17 to meet some of the individuals behind the company's customer-driven culture, part of a 2½-day program designed to expose them to GM's global and regional priorities," General Motors announced last week.

"'Hispanic journalists play a critical role in how our company is perceived,' said Grace Lieblein, GM vice president Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, and the summit's executive sponsor. 'We want them to get to know the new GM and give them the information they need about our company, our products, and our focus on Latinos.'

"Hispanics buy one out of every four cars sold in the United States today. According to RL Polk & Co., auto sales to Hispanic consumers increased 27 percent in 2012, effectively doubling the growth rate of the rest of the U.S. auto market. With this in mind, GM has been increasing its outreach to Hispanics with a portfolio of vehicles that responds to their needs and active lifestyles. . . ."

The guests were Jaime Florez, host, Ruedas ESPN Deportes Radio; Al Vazquez, editor and publisher Automotive, FAMA Magazine; Francisco Cortes, director, Fox News Latino; Jesús Chavarria, editor and publisher, HispanicBusiness.com; Maria Ballesteros-Coronel, national content editor, La Opinión; Robert Bard, president & CEO, Latina Style magazine; David Quinones, assistant managing editor, PODER magazine; Jaime Gabaldoni, Terra USA; Ligia De Uriarte, host, Univision; Maria Morales Salazar, producer/editor, Univision Chicago; Carlos Zapata, news anchor, Univision/Azteca America Southwest Florida.

Toyota Motor North America, Inc., announced Monday that it will become the "title sponsor" of all regional conferences of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists next year and the "title sponsor" of its 2014 national conference in San Antonio, Texas, after pledging $100,000 in seed money to the group if it staged the national event in the city where Toyota has a major manufacturing plant.

• Pew Research Hispanic Trends Project: Mapping the Nation's Latino Population: by State, County and City
  
  
• Doris Truong, Unity, Journalists for Diversity: UNITY Applauds Alliance Partners' Convention Success, Looks Toward 2016
  
  
• Julio Ricardo Varela, NBCLatino: NAHJ political snafu proves Latinos need to start working together
  
  
• Julio "Julito" Ricardo Varela, Latino Rebels: The Latest and (Hopefully the Last) Update on NAHJ Political Speaker Panel Fiasco
  
  
• Veronica Villafañe, TVNewsCheck: Plenty of RTDNA No-Shows At EIJ2013

Al Jazeera America Draws Fraction of Potential Audience

"Despite hundreds of millions invested by the government of Qatar, Al Jazeera America drew only a tiny fraction of its total audience reach in the first few days of the Aug. 20 launch, preliminary data show,"Roger Yu reported Wednesday for USA Today.

"The highest rated show for AJAM — 'Real Money with Ali Velshi' on the evening of Aug. 22 — drew 54,000 viewers, according to data from Nielsen that were obtained by TVNewser, an industry news site. . . ."

• Lawrence Pintak, Columbia Journalism Review: Al Jazeera America: Think NPR with pictures (and a little baggage)
  
  
• Reporters Without Borders: Al-Jazeera's Egyptian TV Station Banned, Premises Raided
  
  
• Alex Weprin, TVNewser: Al Jazeera Journalists Detained In Egypt, Ban Considered