NHMC in the News
NHMC TV Writers Program
2016 Summer Olympics Recap
D.C. Policy Shop Update
NHMC is Hiring!
"ZOOT SUIT" Casting Call
The International Conference on Hispanic/Latino Media and Marketing
The State of Newsroom Diversity
Elena Joins With the Girl Scouts!
NHMC in the News
NHMC TV Writers Program
NHMC is proud to announce the following exciting updates from our TV Writers Program graduates who are doing great work in the industry:
Jorge Ramirez-Martinez recently got staffed on NBC's new show The Blacklist: Redemption.
Sabrina Almeida, who is currently writing freelance episodes for an animated kids television show,
Invention Story (airs in China and Italy), was accepted into NALIP's 2016 Latino Lens U.S TV Hispanic Drama Series Incubator.
Zach Cannon is a script coordinator on ABC's
Notorious.
Ariella Blejer is currently an Executive Story Editor on a new HBO show,
Sharp Objects.
Janine Salinas Schoenberg has joined on to ABC's
American Crime as a staff writer.
Congratulations everyone!
The application period closed August 7th for this year's NHMC TV Writers Program. For the first time ever, we had our very own countdown leading up to the deadline for submissions on our
Twitter and
Instagram page. We want to thank everyone who helped contribute to our countdown! To view the Tweets, photos, and videos that were sent out during our countdown,
click here.
An announcement will be made early September of the ten participants for this year's NHMC TV Writers Program.
2016 Summer Olympics Recap
This month, after much anticipation, Rio hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics. This year, our Olympians broke records and the amount of
diversity truly represents what makes this country great. Here are the stories of three Latina Olympic champions who we wish we would've seen more of:
At only 16 years old, Puerto Rican American gymnast Laurie Hernandez is only the second Latina from the USA ever to compete in gymnastics at the Olympics. She brought home a gold medal in the team competition and a silver medal for her beam routine. According to a recent
Guardian piece, "Watching her while on the beam is like witnessing a chess grandmaster at work and nothing, not even the cheering from fans, seems to distract her." It was just announced that she will be joining the new season of
Dancing With the Stars!
[caption id="attachment_9436" align="alignleft" width="163"]
Photo credit:
@roblympian[/caption]
Mexican American weightlifter Sarah Robles brought home the bronze medal for weightlifting 160 kg. This fierce Latina won the USA's first medal in
weightlifting in 16 years! The San Diego native hopes to
inspire young Latinos to aspire to be Olympians.
[caption id="attachment_9437" align="alignright" width="230"]
Photo credit:
@MayaDiRado[/caption]
Maya Dirado, an Argentinian American Stanford alumna, finished the Olympics with two gold, one silver, and one bronze medal for the US Olympics swim team. This was Dirado's first Olympics ever and possibly her last. Following the Olympics, she's starting her new job as a business analyst for the Atlanta-based consulting firm, McKinsey and Co.
D.C. Policy Shop Update
NHMC Urges FCC to Address Media Ownership Diversity
Leading up to the FCC's August 25th decision, NHMC urged the agency to retain media ownership limits as a way to defend against media consolidation, which makes it more difficult for Latino media owners to enter and compete in the market. NHMC joined a
letter supporting the FCC's decision to retain existing media ownership rules, and asking the FCC to consider strategies to increase ownership diversity. In the letter the groups emphasized that "media ownership rules safeguard competition, localism and diversity in that medium," and noted that "the Commission has done nothing of consequence to further policies that would increase ownership by women and people of color - in particular, conducting not a single study that would justify rules to increase ownership diversity."
NHMC also
praised the efforts of a student leader at Howard University, who
petitioned the FCC to support current and future media owners of color. The petition asked the FCC to maintain ownership diversity rules but also to significantly improve the process for collecting and disseminating ownership data to the public. Timely data is an important first step for the public to better understand the media ownership landscape and therefore what must be done to increase ownership levels for women and minorities.
In addition, NHMC's Jessica J. González was featured on a Washington Tech Policy
Podcast to discuss how to promote counter narratives to hate speech and the connection between media consolidation and hate speech in media.
NHMC Fights For Retention of Broadcasters' "Correspondence File" Requirement
In August, NHMC fought to preserve the FCC requirement that broadcasters maintain and make publicly available a correspondence folder at their stations. Correspondence folders contain letters and emails from the public to the stations, and have proved to be useful tools for community organizing against stations that engage in racism and otherwise fail to serve local communities across the country. NHMC filed
comments and
reply comments, and six other national organizations signed onto its reply comments, including AFL-CIO, Communications Workers of America, the Center for Media Justice, Common Cause, Free Press, and Public Knowledge. NHMC and other public interest organizations hope that the FCC preserves this vital resource as it continues to serve the public interest and allows the public a means to hold their local broadcasters accountable to their communities.
NHMC Continues Efforts to Bring Broadband to More Latinos
Earlier this month, NHMC Policy Associate Andy Lomeli joined Cheryl A. Leanza of A Learned Hand Consulting and Olivia Wein of the National Consumer Law Center in a
webinar hosted by the National Consumer Law Center. The webinar provided an in-depth look at how the FCC's recent Lifeline modernization order will help more Americans get online and stay connected with family members, economic opportunities, government resources, and educational endeavors. Andy's presentation focused on the current levels of broadband adoption and the homework gap. To access the full presentation and recording click
here.
NHMC Joins Comment on NYPD's Body Worn Camera Policy
On August 5th, NHMC joined The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and Upturn in signing a
comment on the NYPD's Body Worn Camera Policy. The comment addressed improvements that need to be made to NYPD's policy on body worn cameras and attaches a score card that illustrates how NYPD's policy fares against civil rights criteria and compares it to other major cities. A few of the suggested improvements to the policy include: that the policy be made available on NYPD's own website, that officers complete written reports prior to viewing footage, and that individuals alleging police misconduct have access to relevant footage during the complaint process.
NHMC is Hiring!
Join the fight for responsible and inclusive media!
NHMC Policy Fellowship Program - Spring 2017
Are you a current student who is looking for a paid internship? NHMC is looking to hire one student for its
Univision Policy Fellowship Program for the spring 2017 semester. The application deadline is October 31st. Depending on availability, fellows will have a chance to visit and network with execs at Univision. Students do not need to be located in the Washington, DC or Los Angeles, CA area to apply and participate.
Email your resume, cover letter, and writing sample to brivas@www.nhmc.org.
Spring 2017 Consideration Deadline: October 31
Include "Spring 2017 Policy Fellowship" in the email subject line.
For additional information, click here.
"ZOOT SUIT" Casting Call
The 40th anniversary of "ZOOT SUIT" will be presented at the Mark Taper Forum in January 2017.
A revival of this historic piece based on the real life Zoot Suit Riots and Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial is being produced by the Center Theatre Group and El Teatro Campesino and will be directed by the legendary Luis Valdez.
For the character breakdown and actor requirements,
click here.
Please submit a headshot and resume and include contact information (any representation, email, or phone number) to:
zootcasting@gmail.com no later than October 1st.
The International Conference on Hispanic/Latino Media and Marketing
The International Conference on Hispanic/Latino Media and Marketing is the largest convergence of academics, media professionals, and students from universities in Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States, welcoming approximately 150 attendees each year and growing. This year the conference will take place at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) on February 16-18. Top scholars and professionals in Latino media, communications, and marketing will share insight on reaching out and connecting with the nation's and region's largest growing demographic group. The call for papers and panel proposals can be found
here.
The deadline for submissions is September 15, 2016. For more information, please contact Inez González at
igonzalez@csuf.edu or
(657) 278-2826.
The State of Newsroom Diversity
Following the release of data on the number of women and people of color working in TV, radio, and print newsrooms by the
Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), NHMC's summer Google Policy Fellow, Cristina Contreras, published a Medium piece explaining the state of newsroom diversity.
Though the RTDNA reports show that the number of people of color in the TV news workforce is at one of the highest levels ever seen, it still does not reflect a country in which over 1 in 3 people are of color.
The issue is people of color are underrepresented in the newsrooms that are responsible for informing the public.
To read Cristina's Medium article,
click here.
Elena Joins With the Girl Scouts!
Last month, the NHMC staff was excited for the premiere of Elena of Avalor, Disney's first Latina princess, on the Disney Channel! The head writer of Elena is NHMC TV Writers Program alumni,
Silvia Olivas! Recently, it was announced that Disney and Elena is pairing up with the Girl Scouts of the USA to create a new initiative in hopes to
inspire our girls to be future leaders. The Girl Scouts and Elena came together to create a
Leadership Guide, available online for a free download in English and Spanish.
To learn more about this leadership initiative,
click here.]]>
