L.A. Mayor-Elect Antonio Villaraigosa, Actor John Leguizamo Headline NAHJ's 23rd Annual Convention June 15-18

L.A. Mayor-Elect Antonio Villaraigosa, Actor John Leguizamo Headline NAHJ's 23rd Annual Convention June 15-18

WASHINGTON, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of Hispanic Journalists will host "A Conversation with Antonio Villaraigosa," the mayor- elect of Los Angeles to open the NAHJ 23rd Annual Convention and Media & Career Expo on June 15-18 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Villaraigosa will take part in the opening plenary session on Wednesday, June 15 from 6 - 7:30 p.m. at the beautiful Bass Performance Hall in downtown Fort Worth to discuss his historic victory, its significance for the Latino community and the goals for his upcoming administration.

Actor John Leguizamo headlines a June 17 panel discussion on two films about Latin America, "Secuestro Express" and "Cronicas," which will be released this summer. Leguizamo, who stars in "Cronicas," will be joined by the directors and producers of each film.

With more than 2,000 journalists and media executives expected to be in attendance, the NAHJ convention is the largest annual gathering of Hispanic journalists in the country. Most of the convention activities will take place at the Fort Worth Convention Center, including on-site registration that will begin June 15. Convention events are open to registrants only. For more information about the convention or NAHJ, visit the association's Web site at http://www.nahj.org/ .

In addition, the convention will feature Latin American journalists who will speak about surviving jail, assassination attempts and other consequences of courageously doing their jobs. Some of their colleagues will also discuss innovative ways they used investigative journalism to uncover corruption in their countries.

Also at the convention, journalists in the U.S. who face or served jail time for refusing to reveal their sources will offer their views on recent attacks on the First Amendment. Additionally, journalists, activists and victims' relatives will detail the humanitarian crisis of the 400 unsolved murders over the past 10 years of women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and will issue a call to action.

Other highlights of this year's convention include:

Univision's Maria Elena Salinas will moderate a panel that brings together Adela Navarro Bello, editor of the ZETA weekly in Tijuana, Mexico, and jailed Cuban journalist Jesus Joel Diaz Hernandez who will discuss the growing number of assassination attempts and other attacks against journalists in Latin America.

New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who faces jail time for refusing to disclose a confidential source, and television reporter Jim Taricani, sentenced to house arrest for not disclosing a source during a government investigation, will speak about the dangerous times ahead for journalists in the United States. Other panelists will address the prevalence of "fake news" that also threatens the profession's integrity.

Knight Ridder President and CEO Tony Ridder will join colleagues to offer views on the news industry's future in a discussion moderated by Ray Suarez, senior correspondent for PBS' The NewsHour.

Others, including Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, will detail their struggle in the country's current media reform movement. We will also hear a panel of veteran journalists, moderated by ABC's John Quinones, address print, broadcast and cable news coverage of immigration.

In a push to enhance its programming and make discussions open to all, NAHJ will offer more training designed for Spanish-language journalists, and all major plenary sessions and workshops will have simultaneous interpretation.

Attendees will also learn how to move up the management ranks, discuss the educational impact of the No Child Left Behind act and examine the portrayal of gays and lesbians on Spanish-language television.

The ESPN-sponsored sports breakfast will bring together Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Olympic speed skater Jennifer Rodriguez, along with other sports figures, to discuss the image of Latinos in sports.

Attendees will also have the chance to take part in an eight-hour intensive training session on improving coverage of immigration during a time of heightened homeland security. Health experts will provide the latest information on HIV/AIDS and obesity in the Latino community.

The Efe News Agency's copy chief Alberto Gomez Font will offer four hours of tips on how to avoid the most common mistakes when writing in Spanish, followed by an intensive writing workshop by Ricardo Reif of the Associated Press.

Writers Esmeralda Santiago, author of "When I Was Puerto Rican" and "Almost a Woman," and Francisco Goldman, author of "The Divine Husband," will share their experiences on writing from their roots.

For information about the convention, including registration and housing, visit the association's Web site at http://www.nahj.org/ or call 202-662-7145.

Founded in 1984, NAHJ is the largest association for Hispanic journalists in the country with more than 2,000 members. NAHJ's mission is to increase the percentage of journalists working in our nation's newsrooms and to improve news coverage of the nation's Hispanic community.

Source: National Association of Hispanic Journalists

CONTACT: Daniela Montalvo of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, +1-202-662-7152

Web site: http://www.nahj.org/

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