ven over the phone, Julio Moran’s commitment to diversity comes through proud and clear, especially when talking about the mission of the California Chicano News Media Association, of which he is in his third year as executive director.

“CCNMA is almost 30 years old, and I have been involved in it since 1981 as a reporter, board member, filer, whatever it has taken,” says Moran.

He was among the team of Los Angeles Times editors, reporters and photographers awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service in 1983. The winning work was a 21-part series on Latinos in Southern California.

“I took this job because I knew firsthand what [Latinos] have to go through in this industry. CCNMA’s networking and support helped me in my career. I would like to help others.”

CCNMA actually helps journalists of many ethnicities. Its job fair in October is the West Coast’s largest for journalists of color, and the organization gives out numerous scholarships and awards. Since 1976, CCNMA’s Joel Garcia Memorial Scholarship Fund has awarded more than $425,000 in scholarships to more than 400 students, including 27 last year.

“What’s great is to see where some of those scholarship winners are today,” says Kevin Olivas, professional programs coordinator for CCNMA. “Steve Padilla and Paul Gutierrez are reporters for the Los Angeles Times. Catherine Anaya is an anchor for KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. Yvette Cabrera is a reporter and columnist for The Orange County (Calif.) Register.”

Inaugurated last year, CCNMA’s Ruben Salazar Journalism Awards recognize journalism excellence in stories and photographs that contribute to a better understanding of Latinos. CCNMA also conducts workshops on diversity for college students. This year’s first one took place Feb. 26 on the University of Southern California campus, where the nonprofit CCNMA is housed. A second occurs March 18 at California State University, Northridge.

“Students of all ethnicities are welcome,” says Olivas. “It focuses on jobs in journalism—on the print side, the need for editors, especially copy editors. Foremost, though, it focuses on the need for all journalists to keep as many perspectives in mind as possible when approaching stories. To that end, we are using the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education's five Fault Lines of Journalism.”

Explains Dori Maynard on the MIJE Web site (www.maynardije.org/faultlines/index.html): “The Fault Lines concept was conceived by my late father, Robert C. Maynard. It is based on the notion that we as a nation are split along the five Fault Lines of race, class, gender, geography and generation. My father believed that in order to bridge these Fault Lines, journalists must not only admit they exist but also learn to talk, report and write across them. Acknowledging Fault Lines compels us as journalists to seek out those who present a range of views on an issue.”

A writing exercise is also given to students at the CCNMA workshop, critiqued by professional journalists who serve as panelists. “The journalists we bring in say the interaction with the students reinvigorates them,” says Olivas.

Moran was on the Los Angeles Times Metro staff that was awarded Pulitzer Prizes for its coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles civil disturbance and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. But he has no regrets about his decision to leave newspapers.

“I enjoyed my career,” says Moran, “but I actually always enjoyed fighting the [diversity] fight more. It’s important. At USC [where he also teaches], students see a Latino professor; I try to give a different perspective on journalism, different ways to see things.

“I can accomplish other things through CCNMA and bring credibility from publishers. Hopefully, young Latino journalists may see the success I’ve had and then look at my personal background. My parents were from Mexico and poor. I was raised by a single parent, my mother, who to this day still doesn’t understand what I do for a living.” Moran laughs. “Maybe students will say, ÔOh, I thought I was the only one!’”

Moran says he looks forward to the day when parity is achieved, and CCNMA is no longer needed. He applauds ASNE’s new strategy to reach parity in the newsroom. “They’re doing the right thing, trying to explain that journalism is accuracy, and to attain accuracy, we need diversity. Only a diverse newsroom can reflect the diversity in the community.”

To help achieve that parity, CCNMA sponsors its job fair, dubbed Journalism Opportunities Conference, in downtown Los Angeles in October.

“We have major newspapers and media outlets represented at the fair,” says Olivas. “We tell students to look at opportunities other than reporting and anchoring; sometimes those positions can be more involved in decision-making.”

He knows that if diversity in the media is to take hold, smaller newspapers and stations have to grab on.

“The Latino population is the fastest growing,” he says. “We are becoming more and more prominent in small-town America.”

He says that small-town diversity can be beneficial not only to communities that deserve more reflective coverage, but to the journalists themselves who can hone their craft.

“I was once hired at a radio station in Ventura to cover legal issues,” says Olivas. “Being a small place, it was easy to get to know the attorneys, learn about the processes I needed to report on. In a larger area, it would have been more competitive, and I would not have had that luxury. You can also get disconnected from street journalism in large media outlets.”

CCNMA has six chapters that sponsor their own awards and workshops, like the Inland Chapter’s Internet Training Workshop. Both Moran and Olivas sound prideful when asked how many full-time staffers CCNMA has. Three and a half.

“We are very proud of what we do,” Olivas says. “At last year’s job fair, a student came all the way from Boston University and ended up getting an internship at The Seattle Times. I feel like a matchmaker sometimes, and I like that feeling.”

“Idealistically, I always wanted to help change the world,” says Moran. “Now, little by little, I am doing that, reaching as many people as we do. I can see myself doing this for the rest of my life.”