SCCC hosts Hispanic journalist panel

Amberley Taylor, Co-Editor

Seward County Community College is partnering with Topeka-Humanities Kansas to present a journalism panel on Wed Sept. 19, at 7 p.m. in the SCCC Showcase Theater.

The panel is titled, “Latino Journalists, Bilingual Voices,” and is a part of the Kansas Humanities initiative, “Latino Stories of Kansas,” a partnership with the Pulitzer Prize.

“Latino Stories of Kansas seeks to deepen the public’s knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism and an informed citizenry through the lens of Latino immigration of Kansas,” Valerie Mendoza, Director of Outreach and Inclusion for Humanities Kansas, said.

Pullquote Photo

Latino Stories of Kansas seeks to deepen the public’s knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism and an informed citizenry through the lens of Latino immigration of Kansas

— Valerie Mendoza

The panel will be a Q&A and will hold three participants who play an important role in Spanish language media. These participants include: Marco Alcocer, Editor in Chief and Publisher of El Perico Informador y Parlanchín; Enrique Franz, General Manager of La Mexicana radio station; and Janeth Vazquez, former multimedia journalist and SCCC academic advisor.

 The members of the bilingual media is important to the community because of the knowledge these individuals have. The use of the language helps the Spanish voice be recognized.

SCCC has the opportunity of hosting this panel due to the relationship developed with Humanities. The panel is significant because members of the Crusader News staff helped contribute to this initiative by writing stories that were published by Humanities Kansas“Humanities Kansas has worked with SCCC on several previous occasions, so it seemed like a natural partnership,” Mendoza said.

The three individuals will discuss the role of the Spanish language in reporting on immigration and immigrants and the challenges and opportunities about reporting on this subject in Kansas.

This program is a part of the “Democracy and the Informed Citizen” initiative administered by the Federation of State Humanities Council.

“Humanities Kansas has worked with SCCC on several previous occasions, so it seemed like a natural partnership,” Mendoza said.

Students, staff members and members of the community are invited to participate in the panel.