Communication and journalism professor Felix Gutierrez recently spoke and led a panel discussion on Voices for Justice: 200 Years of Latino Newspapers in the United States, where he discussed the liberation of Latinos through more than two centuries of newspapers and other media. Video of the entire night, which broke the record for most RSVPs for a USC Annenberg event in the auditorium and had standing-room-only space, is available here.

"Tonight’s theme is liberation," Gutierrez said. "It’s liberation in terms of what we do as academics in terms of research, scholarship — in this case archives, going into microfilm, going into musty, dusty places, flipping over newspapers and finding things — in some cases people’s garages."

Gutierrez expanded on his theme of liberation.

"Taking newspapers out of archives and storehouses so more people can see what they say, what they're like. Translating liberation in terms of language — from Spanish to English — so that people who are not fortunate enough to know the Spanish language can read and hear and understand what Spanish language newspapers were saying 150 years ago, 200 years ago, or even yesterday."

The discussion kicked off a month-long exhibit in the east lobby of the USC Annenberg building that showcases key Latino newspapers, journalists and history. The exhibit runs through the end of October. Panelists included Mónica Lozano, publisher and CEO of La Opinión, the nation’s largest Spanish-language daily newspaper; Nicolás Kanellos, University of Houston professor and author of Hispanic Periodicals in the United States; and Ray Telles, documentary filmmaker and winner of three Emmys.

“Latinos and their media are a greater force than ever in the United States today," Dean Ernest J. Wilson III said. "This point was driven home with the massive peaceful demonstrations for immigration reform across the country that occurred in the spring of 2006. We also saw it in the presidential election of 2008, and the Latino swing vote played a very, very important role in key states in the election of the current President of the United States, Barack Obama. Many pundits see these events as new forces on the American scene, but neither Latinos nor their media are new to the United States. Both have been an important part of this country for more than 200 years.” 

The event was organized by USC Annenberg and was co-sponsored by the Annenberg Latino Student Association (ALSA), El Centro Chicano and the Department of American Studies and Ethnicity. Students, including those from the ALSA, said they were happy to see such a large turnout at the event.

Denise Lengyeltoti, a senior majoring in Public Relations, said she didn't know the extent of how many Latino newspapers there were in the United States in the past 200 years.

"There's such a long history," said Lengyeltoti, adding that Lozano taught her a lot during the panel discussion. "She spoke about how Latino newspapers were delivered throughout the country by train, and how it's progressed to radio, television and online journalism."

Isaac Cuchilla (B.A. Print Journalism '10) said he was impressed to hear the speakers and see the exhibit, which both taught him a lot about the history of Spanish language media.

"It was unbelievable," Cuchilla said. "Latinos in media came to fight to make sure people get the proper respect and are treated as equals. It's just great."

Manny Miranda, a senior majoring in Communication, said he was excited the event could pack the biggest room in the Annenberg building.

"I thought it was amazing that they found these newspapers in so many different places," Miranda said. "With events like these, who knows what other historical documents might turn up."

Said Dean Wilson: "We are here to recognize an American story. It’s a newspaper story, it’s a journalism story and it’s an American story.”  

Video 
Event photos