Sunday, January 25, 2009

Assignment 1, Hispanic media personality

Do an essay on a Hispanic journalist in your area. (It can also be a radio or TV show like "Henry Guerra's San Antonio" or "Domingo Live" on Channel 3 in Corpus Christi). Pick a Hispanic media outlet or Hispanic media personality (i.e. in SA Henry Guerra, David Flores, Nancy Martínez, Carlos Guerra, alumni Efrain Gutiérrez and in Kingsville or South Texas area Rudy Treviño, Marcy Martínez, Marcelo Silva, Nick Jiménez, or any Hispanic alumni etc.) Reveal this person's current job or last job he or she held, the education the person had and other items. Keep it short and simple. You do not need to interview the person. You will probably find information on the internet on most people. You can, and I encourage you, to at least email the person. Identify yourself as a student in the History of Journalism class taught at TAMUK and TAMUK-SCSA. Once completed, post it on our blog....under this heading....we will review them in class. The essay is due Feb. 2. Essay should be no more than 300 words.

9 comments:

  1. Katia Uriate has become one of the most recognizable faces in the coastal bend. Co-anchor for kiii Channel 3 in Corpus Christi, Texas with Joe Gazin, she is one of the leading ladies. A native of Honduras she grew up for a majority of her childhood in New Orleans. There she attended Loyola University were she majored in Political Science and minored in Communications. She graduated in May 2000 but had the opportunity to study in Leuven, Belgium and Mexico City. After a few internships, the first in Jackson, Mississippi, she found her home in Corpus Christi, Texas.

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  2. John Quiñones is a man of humble beginnings. When he was a boy growing up in San Antonio he used to shin shoes in front of bars to help his family survive. Later when his family joined a workers caravan to Ohio he took to picking cherries and tomatoes. It was during this time that John decided he wanted to do something with his life.
    Through his high school years John got help from the Upward Bound program. He attended St. Mary’s University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications in 1974. During this time Quiñones worked three jobs as well as playing with his band to earn money to pay for college. His dream of being a broadcaster kept him pushing forward.
    Quiñones got a job working in Chicago as a reporter for WBBM-TV. In the early 1980’s ABC was sending reporters to Central America to report on the many civil wars. One reporter was killed at a security checkpoint because his interpreter looked like one of the rebels. ABC decided to start hiring reporters who already spoke Spanish and wouldn’t look like enemies to the warring nations. And so in 1982 Quiñones became one of the youngest correspondents to work on “World News Tonight” with Peter Jenning’s.
    Then in 1991 ABC hired Quiñones to work as a Co-Anchor on “Primetime Live.” At last his dream he had back on a cherry farm in Ohio had come true. In an interview about his success story Quiñones said, “I love what I do. Journalism is my life, and it’s all I ever wanted to do. The adrenaline gets pumping, it’s exciting.”
    From shoe shining to Co-Anchor of one of the largest tv networks in the nation. John Quiñones is a shining example of the payoff of hard work and perseverance.

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  3. When I say the name Jonny Ramirez, some of you may begin to wonder who it is that I am speaking of, others of you may recognize that name, and say what a true Texas treasure. I myself have had the pleasure and comfort of hearing the same voice on the radio since moving to San Antonio in 1997. Jonny has spent the last twenty-five years broadcasting on the radio. Jonny will be celebrating his sixteen year anniversary at KXTN, the station that has made him most famous, this May. He attended Pan American University in Edinburgh, Texas. When asked what his most memorable experience he has had while in journalism he answered, “My most memorable experience while at KXTN has to be when I was invited to the White House by then President Clinton. The invite came as a result of my sending him some Mango Ice Cream that is made in San Antonio by the Menger Hotel.” While there was not much information available about him online, Jonny was more than happy to provide me with the information that I needed to complete this assignment.

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  4. Regina Garcia is dedicated to Corpus Christi. Her devotion can be seen through her work at Kiii TV. Since 1964, Kiii TV has been an established local news circuit that has gathered the respect of not only the Hispanic community but the South Texas area as well. Of the many reporters at channel 3, Regina Garcia is a co-anchor alongside meteorologist Dave Cochran of First Edition. A graduate of Sam Houston State University-Huntsville, she realized she loved reporting, and quickly gave up her major in business. She now has a Bachelor’s in Radio/Television/Film. For the past ten years she has been a part of the news circuit and in 2001 she joined the First Edition team. A native of Corpus Christi, she loves participating in her community, and volunteers with various organizations

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  5. In the sleepy little South Texas town of Kingsville a star was born in 1917. The son of Placido and Rose Pena would change the face of broadcast television forever and pave the way for many future generations. This man would become one of the most revered and respected personalities in South Texas media history. Domingo Pena would give Hispanic traditions, issues and entertainment a televised public forum that would last for generations to come.
    Domingo Pena spent his childhood in the small towns of Kingsville, Robstown and Taft before moving to Corpus Christi in 1932. Pena received a broken education, finally dropping out of school in the sixth grade for the last time. As a young boy he contracted tuberculosis, a common but deadly disease of the time but was treated in a San Angelo hospital.
    Domingo began his career even before WWII as an advertising announcer on a local radio station. By 1945, at the age of 28, he had graduated to the job of deejay at KCCT, a Hispanic radio station. In the 1950’s Pena hosted a variety show on the first tv station in Corpus Christi. The show featured live music and a variety of news and entertainment.
    Finally, in 1964 the Domingo Pena show aired on KIII Sunday mornings. The show was mostly unrehearsed and loosely scripted but was an instant success in the Hispanic community. Domingo spotlighted many civic and charitable organizations. He also featured political issues affecting the community as a whole. The show would air many celebrated organizations such as the American GI Forum and League of Latin American Citizens, to name a few. Musicians’ and entertainers completed the balance in the longest running local broadcast show.
    Pena retired in 1981 because of poor health and passed away in 1983. Channel 3 changed the name to simply Domingo at first, and then changed again to Domingo Live with Barbi Leo and Rudy Trevino and still on the top ratings list.

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  6. My Hispanic media personality of choice is the current lead co-anchor for the local Fox affiliate in San Antonio, Michael Valdes. Originally from Del Rio, he’s been in San Antonio since 1987. He has received an Bachelors Degree in Philosophy from the University of Texas at San Antonio and an Associates Degree in Radio-TV-Film from San Antonio College. He started his broadcasting career interning at both KSAT TV (the local ABC affiliate) and KMOL (now called WOAI, the local NBC affiliate), and got his first on-air gig at KMID-TV (ABC) in Midland, TX in 1994. He was there for four months before moving back to San Antonio in 1995 to be a reporter for the then fledgling network FOX29 and their news@nine news team. He was promoted to weekend achor six months later, and then as weekday anchor in 2000, where he currently is.

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  7. Efrain Gutierrez

    Efrain Gutierrez is widely acknowledged as the first Chicano filmmaker. Born in San Antonio, he founded the Chicano Arts Theatre at the University of Texas in 1971. His theatre was designed in the vain of El Teatro Campesino the politically active Hispanic farm workers of mid 20th century in California.

    In 1974, to finance his first feature length film, he formed his own production company. The film, Por Favor, No Me Entieren is recognized as the very first Chicano film. The film touched several issues of the time including the Vietnam War and pressures and the discrimination against the Hispanic community, especially of young men.

    It is an awesome achievement to stick to it and get Please, Don’t Bury Me Alive in the can. His first feature movie, four years in the making was a filmmaking and cultural success.

    Much can be flawed in the production values of Gutierrez work The most troublesome, even more than the bad acting, which I can understand with volunteers, is the poor audio quality consistent throughout the film. Some time during production this should have come to light. Sadly, this light production touch also manifested itself in his later work Barrio Tales: Tops, Kites and Marbles.

    However, broke Mexico’s production monopoly held over four hundred Spanish-language theatres in the United States. He inspired an independent film movement in Mexico and a provided a map for Chicano/Tejano indie filmmakers in America for distribution of their projects.

    Efrain Gutierrez filmology

    “Please, Don’t Bury Me Alive” – 1974
    “La Onada Chicana” – 1976
    “Amor Chicano es Para Siempre” – 1978
    “Run Tecato Run” – 1979
    “Barrio Tales/Historias del Barrio: Tops, Kites and Marbles” – 2008

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  8. Michael Zamora: photographer
    Michael Zamora is currently a photo journalist for the Corpus Christi Caller Times. He has been employed with the Caller Times for a year and seven months now. Michael graduated from Brazoswood High school which is in Clute, TX. Zamora went to college at the University of North Texas. He was a photography intern for the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel as well as the Star-Telegram. He then got a job as a photographer and reporter at Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. He remained there for a year and three months. He moved from Wyoming to Arkansas to work at The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas as a photographer. He worked there for four years and two months. That is when he decided to move to Corpus Christi. Some of Michael’s specialties are multimedia which includes audio and video slideshows. On the Caller Times website there is a showcase of all of his best work in 2008. It is a broad spectrum of photos from local school events to photographs of models for ads for businesses like Forever 21. Michael Zamora has his own website as well where someone can look at some of his older work that he did in Arkansas. The website is www.mzamora.com/custom.html . He has been contacted for more information and it will be posted as soon as it is available.

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  9. The Trademark Voice

    Henry Guerra blazed a grand trail for other Hispanic journalists to follow. His soothing, mellow timbre landed him a spot as the first Hispanic broadcaster at an English-only radio station in San Antonio. Later, he went on to become the first Hispanic television announcer with WOAI-TV which is now KMOL-TV. A native San Antonian, Guerra had a large variety of interests especially in the history of the city and the contributions of Hispanics in this area. I had the pleasure of meeting him in the late 1980s and early 1990s when he attended various meetings concerning the question of Indian burial grounds in front of the Alamo and the role of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas as the caretakers of the Alamo. I still remember his trademark voice as he talked about the history of the Alamo. His rich, expressive tone led him to produce and narrate various videos of his favorite topic--the history of San Antonio. Besides his work as a historian and journalist, Guerra went on to write and publish a book, "San Antonio: A unique historical and pictorial guide." Guerra, active in a variety of civic organizations, was also one of the founders of the Order of the Granaderos de Galvez, an organization that highlights the contributions of the Spanish and General Bernardo de Galvez to the American colonies during the American Revolution. In addition, Guerra helped manage the family business his father started--Angelus Funeral Home. He attended Central Catholic High School in San Antonio and went to St. Mary's University. He was also a veteran of World War II. He died in 2001. Because of his great contributions to San Antonio as a journalist, historian, author and civic leader, a library branch was named in his honor in 2004.

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