Pasos al Futuro news literacy symposium inspires Latino students to pursue media and communications.

More than 100 Chicago high school students and teachers, participated in the Pasos al Futuro Latino Media & Communications Symposium on January 30, 2014.

The “Steps Toward the Future” program is run by DePaul’s Latino Media and Communication department and provides news literacy and journalism training for Latino high schools students. Students produce and edit their own news stories and broadcasts.

“The students participating in Pasos al Futuro today are tomorrow’s leaders and will be the powerful voice of Latinos in the future.  DePaul wants to help them make that happen,” says Cristina Benitez, Director of the Pasos Al Futuro program and Latino Media and Communication at DePaul.

 The symposium started off with two lively panel discussions, featuring top Latino media professionals in Chicago, from organizations such as Univision, Hoy Chicago and Telemundo. The panels were followed by breakout sessions on multimedia reporting, social media and covering global issues.

Here’s some inspiring tidbits overheard throughout the day:

• “If you’re passionate about journalism and want to dedicate your life to do it, don’t let anyone tell you can’t do it.”  – Michael Corio, Editor in Chief, The DePaulia
• “Never forget the power of the question. Ask questions of yourself, others and authority. There are no stupid questions!”  ­– Mark Hallett, senior program officer, McCormick Foundation Journalism Program
• “I would never have this job if my parents hadn’t sent me to Saturday school to learn punctuation, history….in Spanish. It wouldn’t have come without this foundational Spanish. Employers know that, and you will stand out.” –Fernando Díaz Hoy Chicago, Managing Editor
• “You have to have writing skills, curiosity and news literacy.  News literacy is the difference between covering a fire—anybody can do that—and being the person who can put it into context and look at trends. You have to have the fire in you. It’s not about being the smartest. It’s about wanting it more.” ­–Teri Arvesu, Univision News Director, in response to a student question, “What does it take to be in broadcast journalism?”
• “The most important advice is not to operate a camera; it’s to read, read, read. You must be informed, understand how money works, how government works. You’ll deal with lots of tough people out there, smart, who want things for themselves. I won’t tell you to get news off of Facebook; you should read great newspapers, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Wall Street Journal.  Learn to understand money, and if you can do that you can do journalism.” – Rick Brown, Professor, DePaul University College of Communication
• “Start producing stories on Tumblr. That has a direct audience. Make PDFs, online magazines. Make the opportunity happen for yourself. The [iPhone] 5S shoots amazing videos and uses a microphone to record an interview. Tell the story. Anybody can tell the story on Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr.” –Roger Morales, Multimedia Producer, Hoy Chicago, on how to create your own journalism opportunities
• “Technology is out there. You don’t have to wait until you get into a TV station to put a package together. Do it yourself.  Create a webpage. I’ve hired people because they had a website. Don’t do just one internship. If you can, do an internship every single quarter, semester—at least once a year.  These internships are not just for experience it’s for connections.” ­–Teri Arvesu, Univision News Director
• “There’s a lot of different personalities in journalism. You might have an image that journalists are aggressive people, but there are shy people too.” – Alejandro Escalona, Web Editor, Telemundo Chicago
• “Journalism gives you an opportunity to be the voice of your community. Ask yourself, what will you do with your voice?” –Michael Corio, Editor in Chief, The DePaulia

Participating students were encouraged to apply for the weeklong summer workshop for Latino high school students to learn to use news literacy as television and print news reporters. For more information, visit the Pasos al Futuro program page.

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The workshop, sponsored by the McCormick Foundation, provides students with the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills to assess credible news sources and learn to be responsible producers and consumers of news. Participating schools included Benito Juarez Career Academy, Hancock College Prep, Highland Park High School, Infinity Math, Science and, Technology High School, Instituto Health Science Academy and Niles West High School.

Related Links

Read more coverage on the event from the DePaulia: “DePaul’s Latino Media and Communication department to host successful symposium.”

Chicago Latino Students Step Toward the Future 

Categories: News & Updates, Program Updates, Stuff for Students