Hot issues at Hispanic media convention

Posted on Wed, Jun. 14, 2006

FORT LAUDERDALE
Hot issues at Hispanic media convention
Ricardo Alarcón, the president of Cuba's National Assembly, will take
reporters' questions during today's kickoff of the National Association
of Hispanic Journalists convention.
By OSCAR CORRAL
ocorral@MiamiHerald.com

As many as 2,000 reporters and editors will descend on Fort Lauderdale
in the next few days for the annual Hispanic journalists convention. And
they won't just come to soak up sun at the beach and kick around Las
Olas Boulevard.

The immigration debate dominating national discourse, the Cuba issue
eating at Miami's Cuban exile soul, and the future of the volatile news
industry are three themes that promise to inject edge into the event.

The convention kicks off tonight when Columbia University professor and
New York Times contributor Mirta Ojito is scheduled to interview Ricardo
Alarcón, president of Cuba's National Assembly, before an audience of
several hundred. Alarcón will appear via satellite from CNN's Havana
bureau, and the audience of journalists will be allowed to submit
questions through Ojito, a Cuban exile.

''Coming to South Florida and not discussing Cuba and hearing about it
would be ignoring the elephant in the room,'' said Ivan Roman, executive
director of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

A panel on Friday will feature New Mexico's Gov. Bill Richardson, who is
of Mexican descent, sitting opposite CNN's Lou Dobbs, who has become one
of America's leading voices against illegal immigration from Mexico.

''We don't want this to be a sheltered convention,'' said association
President Veronica Villafañe. ``We live in the real world, and we have
to bring the real world to the people that cover it. We have to cover
all these issues, so why not bring them to us?''

With such hot-button issues at the forefront, the convention was bound
to ruffle some feathers. Raices de Esperanza, a group of young Cuban
Americans educated at elite universities, wrote a letter urging the
association to grill Alarcón on Cuba's ``systematic violation of human
rights.''

The group plans to demonstrate outside the Broward Center for the
Performing Arts, where the Alarcón interview is taking place, and hand
out information on jailed journalists and dissidents on the island.

P. Anthony Ridder, chairman and CEO of Knight Ridder, also will appear
on a panel Thursday titled Brave New World: The Challenges of the News
Media's Uncertain Future.

His appearance comes just days before the Knight Ridder name ceases to
exist after its purchase by McClatchy, a sale that highlights the
changing dynamics of the newspaper business. Knight Ridder is The Miami
Herald's parent company.

Michele Salcedo, convention co-chair and national/foreign editor for The
Sun-Sentinel, said this year's convention was among the strongest in the
Hispanic association's history. This is the first time it's being held
in Broward County.

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau says the group
is a $3 million boon to the area. From shopping at local malls, eating
at waterfront restaurants, staying at the hotels, enjoying the South
Florida night life and using transportation such as rental cars, taxis
and cabs, Greater Fort Lauderdale will cash in on the convention.

All events will be in Broward -- including a town hall meeting on energy
at Nova Southeastern University in Davie and a golf tournament at
Bonaventure Country Club in Weston.

Miami-Dade is the Hispanic heart of South Florida, with 60 percent
(about 1.4 million) of its population being Hispanic.

But the number of Hispanics in Broward has tripled from about 108,000 in
1990 (9 percent of the total population), to 368,000 (21 percent) in 2004.

''[This convention] reflects the growing Latino presence in Broward
County,'' Salcedo said.

Miami Herald staff writers Natalie P. McNeal, Jerry Berrios and Tim
Henderson contributed to this report.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14812660.htm