The Hispanic Link archives project: Four decades of Latino political and news history worth preserving online for the future

Before alternative news media outlets like the Huffington Post provided an outlet for communities to tell their stories to a national audience, Hispanic Link News Service acted on behalf of the Latinos nationwide by covering political news through a Latino lens. Started in February 1980 in the basement of a Washington, DC apartment building by veteran journalist and editor Charlie Ericksen, the Link provided over 30 years more than 5,500 columns and broke the national op/ed-page barrier of nationally syndicated newspapers. While Ericksen edited and mentored dozens of talented young Latino journalists in his downstairs newsroom, his wife, companion and Link cofounder, Sebastiana, provided emotional and physical sustenance to scores of “Linkies,” until her unexpected death several years ago. Until it stopped publishing in 2015 when Ericksen, in his 80’s, retired and moved to Southern California to be close to his children, the scrappy sometimes irreverent but always fact-filled and insightful newsletter often took to task the politically well-connected and powerful, including mainstream news media leaders, for ignoring this growing group’s issues, interests and contributions. Now his sons, Carlos and Hector Ericksen-Mendoza, are intent on preserving and making available online all of the Link’s work, including columns, newsletters, taped interviews and photographs.

Borderzine director Zita Arocha inducted into NAHJ Hall of Fame

By Rene Delgadillo, UTEP Prospector
UTEP Associate Professor of Practice Zita Arocha was inducted to the NAHJ 2016 Hall of Fame on Friday, Aug. 5, for her journalism career and for serving Hispanic and Latino students. “I think it is a huge honor for UTEP because it really focuses attention on what we’ve done there over the last 14 years, and by that I’m talking about the whole team in our department,” Arocha said. “I feel really blessed and privileged to have had the opportunity to spend 14 years for preparing the next generation of bilingual, bicultural journalists. At the ceremony Arocha said, “ if you don’t know about UTEP, it’s scrappy little school on the border, we kick butt, we really do.”
Arocha, a former NAHJ executive director and current director of multimedia web magazine borderzine.flywheelsites.com, said her students give her the strength to continue each day.