12 Journalism professors selected for Dow Jones Multimedia Training Academy 2018

By |

Twelve journalism instructors from U.S. Hispanic Serving Institutions will travel to the U.S., Mexico border region to participate in the ninth annual Dow Jones News Fund Multimedia Training Academy in June at the University of Texas in El Paso. Thanks to a grant provided by the Dow Jones News Fund, Borderzine organizes this annual workshop training geared to multimedia journalism instructors who teach in institutions with a large minority population. Here is a list of the 12 instructors who were chosen and their institutions:

Daniel Evans, Florida International University
Mary Jo Shafer, Northern Essex Community College
Lillian Agosto-Maldonado, Universidad del Sagrado Corazon
Julie Patel Liss, Fullerton College
Nicole Perez Morris, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Kelly Kauffhold, Texas State University
Sara V. Platt, University of Puerto Rico
Geoffrey Campbell, UT Arlington
Jesus Ayala, Cal State Fullerton
Lorena Figueroa, El Paso Community College
Darren Phillips, New Mexico State University
Dino Chiecchi, UT El Paso

The week-long multimedia-journalism academy has a proven track record of eight successful years helping journalism educators acquire a new skills in digital storytelling that they can use to help prepare prepare the next generation of Latino college journalists. “The trainers at the academy understand what educators need to learn about new and emerging technologies to better prepare their students for the fast-changing future” said Linda Shockley, Deputy Director of Dow Jones News Fund. “This quality of instruction at absolutely no cost to participants and their universities is priceless.”
The goal of this experience is to learn and practice news reporting using a variety of digital equipment, software programs and platforms. Participating instructors are expected to translate this learning into training for their students, making them more competitive in the media industry.

UTEP students experience Cuban culture first-hand in study-abroad course

By |

During eight days in June 2017, UTEP students learned about Cuban media, art and culture during one-on-one exchanges with visual artists, writers, journalists, economists, communication students and ordinary Cubans during a study tour of Havana. UTEP Professors Zita Arocha and Dr. Irasema Coronado led the group of students from various majors such as political science, communication, multimedia journalism and theater arts. Highlights of the study trip included a day of learning about environmental and digital journalism at the Centro Internacional de Peridoismo Jose Marti and the above intimate conversation with editors and journalists at Cuba’s Educational Television station. Communication majors Guillermo Villaseñor-Baca and Tania Moran produced these multimedia stories about the trip, which most called a “life altering” and “transformational” experience.

2nd UTEP journalism professor named to NAHJ Hall of Fame

By |

UTEP associate professor of practice and the incoming executive editor of Borderzine, Eraldo “Dino” Chiecchi, has been named to the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Hall of Fame for 2017.  Chiecchi is one of five of the nation’s top journalists, academics and documentarians who will be inducted into the NAHJ Hall of Fame during the group’s annual convention in September in Anaheim, California. Zita Arocha, Borderzine’s founder and an associate professor of practice in journalism at UTEP, was inducted into the NAHJ Hall of Fame in 2016. NAHJ’s class of 2017 includes Chiecchi, current multimedia professor at University of Texas at El Paso; trailblazer of diversity Federico Subervi, Ph.D.; journalist and documentary producer Andrés Cediel; NBC Bay Area reporter Jodi Hernandez and Pulitzer Prize winner Nancy Rivera Brooks. The gala honoring these individuals will be Saturday, September 9, 2017 at the House of Blues Anaheim during the Excellence in Journalism Conference.

12 Journalism professors selected for Dow Jones Multimedia Training Academy 2017

By |

Twelve journalism instructors from Hispanic Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities have been selected to participate in the eighth annual Dow Jones News Fund Multimedia Training Academy in June at the University of Texas in El Paso. Thanks to a grant provided by the Dow Jones News Fund, Borderzine organizes this annual workshop training geared to multimedia journalism instructors who teach in institutions with a large minority population. Here is a list of the 12 instructors who were chosen and their institutions:

Jon Beaupre, California State University, Los Angeles
Toni De Aztlan, Northern Arizona University
John Gonzales, California State University, Long Beach
Wendy Moore, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi
Cleo Allen, Dillard University
Brad Mello, Saint Xavier University
Jennifer Thomas, Howard University
Jennifer Erdely, Prairie View A&M University
Pam Frederick, Hunter College
Mariam Betlemidze, California State University, San Bernardino
Maria de los Angeles Flores, University of Texas at El Paso
Alexandra Hinojosa, El Paso Community College

The week-long multimedia-journalism academy has a proven track record of seven successful years helping journalism educators acquire a new skills in digital storytelling that they can use to help prepare prepare the next generation of Latino and African-American college journalists. “The trainers at the academy understand what educators need to learn about new and emerging technologies to better prepare their students for the fast-changing future” said Linda Shockley, Deputy Director of Dow Jones News Fund. “This quality of instruction at absolutely no cost to participants and their universities is priceless.”
The goal of this experience is to learn and practice news reporting using a variety of digital equipment, software programs and platforms. Participating instructors are expected to translate this learning into training for their students, making them more competitive in the media industry.

Border-inspired writer wins 2017 PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award for Poetry

By |

Natalie Scenters-Zapico, who was an undergraduate Creative Writing major at UT El Paso, has won the prestigious 2017 PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award for Poetry, for her collection of poems “The Verging Cities.”
“From her undergraduate writing career at UTEP, she went on to become a fully-funded graduate student at the University of New Mexico, and is now one of our country’s most literarily-recognized emerging writers,” said Sasha Pimentel, assistant professor of poetry and creative nonfiction at UTEP. Judges for the award said the collection, published by the Center for Literary Publishing, Colorado State University,  shows Scenters-Zapico is an “an important emerging poet whose formal and tonal range in The Verging Cities is impressive and disarming.” Scenters-Zapico’s style brings the border to life, the judges wrote:
“Her voice is honest, engaging, and complex as she explores the liminal space of the U.S./Mexico border with vivid imagery that moves fluidly between Juárez and El Paso. At times both tender and funny, she writes so that the border becomes not just an idea, but a rich and real world. With poems that are as intelligent as they are urgent, Natalie Scenters-Zapico offers a necessary poetic voice in these perilous times.”

Tell us what you think about telenovelas

By |

Statistics show that many Latino millennials are changing Spanish-language TV – by no longer watching telenovelas as former generations did. Borderzine is conducting a short online survey in both Spanish and English (your choice) to get your thoughts on the telenovela style of TV shows. Just select either link, take the short survey, and we will publish the results when they are finalized. English
Español

Ice rinks top attractions in desert holiday outings

By |

Ice skating and festive lights mark the start of the holiday season in El Paso in two popular locations. WinterFest is an ongoing event in the Downtown Arts Festival Plaza and surrounding areas featuring lights, food, holiday shopping, festivities and  an new outdoor ice skating rink located near the Plaza Theatre. “As San Jacinto Plaza once again lights up for the winter season, we wanted to enhance the downtown visitor’s experience and create a new holiday tradition,” said Bryan Crowe, General Manager of Destination El Paso. WinterFest runs until Jan. 8.

New leadership training program recruiting Latinas to empower their communities

By |

By Veronica Martinez
EL PASO – A soon-to-be-launched leadership development program called L.E.A.D. (Lead, Educate, Advocate, Develop) is recruiting Latinas who are committed to developing leadership skills to address socio-economic and educational needs of El Rio Grande region for an eight-month program next year. The project between several UTEP programs and the local non-profit organization Wise Latinas aims to identify 10 regional women with drive and initiative who wish to empower their communities and become community leaders, say the organizers. “We’re looking for people who are not just interested in themselves, but people who have the quality of thinking about how to improve the lives of others,” said Dr. Guillermina Nuñez, Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program and a member of the L.E.A.D. planning committee. Other organizers of the training are Dr. Areli Chacon, UTEP director of the master’s program of Leadership Studies, Cynthia Marentes, director of Community Engagement at UTEP, and Liz Chavez, president of Wise Latinas International.  Participants will meet once a month for a one-day training workshop with experts and academics who have expertise in developing budgets, fundraising, project design, media outreach, conflict resolution and dressing for success.

Borderzine director Zita Arocha inducted into NAHJ Hall of Fame

By |

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.

El poder del bilingüismo de acuerdo a tres jóvenes profesionales

By |

Por Raquel Venado Bolaños

Patricia Ramos, Pilar Canchola y Sally Rodríguez no se conocen, pero tienen dos cosas en común: acaban de culminar sus estudios en Columbia College Chicago y son primera generación méxico-americanas. Como la mayoría de los inmigrantes, los padres de las tres nuevas profesionales dejaron México en busca de mejores oportunidades. Los de Ramos fueron a El Paso, Texas, mientras que los de Canchola y los de Rodríguez llegaron a Chicago. Ramos, Canchola y Rodríguez crecieron con el español como primer idioma. Patricia Ramos, de 23 años, describe a El Paso como un lugar en el que se habla mucho spanglish.

Machismo con trapeador

By |

Por Jocelyn Soto

Creo que puedo hablar por muchas de las mujeres latinas cuando digo que desde niñas tenemos un sueño en común: llegar al altar con un vestido blanco, largo y brilloso y con nuestro príncipe azul al lado. Pero no vivimos en un cuento de hadas donde llega un hombre perfecto a rescatarnos. Inválidas no somos. Recuerdo que desde muy chica me gustaba que mi mamá y mi abuelita me contaran cómo cada una había conocido a su príncipe azul (mi padre y mi abuelo), la boda, y cómo era su vida después de casadas. Ahora ya más madura veo la vida diferente, en la que el rol de la mujer en el matrimonio cambia entre las generaciones y depende del lugar donde viven, aunque no lo crea.

Storify: Social media reflections on pope visit to Juarez

By |

Borderzine photographer Jorge Salgado created this Storify collection of the buzz on both sides of the U.S., Mexico border when Pope Francis visited Juarez Feb. 17, 2016. [View the story “Jorge Salgado looks back on #PapaEnCDJ for #Popezine” on Storify]

And Borderzine reporter Eragdi Macias shared highlights from her classmates’ coverage of the day. [View the story “My classmates favorite tweets #Popezine ” on Storify]

Borderzine Director Zita Arocha named to National Association of Hispanic Journalists Hall of Fame

By |

The  National Association of Hispanic Journalists this week named Borderzine founder and director Zita Arocha a 2016 Hall of Fame inductee for making a difference for Latinos in the newsroom. Arocha, an associate professor of practice teaching journalism at UT El Paso, is former executive director of NAHJ. “Zita has been the soul of NAHJ and continues to be a beacon for diversity and journalism,” said Mekahlo Medina, NAHJ President. “Zita not only helped lead NAHJ in its early days, but she has been committed to training and developing hundreds, if not thousands, of Latino journalists. She has been a leader in journalism on the border, developing a platform for stories that are uniquely situated for the region and necessary for the country and world.”

This year, the NAHJ board of directors voted to induct four individuals, one posthumously.

Borderzine now accepting applications for Journalism in July 2016, a summer multimedia workshop for high school students

By |

Borderzine is accepting applications from El Paso area high school juniors and seniors for full scholarships to attend the 14th annual Journalism in July (JIJ) workshop at the University of Texas at El Paso. The dates are July 10 – 16. Fill out the application form here. Over the last 13 years, the workshop has provided journalism training to more than 200 students from high schools in the El Paso–Ciudad Juárez–Las Cruces area.  A goal of the workshop is to encourage high school students of diverse backgrounds who are already interested in journalism to pursue future studies and careers in news media and communication.  The fast paced one-week training includes a variety of hands on workshops in basic journalism reporting and writing skills, media ethics and digital video, audio and photo production.

Politicians, scientists discuss widespread U.S. water issues at White House summit

By |

By Luke Torrance, SHFWire.com

WASHINGTON – The United States does not have a major water problem – it has several major water problems.

That was the realization of Jeffery Lape, the deputy director of science and technology at the Environmental Protection Agency, after meeting with officials from several states over the past year. California is in the midst of an historic drought. Rivers in the Pacific Northwest have become hotter, harming salmon populations. Cities around the country are facing the same problems as Flint, Mich.: contaminated water and deteriorating distribution systems.

So Lape gathered groups from across the country March 22 for the White House Water Summit. The meeting was held in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House.

Apply for the UTEP Multimedia Journalism Internship Stipends, Summer 2022

By |

Borderzine is now accepting applications from UTEP Department of Communication students majoring in Multimedia Journalism or Digital Media.  Applicants with previous news internship experience locally or out of town and/or publication in a news outlet, including student media, will receive priority consideration. 
Borderzine and the Department of Communication will award two $3,000 stipends to cover costs associated with completing a 10-to-12 week internship this summer at an online/print/broadcast/cable news or magazine newsroom outside the El Paso area. 
The deadline to apply is midnight Friday, April 29, 2022.  Winners will be notified by May 6. In addition to completing the application below, the applicant needs to submit a letter of recommendation and a personal essay of 500 to 600 words in response to these following questions: 

If selected, what do you hope to gain from and contribute to the internship experience? 
How will the internship further your career goals? What journalism skills do you plan to work on during the internship? 
What life experience and/or unique characteristics or skills will you bring to the news internship experience? 
What contributions do you hope to make in the future to the field of journalism? 

For additional information contact Professor Kate Gannon at kagannon@utep.edu.  

 

 

 

Do you have what it takes to beat Disaster Room 915?

By |

The clock is ticking and you have just 60 minutes to complete your mission in order to stop a major disaster. Multimedia reporter Sarah Montelongo takes a look inside El Paso’s Disaster Room 915, where groups take on the challenge to decode clues and solve puzzles to save the world.  

Tell Borderzine what is important to you

By |

Take a moment to fill out our short survey to tell us what you care about in the Borderland of El Paso, Juarez and Southern New Mexico. Your feedback is important to us. // Create your own user feedback survey
If you would like to support stronger investigative journalism in our region, please consider donating to our crowdfunding campaign to build a Border Data Journalism Lab.

Why crowdfunding a data journalism lab in El Paso is so important

By |

Since 2008, Borderzine.com has told the stories of the people and culture of the Borderlands reported by multimedia student journalists at UT El Paso. In 2012, Borderzine was honored by the Online News Association for Mexodus, an unprecedented bilingual special project that documented the flight of people and businesses from Mexico during the peak of drug cartel violence. Now, Borderzine is partnering with professional newsrooms in El Paso, Las Cruces and Juarez to develop a Border Data Journalism Lab to be based at UT El Paso to build local expertise in using digital tools to examine the systems and policies affecting our region

As more and bigger data are being collected by governments and organizations it is increasingly important for journalists to be able to obtain, clean, analyze and present information in this digital world. And, in our location on the U.S.-Mexico border, data journalism can be a powerful tool in telling the stories of the border and a changing America. For example, data journalists could examine issues in health care access and the impact of chronic illnesses on the border to better identify challenges and potential solutions in health disparities between Latinos and other populations.

Q &A at UTEP with Dr. Michael Mason – Director, Smithsonian Center for Folk Life and Cultural Heritage

By |

As director of the Smithsonian Center for Folk Life and Cultural Heritage in Washington, D.C., Michael Mason helped facilitate the donation to UTEP of an authentic Lhakhang, a former Bhutanese temple now located at the center of campus. Mason visited the University of Texas at El Paso campus Nov. 17 to present the last Centennial Lecture of 2015 at the Undergraduate Learning Center.  His talk was titled, “Cultural Sustainability,” and touched on how to keep alive global cultures that are in danger of disappearing. Mason described different organizations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that help countries manage the increase of visitors to culturally endangered sites and handle their shift into becoming tourism destinations. Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) like UNESCO help the cultures in these culturally endangered regions survive despite the many challenges they may face while becoming tourist sites.

Borderzine wins one 0f ’50 States for Good’ grants from Tom’s of Maine

By |

Borderzine, a bilingual journalism training program based at The University of Texas at El Paso, has been selected as one of 52 winners from across the country in the seventh annual Tom’s of Maine “50 States for Good” community giving program. Borderzine was selected to represent the state of Texas and will receive $20,000 to fund its mission of transforming U.S. newsrooms into more inclusive workplaces that reflect the nation’s demographic diversity by placing more young journalists of color in news internships and jobs. “This generous gift from Tom’s of Maine advances in significant ways Borderzine’s mission to prepare a young generation of multicultural journalists that reflects and interprets the real story of immigration and the borderlands for the rest of America,” said Zita Arocha, director of Borderzine and associate professor in UTEP’s Department of Communication. Specifically, the funds will be used for a combination of internships, technical support for the Borderzine website and recruitment efforts for Borderzine’s annual high school journalism workshop. The contest’s process began with community members taking to social media pages to share #OneWaytoHelp their communities, amassing nearly 10,000 submissions.

Candy makers call for cheap sugar fix on U.S. side of the border

By |

By Rebecca Anzel, SHFWire.com

WASHINGTON – The U.S. candy industry has a problem. The sugar it needs to produce sweet treats is protected by the government through tariffs and trade restrictions, which drive up the price, industry officials say. This has forced some companies to move  production to places where sugar is cheaper, including Mexico or Brazil. Atkinson Candy Co. is one of those companies.

Campus crime reporting effectiveness questioned

By |

By Nadia Dreid, SHFWire.com

WASHINGTON – When Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., called for the repeal of the Clery Act at a campus safety conference in June, Annette Spicuzza clapped. She wasn’t alone – the room rumbled with the applause of a hundred plus educators. “I know the mess it is,” McCaskill said of the law. “So my goal would be to remove it.”

The Clery Act, enacted in 1991, requires all colleges and universities receiving federal money to collect and publish information on crimes that occur on or around campus. The law’s namesake, Jeanne Clery, a Lehigh University student, was murdered in her dorm room in 1986.

Chart showing undocumented immigration trend

Rise of undocumented immigration slowed after Great Recession, analysis shows

By |

By Jeffrey S. Passel and D’Vera Cohn of the Pew Research Center

An estimated 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the U.S. in 2014, according to a new preliminary Pew Research Center estimate based on government data. This population has remained essentially stable for five years after nearly two decades of changes. An estimated 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the U.S. in 2014, according to a new preliminary Pew Research Center estimate based on government data. This population has remained essentially stable for five years after nearly two decades of changes. The recent overall stability contrasts with past trends.

Socioeconomic status of Mexican immigrants on rise as total numbers decrease, UNH study shows

By |

DURHAM, N.H. – As comments about the nature of Mexican immigrants to the United States have flashed in the headlines, new research from the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire finds migration from Mexico to the U.S. dropped more than 50 percent in the last five years and that those migrating tend to have higher socioeconomic status, are older, and are more likely to be women. “The number of immigrants from Mexico has plunged in recent years,” said Rogelio Sáenz, a policy fellow of Carsey. “And who is coming has also changed. They are better educated, speak better English, are older, less likely to be men and more likely to be U.S. citizens.”

The research uses data from the 2008 and 2013 American Community Surveys to compare the demographic and socioeconomic profiles of Mexican migrants who migrated in the five years prior to each survey. Between the two surveys the volume of migration fell from 1.9 million to 819,000, a drop of 57 percent.