Hispanic Link Founder Charles Ericksen Still Going Strong at 80
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As the sun rises over the nation’s capital, Charlie Ericksen takes the elevator down from his seventh floor apartment to his office on the first floor. In that office on N Street, Ericksen is touching the lives of aspiring journalists and changing the way mainstream media covers the Latino community. Ericksen, 80, is the managing editor and founder of Hispanic Link, a syndicated bilingual news column published by dozens of news outlets nationwide. He founded the Link in 1980 because he felt the Latino community was not getting adequate coverage and opportunities from other news outlets. In 1979, there were three Puerto Rican reporters nationwide, according to Ericksen. Many issues, he said, were seen from the perspective of “black and white,” and mainstream media rarely covered stories that affected Latino residents.