Axios welcomed NAHJ DC members on Tues. Aug. 7 for an evening of cocktails, networking and discussion with newsroom leaders at their new headquarters in downtown Clarendon. Mike Allen, founder of the digital media company, spoke to the group about the organization and journalism opportunities. He noted the importance of NAHJ and its role in ensuring the accurate coverage and representation of the Latino community in the media.

Editors and reporters then participated in a Q&A session where they highlighted the growth of Axios and different coverage focuses and strategies.

Axios is a new and fast-growing digital media company that aims to deliver vital, trustworthy news and analysis in the most efficient, illuminating and shareable way possible.

NAHJ DC board members Melissa Macaya, Patricia Guadalupe and Priscilla Alvarez represented the chapter at the 2018 NAHJ Conference held in Miami on July 19-21. They participated in the NAHJ chapter president’s meeting and membership meeting. More than 1,300 people registered for the conference, which included 13 innovative development training tracks and a sold-out Career Fair.

NAHJ DC members participated in a plenary on July 20 about “Latinos covering the White House.” It was an important and timely discussion where panelists shared their experiences and challenges covering the Trump administration.

NAHJ DC President Melissa Macaya introduced the discussion and Telemundo correspondent Lori Montenegro moderated the panel that included participants: Ed O’Keefe (CBS),Boris Sánchez (CNN), Janet Rodríguez (Univisión), María Peña (La Opinión) and Cecilia Vega (ABC News). We thank NAHJ for hosting the chapter for this discussion.

Brandon Benavides, former president of the D.C. chapter, was honored for his leadership as president of NAHJ during the Hall of Fame gala on July 22. He noted that ending his term as president was a “full circle for him” as he started his time in NAHJ during the student projects while in college.

NAHJ DC is pleased to announce our Summer 2018 Charlie Ericksen Journalism Supplement winners  Dani Matias and Jesus Rodriguez. The NAHJ DC board was very impressed with their experience and passion to empower Latino voices through journalism. They will be awarded a supplement worth $500 and be matched with a mentor who works as a journalist in the DC-area.

Dani Matias, intern at WAMU (Washington NPR station)

Dani Matias is a student at the University of Texas at Austin studying broadcast journalism with a focus in radio and pursuing a minor in Spanish. At UT, she is an active member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists, the Asian American Journalists Association and Kappa Phi Gamma Sorority, Inc. During her college career, she has interned for KUT radio station in Austin, The Texas Standard radio magazine and KERA radio station in Dallas. During these internships, she discovered a different passion – reporting on Mexican American-related topics, because it allows her to better connect with her roots and gives her the opportunity to successfully share the stories of Spanish-speaking individuals. She has also been a part of NPR’s Next Generation Radio Project and she served as the podcast technical producer for her campus newspaper, The Daily Texan. This summer she is working for WAMU radio station in Washington, DC as their newsroom intern. Post-graduation, Dani hopes to work for a local NPR station as a reporter covering cultural issues and underrepresented communities, helping to give all voices agency.

Jesus Rodriguez, intern at The Hill 

Jesus Rodriguez is a senior at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, where majors in international politics and foreign policy. From Orlando, Florida, by way of Venezuela, he has covered how national politics affects Georgetown students at his campus paper, The Hoya, while serving as its managing editor, though his work in the student newsroom now focuses on increasing diversity and representation as director of engagement. Last summer, he wrote on foreign affairs as an editorial intern for the Council on Foreign Relations. This year, Jesus participated in a fellowship program with the International Center for Journalists and was selected as one of 13 participants of the 10-day POLITICO Journalism Institute, where he wrote on U.S.-Mexico border security in the wake of the death of Claudia Gómez González, an unarmed Guatemalan immigrant who was shot in the head by a U.S. Border Patrol agent. This summer, he will be writing at The Hill. A first-generation college student, Jesus is the recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation College Scholarship and speaks four languages. You can follow him on Twitter @jesusrodriguezb.