AEJMC Trailblazers of Diversity Interview with Ray Chavez

  • Introduction
  • Chavez explains how he got into journalism by accident.
  • (Quick break to turn off ceiling fan)
  • Chavez says that he really enjoyed the writing classes, because that's where he excelled, and proceeds to give credit for his proficiency to his brother.
  • What really got him hooked, Chavez says, was working on the school newspaper.
  • Chavez describes what the Texas Tech University Daily looked like when he was there and his experience covering minorities during that time.
  • Chavez talks about his relationship with Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Montamayor when they were both students at Texas Tech.
  • Chavez talks about the newsroom in school being a sanctuary for him, and the difference between that experience and his overall experience in Lubbock.
  • Chavez recounts a story about a roommate, Lance Harter, and how he was convinced to stay in Lubbock despite desires to return home to El Paso.
  • Chavez shares a story about his efforts to find an internship in order to graduate, and the opportunity he was given to work for the West Texas Times working in covering diversity and minority communities.
  • Chavez discusses how he became interested in issues of diversity and minority groups.
  • Chavez talks about growing up in El Paso and the impact it had on his view of diversity.
  • Chavez's discusses his and his family's media consumption habbits growing up.
  • Chavez talks about his journey from the classroom into the professional newsroom starting in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, and then taking him to Washington for graduate school.
  • Chavez talks about his experience in Washington after graduate school and what drove him to go into teaching after the eruption of Mt. Saint Helens.
  • Chavez recalls how UT El Paso brought him back to the university as the advisor to the student newspaper and his impressions of those first students he had a chance to work with.
  • Chavez discusses some of his stories that he feels were the most influential in terms of diversity issues within journalism.
  • Chavez gives an example of one of these stories about Japanese gardens on the rooftops of Seattle.
  • Chavez gives another example of a series of stories examining the community of migrant workers and the native Yakamas in the Yakama Valley.
  • Chavez talks about society's tendency to be ethnocentric and how that effects journalistic newsrooms.
  • Chavez talks about his experience getting back into the newsroom at The Albuquerque Tribune after leaving UTEP and his efforts to change the way people define news.
  • Chavez recalls one of the series that he oversaw at The Albuquerque Tribune called "The Streets of El Paso" thatfocused on a "slice of life" type of story.
  • Chavez discusses the feedback he got as a journalist and the need journalists have to disregard their pursuit of popularity. He emphasizes this by recalling a story that was published regarding "shooting galleries".
  • Chavez talks about what it means to do your job as a journalist as raising constructive hell.
  • Chavez talks about the recommendations of outside consultants like Scripts-Howard and their lack of understanding of the community.
  • Chavez discusses the treatment of diverse groups within journalism newsrooms and it's resemblence of a family.
  • Chavez talks about his membership in AEJMC and his opinion about its importance within the industry.
  • Chavez explains what AEJMC is and who it benefits.
  • Chavez recounts the reason he joined AEJMC the first time and each of the times after that.
  • Chavez talks about how he has seen AEJMC evolve and change since his first experience with the organization.
  • Chavez talks about the traditional approach of universities to success and accomplishment of professors through research.
  • Chavez addresses the importance of AJEMC's growth through interest groups and how that can impact accreditation and the relevance of academic research.
  • Chavez defines the differences between AEJMC and ACEJMC and his role within the process of accreditation.
  • Chavez discusses his experiences with diversity in academia and the shortcomings he finds.
  • Chavez gives an example of academic diversity in curriculum through a course on women in the media at the University of Colorado and his experience as an adviser to a women's study group.
  • Chavez reviews his history in teaching starting as a TA at the University of Washington and continuing through his first full-time teaching position at San Jose State University.
  • Chavez's next teaching position was at the University of Texas at El Paso, before he left to join a professional newsroom again.
  • Next, Chavez was recommended by previous students to come to the University of Colorado where he eventually helped to established and direct an Office of Student Diversity.
  • Within the Office of Student Diversity, Chavez created another group, MEMO - the Multi-Ethnic Media Organization.
  • After Colorado, Chavez went on to the University of South Dakota and created the American Indian Journalism Institute with the help of Jack Marsh (Freedom Forum) and Danny Mcculough (University of Montana).
  • This experience lead Chavez to accept an opportunity at the University of Oklahoma to work as a visiting professor with Fred Blevins, the creator of TheOklahoma Institute for Diversity in Journalism.
  • Chavez explains that his entire academic life was about diversity.
  • Chavez talks about when he realized the importance of emphasizing diversity in journalism education both in practice and on the faculty.
  • Chavez talks about how he became more aware of diversity issues by going out and experiencing it.
  • Chavez talks about what he would do when covering African-American communities.
  • Chavez talks about what he would do when covering Latino communities. (Speaks in Spanish with different accents based on origin of the group.)
  • Chavez talks about how he adjusted his approach to dealing with different groups.
  • Chavez discusses the major challenges that face diversity in journalism education.
  • Chavez reflects on the current state of diversity and its issues.
  • Chavez recalls an experience he had receiving an award that helped him to recognize the importance that diversity had played throughout his entire career.