Taking the origin story of this newsletter to Las Vegas
Greetings, familia:
By the time this week's newsletter hits your inbox, I should be on an airplane to Las Vegas.
I'm not a gambler, but I'm going on business to the first in-person convention in three years for the National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
COVID-19 sidelined the gatherings for a while, but those of us who are very social people (including many of my Latino friends and family) can't wait to see each other again after so much time at NABJ-NAHJ's convention. There's anticipation, excitement and anxiety because people want to learn, have a good time and return to their homes healthy.
Aside from all the training and learning sessions I plan to attend, I am moderating and presenting on a panel about Latino-oriented newsletters. Apparently, Latino Tennessee Voices has gotten some national attention, so I am delighted to represent the Volunteer State in Sin City.
My co-panelists are Angel Rodríguez, editor of the Latinx Files newsletter from the Los Angeles Times, and Astrid Galván, editor of Axios Latino.
I have been a fan of their work for some time, and we will be talking about our newsletters' origin stories, the growing market for Latino-oriented products and why this work matters.
My hope is that while we are in Vegas, my colleagues and I will connect with future journalists for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee newsrooms.
Our Editor Michael A. Anastasi recently wrote a column about our company's annual Diversity Census, which marks our progress toward our goal of reflecting the community's demographics in our newsroom.
At The Tennessean, we have made substantive progress overall, but we have more work to do in mirroring the Latino community in our newsroom.
When NAHJ formed in the 1980s, the purpose of the group was to improve accurate coverage of Latino communities, and a way to do that is to hire more Latino journalists who can tell stories with greater understanding, context and empathy.
Scroll to read Michael's column.
And share with me any tips you have for things to do in Vegas.
You will also find more compelling reads of the week:
USA TODAY reporter Maria Aguilar writes about how "apps aim to change traffic stops forever with legal advice and live-streaming."
Higher education reporter Chris Quintana wrote about how while Americans see college as valuable, many also think it's too expensive.
Columnist John A. Torres of Florida Today writes about how a recent medical misdiagnosis of his father led to his family's grief, anger and resilience.
I re-share the video podcast with Martha Silva and Tara Lentz of Conexión Américas, which was one of Nashville's early voting sites for the Aug. 4 primary election. If you you have not voted yet, learn more about the candidates.
México en el Corazón returns
Mark your calendars: Casa de la Cultura is back with a free concert called "México en el Corazón" on Thursday, Aug. 25, at 7 p.m. at the Nashville Symphony, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 1 Symphony Place, downtown Nashville 37201. Learn more at the website: https://casadelaculturanashville.org/
Storytellers event in October
SAVE THE DATE: The Tennessean hosts the Latino Tennessee Voices Storytellers event where people from the community share a story from their lives, be it about fitting in, accepting their identity or finding their voice. The event will be at Plaza Mariachi on Nolensville Pike at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13. Right now, we are selling tickets for the Black Tennessee Voices Storytellers event on Sept. 20 at the National Museum of African American Music, which I encourage you to see. Tickets for Latino Tennessee Voices Storytellers will be on sale soon, more details to come.
¡Muchas gracias!
David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network - Tennessee. He is of Colombian and Cuban descent, has studied or worked in several Spanish-speaking countries, and was the founding editor of Gaceta Tropical in Southwest Florida. He has lived in Tennessee since 2014. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Latino Tennessee Voices newsletter's story will be told in Las Vegas
