Susan Paterno receives award for mentoring Latino students and journalists

Chapman University Journalism Program Director Susan Paterno received the President’s Award at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) 40th Anniversary Conference and Exposition for her work mentoring Latino students.

“This award is not so much a recognition of my contributions, but rather a celebration of the countless students who have dedicated themselves to the pursuit of truth and stories that matter,” Paterno said. “Having more Latino voices in newsrooms is essential to a vibrant and informed democracy.”

“I am deeply grateful to NAHJ for its unwavering commitment to supporting and increasing the number of Latino journalists across the country.”

In what NAHJ called a “moving exchange,” outgoing NAHJ President Yvette Cabrera presented Paterno, who was her journalism professor in college, with the President’s Award.

Cabrera met Paterno while studying at Occidental College in the 1990s.

She credits Paterno for teaching her the basics of journalism through the student newspaper and journalism courses.

“At the time, Occidental didn’t have a journalism major. We were able to take journalism courses with Susan, that’s how I met her, and she was also the staff advisor for the paper,” Cabrera said. “She taught our journalism courses and so she really laid the groundwork for me as a journalist.”

“Susan taught us that we, as journalists, deserve to be in places where we can ask the right questions to tell these stories.”

Cabrera recalls learning the importance of accessing information in order to report fairly and accurately on communities, especially communities of color.

“Those are the principles I learned from Sue, because she was that kind of journalist,” Cabrera said. “Someone who was working at the Orange County Register at the time, doing those investigations, uncovering information on behalf of the community and telling those stories in the way that I also saw the need to do in Los Angeles, which was already diversifying.”

This summer, the university’s Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences named her the Tedeschi Professor of Journalism, recognizing Paterno’s contributions to journalism and her commitment to education and research.

Paterno continues to mentor aspiring journalists through the Collegiate News Service, a collaboration with Voice of OC and Chapman University, where students participate in reporting on vital quality-of-life issues and civic news throughout Orange County.

“What Sue has continued to do with each generation of journalists she has taught is prepare them to do accountability journalism,” Cabrera said. “She has prepared them to do investigative writing, to question, to understand that we have a right to ask these questions on behalf of the community to make sure that they have the information they need to live healthy lives, attend schools that are properly funded and be represented in city hall by representatives who look out for their interests.”

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Susan Paterno receives award for mentoring Latino students and journalists

ByS. Jacob

By S. Jacob

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