There are times in history when the story of current events – what we know as news – enters a state of flux. New voices emerge to tell the stories of people and our world that are happening in real time. Today, we see this with YouTube, blogging, social media, community radio and TV. Periods of change can also be times of danger. People’s right to know must be protected and reporters must hold themselves responsible for present facts and truth without embellishment as far as they are able to discern them … in other words, the principles of expository journalism must be upheld.
Protectors of truth and ethics emerge to serve the people, and one high profile protector is Hispanic-American journalist, author and Eyewitness News reporter, Joe Torres. Mr. Torres will share his life and career experiences with students and the community at Bergen Community College on Thursday, October 2 2014 at 11am in the Ciccone Theater. Come and hear his story and thoughts.
Joe Torres is senior adviser for government and external affairs for Free Press and the Free Press Action Fund (an advocacy arm of Free Press), a non-governmental organization for research and policy lobbying related to media reform. Free Press lobbies in Washington, DC and in the states, with the goal of supporting diversity and independence in US media. Torres was also deputy director of communications and media policy at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and was a journalist for eight years.
…Torres is co-author, with Juan González, of “News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media” (2011, ISBN 978-1-84467-687-3), a history of the American media with special focus on media outlets owned and controlled by people of color, and how they were suppressed—sometimes violently—by mainstream political, corporate and media leaders.