LAT reporter's legacy to be honored

Ruben Salazar, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times who was killed Aug. 29, 1970 during a riot he was covering in East Los Angeles, will be honored with a USPS commemorative stamp (left) for "giving voice to those who didn't have one". Staff writer Louis Sahagun wrote in today's Los Angeles Times:

In honor of trailblazing newsman Ruben Salazar's relentless efforts to chronicle the complexity of race relations in Los Angeles, the U.S. Postal Service in 2008 will issue a commemorative stamp of the former Los Angeles Times reporter and columnist.

"He was a groundbreaker for Latinos in this country, but his work spoke to all Americans," Postmaster Gen. John E. Potter said Monday. "By giving voice to those who didn't have one, Ruben Salazar worked to improve life for everybody. His reporting of the Latino experience in this country set a standard that's rarely met even today."

... [snip, snip] ....

Inspired by Salazar's legacy, [Frank] Sotomayor [associate director of USC Annenberg's Institute for Justice and Journalism] and the dozen Latino journalists working in Los Angeles at the time formed a professional organization, the California Chicano News Media Assn., to encourage other ethnic minorities to pursue careers in journalism. Over the years, the group, which has since changed it name to CCNMA Latino Journalists of California, has awarded nearly $700,000 in scholarships to 680 students and sponsored 29 journalism opportunity conferences.

(end of post)