LATINOS HAVE SAY ON NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL LEADERS URGE MORE REPRESENTATIVE VOICES.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

NORTHRIDGE - At a town hall meeting Tuesday to improve dialogue between the Daily News and its Latino readers, area Latino leaders raised concerns about the newspaper's coverage and urged reporters and editors to use more sources from their community and be more sensitive to their culture.

Part of a joint effort between the Daily News and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists' Parity Project, the meeting was the first of many aimed at putting the newspaper in closer touch with Latino readers.

``It's all about opening dialogue and breaking down walls,'' Daily News Publisher Tracy Rafter told a group of about 100 people who gathered at California State University, Northridge.

``We want to focus on bridging access to the community. As we're making decisions on stories, on all aspects of the newspaper, we want to emphasize that our eyes are open so that the community can feel like they have access to us.''

Speakers asked Daily News editors and reporters at the meeting to focus more on Latino success stories, pointing to the Latino business owners, professionals and blue-collar workers who have raised families in the San Fernando Valley and put their kids through college.

``There are strides that the paper has made, but there is still a way to go, as with most papers,'' said Ivan Ramon, executive director for NAHJ. ``One of the ways to improve coverage is to encourage the community to understand the importance of the media in their everyday lives.''

The Parity Project, carried out in communities across the nation, also seeks to broaden voices in the newsroom by helping newspapers hire more Latino journalists.

But Ramon emphasized the importance of all working journalists engaging Latinos in everyday issues.

Despite years of recruiting for Latino journalists, Latinos make up just 4 percent of newsroom personnel at daily English-language newspapers, according to NAHJ.

Jose Hernandez, a San Fernando city councilman, criticized the Daily News for not giving the Latino community a strong enough voice.

``Reading the Daily News, you don't see too many Spanish surnames in the letters to the editor, and the reason is, I don't think you publish them,'' Hernandez said.

Daily News Editor Ron Kaye, who said the paper's outreach to the Latino community was long overdue, said the paper tries to publish letters that reflect the overall community.

``I know how deeply you feel that,'' Kaye said, referring to Hernandez's comment. ``We have to work to change that perception.''

Susan Abram, [phone]

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Los Angeles Daily News Editor Ron Kaye listens to concerns about the newspaper's coverage of the Latino community during a town hall meeting Tuesday at California State University Northridge.

Andy Holzman/Daily News