Prof. Laura Castaneda of USC Annenberg wins 2019 Bingham Fellowship Award
Columbia, Mo. (July 9, 2019) - Laura Castañeda, a professor of professional practice at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, is the 2019 recipient of the Barry Bingham Sr. Fellowship, awarded by the American Society of News Editors.
The $1,000 award, given in recognition of an educator's outstanding efforts to encourage students of color in the field of journalism, will be presented at the inaugural News Leaders Association News Leadership Conference, Sept. 9-10, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
A merger of ASNE and the Association of Opinion Journalists, which originated the fellowship, was completed in 2016. The American Society of News Editors and the Associated Press Media Editors are now joining forces to become NLA, the News Leaders Association.
Castañeda was nominated for this fellowship by Amara Aguilar, associate professor of professional practice at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
"During her almost two decades at Annenberg, she has been an advocate for diversity of all kinds when it comes to recruitment and mentoring of faculty and students, research and writing, curriculum revisions, and teaching," wrote Aguilar.
"Prof. Castañeda was a diversity advocate even before she became an academic. As a news reporter, columnist and editor at the AP in San Francisco, New York, and Mexico; the Dallas Morning News , and the San Francisco Chronicle , she always covered stories that pertained to underrepresented communities. She also co-wrote a book titled 'The Latino Guide to Personal Money Management" for Bloomberg Press in 1999 that was published in Spanish by Seven Stories Press a year later. She continues to work as a freelancer, and has published stories about Latinos as well as people with invisible disabilities such as dyslexia and ADHD in publications ranging from theAtlantic.com to USA Today's Hispanic Living magazine."
"As a scholar, many of her articles have also focused on Latinos or other under covered groups. She co-edited a book titled 'News and Sexuality: Media Portraits of Diversity' in 2006 for Sage Publications that was produced because she needed a text for a called 'The American Press and Issues of Sexual Diversity,' which was one of the first of its kind at any U.S. university. She also teaches 'Gender and the News Media,' 'People of Color and the News,' and as well as the Latino social media class mentioned previously. She has served as faculty advisor for USC's student chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) since its founding in 2015, and has served on the NAHJ National Board as its Academic Officer at Large. She regularly speaks at many South Los Angeles middle and high school career days. We are currently working on a research project that involves surveying Latina journalists in the United States."
"Prof. Castañeda is a longstanding and active member of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). She won the Baskett Mosse Award for faculty development in 2002 for her curriculum work, and was selected for the AEJMC's 2016-17 Institute for Diverse Leadership in Journalism and Communication program. She has also organized and will moderate a panel at this summer's AEJMC conference in Washington D.C. titled 'How Women and People of Color Can Move into Higher Ed Leadership.'"
"Choosing a winner of the Bingham Award is a formidable task each year, given the caliber of applicants and their achievements. That said, Prof. Castañeda's work on behalf of journalism, the teaching of its best practices and the impressive sweep of her longstanding work toward diversity stood out," said Andre Jackson, editorial editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and AJC.com, and a member of the selection committee.
ASNE is proud to award Prof. Castañeda with this year's Barry Bingham Sr. Fellowship Award, and look forward to seeing how she continues to encourage students of color to grow and develop in the field of journalism.
About the American Society of News Editors
The American Society of News Editors focuses on leadership development and journalism-related issues. Founded in 1922 as a nonprofit professional organization, ASNE promotes fair, principled journalism; defends and protects First Amendment rights; and fights for freedom of information and open government. Leadership, innovation, diversity and inclusion in coverage and the journalism work force, opinion journalism, news literacy and the sharing of ideas are also key ASNE initiatives.