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By George Benge Sentence reversed, system changed The Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal Don Lindley, Executive Editor Patricio Balona, a bilingual cops and courts reporter, received a tip from a bilingual source to check out a criminal case involving a Cuban man. The Spanish-speaking man was assigned a court-appointed interpreter in 2004 when he accepted a plea deal from prosecutors. Our reporter found out the man thought he was pleading no contest to stealing a toolbox, a misdemeanor, and would receive probation. In fact, he was pleading guilty to a felony — the theft of a large dump truck valued at $125,000 — and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Our coverage prompted a national expert to write in a report to the judge that the court interpreter was not fluent in Spanish and her translation was incomprehensible. That led the judge to throw out the man’s plea and sentence. The case helped spur enactment of a new state law last year requiring minimum standards for certification, discipline and training of court interpreters. Reporter Balona’s fluency in Spanish not only helped him get the initial tip but also allowed him to interview the man in jail, evaluate the interpretation for himself, and follow the proceedings. Postscript: The man asked for a jury trial in June 2006 and was convicted of third-degree felony grand theft. He was sentenced to five years in prison. His attorney expects him to be out in three years, given his credit for time served. School story reshaped Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, N.Y. Calvin Stovall, Executive Editor A reporter learned that some African-American students entrenched in their studies have to cope with some other African-American kids calling them “white” for trying so hard to advance academically. The reporter and some editors — all of whom in the discussion were white — were very excited about the idea. An African-American editor pointed out that this is not really a new occurrence and that it has happened for years in our community and in others. That point led to a discussion that some African Americans will look at the story as old news and perhaps as another story with a negative spin about people of color. The story idea was adjusted to focus more on the ways African-American students are finding to succeed while sometimes facing socioeconomic obstacles as well as peer pressure from other kids. Auto story advanced The Detroit News Sue Burzynski, Managing Editor Diversity in the newsroom routinely leads to stories that we might not have known about if our staff was homogenous. Here’s one example: Our auto writers were chasing a tip about one of the U.S. carmaker’s plans for its dealerships in Asia. We needed to reach Japanese dealers to check the story out. The business editor asked a page designer, who is a native of Japan, to help make the phone calls. As you can imagine, having a fluent Japanese speaker was a valuable resource in our coverage of the global auto industry. Indian language preserved Hugo (Okla.) Daily News Stan Stampler, Publisher Since our assistant editor is a Choctaw Indian, he had a specific interest in helping his tribe preserve the spoken Choctaw language. Each week he published a Choctaw/English vocabulary lesson that encouraged readers of all ages to be more aware of the Choctaw language. Clearly, this elevated awareness of the Choctaw language and the need to preserve it among our readers. Money pipeline explored Star Tribune, Minneapolis Scott Gillespie, Managing Editor Photographer Elizabeth Flores has long been interested in immigration issues. She wanted to do something that hasn’t been done. In talking to immigrants she heard a dramatic story about men from Axochiapan, Mexico, coming to the Twin Cities to earn money to send back to their families in Mexico. She did research, made a proposal and eventually traveled to Mexico with Reporter Kevin Diaz. They produced a three-part series, “The Money Pipeline: Little Minneapolis,” describing how a flow of money from Minneapolis has brought a building boom to a town in Mexico. Liz’s ability to speak Spanish and get undocumented workers to trust her allowed us to identify an important story. Most of Liz and Kevin’s interviews were done in Spanish. Fresh perspective offered Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram Jeannine Guttman, Editor and Vice President Having journalists of color on our staff has opened reporting windows to our communities and created wholly different kinds of news discussions in our newsroom. When a news staff has a rich diversity of backgrounds and perspectives, that experience enriches and expands all facets of newsroom life — from story conversations at the water cooler to staff meetings, from initiating major projects and changing beats to understanding and seeing our community. Homeless problem revealed The Honolulu Advertiser Mark Platte, Vice President and Editor Homelessness is a major issue in Hawaii, where housing is very expensive. One of our page designers, a native Hawaiian, alerted the city desk to the rising numbers of homeless people on the beaches of Waianae, an area with a high concentration of Hawaiians. The series that unfolded was an eye-opening look at the thousands of people who, for lack of money to rent or buy a home, live on the beach. The series generated dozens of contributions and expressions of concern from readers and prompted action from state agencies to accelerate the building of transitional housing, especially for homeless families with children. Culture preserved Tulare Advance-Register and Times-Delta, Visalia, Calif. Linda Green, Executive Editor A Chips Quinn Scholar intern of Chinese descent made contact with other Chinese Americans in town. As a result of his conversations, he was able to write a two-part story on how older Chinese residents worked to preserve their culture and teach younger generations. The story gave voice to a group of people we cannot always easily reach. It delved into details that might not have occurred to someone from outside the Chinese culture. City’s sweeping changes recognized The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Miss. Ronnie Agnew, Executive Editor The “Changing Face of Jackson” series we did a couple of years ago, and have revisited, was a direct result of diversity in the newsroom. It came about after newspaper editors noticed a dramatic shift in political and economic power in Mississippi’s capital city. Our analysis showed that white citizens were leaving the city at a rate of 1,000 a year. Public safety was an issue. Public schools, which are 98 percent African American, were out of the question for white citizens. Through many public forums, we found a lack of trust between the races, even at the highest levels. Prominent white business people, once the backbone of the community, felt their views no longer mattered. When we assembled black citizens, we found they wanted the same thing as their white peers: Good schools, economic opportunities, housing. The series was illuminating and is still talked about around town. We will do it again. Having diversity among our reporting and editing ranks made this project successful. Pacesetter’s note: The executive editor and managing editor of The Clarion-Ledger are African Americans. City’s practices explained Laredo (Texas) Morning Times Diana Fuentes, Editor We recently did a number of stories about colonias — (poor, unincorporated communities that often lack basic services, including running water and electricity.) One of the local colonias is incorporated, but was having difficulties as a city entity. There was a high rate of non-payment of taxes. The normal, knee-jerk reaction is that the residents are too poor, theycan’t pay taxes, they just don’t care, etc. The reality is that most of the community came from Mexico, where they don’t pay taxes. The practice is foreign to them. Similarly, there was a hue and cry about trash collection — the city picks it up and charges a fee. If you lived in Mexico, you never paid a fee in your life, and you think the city here is taking advantage of you. My reporter, who grew up in Mexico, understood that and wrote a story that explained it. As a result, the city has changed the way it communicates the fee structure. The officials realize that the people were unfamiliar, not unwilling. Now tax-payment rates are up. It’s a newspaper’s job to explain — that’s what we do. It’s something that really matters for us. Religious faith explored Nebraska City (Neb.) News-Press Tammy Pearson, Executive Editor Diversity goes beyond racial and ethnic differences. I’m quite proud of a series of stories about different religions. The stories explore the beliefs of religions practiced in our community. Stories have included features on religions that are followed by only a few people in our area to those that have large local followings. OTHER STORIES REPORTED There were other reports of strong diversity coverage by ASNE Diversity Pacesetters, including many dealing with people and issues within growing local Hispanic communities: • The Roanoke (Va.) Times: Instead of sparking fireworks and conflict, a story about immigrants who lived in a tidy neighborhood and parked an armada of vehicles in their front yard, ultimately led to a discussion that bridged a cultural divide and prompted shared understanding and a reasonable resolution to the problem. • Republican-American, Waterbury, Conn.: A Hispanic photographer and a Spanish-speaking reporter provided timely and accurate coverage that was greatly appreciated by the local Hispanic community after a bus crash in New York State killed three and injured many others among a Hispanic church group touring Niagara Falls. • El Paso (Texas) Times: During a summer of historic flooding, the newspaper’s diverse reporting staff knew that Hispanic flood victims weren’t going to be found in Red Cross shelters because they would seek shelter and assistance from friends and families within the Hispanic community. Reporters wouldn’t have known that if they didn’t understand the culture. • The Dallas Morning News: In planning for the immigration march that drew 500,000 to downtown Dallas last spring, Reporters Dianne Solis and Macarena Hernandez sensed turnout would likely be huge through their sources in the Hispanic community. (Official estimates had been as low as 20,000.) Managing Editor George Rodrigue trusted the reporters’ instincts and organized a multi-dimensional coverage plan that was spectacular in real time and in the next day’s paper.
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In one story after another, diverse staffers identify, bring unique content to newspapers 
