journalism

Society of Professional Journalists Nixes "illegal alien" and "illegal immigrant"

October 2, 2011 by Left in Alabama

Who knows better than journalists that words do matter ...

The Society of Professional Journalists, hearing an emotional plea from Rebecca Aguilar, a member of SPJ and of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, voted Tuesday to recommend that newsrooms discontinue using the terms "illegal alien" and "illegal immigrant." The resolution from the 7,800-member organization says only courts can decide when a person has committed an illegal act.

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"I hope that it makes a statement about sensitivity to language. It has an effect on the people it refers to," Albarado said. "I hope it shows people that journalists are concerned about being accurate when they refer to people, plus I hope it helps shape the discussion."

The Alabama media have been pretty good about this already, except when they're quoting from the Beason-Hammon Law which uses the term "illegal alien" several times.  By my count, Alabama's law refers to "alien" or "aliens" a whopping 150 times.

Steve Klinger Guest Blog: New Independent Newspaper 'The Light of New Mexico' Seeks to Illuminate Inconvenient Truths

September 28, 2011 by Democracy for N...

This is a guest blog by Steve Klinger, a long-time journalist and editor of the Grassroots Press, on the recent launch of a new, independent print and online newspaper called The Light of New Mexico. Steve will be editing the paper, which will initially be published monthly. The first print issue of The Light of New Mexico hit the streets of Santa Fe on September 15, with a cover story on "The Politics of H2O: Who Controls Your Water?" It's also available for download as a pdf by clicking here.

The newspaper, published by Skip Whitson, will focus on "Illuminating Inconvenient Truths," and will be covering "Conscious Culture, including Politics, Reviews, Books and Entertainment." The Light of New Mexico is designed to serve as a progressive, alternative source of ideas, information and a networking nexus for north-central New Mexico and beyond, providing a newspaper, a blog and a community resource.