Paving the Way for Latinos in the Media: The Impact of the California Chicano News Media Association

The California Chicano News Media Association (CCNMA) was founded in 1972 before other modern-day national minority journalism groups such as the National Association of Black Journalists. This research using the CCNMA archives and oral history explores the CCNMA’s many milestones to signify its historical significance as one of the most impactful organizations supporting minority journalists in the United States. Based in California, the most populous state and the state with the most Latinos in the country, the CCNMA has paved the way for Chicano and Latino journalists to work in newsrooms. Formed during the Chicano Civil Rights Movement, the CCNMA created a pool of Chicano and Latino journalists to enter mainstream media where none existed before. They also worked to support and train the next generation of Latino journalists. They fought for representation of Latinos in the media and to change media portrayals.