ACLU's Romero to Address NAHJ's 17th Annual Scholarship Banquet in New York City on Feb. 16

ACLU's Romero to Address NAHJ's 17th Annual Scholarship Banquet in New York City on Feb. 16

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, will deliver the keynote speech at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists' 17th Annual Scholarship Banquet in New York City on Feb. 16, 2006 at Gotham Hall.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050512/DCNAHJLOGO )

Named in 2005 as one of Time Magazine's 25 most influential Hispanics, Romero represents an organization that is a key player in the cause for protecting individual rights in a post Sept. 11 world.

Romero is the ACLU's sixth executive director as well as the first Latino and openly gay man to head the organization. During his tenure, which began two weeks before Sept. 11, 2001, the ACLU has worked to protect the civil liberties of U.S. citizens and residents as well as hold government officials accountable for the treatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib (Iraq), Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), and in Afghanistan.

Lynda Baquero, anchor for WNBC's NewsChannel 4 in New York City, will serve as the banquet's mistress of ceremonies.

"Romero's organization is front and center in so many of the constitutional struggles being played out in these times of intense military and culture wars, so his is an important voice in the news of today," said Ivan Roman, NAHJ's Executive Director. "He is also a role model for many of our young people and to all of us who aspire to be actively involved, either through the news media or some other way, in the civic dialogue that will ultimately make our society stronger and more tolerant."

The scholarship banquet supports NAHJ's Ruben Salazar Scholarship Fund, which provides financial assistance to Hispanic students pursuing careers in journalism, and its educational programs that include four convention-based newsroom internship opportunities for college journalism students.

The fund is named in honor of journalist Ruben Salazar who was killed in 1970 while covering the Chicano Anti-Vietnam War Moratorium in East Los Angeles. Salazar was a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and the news director for the Spanish-language television station KMEX at the time of his death.

Founded in 1986, the fund has awarded more than $1,000,000 in scholarships to more than 700 students.

In 2005, NAHJ awarded $105,000 in scholarships to 40 students thanks to the generous support of the last banquet's sponsors. At this upcoming gala, NAHJ will have the pleasure of highlighting CNN's $335,000 scholarship contribution for Latino students aspiring into careers in journalism as part of the CNN 25 Scholars Initiative.

Fox News Channel's Geraldo Rivera will also be recognized for his $80,000 contribution to establish an NAHJ scholarship.

The sponsors to date for the upcoming banquet include:

DEAN LEVEL
Continental Airlines
The Coca-Cola Company

CHAIRPERSON LEVEL
Bloomberg
NBC Universal
State Farm Insurance

PROFESSOR LEVEL
AARP
Anheuser-Busch
AOL
CBS News
CNN
Con Edison
el diario/LA PRENSA
Ford Motor Company
HBO
Heineken USA
La Opinion
Magazine Publishers of America
Merck Co., Inc.
NBC 4 Telemundo 47
Newsday
New York Daily News
The New York Times
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
Univision Communications Inc.
Verizon Communications
Walt Disney Parks & Resorts

SUPPORTER LEVEL
Goya Foods, Inc.
Harrah's Entertainment

The banquet begins with a reception at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. Gotham Hall is located at 1356 Broadway in Manhattan.

For more information on the scholarship banquet, visit NAHJ's website at http://www.nahj.org/, or contact Azuree Salazar, NAHJ's development director, at 202-662-7482.

The ACLU, founded in 1920, works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

NAHJ is the largest association for Hispanic journalists in the country with close to 2,000 members. Founded in 1984, the mission of NAHJ is to increase the number of Latino journalists working in the nation's newsrooms and to improve the media's coverage of the Latino community.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050512/DCNAHJLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: National Association of Hispanic Journalists

CONTACT: Daniela Montalvo of the National Association of Hispanic
Journalists, +1-202-662-7152

Web site: http://www.nahj.org/

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