Cal State Fullerton’s National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) invited award-winning bilingual sports journalist and anchor Jose Cuevas to be one of their first panelists last semester on Sept. 18, 2023.
Cuevas has worked with WBOC, FOX21, WRDE and Telemundo Delmarva. He had won an Associated Press (AP) award for Best in Television for his documentary “Inside the Lines” with the Dover Senators.
Members were excited to have Cuevas on campus and learn about his journey from becoming a journalist to receiving such a prestigious award. Cuevas was equally thrilled to meet students and new members to share interesting facts about journalism. He is currently an assistant director for the Social Justice Initiative at CSUF. He also works as a freelancer as well as an educator.
He said being a Latinx journalist is difficult because newsrooms lack diversity and inclusion. Back in the day, having different cultural backgrounds and values was never acknowledged because people feared being judged and patronized, Cuevas explained. Being a journalist in a non-diverse society makes people want to choose careers that are easy and comfortable within their own community; they have no intentions or desires to compete with the corporate world as they already have stressors in their daily lives surrounding their ethnicity and race.
However, Cuevas wanted to challenge the perspective and went along with his passion for journalism. He even mentioned that an individual has to be prepared for the job they are applying for and explore other opportunities within the journalism umbrella.
Cuevas further explained that being different should never stop you from pursuing your career; instead, keep it as an addition to your personality. Receiving awards and recognition was never readily handed to him as he had to earn his place to challenge everyone’s perspective and mentality. This process takes time, but eventually, the hard work pays off. He knew his calling and would not back down for being different, which is why he encourages others like him to follow their passions as well.
At the end of the panel, students had a chance for a Q-and-A and were encouraged to stay in touch with him through LinkedIn.
