OUR 25TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR...

¡feliz aniversario!

Weekly Report was born in 1983, the child of the fertile minds and big
visions of our tiny staff. Give the community bullets of information and
let it take aim at those guarding the white towers of power.

In its prototype 4-page edition, our first Gannett Foundation intern-reporter, Julio Barreto, exposed the U.S. Congress as one of the nation’s worst “old white boys” clubs. In a nation that was 8.6% Hispanic, less than one percent of Congress’s staff
and committee members were Hispanic.

To get that figure right, Julio had to contact well over 500 congressional offices.

California’s reputed liberal Senator Alan Cranston, running for the Democratic nomination for president at the time, had a single Hispanic on his staff of 64.

Because of the attention given Julio’s story by that state’s press, Cranston’s next five hires were Hispanic, we were informed.

OUR 25TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR...


This 25th anniversary edition of Weekly Report blends the wit and wisdom of some of our early creative voices and respected spokespersons. Challenging your memories and hindsight are:

STEVE PADILLA: Weekly Report’s founding editor, now an editor with the Los Angeles Times, sets the stage with recollections to remind us that journalism can be fun.

DOUG MARTÍNEZ: Who is our leader? The former Link columnist answers that question in 1980.

ARMANDO RODRÍGUEZ: In another 1980 column, the man of a thousand Hispanic “firsts” reveals through personal experience the many identities we endure.

KAREN LYNN CLOS: In 1992, this strong Latina voice warns of confusing our cultural strengths with fads and pageantry.

PATRICIO FLORES: In 1980 our foremost religious leader suggests that Hispanics explore a different approach for a different time.

WILLIE VELÁSQUEZ: Also in 1980, voter registration pioneer answers the question, “What’s the most enduring political tradition in the Southwest?”

WEEKLY REPORT’S CARTOONS HELPED TELL THE HISPANIC STORY: Take a look at a few of the cartoons Weekly Report printed over the years including some of Lalo Alcaraz’s cartoons when he was still in college.

For more, visit www.hispaniclink.org.