IOA Newsmakers

Institute of the Americas board member Darcel Hulse has been selected by the Boys Scouts of America's San Diego-Imperial Council to receive the Patriot of the Year Award.

Hulse, who is the president and CEO of Sempra LNG, will be honored at this year's Stars and Stripes dinner on December 1 at the Paradise Point Resort and Spa. Hulse’s contributions to the Institute and his role as a civic-minded leader of Sempra make him an outstanding citizen and the Institute encourages your attendance at this event to benefit the Boys Scouts. Individual tickets are $250 per person and sponsorship opportunities exist. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

On Oct. 3, I took office as President of the Institute of the Americas. I am very pleased to lead this extraordinary organization that stands out in this region for its work in key economic sectors such as energy, for its professional workshops for Spanish-speaking journalists, civil society and government agencies, and for its outreach and forums to inform, connect, and delight about the countries of the Americas.

The calendar of activities is filling up for the months to come. On October 26-27 we are pleased to host a Peruvian Night with world renowned Peruvian retablista Claudio Jiménez. We look forward to welcoming Brazilian Ambassador to the U.S. Mauro Vieira on November 15 (confirmation pending).

Energy-related programming includes several important tracks as the year comes to a close. On Oct. 21, the Institute will be hosting a conference in Beijing on the evolving energy relationship between China and countries in the Americas, focusing on Chinese oil policy, climate change and energy alternatives, followed by two workshops with policy-makers on Central American Energy integration, the first in Washington D.C. (October 26-27), then in Guatemala (November 22-23), ending with an Executive Roundtable in Costa Rica (December 6).

My wife Robin and I are delighted to be here in San Diego and I personally look forward to getting to know you and the community in weeks to come. There will be many exciting programs at the Institute where your presence and active participation will be welcomed.

Sincerely,

Charles S. Shapiro
President

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Journalists from Costa Rica participated in a series of investigative reporting workshops in August 2011 instructed by Institute of the Americas Vice President S. Lynne Walker.

During a week-long training course in the capital of San Jose and in the rural province of Perez Zeledon, Walker trained 127 journalists and journalism students. In addition to working with reporters at the nation’s largest print, radio and television outlets, Walker also met with students at Universidad Latina and the University of Costa Rica.

The Aug. 29-Sept. 1 training course, which was organized by the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica, focused on new ways of telling stories and on reporting and writing investigative stories on corruption, international gangs and organized crime. The training also focused on the use of social media in reporting stories and emphasized a code of ethics when using social media to inform the public.

During her trip, Walker also met with U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica Anne Andrew, who hosted a luncheon with the nation’s media leaders.  Andrew expressed her support of Costa Rican journalists and their efforts to conduct in-depth reporting on the major news events in the country.

In other news, the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana organized a two-day workshop in August on new techniques for using digital platforms to cover news stories.

During the opening session of the Aug. 18-19, workshop, U.S. Consul General Steven Kashkett recognized the need for digital tools in reporting breaking news stories. He noted that the media has an added responsibility in this era of smart phones and high-speed Internet service to offer immediate coverage of events that are of great public concern.

Some 32 journalists from the Mexican border cities of Tijuana and Mexicali attended the professional workshop, titled, "Journalism in the 21st Century."  The reporters, who work for print, radio, TV and on-line media outlets, discussed the challenges they face in a rapidly changing media environment. They also shared their own experiences and advice about new methods of news delivery.

Walker served as the instructor of the workshop.

In a session titled, "Using Social Media and Digital Journalism to Establish a New Relationship with Your Audience," Walker discussed methods of researching and covering stories via social media such as Facebook and Twitter as well as reviewing new, low-cost Internet tools that journalists can use to tell their stories on media web sites.

A second session offered by Walker and titled, "Ethics, freedom of expression and the growth of web-based media throughout the world," focused on the need for a new code of professional ethics in the era of digital reporting.

The journalists also heard a presentation by Andrew Donohue, executive editor of the San Diego-based on-line web site VoiceofSanDiego.com which was titled, "New Techniques for Digital Investigative Journalism."

Donohue, who served as a 2010 Pulitzer Prize judge, showed reporters ways in which they can offer their audiences award-winning investigative journalism for on-line news sites, even in cases where their media organizations have limited resources.

TIJUANA -- In response to the increasing demand for on-line news, the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana organized a two-day workshop on new techniques for using digital platforms to cover news stories.

During the opening session of the Aug. 18-19, 2011, workshop, U.S. Consul General Steven Kashkett recognized the need for digital tools in reporting breaking news stories. He noted that the media has an added responsibility in this era of smart phones and high-speed Internet service to offer immediate coverage of events that are of great public concern.

Some 32 journalists from the Mexican border cities of Tijuana and Mexicali attended the professional workshop, titled, "Journalism in the 21st Century."  The reporters, who work for print, radio, TV and on-line media outlets, discussed the challenges they face in a rapidly changing media environment. They also shared their own experiences and advice about new methods of news delivery.

S. Lynne Walker, vice president of the Institute of the Americas and Director of Journalism Programs, served as the instructor of the workshop.

In a session titled, "Using Social Media and Digital Journalism to Establish a New Relationship with Your Audience," Walker discussed methods of researching and covering stories via social media such as Facebook and Twitter as well as reviewing new, low-cost Internet tools that journalists can use to tell their stories on media web sites.

A second session offered by Walker and titled, "Ethics, freedom of expression and the growth of web-based media throughout the world," focused on the need for a new code of professional ethics in the era of digital reporting.

The journalists also heard a presentation by Andrew Donohue, executive editor of the San Diego-based on-line web site VoiceofSanDiego.com which was titled, "New Techniques for Digital Investigative Journalism."

Donohue, who served as a 2010 Pulitzer Prize judge, showed reporters ways in which they can offer their audiences award-winning investigative journalism for on-line news sites, even in cases where their media organizations have limited resources.

LA JOLLA - Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow will retire from his position as president of the Institute of the Americas at the end of his second four-year term in May 2011, David Weaver, chairman of the board of directors, said.

Read more: Davidow to retire as president of Institute of the Americas in May 2011; search for successor begins

Fernandez receives Institute’s Award for Democracy and PeaceLA JOLLA – Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez was honored September 27 with the Institute of the Americas’ Award for Democracy and Peace during a ceremony attended by more than 200 people from 19 countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Institute President Jeffrey Davidow said Fernandez was chosen to receive the award “for his efforts to develop the economy of his own country and for his focus on reducing the negative effects of poverty on the Dominican people.”

Read more: Fernandez receives Institute’s Award for Democracy and Peace

US Consul General Steven Kashkett, right, hands a diploma to reporter Ricardo Ojeda, center, of Radio Latina during the closing ceremony of the Tijuana immigration coverage workshop as IOA Vice President Lynne Walker looks on. Photo credit: Jose M. Noriega

TIJUANA -- Institute of the Americas Vice President Lynne Walker led a Sept. 9-10 journalism workshop in Tijuana, Mexico. Some 22 journalists attended the professional workshop organized by the US Consulate in Tijuana, which included sessions on immigration trends and Arizona’s SB 1070, as well as techniques for covering migration at the US-Mexico border.

Roberto Suro, a journalism professor at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, was the keynote speaker at the workshop. He provided journalists with analysis on US immigration policy and the likelihood of immigration reform before the 2012 presidential election.

Suro is a veteran print journalist with extensive experience in foreign, domestic and Washington coverage as a senior staffer for The New York Times and The Washington Post. Prior to joining the Annenberg School of Journalism faculty, he was director of the Pew Hispanic Center, which he founded in 2001.

Walker, who served as Mexico City Bureau Chief for Copley News Service for 15 years before joining the Institute of the Americas in 2008, offered journalists tools for preparing investigative stories on immigration, with a special focus on international gangs. She also highlighted techniques for in-depth immigration coverage that is both compelling and informative for print, radio and television audiences.

US Consul Steven Kashkett presided over the Sept. 9 opening ceremony and presented diplomas to the journalists at the closing ceremony on Sept. 10. During their closing remarks, journalists said the presentations by Suro and Walker had given them a new focus on immigration coverage at the US-Mexico border.

To hear Radio Latina reports on the workshop, click here

LA JOLLA – ScienceWriters Eric Frost, director of the Visualization Laboratory at San Diego State University, explains new technologies that help scientists predict and understand climate change to a groups of journalists attending an Institute of the Americas journalism workshop on covering natural disasters. Photo credit: Luis J. Jimenez magazine singled out the Institute of the Institute of the Americas’ Jack F. Ealy Science Journalism workshop, now in its seventh year, for its role in training more than 150 Latin American journalists.

“In addition to access to cutting-edge research, participants build a network of contacts in the region and receive a solid grounding on a variety of green issues,” ScienceWriters Editor Lynne Friedmann wrote in the Summer 2010 edition of the magazine.

Friedmann quotes Nicolas Luco, science and technology editor for the Santiago, Chile, newspaper El Mercurio, which has sent two reporters to prior Ealy workshops.

“As an editor, I must say they returned reverberating enthusiasm, thrilled at having been exposed to top science labs and scientists and delighted with the colleagues they meet,” Luco said.  “The journalists gained in experience, contacts and, mostly, in outlook. Thenceforth, they took more risks in reaching out internationally; a great plus in their publishing.”

Friedmann reported on the rapid expansion of the Institute of the Americas’ journalism training program over the past two years, noting that the range of subjects now includes investigative journalism, digital reporting, pandemic preparedness, natural disaster coverage, climate change and freedom of expression and the rights of journalists in Latin America.

“In recent years, the number of IOA professional journalism workshop offerings has increased significantly under the direction of veteran newspaper journalist S. Lynne Walker,” Friedmann wrote. “One of Walker’s goals is to capitalize on the IOA’s strategic location, just 30 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.  With that in mind, the first workshop she organized was The Migration of HIV/AIDS, which included cross-border visits to medical clinics in Tijuana, Baja Mexico.”

Friedmann noted that one participant of that first workshop, reporter/editor Erika Cebreros, received a Northern California Ethnic Media Award for a series of stories based on interviews she conducted during the workshop.

After completing the digital reporting workshop in March 2010, a journalist from Nuevo Laredo redesigned his on-line news site; two Colombian journalists returned to Bogota intent on organizing an association of young journalists who are making the transition from print to digital reporting; and a Venezuelan journalist held his own digital reporting workshop in Caracas to share what he had learned with his newspaper colleagues.

“Latin American journalists use the word ‘hunger’ for professional training,” Walker was quoted as saying.  “Like every journalist in the world, they want to tell their stories better and more effectively.”

To read the story published in ScienceWriters, click here