Ray Suarez amuses, challenges crowd
By Theresa Salinas
The Unity News

Ray Suarez wrinkled his forehead as he adjusted his headset. It was minutes before his program, National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation," began its live broadcast from the Washington State Convention & Trade Center yesterday afternoon.

"Is it pronounced fungi or fun-ji?" Suarez asked, testing his microphone during the sound check. He stopped and thought a minute. He was putting together an advertisement of an upcoming show on fungus.

"I'll say fungi, because I am a fun-guy," he said, answering himself in his trademark polished tone. His humor broke the silent, scattered crowd of about 130. They fell into laughter.

The diverse audience, made up of mainly journalists and students, gathered to hear Suarez's program, a public affairs show with expert panelists and call-in listeners. The conversation instead turned to assessing the value of diversity in the newsroom and what's happened since the 1994 Unity conference.

Suarez played devil's advocate with the audience, asking whether the low numbers of minorities in the newsroom was related to the low numbers of high school and college graduates of color. His tone was even, and he remained focused on the answers.

"He's a great journalist and advocate for Latino causes," said Roberto Sanchez, a reporter for the Seattle Times and longtime listener of "Talk of The Nation." "But at the same time, he is fair and not condescending to any of his guests."

Student journalists in attendance said that they were drawn to the event because of Suarez's charisma.

"He has the calmest voice, and he sounds so intelligent," said Lorraine-Michelle Faust, a broadcast student at the University of Oregon and member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. "He's my hero."

Faust arrived 45 minutes early to the show, to make sure she got a "good seat." Planted firmly in the first row, the self-described NPR "junkie" had the opportunity to see the man whom she admires.

Suarez has an extensive journalism career. He joined NPR in 1993, after serving as a reporter at Chicago's WMAQ-TV for seven years. His coverage on South Africa earned him the 1993-94 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Silver Baton Award. Later this year, his book on "white flight" and the American city is scheduled for publication.

"He's dynamic. He's not a neutral moderator. He brings something to the table," said Liza Javier, a reporter for Seattle's International Examiner newspaper. "He's aggressive but tactful and addresses issues at hand. He just draws me in."