Feb. 20, 2004

Contacts:
Ernest R. Sotomayor, President, UNITY Board of Directors
Long Island Editor, Newsday.com
631-843-3664

Anna M. Lopez, Executive Director, UNITY
(703) 854-3585

Journalist's memory, mission will live on

Journalism lost a great mentor yesterday. Not just Latino journalists, or journalists of color, but all journalists. And we're left with a void that won't be easy to fill.

Frank Del Olmo

Frank del Olmo, a journalist who never settled for being just an advocate for change, and instead was a tireless agent for change, died in the newsroom of the Los Angeles Times, where he'd spent 34 years making journalism at that newspaper, and the rest of the industry, more fair, more accurate, and most importantly, more honest.

Any obit could only understate the impact he has had on our profession, and on those bold enough to follow in his footsteps. We owe him many thanks.

He's owed a great tribute from us all, so the greatest recognirtion we could bestow would be to take his agenda for reforming our industry and push it to new heights, to take up the challenges he's long issued, and finish the work he started. He'd expect that of us, and wouldn't be satisfied with anything less.

Ernest R. Sotomayor
President, UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc.

About UNITY: Journalists of Color
UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. is a strategic alliance advocating news coverage about people of color, and aggressively challenging its organizations at all levels to reflect the nation’s diversity. UNITY, representing more than 10,000 journalists of color, is comprised of four national associations: Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association.

In addition to planning the largest regular gathering of journalists in the nation, UNITY develops programs and institutional relationships that promote its mission. For more information on UNITY, visit www.unityjournalists.org, email info@unityjournalists.org or call (703) 854-3585.