Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Hateful flier stirs memories of 'love' stories

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Friday, May 19, 2000

Hateful flier stirs memories of 'love' stories
Articles capturing human spirit help define what journalists are
Libby Averyt
Caller-Times Metro Editor
The flier came across my desk this week, advertising Thursday's march against the Caller-Times, or as this handout called us, "The Caucasian Times."
   Not very professional, I know, but tears came to my eyes.
   Until that moment, I hadn't felt attacked. I admire people who feel strongly enough about an issue to organize a peaceful demonstration.
   But to call us "The Caucasian Times" is racist, as anyone would agree if the word "Caucasian" had been substituted with "Hispanic" or "black."
   While the flier purported to be from the march sponsor, the Concerned Citizens for Truth, Justice and Equality, one of its organizers said he knew nothing about it and that that particular flier had gone too far.
   Still, the recent criticism and at times, hatefulness directed toward the Caller-Times and its staff has made me question what we do here - what I've done here in 14 years, 12 of those as a reporter and the past two as the metro editor.
   What really mattered
   The stories I remember best are about the people in this community. Doing a series about the history and future of the Northside in 1998, I met Andrew Williams, a 10-year-old boy who had little contact with his father and felt an obligation to care for his younger sisters.
   He had been assigned a mentor at school, Zana Lewis, a local resident who just wanted to help a child.
   I remember Ricardo Banda, a 3-year-old boy from Mexico who in 1997 had to walk on all fours like a crab because of a dislocated hip and damaged muscles. Because of a health clinic sponsored by local Shriners, Ricardo and hundreds of others received the medical care they needed.
   I remember one early Saturday morning in 1995 when I watched the Moody High School baseball team fill thousands of food baskets for needy families.
   "We're just helping people who need help," said outfielder Marcos Alaniz.
   'The best of human spirit'
   And I remember Rosie Coker and her two daughters, Jacqueline Dominguez and Jeanette Benitez, who attended a funeral in 1994 for a child they never knew.
   The stillborn baby had been laid to rest four days after she was abandoned in a trashcan.
   "My daughters and I decided she needed a family," Coker said.
   In 1996, I sat in my car and said a prayer, asking God for help in covering the funeral of Dr. Hector P. Garcia in a way that would do him justice.
   I remember feeling as if I was covering a piece of history at the Corpus Christi Cathedral, filled with an audience made up of various ethnicities.
   I remember his nephew, J.A. "Tony" Canales, talking about Dr. Hector's love of life and his legacy, and his brother, Dr. Xico Garcia, describing him as a "true gentleman."
   "He believed in capturing the best of the human spirit. To him, everyone deserved to be treated equally and with dignity."
   Proud of work
   In 1996, I wrote a profile of attorney Rene Rodriguez, who stirred controversy after writing a letter to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce asserting that Hispanic organizations are manipulated by "the man" and are "profusely infiltrated with warm, loving Anglos" during election years.
   Rodriguez said he was simply trying to wake up the community to problems that exist here. He said that those who labeled him a racist were wrong, and I was touched by his honesty and ability to speak from his heart.
   "We should judge each other by the way we act - not by what you think I am," he said.
   Most recently, I was proud to be part of a seven-day series on diversity in this community, which was coordinated by me and then-Assistant Metro Editor Richard Tijerina, who is now sports editor. Working together on that project made us question our own preconceptions, forced us to listen to each other. We fielded the phone calls together that ranged from the complimentary to the ugly. With both of us parents of small children, we talked about our concerns for the community and our hopes for its future.
   Workplace diversity
   As a manager, I'm also proud of the growing diversity within our own newsroom. I remember many years as a reporter when the local news staff had only one minority reporter.
   Half of our news-side writers are now minorities, including five Hispanic writers and two black reporters.
   Having a more diverse newsroom helps us approach stories differently, and we learn from each other. Still, there is progress to be made, which is why we recently adjusted assignments to better cover neighborhoods throughout Corpus Christi.
   While we'll still cover the traditional governmental and spot news stories, staff writers Venessa Santos and Stephanie L. Jordan will focus on the people who live in this city. They'll listen to what interests them, what affects them and what truly matters to them.
   Pride, sadness, elation
   And as an editor these past two years, I've seen how proud reporters feel when their stories make a difference in someone's life. Reporter Jonathan Osborne saw the impact the newspaper can have on a community by his series of articles on the Crossley scholarship fund.
   After his stories that looked at the program and its promises, that fund grew from $41,000 last year to almost $100,000 this month.
   I remember reporter Deborah Martinez facing her own painful memories to write a ten-year anniversary article on the Alton bus crash, which killed 21 students in the Rio Grande Valley. Several of those victims had been classmates of Deborah's.
   I remember the peace she felt after her story was published and victims' families and friends thanked her for commemorating the anniversary sensitively.
   And I recall Sara Fernandez excitedly telling me the good news when a story she'd written as part of the Caller-Times Children's Christmas Appeal resulted in the donation of a bike to a needy boy whose mother had leukemia.
   That's who we are. That's what we do. Don't judge us by what you think we are. Judge us by our actions.


Metro Editor Libby Averyt can be reached at 886-3683 or by e-mail at averytl@caller.com

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