Washington, D.C., November 24, 2009 – Journalism students in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, are submitting stories about their city in a novel Voice of America (VOA) Internet project designed to give people an understanding of their day-to-day life.
"So much of what is covered in news about Ciudad Juárez focuses on the negative, particularly the serious violence and drug trafficking problems of the area," said Alberto Mascaro, director of VOA Spanish Service, which is running the Conozca Juárez (Get to Know Juárez) project. "This is a great opportunity for our audience to share another side of their day-to-day lives."
The project, running through November 27, is asking students from the Ciudad Juárez campus of the Technological Institute of Monterrey (Tecnológico de Monterrey) to write articles or produce original audio or video stories showcasing positive aspects of life in their city.
The categories for stories include personalities, sports, music, arts, photography, and miscellaneous. The rules for participation are available at http://lccjuarez.com/index.php?p=noticias/noviembre09/noticias_001.
Selected stories will be posted on VOA's Spanish website, www.VOANoticias.com, on December 21, 2010. In addition to its website, VOA broadcasts Spanish radio and television programs on shortwave, satellite, and a wide network of local affiliate stations throughout the region.
Ciudad Juárez, in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, sits on the U.S. border with Mexico across from El Paso, Texas. The city, with an estimated population of 1.5 million, has been wracked by violence stemming from the presence of drug cartels.
The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts approximately 1,500 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 125 million people. Programs are produced in 45 languages and are intended exclusively for audiences outside of the United States
For more information, call VOA Public Relations at (202) 203-4959, or e-mail askvoa@voanews.com.
Original articles, audio & video to highlight positive aspects of life in the city
