Eva Aguirre Cooper
Eva Aguirre Cooper is the communications and community affairs director of WOOD, WOTV, WXSP, and WZPX in Grand Rapids, Mich., and supervises a staff of 10 that serves the four television stations within a single multicast facility. She is responsible for all promotions and special projects and non-news productions. One of her main responsibilities is to act as a liaison between the stations and the communities they serve. Aguirre-Cooper is a graduate of Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.
"Whenever I speak to Latin youth, I see myself and wish I had met someone in my position when I was younger. It is crucial that we have representation in the newsrooms, as producers and as general managers. Our perspective should be fair and professional, but it's also a Latino perspective, which adds a different view on how we have experienced society. That is what makes us so unique and valuable."
Michael Days
Michael Days is the deputy managing editor of the Philadelphia Daily News. As one of the newspaper's senior editors, Days is responsible for shaping daily coverage as well as planning long-term projects. Before joining the Daily News in 1986 as a political reporter, Days spent two years at The Wall Street Journal. Days' career started with an internship at the Minneapolis Tribune, and he later was a reporter at the Democrat & Chronicle in Rochester and at the Louisville Courier-Journal. He has a bachelor's Degree from the College of the Holy Cross and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. He also serves on the advisory board of the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism at the University of Maryland.
"…A successful career is more than just about working hard. You have to be a part of the system you are in. Folks come into a newsroom and wonder if they belong there. They do. Part of your responsibility in staying there is not isolating yourself. If you hope to be a leader, you need to become a part of the fabric of the place."
Kim Young
Kim Young is the publisher of two McClatchy weeklies in South Carolina. As publisher of Carolina Newspapers, Young supervises seven employees. Young has a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism/advertising and a Masters of Education and Counseling from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C. After college, Young worked at The Herald, a daily also owned by McClatchy in Rock Hill, S.C. She was named general manager of the weeklies in 1998. The Yorkville Enquirer received a General Excellence Editorial Award from the South Carolina Press Association in 1999 and The Clover Herald won the state press association's Paul League Award for Best Overall Advertising in South Carolina in 1999 and 2000.
"I wear so many different hats. At the daily, I did advertising and didn't get a chance to do news. Here, I am responsible for everything. If I don't promote my newspapers, no one will. I am the captain of my ship."
Larry Olmstead
Larry Olmstead is assistant vice president for news of Knight Ridder, one of the country's largest news organizations. Olmstead's career started at The Baltimore Evening Sun. At the Detroit Free press, Olmstead moved from the copy desk to assignments as a local news reporter and foreign correspondent and then back to the newsroom as city editor. After serving on the metro desk of The New York Times, Olmstead returned to Knight Ridder as assistant vice president for diversity. During that time, Knight Ridder won the prestigious Catalyst Award for advancement opportunities for women. Later, as managing editor of The Miami Herald, Olmstead helped lead the paper to two Pulitzers.
"The higher you get, the more important it is to be insistent about your core values, and diversity is a fundamental starting point. Knight Ridder publishes in Texas, California and Florida (among other states). The census of those three states makes it clear that if you don't do a good job when it comes to diversifying your staffing and coverage, you are not doing your job. It is a straightforward issue to understand that this is a changing society."
Jeff Wolfe
Jeff Wolfe is the national sales manager for WAPT-TV in Jackson, Miss. As such, he and his team find and develop business and create sales promotion campaigns. Wolfe has worn many hats since graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi 17 years ago with a Bachelor of Science degree in radio, television and film. The jobs he has held in his broadcasting career range from disc jockey for a gospel music program to news photographer to advertising and sales executive.
"When we (minorities) get into a business, someone typecasts us about what we can do, has limited expectations about our abilities. That's hard to breach. We succeed at one level, but it's questioned whether we can do it at the next level. Most minorities fell the burden of having to prove themselves continuously, of having to continually prove that you're competent."
Tonnya Kennedy
Tonnya Kennedy is a deputy managing editor of The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., and is in charge of business news and features. Her journalism career has been marked by a swift rise from business reporter at age 22 to managing editor of the Nashville Banner by age 31. Before joining The Virginian-Pilot, Kennedy also worked at the Paducah (Ky.) Sun, the Daily Press in Newport News. Va., the Banner and the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader. Kennedy holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Vanderbilt University and Master of Science in mass communication from Murray State University in Murray, Ky.
"I've done so much on-the-job learning. Before I become an editor and publisher, I want to be really prepared. So much of what we do at this (senior management) level is no longer just journalism. It is working with advertising departments and representing the newspaper and working with budgets. I want more training in that part of the job."