By Juan Montoya
A few months ago, when Jenny Martinez, the news director for KRGV Channel 5, announced her sudden retirement after 38 years of journalism profession and 29 years at the station, she told a reporter she was "forced to step down for undisclosed health reasons."
The reporter was discreet and did not pry or reveal those health issues, but Martinez, whose last name comes from her Hispanic husband, may have had other reasons.
Sources then close to the station said that a new policy being pushed by corporate parent Mobile Video Tapes, of Baton Rouge, La., and owned by the Manship Family, is requiring for all its reporters and news staff in the Rio Grande Valley to be functionally bilingual.Martinez, although she had the last name, was monolingual English.
The station is part of Manship family media empire and bought the station through Mobile Video Tapes. It's late owner, Charles Manship, developed deep ties to Louisiana State University's School of Journalism which has embraced diversity in journalism..
The station's was owned by President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird until 1961 when they sold to Kenco Enterprises. Mobile Video Tapes, which was formed by the Manship family, purchased the station from Kenco three years later.
In January 2018, KRGV moved its 10:30 p.m. newscast as part of its newly launched and locally programmed independent station known as "Somos El Valle", which includes a mix of Spanish and English content.
No one at Channel 5 would confirm it then, but some suspected that Martinez's sudden retirement may have been prompted by the parent corporation's efforts at diversity. At least that what some former staff members close to the station's staff are beginning to suspect.
"Jenny isn't one to divulge any insider stuff," said a former Channel 5 staffer. "But the word around the station is that she decided to step down because of the push from the parent corporation to have a fully bilingual staff. The station lost a lifetime of tough journalistic experience when she left."
Around the station, they say, the general feeling was that - given the general tenor from corporate - if someone wanted to apply to replace Martinez, the feeling was "If you're not bilingual don't bother to apply."
Around the station, they say, the general feeling was that - given the general tenor from corporate - if someone wanted to apply to replace Martinez, the feeling was "If you're not bilingual don't bother to apply."
Martinez led and guided scores of reporters in the station’s coverage of public corruption, natural disasters and cartel violence, as well as advocating for the disenfranchised. October 4 was her last day on the job. Zoltan Csanyi-Salcedo, formerly of CBS 4, took over that same day.
“I am looking forward to leading a group of journalists in both English and Spanish. Every day, there are great local stories around the Valley and many that still need to be told in both languages," he said.
He has been a News Director and manager in El Paso, Albuquerque, Dallas, and the Rio Grande Valley as News Director for CBS, NBC, Telemundo and Univision affiliates.
"We know now that true diversity must be a lot more colorful than that. It must be multifaceted. In addition to race and gender, it requires an exposure to different religious beliefs, national origin, sexual orientation and, some would argue, economic class.”
The Manship Family is apparently following LSU's Diversity Plan that is a reflection of the plan put forward by the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communications that states:
"We know now that true diversity must be a lot more colorful than that. It must be multifaceted. In addition to race and gender, it requires an exposure to different religious beliefs, national origin, sexual orientation and, some would argue, economic class.”
"In the past, former diversity standards referred only to race and gender. The current diversity standard uses broader language by also referring by name to ethnicity, sexual orientation, disabilities and underrepresented groups."
That would include language, it would appear. In the implementation of this new plan, will tough, hard-nosed journalism - by reporters who speak any language - be left by the wayside?