Kassidy Arena and the Latino/a/e/x Midwest
The Iowa Public Radio journalist reflects on growing up in Nebraska, public media and cultural fluency
It is impossible to not be inspired by Kassidy Arena.
Raised in Omaha, Neb., she has a life Hispanics who grew up in the Midwest (and elsewhere) can identify with. As Grace Lee said in the last newsletter, being the only one in a community can be a defining moment for some of us. This was part of Arena’s growing up too. As you will gather from our interview, Arena’s enthusiasm for Latino/a/e/x stories is borne out of her own experience.
She has always been passionate about journalism. Following time at KBIA, Arena graduated in 2020 from the University of Missouri. This dedication has led her to a career in public media. She is a Report for America corps member covering Latino/a/e/x and Spanish-speaking communities for Iowa Public Radio.
Her reporting reflects many developments in Des Moines. How does a community perceived as homogenous create place for the world to see a diverse story? How do those diverse voices find their places at the table? How can public media help diverse communities to see themselves in our coverage?
Kassidy Arena’s insights may surprise you. Read on. 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
What has been your journey to get you to Iowa?
Let's just start out with. I did not think I would be in Iowa. So, my journey started when I was in college, I went to Mizzou and studied journalism there. I initially wanted to be on TV, but ended up switching to radio. I didn't really even consider radio at first in my goals because I'm hard of hearing. I was like, ‘a girl who wears a hearing aid is not going to be in the audio field.’ But I quickly learned that radio is a very visual medium, something that you don't have to have perfect hearing to do. So then, I started to go down the path of radio, specifically public radio, because you get to go into the nitty gritty of policy and stories that people are going through. Radio really lends itself more to that than TV.
Then one day, this guy from this organization I had never heard of, Report for America, came to Mizzou, and he's like, ‘hey, you guys should really consider doing this because X, Y and Z, you cover communities that need to be covered. And here are some of the great people who have come before you.’ And I said, ‘that sounds like a good idea,’ because the reason why I had always said I wanted to go into journalism was to help people get their voices out there.
The reason why I chose Iowa Public Radio over everybody else was that they had opened a position for somebody to report on Latino communities here. Growing up in Nebraska, or at least the majority of my growing up in Nebraska, I was sometimes one of the only Latinas or Hispanic people. I just knew that there were people like me in the Midwest that sometimes get overlooked in mainstream media. You don't see that in maybe Texas or Arizona. But in Iowa, people are like, ‘Wait a minute — there's somebody other than white people living in Iowa?’ Iowa got a hold of me because they showed so much interest in covering these communities. They hadn't been truly covered before.
What was it like growing up in Nebraska?
This is one of my mom's favorite stories. When I was in Nebraska, I joined the soccer league because I can't tell you a kid who hasn't played soccer. I was the only dark-haired girl on the team, and everybody constantly pointed out how dark I was compared to the other players. So, it was something that was kind of instilled in me very early on that I was different, that I looked different, that my culture is different, that my language is different. Growing up in Nebraska, I was very aware that I was different than a lot of other people.
Many people would say, ‘okay, this is a little too much. I'm going to move to east or west.’ Why did you stay?
I stayed in the Midwest because there are so many stories here of people who are like me, who have felt like people haven't listened to them in the past. Or that maybe nobody cares, so why speak up? Nobody cares. Nobody has come to ask me. Nobody asks me anything. Out of loyalty, I needed to stay and be the one to help these people get their stories out there.
Are there things that people don't necessarily perceive of Latinos living in the Midwest that you've gotten to understand more intimately as you've been there?
I think that it's a really big deal that not all Latinos are immigrants. Not all of them are working in meatpacking plants. Not all of them are working in agriculture. We're in white collar jobs as well. We're in academia and we're growing. One of the biggest misconceptions is that there's just not a lot of us here, but we almost make up seven percent of the state's population. And the way the Census is, that could be an undercount.
Another thing is that they want to talk, they want to share their stories, but maybe they just haven't always known how to do that.
When we think about news deserts, we think about the rural town that has no newspaper. I want to add to that definition that it's not purely a news desert. It's not purely geographical. It can also be based on demographics because there can be these communities who did not get reported on or who have not seen media at all, but who are right next to the big newspapers. That is a news desert as well for those communities.
We have to think about a news desert as not just geographically, but also racially, ethnically. This profoundly shapes a lot of communities’ perceptions of themselves, perceptions of their neighbors and their states as well and counties.
What has the experience been like, engaging these communities around what public radio is?
To be completely honest, really humbling. My grandparents are from Cuba, and one day they called me, and they were asking me about my job. They didn't go to college, so they're asking, ‘so what is your job? What do you do? And who tells you what to say?’ And I followed that up with, ‘what do you mean, who tells me what to say?’ And they said, ‘well, does the governor tell you what to say? How does that work?’ And I was like, ‘oh, my gosh, my grandparents don't understand what free press is and that we're an independent organization and what my job is and what our purpose is.’
So stemming from that, it woke me up because I've had the privilege of growing up in the United States where free press was always just understood. The people that I'm speaking with haven't all grown up in the U.S. They haven't all been born in the United States. Maybe something that I can help them with is outside of my reporting, outside of asking them to tell me their stories. I should take that first step to tell them what I'm about and what IPR does.
That led to my community engagement project. It's just going to immigrant communities and saying, ‘here's who we are; what we do; what a free press is; and here's why we serve you.’ And I think that that's really gone a long way, in the sense that I've been able to talk to some people that were maybe a little hesitant to talk to journalists and didn't really know what that entailed by talking to somebody like me who is shoving a microphone in their faces ever so politely. I think that's something journalists need to take the time to do outside of recording and interviewing. We need to help people learn about why it is what we do.
What has been the story you're most proud of when you've been covering the Latino community there?
The stories I feel most proud of are the ones where people realize that their stories are important, and that others are like them, and that they can make a difference. Making people feel heard.
I'm working on a story right now about a family of meatpackers, and you probably heard about Iowa meatpacking. Being able to speak with them and letting them know that I was there to listen, and that people want to know their story. Those are the moments where I'm proud – when people realize they have power in their own way,
Is there any advice that you could give to a journalist or someone who is in public media who don't perhaps understand the issues of the Latino community?
There's a difference between reporting and Spanish – which you can do if you know the Spanish language – and the cultural aspect. You must be prepared and be thinking in a bicultural way as well. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to an interview and then been invited for dinner. It's that familial facet. You're not going to interview somebody’s abuela and not have her offer to cook for you. Just be as open as possible when you're going into these communities, but also be vulnerable.
I would recommend, especially for people who aren't Latino and who are reporting and interviewing Latino people, to know it's okay to be a little nervous and know that'll be something that ties you and your interviewee too. 🟢
La próxima ⌛
The next OIGO is in your inbox Jan. 7. As mentioned last newsletter, we’ll look back at KPCC’s Latino/a/e/x audience engagement efforts. A proposal aimed at growing the Hispanic audience received $1.8 million ten years ago. How did change management go? Was the English-language strategy the right one? Did it work? Assessing such issues matters and, really, it’s not happening much publicly. That transparency can help other stations. So, let’s do it.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment or hit Reply. ✉️
Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕
The Senate has confirmed Jessica Rosenworcel as the first woman to lead the Federal Communications Commission. It is a big deal for digital equity advocates. In August, a coalition of civil rights groups spoke out in favor of Rosenworcel, citing the issue. The National Hispanic Media Coalition was among those offering congrats. 📣
We in public media talk about the moral reasons for diversity, equity and inclusion. How can we better position DEI as a business imperative? Poynter shares the work of four Chicago newsrooms. From internal work to external reporting, these organizations say they're seeing growth. How? By reflecting how audits, training and more tap a cultural moment. ✍🏽
Corn is a staple across Latin America and U.S. Hispanic households. 🌽 Today, a combination of supply chain problems, worker shortages and massive demand for ethanol has spiked prices and demand for maiz. Axios connects the dots with an infographic and links.
Opportunities for Latino/a/e/x creators is a top reason for the WarnerMedia/Discovery merger drawing scrutiny. 🔨 Joaquin Castro and Elizabeth Warren are among those speaking up.
During the September 2021 PRPD conference panel I was on, I shouted out a Hearken essay on hard news bias. Ellen Mayer's piece is essential reading for interrogating "news" versus "features" chauvinism. Too often, news avoids taking on more nuanced stories about communities of color. 🔎
El radar: try this 📡
Look at your station’s history. 📖 The American Archive of Public Broadcasting launched Latino Empowerment through Public Broadcasting, an exhibit exploring ways public radio and television has presented Hispanic cultures, histories and perspectives.
Ask how your state is protecting outdoor workers. KQED’s Farida Jhabvala Romero just completed a remarkable investigation into California’s collapse when it comes to protecting people who labor outside. It is stunning journalism. Turns out the state, in fact, adopted rules to shield workers from harmful levels of wildfire smoke. Yet, Cal/OSHA cited employers only 11 times during the more than two years the regulations have been in place. There are almost four million people who work in the outdoors in California. Many farmworkers say they weren't aware of the protections. ⛅
Discover your community’s veteran Latino/a/e/x DJs. Lu Reyes retired from Michigan’s WHTC after almost 60 years on the air. Her program Alegria Latina, makes me wonder how many other long-running Spanish-language radio shows are under the English-language radar. These programs serve as a vital place for community. What can public media learn from these on-air public servants?
Find ways to explore cultural expression on the air. 🎙️ WYCE’s Daisy Madrigal recently spoke with the Rapidian about El Mundo Musical, the station’s weekday Spanish-language music program. “Listening to music from your childhood, your country, or culture on the air is powerful,” she says. “It is also a wonderful place to have local musicians to have a platform to express themselves and share their passion with the people in their community.”
Investigate who’s starting noncommercial radio in your region. The Federal Communications Commission posted an Excel document with the names of over 1,000 applicants from the 2021 filing window to create new full-power noncommercial educational radio stations. Also, the FCC posted another Excel doc of dismissed applications. The dismissal process is ongoing. A few hundred stations (and many public/community/institutional licensees) may emerge when all is complete. 📻
Ask how covid has affected your city’s Hispanic community. The Los Angeles Times published a wrenching look at how the coronavirus will be felt “for generations to come.” Think how income inequality has been deepened by health care, employment and education challenges, then add a pandemic.
That’s all for 2021. Thanks for joining the conversation. Please feel free to send tips, ideas or feedback. DMs are open.
-- Ernesto