Bruce Horovitz’ Story on Minorities in Public Relations Should Have Included All Colors

The Aug. 29 story “Improving the PR Industry’s Image on Hiring,” by Bruce Horovitz, fell very much short of the mark. If the Los Angeles Times is to adequately report that “trade groups and others are doing something about jobs for minorities,” should not Hispanics, Asians and native Americans, among others, also be included?

That question may be shrugged off as purely rhetorical, so let’s be pragmatic. If Hispanics are an unimportant segment of our minority community, then why is the Los Angeles Times allocating significant resources to Nuestro Tiempo?

That Aug. 29 story infers or perhaps reflects someone’s erroneous assumption that Hispanics are adequately represented in the industry. Unfortunately, reality is not quite as generous as the reporter’s keyboard.

The Hispanic Public Relations Assn. and the Black Public Relations Society have spent considerable time and effort addressing this very issue. The recent commitment and additional resources of the Public Relations Society of America further demonstrate the severity of the situation.

Minority public relations practitioners--black, Hispanic, Asian, native American and others--play vital roles in their respective communities and, on a broader scale, our larger society.

Minority practitioners are the conduit through which information about health and social services, consumer issues, public safety and our economy pass to those who find this information vital to their daily lives. As a result, this issue is of paramount importance to all minority segments.

There is one last point I want to make clear: The 1950s monochromatic definition of the word “minority” is gone. Its new meaning has been revised by the persons of every color who are shaping our society.

In today’s society, when one says “minority” it means all of them.

DAVID M. GARCIA

Los Angeles

The writer is president of the Hispanic Public Relations Assn .