Venceremos: Using a Chicana/o student newspaper to reimagine journalism education pedagogy and practice

Driven by a course designed to facilitate the production of a bilingual Chicana/o student newspaper titled Venceremos, this study used qualitative methods to document the process of collaboratively implementing a newly crafted pedagogical approach---a pedagogy of counter-news-story ---within this distinct dual classroom and newsroom, define the principles of its resultant Chicana/o journalism counter-news-story , and evaluate how undergraduate students made sense of their racialized identities as media producers. Briefly, a pedagogy of counter-news-story is based on counterstory as it is defined by critical race theory---narratives by disenfranchised people that function to challenge majoritarian stories of White privilege that circulate discursively. The pedagogical approach works cumulatively towards the creation of a counter-news-story. While the co-construction of the pedagogy of counter-news-story resulted in unforeseen challenges and opportunities, the pedagogical approach has potential for reimagining journalism education and practice because its three phases can be tailored to fit the needs, racialized identities, and political consciousness of both educator and student collaborators. The six elements of a Chicana/o journalism counter-news-story draw on critical race theory tenets and were implemented in the issue the class produced. They include articles, reports, poetry, or editorials that: (1) center Chicana/o-centric topics; (2) challenge majoritarian ideology and dominant discourses; (3) encourage activism; (4) are written in accessible, nonoppressive, bilingual, and nonacademic language; (5) validate experiential and cultural knowledge from marginalized communities; and (6) are grounded in a Chicana/o sensibility.;The journalistic identity purported by the Winter 2009 Venceremos staff fuses a critical mindset, civic engagement, and first-hand awareness of racialized oppression that allows them to report, and represent the experiences of disenfranchised communities in a way that advocates for a more equitable life. This identity is predicated on the students' own perception of themselves as politicized and active agents. The findings from this project offer educators and potential media practitioners alike a starting point from which to fashion a reimagined journalism practice that better corresponds to the minoritized subjectivities and actualities of the growing Latina/o community.;It is important to note that the rudiments of the Chicana/o journalism are not a prescription for reporting on communities of color.