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Spreading the Word
LEADERSHIP // BY RHONDA CROWDER
Roselyn Muñiz is leading the charge to recognize and unite Hispanic journalists in Cleveland.
This year, the Greater Cleveland Association of Hispanic Journalists celebrates its first anniversary. There’s a need for more Latino representation in the media, and Roselyn Muñiz — also known as Rosie — has made it her mission to be a guiding light for Hispanic journalists in Cleveland.
Born and raised on the West Side of Cleveland, Muñiz is the youngest of five children. Her dad is Puerto Rican and her mom a native of the Dominican Republic. She grew up learning English at school and speaking Spanish at home.
Her father, Felix Muñiz, the pastor of New Light Community Church of the Nazarene, has always been active in the community with the Fatherhood Initiative and Nueva Luz Resource Center. He also stayed up on current events and incorporated them into his sermons.
“We grew up in my house doing two things: going to church and watching the news,” Muñiz says. At the same time, she didn’t see her community represented on TV. “I noticed a gap,” she adds. “There weren’t a lot of people in the profession who looked like me.”
Power of Journalism
Her first real-life encounter with journalism came at age 10 when she attended the Hispanic Youth Center, where her father served as executive director. Through a competition determined by the loudest applause, she won an opportunity to interview a then Cleveland Indians baseball player for the Oscar de Amiga Show, and her interview aired at a game.
Then, as a 17-year-old student at John Marshall High School, she thought topics such as health education and safe sex should be taught in school, but the teachers were hesitant to present them. However, her participation in the Teens Talking to Teens program at the Hispanic Youth Center gave her an opportunity to write about and discuss the importance of teens knowing about sex education and having sex education in school. Subsequently, a reporter at The Plain Dealer got wind of her writings and wanted to interview her.
“I was so surprised but was able to communicate my points to her,” Muñiz recalls. “That’s when I realized the power journalism has. … You are connected with people who may never know you otherwise. I thought it was a powerful tool, and I wanted to take advantage of it.”
Muñiz attended the University of Toledo with a dual major in economics and communications. Then, she obtained a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia Journalism School in New York City. She returned to Cleveland upon graduation and secured a position at WKYC Studios. She’s been there for seven years, starting as a production assistant, then working her way up to associate producer on Good Company and Live on Lakeside.
After The Plain Dealer’s former reporter Margaret Bernstein joined WKYC as director of advocacy and community initiatives, the station’s general manager created We the People, a call to action show to encourage people to do something impactful. Muñiz became the associate producer. She loves working on the show because it subscribes to a brand of reporting she calls “advocacy journalism.”
Last year, Muñiz went full time in community outreach with the station, working as Bernstein’s assistant when not producing We the People.
Bernstein says Muñiz’s impact in this role is already evident. “Rosie is doing things that haven’t been [done] before at WKYC and in Cleveland. I really admire her,” she says.
Knowing Hispanics account for 11% of media professionals, Muñiz is leading the charge in establishing a Greater Cleveland chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). It started with 10 members, the number necessary to initiate a charter. Everyone agreed, by vote, that Muñiz should be the founding president.
“It always takes one person to rise to the occasion to lead something,” says Myra Rosario, president of Latino Cleveland Media and social influencer within the Hispanic community. “Roselyn was the perfect person to do it.”
