Martha Mendoza 3/3

3/3/10 Noon.

Martha Mendoza spoke to a group on Wednesday about her career of being a journalist. She shared with a group of about 20 people the eye-opening impact that journalism has on society. Mendoza explained how newspaper reporting has unveiled and stoped groups such as the KKK and uncovered buried scandals.

She gave the group a handout of a story she wrote about the Korean War. It uncovered the massacre American GIs carried out in innocent Korean refugees in 1950. Mendoza said it took four months of investigating, reporting and arguing with editors to get this story out.

Mendoza also informed listeners about the dangerous lifestyle journalist endure in order to do their job. She reported that approximatley 800 journalists have been killed since 1992, and 71 of the deaths occured last year.

Mendoza encouraged students to pursue journalism if they truly enjoyed the experiences they have had so far. She noted that she had been discouraged in the past by being told there was a diminishing market for journalists. She said if she made it in the profession that she wanted to tell students interested in journalism it was possible.