At the request of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, White House Director of Media Affairs Helen Aguirre Ferré met with the organization’s leadership to talk about continuing to give Latino media access under the new administration.
NAHJ President Brandon Benavides and Executive Director Alberto Mendoza met with Aguirre Ferré on Monday afternoon.
Benavides told Media Moves that during the conversation, Aguirre Ferré confirmed there will no longer be a a White House Hispanic Media Liaison and pointed out that she and Sofia Boza, the White House’s Director of Regional Media, are both Spanish-speakers.
“Helen said she and Sofia are both bilingual and they can handle all media. There won’t be a speciality media office,” says Benavides.
The White House Spanish-language pages of its website, scrubbed the first week of the new administration, will allegedly be restored, although the White House staffers didn’t give a timeline of when that will happen.
NAHJ leadership previously held two meetings with White House media officials during the Obama administration.