Mary Marques and Arianne Bracho, two local journalists, have completed the first ever Spanish language fellowship at PhillyCAM. Marques is bilingual and Bracho speaks only Spanish.
The fellowship lasted from January to May, when they honed their skills in the whole process of broadcast journalism — from conception to research, interviewing and editing
The two women, along with eight other fellows, worked on the show Atreveté, tackling issues such as environmental justice, immigration rights, Latin art, music and culture, and a group of women who grow flax and produce linen.
“It is exciting to see this group of predominantly Latinx women come together from across the region to not only develop their storytelling and reporting skills but also to provide a support network for one another,” shared PhillyCAM Executive Director Gretjen Clausing, in a press release. “I look forward to seeing their future collaborations.”
The fellowship helped enable community voices, a mission of PhillyCAM. “Being a producer, there’s nothing more interesting than being in dialogue and speaking directly to your community,” Bracho said.
Bracho produces other shows for PhillyCAM: Madre Tierra and Mileno Femenino.
Marques said the fellowship helped her in a role as a librarian for the Free Library of Philadelphia because they constantly need to disseminate information about resources to the community.
“Everything that I have learned we are also bringing those skills and those tools and applying these new concepts of community,” Marques said.
Both women stressed how the fellowship helped them tell meaningful stories that impact underserved communities.
“I would like to say that PhillyCAM gave me the opportunity to improve the skills that I brought, and really support me in understanding about what it means to be doing journalism in the community and amplify those voices that are not in the media,” Marques said. ••
