IPR is featuring research and some of the many Hispanic pioneers who have had an impact on the field of public relations in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Esther Renteria was born on May 1, 1939, in Los Angeles. Renteria attended East Los Angeles College before earning her bachelor’s degree from California State University, Los Angeles.
In 1959, Renteria became a reporter for the Alhambra Post-Advocate. She went on to work as an editor and reporter for the East Los Angeles Tribune and Gazette until 1968. In the 1970s, Renteria worked as an associate producer on “The Siesta Is Over,” a series on KCBS-TV that reported on issues of significance to Hispanics.
In 1984, she helped to establish the Hispanic Public Relations Association. Renteria’s role as an advocate grew in 1986 when she helped co-found the National Hispanic Media Coalition, where she sent petitions to the FCC recommending it revoke the broadcast licenses of stations that had an insufficient number of Hispanic staff. In 1999, Renteria created her own nonprofit, Hispanic Americans for Fairness in Media, which gave scholarships to Hispanic students in L.A. and fought against Hispanic stereotypes and for better representation in the media. She died in 2007.
References
Remembering a Pioneer Who Elevated Hispanic/Latino Communities’ Visibility in Media
PR News
Esther Renteria, 67; pushed TV stations to hire more Latinos
Los Angeles Times
Latina activist dies at age 67
Whittier Daily News
