Juan González (journalist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Juan González
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González in 2011
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| Born | October 15, 1947 |
| Education | Columbia University (BA) |
| Career | |
| Show | Democracy Now! |
| Station(s) | Over 1000 |
| Network | Pacifica Radio |
| Style | Investigative journalism |
Juan González, born on October 15, 1947, is an American journalist who works in radio and television. He is known for being an investigative reporter, which means he digs deep to uncover important facts. He also wrote a regular column for the New York Daily News newspaper from 1987 to 2016. Today, he often co-hosts the radio and TV show Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Juan González was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on October 15, 1947. His father, Juan González, was a veteran who served in the Puerto Rican 65th Infantry during World War II. Juan grew up in East Harlem and Brooklyn, New York.
He was the editor of his high school newspaper, the Lane Reporter. After high school, he went to Columbia College and graduated in 1968.
Student Activism
While at Columbia College, Juan was very active in the movement against the Vietnam War. He played a big part in the 1968 Columbia University protests, which were student strikes. He was a member of Students for a Democratic Society. He also helped start the New York City branch of the Young Lords, a group that worked for social change.
In 1981, he became the president of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights. This group focused on helping Latino people register to vote.
Journalism Career
Juan González started his journalism career at the Philadelphia Daily News in 1978. He began as a clerk but quickly became a full-time reporter within a few months.
In 1987, he joined the New York Daily News as a reporter and soon got his own column. While working there, he won his first George Polk Award in 1998. This award recognized his "unflinching" investigative reporting, meaning he was brave and determined in finding the truth.
Awards and Recognition
Juan González used to be the president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. He created a program called the Parity Project to help news organizations hire and keep Hispanic reporters and managers. In 2008, he was honored by being added to the organization's Hall of Fame.
Hispanic Business Magazine named him one of America's most influential Hispanic people. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hispanic Academy of Media Arts and Sciences. For two years, he was a visiting professor at Brooklyn College/CUNY, teaching about public policy.
In 2010, he received the Justice in Action Award. In 2011, he won his second George Polk Award. This was for a series of articles in the New York Daily News that uncovered illegal activities related to a city project. His reporting led to charges against several companies for fraud.
Juan González has written a lot about the health problems caused by the September 11, 2001 attacks and how information about air hazards at Ground Zero was hidden. He was the first reporter in New York City to write about these health effects.
In 2015, the New York City chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists added Juan González to its New York Journalism Hall of Fame. Since 2018, he has been a professor at Rutgers University-New Brunswick's School of Communication and Information.
Books
Juan González has written several books:
- Fallout: The Environmental Consequences of the World Trade Center Collapse (2002): This book talks about how government officials tried to hide health dangers at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks.
- Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America (2009, 2011, 2022)
- Roll Down Your Window: Stories of a Forgotten America
- Reclaiming Gotham: Bill de Blasio and the Movement to End America’s Tale of Two Cities (2017)
He also co-wrote News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media (2011) with Joseph Torres. This book tells the history of American media, focusing on how media outlets owned by people of color were sometimes stopped by powerful groups.
Film
- Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America is a film based on his book of the same name.
See also
In Spanish: Juan González (periodista) para niños
- Giuliani Time
- New Yorkers in journalism
