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Samantha Guzman, a multimedia journalist who distinguished herself at Austin PBS, leading a community journalism effort focused on diversity, has been named editor of Arts Access, the new editorial partnership between 四虎影院 and The Dallas Morning News.
, Arts Access is a joint endeavor of the two news organizations, with the mission of providing 鈥渁rts, music and culture coverage in North Texas, through the lens of equity and access.鈥�
Guzman is the latest addition to its staff, along with Michelle Aslam, who comes to the partnership from National Public Radio, where she has worked as a reporter and audio producer since October of last year. They start in mid-January. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, Aslam will be the project鈥檚 second reporter alongside .
Myong grew up in the Dallas area and previously worked as digital producer at 四虎影院. Already her reporting for Arts Access has spotlighted the , challenges arts groups are , and a for local Muslim writers.
In announcing Arts Access this year, 四虎影院 and The News vowed to create and share their reporting across multiple platforms including print, online, radio, podcasts and video. The content is free and is supported by philanthropic funding.
Coverage the partnership has provided in recent months extends from a at the Fort Worth Opera, to a for Dallas artists.
鈥淭he mission and the goal is to provide a more equitable view of the arts community in North Texas,鈥� Guzman said. 鈥淭he arts community in North Texas is vibrant and has a great history, but I think when you look at the traditional institutions and the traditional way we鈥檝e often reported on arts in the past, I think perhaps it hasn鈥檛 been the most equitable and has overlooked under-represented communities.
鈥淭his project has the potential to broaden our definition of arts,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd reach new audiences 鈥� potentially more people of color, younger people. I think it gives us the opportunity to expand on the great work that 四虎影院 and The News have done, reporting on the arts community in the past, but doing it in a way that will both highlight and reach new audiences.鈥�
Guzman noted that much of her own work has focused 鈥渙n personal stories and what individual people go through.鈥� She sees the new mission as one that will 鈥渞esonate across groups, across cultures. But the beauty of this project is that it gives us the opportunity to enter communities and reach people that maybe we haven鈥檛 reached in the past. We can listen to them and see what they need from us and have that influence our coverage.鈥�
Raised by parents who came to America from the Dominican Republic, Guzman was born in New York and moved with her family to Grand Prairie during the early years of grade school. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 where I grew up, so I have a big connection with North Texas communities.鈥�
After graduating from South Grand Prairie High School, she moved on to the University of North Texas, where she obtained a bachelor鈥檚 degree in photojournalism and a master鈥檚 degree in journalism.
She worked previously at 四虎影院, the Dallas affiliate of NPR and PBS, 鈥渁nd now, I鈥檓 coming home in a sense, which is why I鈥檓 excited to work on this project.鈥�
Before joining Arts Access, Guzman will be wrapping up her tenure as the executive editor of , a community journalism project at Austin PBS, where she has specialized in visual storytelling 鈥� an area of expertise she looks forward to bringing to Arts Access.
Aslam, the reporter, recently finished a year of NPR鈥檚 Kroc Fellowship, a competitive program for audio journalists who are recent graduates.
Guzman also served as associate producer for," the midday talk show at 四虎影院. She shot videos and photos for the station and had the distinction of producing the first Spanish-language online video in 四虎影院鈥檚 history. During her time in Dallas, she shared in collaborative projects that earned such honors as a regional Edward R. Murrow award. She was also selected to participate in NPR鈥檚 .
鈥淭his team will pioneer new forms of storytelling about the arts,鈥� said Anne Bothwell, vice president of arts at 四虎影院. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l also engage with North Texans whose interests and passions haven鈥檛 always been represented by current arts coverage. We鈥檙e excited for the team to dive in!鈥�
For Guzman, it鈥檚 been a roundabout path to the position. 鈥淚 did not grow up going to museums or concerts,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was not something that my family could necessarily afford to do. Or it wasn鈥檛 places that I felt like I belonged. And yet, I felt like my life was so rich with art and music and culture.鈥�
She likes the idea of highlighting artists 鈥渨ho are doing this amazing work but who maybe are not getting the recognition they deserve. And that for me is what I鈥檓 really passionate about in pursuing this project 鈥� finding the people who are often overlooked when we use the term 鈥榓rt.鈥欌��
Arts Access is a partnership between 四虎影院 and The Dallas Morning News that expands local arts, music and culture coverage through the lens of access and equity.
This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and 四虎影院 retain full editorial control of Arts Access鈥� journalism.
