WASHINGTON – Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton addressed what some are calling the largest minority press conference on Friday.
Clinton spoke to a few hundred journalists at the joint National Association of Black Journalists(NABJ) and National Association of Hispanic journalists(NAHJ) convention. This union is the first time in years that the two associations collaborated in hosting the annual conference.
“We need you to make sure that America’s front pages and nightly newscast and online information reflects the great diversity of our nation,” Clinton said to the room full of reporters.
While some journalists called the engagement vital in effective communication between presidential candidates and media, others were disappointed in the “scripted” format and questions asked. The journalists selected from the audience to ask questions actually sat on a preliminary panel that took place prior to the speech.
“There should have been more of an emphasis placed on the questions that would have been unique to our experiences in our communities,” NABJ member Denise Clay said. “We have bigger fish to fry, we should have fried them.”
A question on Clinton’s handling of the controversial classified emails came up.
“I never sent or received anything that was marked classified,” Clinton said, as she glanced back and forth at her notes while giving the longwinded answer.
Clinton had a strong focus on immigration and prison reform during the speech. She also debunked Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump.
“He started this campaign by describing Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists,” Clinton said. “He retweets white nationalists.”
NABJ President mentioned that convention leaders invited both Clinton and Trump to address the convention, however, Trump declined the invitation.
“I do believe [Clinton] needs to do more press conferences with the press kind of more open like it was today,” NAHJ member Carlos Rico said. “You know, a Q-and-A and kind of go back and forth and being a little more unscripted, I think it’ll go a long way.”
Video published in conjunction with 