Manny graduated from SFSU with a degree in Journalism, and with newspeople like Rigo Chacon, Isabel Duron and Bob Jiminez, are making their presence--and skills-known to Bay Area audiencces. Manny knew he was ready. "I hold a lot of respect for these people," he admits, "because of their enormous sense of responsibility. It was probably very rough for them at first, but they had this sense about them that they knew that every Latino reporter or anchor who followed them would be judged by how well the public perceived them. They were reps for their departments, and their stations. For their community and their people. The pressure had to be on! I was always impressed by Rigo because he treated everyone he did a story on with great respect."

In 1974, Manny went to work in Sacramento for KOVR-TV. Recalling one of his first assignments-�to cover the story of a police dog's retirement from Sacto PD--Manny said, "They didn't think I could do serious stories, so these were the kinds of assignments I was sent out on at first. I wanted to do politics, but it was inevitable that I'd get cast to small stories or ethnic stories. I knew I had to break out of that, but nevertheless, I was so proud. It was just a thrill to be on television doing what I loved to do: reporting!"

As Manny moved on to win Emmys at KRON and KPIX for covering stories in Nicaragua, following presidential campaigns, reporting on natural disasters and visiting the Pope, his delight of-and appreciation for--his profession, only continued to grow. He still holds up Rigo Chacon as his role model, "because of the man's respectfulness toward others." And he passes this advice on to those wishing to enter the industry today: "Be respectful-to other people...and to the power of the medium. Don't abuse or misuse it. Report the truth. Never be loose with the facts. And whatever your personal feelings are on a story or issue, don't take it with you when you sit down to write about it."

More than 20 years ago, Manny joined NATAS because he felt it was important for people in the industry to network and share ideas and experiences. He is also active in the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, an organization he has seen grow from a few dozen members to a few thousand. NAHJ's mission is to raise money to help incoming people into the industry.