In the wee hours of the morning I learned a dear friend of mine, Armando “Mando” Montano, passed away. He was an Associated Press intern working in Mexico City. He had just graduated from Grinnell University in Iowa and this fall he was shipping off to the University of Barcelona for journalism school. Looking through my Gmail chats with him, I had only started talking to him on August 1, 2011. Our friendship is built upon 72 hilarious chat sessions plus countless Facebook comments/likes and Twitter mentions and retweets.
We had some of the very best conversations imaginable about journalism, Facebook creeping on cute boys we liked, our hopes, our fears and many freak-outs during the internship offer waiting game. We were each other’s cheerleaders and in fact, he was one of the first few people I told I had accepted The Washington Post’s internship offer for this summer. It was such a wonderful day when he told me he was off to Mexico to report for the AP and also put his Spanish to great use. The caps he used to convey his excitement will forever put a smile on my face. We are alumni of some of the best journalism programs in the country (New York Times Student Journalism Institute, Chips Quinn Scholars) and had some of the same dreams to be great journalists chasing big stories for big news organizations. Last week I was in New Orleans for the National Association of Black Journalists convention and was talking about Mando to another mutual friend of ours who was also alumna of the programs we did. We of course both spoke of how much we loved him. How small the journalism world is but vast our connections are. Mando and mine’s friendship was a 21st century one –– a social media one. Despite this, he is one of the best people I never met.
The idea of being able to truly connect with a complete stranger through an online avenue is beautiful to say the least. It’s not picking up the telephone and it’s not a text message but it can have great meaning beyond the superficial items we put out there. Whether one chooses Twitter or Facebook, Gmail or Yahoo!, Storify or YouTube our worlds have become so much more interconnected with these tools in existence. One cannot successfully be using social media and honestly say they don’t have a “Twitter buddy” or “Facebook acquaintance” whom they’ve talked to multiple times but never met.
As journalists, we harp so much about using social media to be an extension of our brand but it furrows my brow to think about how we sometimes forget to use it to truly connect with the people we friend and follow. We cannot talk to everyone at once but we should try to branch out and follow people who pique our curiosity. Many mutual friends and a random following of each other on Twitter is how Mando and I became fast friends. It’s odd to think you can really know someone through social media, but if you’re doing it properly, your personality and passions should be able to shine through. It’s why when I heard the news of Mando passing away, I sobbed so much. It’s wasn’t just someone I met on social media, it was a friend. A friend I talked to regularly through the various avenues of social media, a friend who made such a profound impact on me for their love of journalism, storytelling and life. A friend who has people posting on his Facebook wall every few minutes reminiscing over fond memories and conversations with him.
While I am saddened Mando isn’t with us anymore, I know if I’m feeling down or want to remind myself of him, I can just type his name and all of our conversations will come up. I can only hope to be as great and impactful of a person and journalist as he was to me. I can also only hope to make as great of a connection with someone else as I did Mando.
We had some of the very best conversations imaginable about journalism, Facebook creeping on cute boys we liked, our hopes, our fears and many freak-outs during the internship offer waiting game. We were each other’s cheerleaders and in fact, he was one of the first few people I told I had accepted The Washington Post’s internship offer for this summer. It was such a wonderful day when he told me he was off to Mexico to report for the AP and also put his Spanish to great use. The caps he used to convey his excitement will forever put a smile on my face. We are alumni of some of the best journalism programs in the country (New York Times Student Journalism Institute, Chips Quinn Scholars) and had some of the same dreams to be great journalists chasing big stories for big news organizations. Last week I was in New Orleans for the National Association of Black Journalists convention and was talking about Mando to another mutual friend of ours who was also alumna of the programs we did. We of course both spoke of how much we loved him. How small the journalism world is but vast our connections are. Mando and mine’s friendship was a 21st century one –– a social media one. Despite this, he is one of the best people I never met.
The idea of being able to truly connect with a complete stranger through an online avenue is beautiful to say the least. It’s not picking up the telephone and it’s not a text message but it can have great meaning beyond the superficial items we put out there. Whether one chooses Twitter or Facebook, Gmail or Yahoo!, Storify or YouTube our worlds have become so much more interconnected with these tools in existence. One cannot successfully be using social media and honestly say they don’t have a “Twitter buddy” or “Facebook acquaintance” whom they’ve talked to multiple times but never met.
As journalists, we harp so much about using social media to be an extension of our brand but it furrows my brow to think about how we sometimes forget to use it to truly connect with the people we friend and follow. We cannot talk to everyone at once but we should try to branch out and follow people who pique our curiosity. Many mutual friends and a random following of each other on Twitter is how Mando and I became fast friends. It’s odd to think you can really know someone through social media, but if you’re doing it properly, your personality and passions should be able to shine through. It’s why when I heard the news of Mando passing away, I sobbed so much. It’s wasn’t just someone I met on social media, it was a friend. A friend I talked to regularly through the various avenues of social media, a friend who made such a profound impact on me for their love of journalism, storytelling and life. A friend who has people posting on his Facebook wall every few minutes reminiscing over fond memories and conversations with him.
While I am saddened Mando isn’t with us anymore, I know if I’m feeling down or want to remind myself of him, I can just type his name and all of our conversations will come up. I can only hope to be as great and impactful of a person and journalist as he was to me. I can also only hope to make as great of a connection with someone else as I did Mando.
Even in spirit Mando somehow manages to make my Twitter timeline and Facebook newsfeed crazy and my email notifications go off –– it's like he's still here. Thankful and moved that my words along with my best friend Aaron Edwards' words have been able to resonate and give comfort to others beyond a news story.
- Aaron Edwards: Cheeseburgers, Journalism & George Michael
- Andrew Katz: Why do we discount the career achievements of the young?
- MetroWeekly: Armando Montano, 22-year-old out gay journalist, found dead in Mexico City
- MuckRack Daily: AP intern found dead in Mexico / http://bit.ly/MOd1a9
- Richard Prince's Journal-isms: Armando Montano was to work at UNITY convention
- Poynter Institute: AP intern Armando Montano dead at 22
- Jim Romenesko: AP intern Armando Montano dies in Mexico