 The Cool Out Suite scored big as the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Journalists (DFW/ABJ) was joined by ESPN’s sports journalists and friends, Jemele Hill, Michael Smith and analyst for ESPN’s SEC Network, Marcus Spears. The Foundation Room was packed with media professionals, athletes and sports fans during this college football championship weekend. "I think having the College Football Playoff here allows DFW/ABJ to show just how important it is to the community. It allows everyone to meet and greet with some of the names and faces you may recognize on TV or the radio, and in turn, it gives those people the opportunity to see that DFW/ABJ is more than capable of putting on a professional, quality event for the masses,” said national college football recruiting analyst, Damon Sayles. DJ Gumbo turned down the music so that DFW/ABJ board members including Past President KXAS-TV NBC 5’s Stephen Wright, Vice President Eva Coleman, and special guests Jemele Hill and Michael Smith could address the large crowd. Star-Telegram’s Cowboys/ NFL reporter, Clarence E. Hill Jr. welcomed everyone and invited all to join the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Journalists. “We want to encourage everyone to join because it supports us in the business,” said WFAA-TV fill-in Traffic Reporter and celebrity blogger, Amanda Fitzpatrick. Former NFL player for the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens, Marcus Spears shared his sentiments on being welcomed to the journalism side of the industry. He gave lots of credit to other journalists in the room including his “sis," Eva Coleman. Other professionals were invited to speak as well and a common theme among each of them seemed to be, “pay it forward.” “I make sure I pay my dues and it was opportunities that NABJ provided that led me to where I am today,” said ESPN’s Jemele Hill. "As we approach our 35th anniversary in 2016, DFW/ABJ members recognize our rich history and a commitment to providing scholarships, mentorships, professional development programming and networking opportunities,” said DFW/ABJ President, Cheryl Smith. "We're also proud of our NABJ 'babies' and appreciate the opportunity to show our love when they visit the area." If you are seeking a progressive organization that provides scholarships, networking opportunities and pays it forward, join the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Journalists. When you join, you support students just like the ones featured in the following video participating in the 12-week, Urban Journalism Workshop sponsored by the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Journalists. DFW/ABJ has influenced the careers of so many journalists in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and around the nation. Visit www.dfwabj.com and join TODAY! Blog post by: LaDonna Castro
DFW/ABJ Secretary
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Hi NABJ Family,
I realize some members are just joining this discussion for the first time, while others have been engaged from the beginning. NABJ has released 3 statements on our UNITY talks. They answer many of the questions that keep surfacing. Please read them by clicking on this link. http://www.nabj.org/?UNITYNegotiations Allow me to concentrate on some positives before I get back to UNITY. I cannot answer every question that appears in this forum daily. That's why we are scheduling an online town hall meeting to discuss only this topic. We plan to posts a Q&A to address your questions on nabj.org this week. Keep in mind, volunteers handle practically all of our communications. Someone asked what would NABJ do with the extra UNITY money... hire a communications director for starters. We have half the staff that we had about 5-6 years ago. The staff, board, and I are working on offering you year-round services and programs. Next week, we'll have the health disparities conference in Washington, DC. I know everyone can't be there, but that conference is helping us diversify our revenue stream. This is the season when we turn a lot of our attention to planning a successful convention. We will be announcing some awesome programming starting this month. I know everyone can't be in Philadelphia either. That's why we're also scheduling online training for chapter officers and members; 3-4 webinars on reinvention. One includes a talk with an attorney to tell you your rights before and after you lose your job. We're partnering with the National Urban League to give you a sneak preview of its State of Black America Report next week. CBS News is hosting a special recruitment opportunity for NABJ members only. Go to the web site for info. on where to send your resume and to apply for the Ray Taliafero grant for entrepreneurs. The DJTF does a great job of hosting multimedia webinars. That's just a sample of things to come. It hasn't been easy providing services on a shoestring budget, but there are many people working to keep NABJ alive and relevant AND asking the tough questions. Before my term ends, my goal is to continue upgrades to the web site to keep you connected with people who want to hire you and help you build your own brand. In the meantime, when the board meets quarterly (sometimes on our own dime) it meets with media companies, and we're getting job leads practically every day because of those relationships. Some of them are posted online in the jobs center and on listservs. Google just called last week to advertise their openings. Please apply!! Can we do more on the advocacy front? Absolutely. There's plenty to do. For now, we plan to do more than just publish our diversity census this year. It's a powerful tool that isn't getting enough eyes. Keep in mind, Bob Butler and I along with some great volunteers worked on last year's reports and previous reports without a budget. UNITY had a 100k-200k budget for advocacy. NABJ's budget this year for board advocacy trips is $2,000. We squeeze in media company visits whenever we can- during vacations and business trips. Now back to UNITY. I won't spend much time talking about the past -who asked what and when. I will say we've spent a great deal of time getting our own house in order, sweeping around our own front door (as the Williams Brothers sing) before we started sweeping around UNITY's. You elected me to look out for your best interest, and I do that every day. Now back to the trenches as Meta would say. Yours in service, Kathy Y. Times 601-421-0602 The workshop's last day and we started off with the popular current events quiz.
1. Who are the Dallas MAVs in the playoff against? 2. Who is leading in the MAVs v. _____________ series? 3. Name the two African American civil rights leaders who died in the past 2 weeks 4. Name the airlines that had a near collision with a small aircraft last week. 5. Name the organization that was ordered to pay $18.5 million to a sexually abused man 6. Name the U.S. Supreme Court Justice who is stepping down. 7. What does TAKS stand for? 8. Who did the owner of the Cowboys blame for the stadium not being built in Dallas? 9. Who is the owner of the Cowboys? 10. Which dollar bill is being discussed to change the face of? BONUS 1 WHOSE FACE IS BEING PITCHED TO APPEAR ON THE AFOREMENTIONED BILL? 2. WHAT DOES S.A.T. STAND FOR? Well hats off to Tayler Henley of Paul Quinn College! She had an almost perfect score! Amazing what a little studying will do!!! SO this week, we completed all of our assignments and planned for the Closing Ceremony: WHO - DFW/ABJ Urban Journalism Workshop WHAT - Closing Ceremony WHERE - Lincoln Humanities and Communications Magnet WHEN - Sunday, MAY 2, 2010 at 3p.m. Invite your friends and relatives to join us as we review the works you have produced over the past three months. A Special thanks to Clarice Tinsley of FOX 4 News, for her contribution to the workshop. Cheryl The day was opened with the Current Events Quiz. I tried to make it easy, but, you be the judge.
1. Who was the Dallas County Constable recently voted out of office? 2. Who has expressed a concern about American families adopting? 3. The White House ordered the extension of hospital visitation rights to ________? 4. Name the U.S. Senator from Texas who decided to remain in office, despite talk of stepping down. 5. What does NAACP stand for? Be exact. Tameka Calhoun of Paul Quinn College was the high scorer! After the Quiz, we talked about resumes and preparing for those “hard” interview questions. The question that seemed to be the most challenging: “What are your weaknesses?” Students also revised their resumes and wrote cover letters and letters of introduction. For lunch the speaker was Joyce Ann Brown. Ms. Brown spent nine years, five months and 24 days in prison for a crime she didn’t commit. She talked about the time leading up to her arrest, the trial, the impact on her family and what led to her release. Ms. Brown also talked about the work she has been doing since her release--she celebrated her 20th year of freedom last November. A regular speaker for the Urban Journalism Workshop, Ms. Brown stayed past lunch to talk with students and some purchased her book. During the afternoon session, we discussed what would happen on Week 12 and at the closing ceremony. Students turned in their stories and photos. Special Thanks to: Natalie Brown of Subway for delivering lunch and Ayanna Smith for hanging out with the babies: Aaliyah and Maliyah NEXT WEEK: It’s a wrap. There will be the job interviews and completion of stories in preparation for the closing ceremony. Cheryl ONLY TWO MORE to go! Today the focus was on the Black Press.
We opened with a Current Events Quiz: 1. Name the retiring Supreme Court Justice. 2. Name the person who was last seated on the Supreme Court. 3. What is significant about the last person seated on the Supreme Court? 4. Which U.S. Senator from Texas is not giving up their seat? 5. Where was the explosion of a coal mine? 6. What is the name of the golf tournament that Tiger Woods is making his return? 7. Who won the girl's Final Four? 8. Who won the boy's Final Four? 9. Name Dallas' District Attorney? 10. Who is the outgoing Dallas chief of police? BONUS: (Thanks to Gemeral Berry of Our Texas) 1. What did the City of Dallas do as a result of the Badu video? 2. Name the two candidates for governor of Texas. Paul Quinn College's LaKesha Oliver scored the highest! Next Publisher Gemeral Berry of Our Texas Magazine, talked about the publication and shared copies with students. They did an interesting exercise looking at the lyrics of love songs and the interpretations. Then Dallas Weekly Managing Editor Gordon Jackson visited with the students and shared a history lesson on the Black Press. Gordon also talked about some of the benefits of working for the Black Press, as well as some of the challenges. During the Q&A, we talked about some of our most memorable interviews. Gemeral's was with Erykah Badu, Gordon's was with either Jim Brown or Muhammad Ali, and I chose between James Brown and Maya Angelou. After lunch, we went over story ideas and students turned in edited stories. Everyone has to come with their resumes next week so that we can review and prepare for mock job interviews on April 24. SPECIAL THANKS: To Natalie Brown of Subway for once again delivering the food! To Ramona Logan who went above and beyond my plea to everyone to donate $21 to the workshop! If you want to know how and where to donate, give me a call at 469 867 6004 or respond to this email (better and quicker). NEXT WEEK: Saturday, April 17--We are preparing for job interviews. the lunch speaker will be Joyce Ann Brown. A regular to the workshop, Joyce spent nine years, five months and 24 days in prison for a crime she did NOT commit. In November 2009, she celebrated her 20th year of freedom. She will share her story leading up to and following the conviction and her imprisonment, and she talk about what she has been doing since her release. Cheryl For some reason, this was not a good day to take a current event’s quiz! After near-perfect scores last week, participants had a hard time asking questions like: 1. Who is Elin Nordegren? 2. Name two Texas gubernatorial candidates. 3. Who is Conrad Murray? 4. Name the former U.S. Secretary of State who died yesterday. 5. Why were three women caned in Asia? The scores were dismal. For the bonus: do you know the first name of Vice President Biden’s wife? After everyone got over the shock of the poor scores and a lecture on the need to be informed about current and world events and issues, editors were selected and stories assigned for the DFW/ABJ Journal. Co-editors are: Brad Calhoun of Paul Quinn College and Jasmine Maturino of Lincoln Humanities and Communications Magnet and the managing editor is Paul Quinn’s Channette Fultz. Next each participant was interviewed and assigned mentors based on their interests and career goals. The participants will interview their mentors and write features. Hopefully some will build lasting relationships. For lunch, radio personality and urban journalism workshop alum Gary Hayes (Gary with the Tea) was the speaker. Gary is currently heard on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show where his segment is extremely popular. In addition to talking about the impact the urban journalism workshop had on his career, Gary talked about how he got his start in radio with radio-veteran, Russ Parr. He has also worked on the Steve Harvey Morning Show. After lunch, mentee Robert Musgrove of Texas A&M Commerce had a one-on-one with Gary and Kenezia Smith of El Centro College took photos while Annya Smith of Duncanville High School filmed the interview. Exercises in ethics filled the remainder of the evening. Participants were challenged about various ethical theories and how they made decisions. They reviewed several codes of ethics, including the American Marketing Association and the Society of Professional Journalists. Situational ethics appeared to be popular among the group. Special thanks to: Natalie Brown for delivering lunch from her Subway store, Lincoln Magnet Principal Carlos Lee for visiting with the students and Gary Hayes for volunteering to purchase lunch next week (we’re having Blackjack’s Pizza!). Principal Lee said that he will work with us to ensure that more Lincoln students are in the program next year. NEXT WEEK- CALLING ALL RADIO PEOPLE, COME ON OUT AND WORK WITH US: This is the first week of Radio, facilitated by DFW/ABJ Vice President-Broadcast, Eva Coleman. A number of radio professionals will be participating in panels, writing for radio exercises and voice exercises. Fort Worth Star-Telegram VP and Columnist Bob Ray Sanders will be the luncheon speaker, so the participants are in for a real treat. I am attaching the schedule again, just in case anyone missed it. If you're available, we need and want you!
Cheryl It was an All-Star Weekend at the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Journalists Urban Journalism Workshop this week as a Toronto Raptor and Lincoln Humanities and Communications Magnet alum brought his Chris Bosh Foundation to town, along with many of his teammates. Some participants felt that we shouldn’t meet because of the “bad” weather--we had a little snow! I told them two things: in this business, the weather becomes the story; and, if they turned on the television and didn’t see any journalists, opened the door and their newspaper wasn’t there, or turned on the radio and didn’t hear any broadcasters, we wouldn’t be meeting. The day began with a Current Events Quiz. I thought it was pretty easy because the night before I was hanging out at the Cedric the Entertainer After Party at Harwood 609. You take the quiz: 1. Name the shortest player ever to win the NBA All-Star Slam dunk contest? 2. Who is the Mayor of Dallas? 3. Name the “Dr.” who won the NBA All-Star Slam dunk contest? 4. What auto company is in the news because of the massive recall of its autos? 5. What team won the 2010 Super Bowl? 6. Who performed during the halftime of the 2010 Super Bowl? 7. Where are the 2010 Winter Olympics? 8. What tragedy occurred at the 2010 Winter Olympics? 9. What former presidential candidate is currently embroiled in a scandal? 10. What former president was hospitalized last week? BONUS: Who is the governor of Texas? I told you it was easy! Wait until next week.
After reviewing the quiz, we actually had a 100 from workshop veteran Robert Musgrove who began the program a couple of years ago when he was at Paul Quinn College. He is about to graduate from Texas A&M Commerce. Also Kenezia Smith (no relation), a neophyte, from El Centro College scored a 90! The students were briefed about the time they would spend with Chris Bosh and then veteran journalist Steve Pickett of CBS-11 shared interviewing techniques and note-taking and newsgathering tips with the participants. Additionally it was interesting hearing about Steve’s journey . He told students, “Use your bias to show your balance.” and to “Balance your subjectivity.” Everyone should hear Steve’s take on “objectivity” because sometimes folks get caught up --it’s about balance and fairness. He also introduced CBS- 11 cameraman Troy Larkins. Then the students moved to the auditorium where they were received bags from the Chris Bosh Foundation and ate lunch courtesy of McDonald’s. Cheryl “Action” Jackson of WFAA-TV warmed everyone up for Judge Greg Mathis and Chris Bosh. They all had inspiring messages and workshop participants were taking notes and pictures. Cheryl gave out money and Chris gave computers!!! They also heard from Paul Quinn College President Dr. Michael J. Sorrell and Mrs. Freda Bosh, Chris' mother. Paul Quinn is also a recipient of computers. SPECIAL THANKS: Workshop alum Jasmine Patrick of KKDA-AM and Langston University brought donuts and punch; Sherilyn Smith-Rudolph of Enigma L.L.C, for including the workshop in the Chris Bosh program (Sherilyn, formerly of the Dallas Weekly has been a speaker at the workshop over the years); and The Spears Family (their son, James is in the workshop), who agreed to donate lunch for two weekends!!! NEXT WEEK: Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Irwin Thompson of the Dallas Morning News will tell stories with pictures and Gary with the Tea from the Rickey Smiley Morning Show will share his experiences from the workshop and working in radio. Then there will be a discussion on Ethics, the choosing of editors and a budget meeting. Cheryl The Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Journalists recently hosted the sports forum, "Fair or Foul: How the Media Portrays the Black Athlete," at the beautiful Harwood 609 Restaurant and Jazz Club, 609 North Harwood Street in Downtown Dallas. Kicking off a week of activities surrounding the NBA All-Star Game, the discussion ranged from Tiger Woods’ infidelities off the course and Serena Williams’ tiff during a match to Gilbert Arenas’ bringing guns into the Washington Wizards locker room and the womanizing antics of some athletes. The impressive panel, that was moderated by the dynamic former WNBAer Fran Harris, featured sports journalists KKDA's Chris Arnold, Fort Worth Star-Telegram senior writer Clarence Hill, 411 Sports & Entertainment Publisher Cedric Lyons, Dallas Weekly sports writer LaToya Hardaway, The Home Team DFW's Channing Curtis, and businessman and freelance journalist Thom Bailey, along with Dr. Murray Fortner, chair of the sociology/psychology department at Tarrant County College. Of course the discussion got heated at times, but it was really engaging. Here are some of the high points from panelists: Moderator Harris: “Is Tiger Woods sick or is he a ho?” Chris Arnold: “He’s a sick ho!” Cedric Lyons: “He’s being what all men are.” Clarence Hill: “Tiger is a victim of his own image.” Chris Arnold: “The reason you haven’t seen him was because Tiger had to heal.” Chris also talked about how Tiger’s wife caused physical damage to him. Moderator Harris: “What do you think about Tiger going to a clinic?” Channing Curtis: “No clinic is going to heal what Tiger Woods has.”
Latoya Hardaway: "It was a PR move to go to a clinic.” Chris Arnold said athletes are taking jobs from journalists. Chris had message for the journalism students in attendance--”you have to be a writer.” Stupid decisions made by athletes provided fodder for a very engaging discussion that resulted in a number of names and indiscretions being shared and dissected. When A former Dallas Cowboy name was mentioned, Clarence Hill said “we don't know if Mike Irvin is guilty or innocent.” Thom Bailey said he is tired of the tattoos on athletes Latoya said the media put these athletes on pedestals. Fran Harris asked if male athletes could keep “it” in? Interestingly when it came time to name Black male athletes who were not cheating on their wives or girlfriends, two names came up: Doug Christie and A.C. Green. Dr. Fortner discussed the celebrity mindset, saying that celebrity is a culture as he explained why media execs are using athletes as sports commentators and broadcasters. He also said athletes are not learning from the past transgressions of others. Everyone agreed that the coverage of Serena and Venus Williams is wrong and not fair. I don’t want to give everything up. In the near future we will have the taping of the panel discussion at www.dfwabj.org. Stay tuned. Cheryl ONE DOWN AND 11 TO GO! The first day of the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Journalists Urban Journalism Workshop went extremely well. Actually it was so rewarding because the students were really engaged and a few parents also stopped by to see what was happening. Even Meyla Hooker, an alum from the late 1990s showed up with a student! There were students from Lincoln Humanities and Communications Magnet, Paul Quinn College, Stephen F. Austin State University/El Centro, Duncanville High School, Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet, Texas A&M Commerce and Daniel Intermediate. The students started off learning protocol and Joe Thomas, who teaches R/TV Film at Lincoln talked to the students about his work on different projects and what he teaches in his classes. DFW/ABJ Board member Sharon Egiebor of Egiebor Expressions, Toska Medlock-Lee of Flow Records, Gemeral Berry of Our Texas Magazine and Reginald Hardwick of NBC 5 talked about their careers and answered questions. Next Shewanda Riley, who is the D/FW-ABJ Jobs and Internships Chair, talked about preparing for job interviews, getting letters of recommendation and more. It was a full day. A special thanks to Dr. Louie White of Lincoln for being there bright and early to let us in, Natalie Brown of SUBWAY for delivering lunch, Brenda Epperson (two of her grandchildren were in the workshop last year--Ty and Kelsie) for bringing snacks for our session, and to Mary Bennett, who has two grandchildren who are alums of the program--she gave a $50 donation.
Coming up next week: CBS 11’s Steve Pickett is going to be at the workshop to share interviewing and note-taking tips before leading the students in a mock press conference. The students will then cover NBA star and Lincoln graduate Chris Bosh at a luncheon and Q&A session with Sports Net TV‘s (and NABJer) Brian Custer. From there, students and instructors will be off to the many NBA activities!!! Attached is a copy of the tentative (and ever-changing) schedule for the workshop. Please contact me if you would like to participate in any session or fill in any gap. Also, if you’d like to donate lunch or snacks, that would be great! We’re keeping with the tradition that was started by George Curry and Gerald Boyd and then was brought to Dallas by Rochelle Riley. This is year number 21! Let’s keep the tradition going! Cheryl |
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