Are you looking for a mentor … want to be one?

Journalists may face obstacles in the era of new media and NABJ-Chicago wants to prepare its young or inexperienced members to meet those challenges. In September, NABJ-Chicago will “reboot” its Mentorship Program, and we’re looking for mentors and protégés. If you’re interested in being a part of the program, please fill out the form using one of the links below.

Mentor

Protege

Come join us for light refreshments and deep conversation with all-stars including Marion Brooks, our moderator and acclaimed NBC 5 anchor; Diann Burns, veteran Chicago anchor and host of the Emmy-award winning “NextTV”; Marcus Riley, Multimedia Entertainment Reporter for NBCChicago.com and “24/7 Chicago: Secrets of the City” Correspondent; Silvia Rivera, Managing Director of Chicago Public Radio’s Vocalo.org; Brad Flora, Founder of WindyCitizen.com, which recently won a $250,000 grant as part of the Knight Foundation’s 2010 News Challenge; and Victor Henderson, host of CBS-2’s new pilot public affairs program, unSpoken: The Things We Don’t Say.

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is dismayed by the profound failure of media organizations in their rush to report on the allegedly racist remarks of former U.S. Department of Agriculture staffer Shirley Sherrod.

Because of the activist propaganda of conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart and the subsequent lack of due diligence on the part of pundits on the FOX News Channel and others to verify the authenticity of a tape with  Sherrod’s remarks on race, this veteran public servant was unjustly castigated and convicted as an unrepentant racist in the court of public opinion.

We expect better, and so do the millions of readers and viewers who rely on news organizations for accuracy before airing or publishing any material, especially those with potential negative consequences. This didn’t happen and, as a result, Sherrod’s decades-long reputation as a champion of equity and justice was tarnished in mere hours. The swift, decisive echo chamber of bad judgment from all involved, from cable networks to the White House, should be a lesson learned for us all.

To be sure, the 24/7 news cycle now requires all of us to sometimes move at a dizzying pace to report news, even when the circumstances are still developing. But those demands do not negate our responsibility as a public trust to get it right, each and every time.

Breitbart and those who went with the tape’s content without first checking its authenticity owe Sherrod – and America – an apology for creating yet another sad chapter in the long history of the explosive mix of media, race and politics in this country.

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An advocacy group established in 1975 in Washington, D.C., NABJ is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation, with nearly 3,000 members, and provides educational, career development and support to black journalists worldwide.

Thanks to all who joined NABJ-Chicago for our first-ever “minute-to-win-it” power networking sessions, moderated by the Chicago Defender’s Kathy Chaney, at Bar Novo on June 16.  Our guests crowded the swanky bar for a highly productive meet-and-greet with one another and high-powered journalists including Chicago Sun-Times’ Mary Mitchell, Multimedia Entertainment reporter for NBCChicago.com and  ‘24/7 Chicago: Secrets of the City’  correspondent Marcus Riley, “Garrard McClendon Live” host, Garrard McClendon,  and producer, Jerry Riley.  Members have asked us to repeat this highly successful event, and we will in coming months.  Stay tuned for our next big event.

Date: June 16, Wednesday
Time: 6:00-8 p.m.
Topic: “Minute to Win It: Power Networking with NABJ-Chicago
Location: Bar Novo  (inside the Renaissance Hotel) at 1 W. Wacker Drive
Cost: Free for members; $5 for all other guests
Networking is critical in these turbulent economic times, and nobody knows that better than NABJ-Chicago. That’s why this month’s event is “Minute to Win It: Power Networking with NABJ-Chicago.” Meet us and high-powered local journalists from radio, TV, film and the online scene at the swanky, sleek Bar Novo at 1 W. Wacker Drive inside the Renaissance Hotel. Chicago Defender and “Nancy Grace” regular Kathy Chaney is moderating this “speed-networking” event to make sure you make the most of your membership and connect with as many career-enhancers as you can. Meet other members and guests, plus introduce yourself to local journalism standouts including the Chicago Sun-Times’ Mary Mitchell; WFLD-TV’s Robin Robinson, Multimedia Entertainment reporter for NBCChicago.com and  ‘24/7 Chicago: Secrets of the City’  correspondent Marcus Riley; Garrard McClendon, host of CLTV’s “Garrard McClendon Live,” and his producer, Jerry Riles; and “312 Dining Diva” journalist, Playboy Scout writer and blogtrepreneur extraordinaire, Audarshia Townsend. New members are especially encouraged to attend.  Light refreshments will be served, so be sure and arrive
on time.  Cash bar available.

Thanks to all NABJ-Chicago members and guests who joined us at our Annual Membership Meeting 2010, followed by our “Death and the Deadline” panel discussion on May 19 at Red Kiva lounge in the West Loop.  We participated in a vigorous, and insightful conversation about the reality of community violence and what the media could do to improve its coverage of that violence.

Special thanks to our moderator, Allison Hunter, as well as outstanding panelists: TRUTH Magazine founder and community activist, Carl West; rapper Hassahn Phenomenon; rapper Precise, President and CEO of the Community Mental Health Council Dr. Carl Bell and 18-year-old Crishinda Wade from Teen Englewood.

PANELIST QUOTABLES:
“If I lived in L.A. and watched Chicago news, you would think Chicago is a war zone.”—HASSAHN PHENOMENON, RAPPER, CYPHER LOUNGE RADIO SHOW HOST

“The decisions (about media coverage) are made behind the camera. … Producing is about judgment, what stories go where.”—MODERATOR, ALLISON HUNTER, LONG-TIME EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

“We had great programming, but we gave up control. It’s not what people want to see, it’s what they’re used to seeing. These minstrel shows we tune into, we give our power to that.”—PRECISE, RAPPER

“If you’re not mentoring … you ain’t doing nothing.”—CARL WEST, TRUTH MAGAZINE FOUNDER AND COMMUNITY ACTIVIST

“We (teens) don’t want to know just one perspective of the story.”—CRISHINDA WADE, TEEN, TEAM EANGLEWOOD

“When the programs go away, the problems come back. You don’t talk about … ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’ you rebuild the village. … We must teach youth social and emotional skills; you check people’s behavior.”– DR. BELL

We also thank members of the Pain to Power Foundationand  Derrion Albert’s grandfather for coming out to meet with members of the media and attend the panel.

CALL FOR COMMITTEES:

If you didn’t get a chance to attend our meeting, we are also asking more of our members to volunteer for NABJ-Chicago committees: Events/Programming; Technology/Social Media; Mentorship; Media Advocacy; Fundraising and Publicity.  If you are interested in using your talents and working with our dynamic, award-winning board, please send an e-mail to nabjccsecretary@nabjchicago.org.

Thanks to all who joined us at Red Kiva lounge in the West Loop on April 22 for an invigorating and necessary discussion on whether there is a “black agenda”  in America,  and if our 44th President is beholden to it.  We would  like to extend our appreciation to our panelists– N’Digo’s Hermene Hartman, Chicago Urban League CEO Herman Brewer, Columbia College Chicago Professor and writer Jessica Young, as well as one of the architects of the recent Tavis Smiley-helmed  panel, Chicago State University President Dr. Wayne Watson.

Our members and friends of the organization added to the experience with razor-sharp questions and points, leading to a night of civil debate, moderated by NABJ-Chicago executive board member and Chicago Public Radio icon, Richard Steele.  As some guests have commented, we focused on potential solutions, instead of merely re-hashing  problems in our community and this nation.

Please mark your calendars for our next monthly event, the Annual Meeting on May 19, 2010.  Location TBD.

Sen. Kwame Raoul

Thanks to all who made our Feb. 18 meeting a success!  Members of NABJ-Chicago and our guests gathered at  Red Kiva in the West Loop to discuss media coverage of, and raise money for,  Haiti.

We would like to thank our panelists and guests for an invigorating, important conversation.

-Moderator: Prof. Stephanie Shonekan of Columbia College

-State Senator Kwame Raoul
-Evanston Ald. Lionel Jean-Baptiste of the Haitian Congress to Fortify Haiti
-Patrick Brutus, co-founder of Haitian-American Professionals Network
-Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell

NABJ-Chicago  is sending the funds to the Clinton Bush Foundation.  As a follow-up from our panel discussion, NABJ-Chicago offers you this online  resource to help you decide how to make future donations to Haiti.  Please stay tuned for our next event in March. 

The Africa Channel

WHAT: NABJ-Chicago’s November 2009 Meeting

WHEN: Thursday, November 5,2009 from 6p.m.–8p.m. (Presentation begins promptly at 6:30 p.m.)

TOPIC: THE AFRICA CHANNEL

WHERE: Red Kiva, 1108 West Randolph, Chicago, where many music performances and interviews are taped for The African Channel.

The Africa Channel is the first mainstream television network in the U.S. that is fully dedicated to showcasing the richness, diversity and beauty of modern Africa and its people. The 24/7 general interest, entertainment network features a broad slate of exclusive, first run programming, including: news and documentary specials; lifestyle and reality programs; and music, movies and episodic dramas.

The Africa Channel launched in 2005, and is now available in cable households in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans and numerous other cities. It also airs in the United Kingdom and various islands in the Caribbean.

As a privately owned, independent network, gaining distribution continues to be a major challenge. Key executives from The Africa Channel will give NABJ-Chicago members and guests an exclusive inside view of the challenges involved with launching a new network and how the media, community groups and individual consumers can make a difference.

Join us as NABJ-Chicago presents a special forum on The Africa Channel. A sample Taste of Africa will precede the program.

We are also pleased to announce that NABJ-Chicago has won Chapter of the Year, receiving national recognition for programming and fundraising achievements. We would like to extend our appreciation to members, guests and event attendees for their wide support.