UNITY Selects Team to Help Students, More Mentors Needed

UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. will feature a converged media training project for college students. More than 70 media professionals have been selected to run the intensive one-week project at the UNITY ’08 Convention in Chicago, July 23-27, 2008. There may be opportunities for other professionals who would like to volunteer time on the UNITY project but cannot work the entire week. The expectation for the “Day Mentors” will be a one-day commitment, but mentors should be fully aware that there will be no compensation for their time.

Fired FOX4 reporter Rebecca Aguilar Fights Back, Files EEOC Complaint

Fired KDFW-TV FOX4 reporter Rebecca Aguilar filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Wednesday, charging the real reason behind her dismissal was because she challenged newsroom management. Aguilar was suspended on Oct. 16, just 12 days after receiving NAHJ’s 2007 Broadcast Journalist of the Year Award. Her suspension came the day after airing a story that drew the ire of many viewers, some of whom identified themselves as gun owners and who sympathized with the man she interviewed who shot and killed two alleged burglars.

Rubén Salazar Stamp Unveiled, Mexican American Honored with Other Great Journalists

The U.S. Postal Service unveiled a stamp to honor trailblazing Mexican American journalist Rubén Salazar Tuesday, and he was in excellent company. Salazar, war correspondents Martha Gellhorn, John Hersey, and George Polk and foreign correspondent Eric Sevareid all had varied backgrounds but shared one thing in common: they reported on some of the most important stories of the 20th century – often at great personal sacrifice. “To each of these great Americans, the nation says thank you,’’ said Postmaster General John “Jack” E. Potter during the unveiling ceremony in Washington, D.C.

NAHJ Disturbed by Figures that Mask Decline in Newsroom Diversity
With more journalists of color leaving than entering the country’s newsrooms in 2007, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists believes the news industry must focus on retention and management to reverse this disturbing development. The annual newsroom census released Sunday by the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) shows that the percentage of minority journalists working at daily newspapers actually grew slightly in 2007 from 13.43 percent to 13.52 percent.

Scholarship Banquet Focuses on Jailed Cuban Journalists, Pays Tribute to Rubén Salazar
NEW YORK – With bitterness borne of injustice, Manuel Vázquez Portal described the seemingly endless days of worm-ridden food and disgusting water in a dirty Cuban jail cell, with only rats as company. For the elegant dinner crowd, it was a sobering account of how some independent journalists are still being treated today in Cuba, one of the world’s worst violators of press freedom.

NAHJ Accepting Nominations for 2008 Hall of Fame
NAHJ is now accepting nominations for the next inductee of the association's Hall of Fame. The winner will be inducted during the Hall of Fame Gala at the UNITY '08 Convention in Chicago on Friday, July 25, 2008.

Texas Regional Draws Attendees from Faraway Places
More than 130 attended the daylong NAHJ Region 5 Conference on Saturday, March 1, at Texas State University in San Marcos. NAHJ Region 5 includes Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas, but some attendees came from far away as Phoenix, Miami , Washington, D.C., Columbia, Miss. and Carbondale, Ill. The conference began Friday, Feb. 29, with a town hall meeting on the upcoming elections, “What can Brown do for you?.”

Photo & Video Highlights from NAHJ’s 2007 Journalism Awards Gala

Check Out Videos on NAHJ's YouTube Channel

25th Anniversary NAHJ Convention Makes News, Honors Founders

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