SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT ~ 4/9 Greetings members, associates and friends of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists. I sincerely hope all is well at home and in your respective endeavors at work. I felt compelled to write this note after Tuesday nights chapter meeting. The chapters executive board decided to add a portion of Tuesdays meeting to commemorate the life of Charles “Chuck” Stone, a founder of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and later, founding president of the National Association of Black Journalists. During the memorial, the chapter presented a video and held a moment of silence for Mr. Stone. The portion of the memorial that stood out for most in attendance, were the eloquent testimonies given by Mr. Stones former Daily News coworkers, Michael Days and former columnist Elmer Smith. They spoke highly of Mr. Stone as a journalist, organizational leader and human being. I was fortunate to speak with Mr. Stone only two times before his transition. One, briefly in person, the other, was an extensive phone call, while he was living in North Carolina, teaching journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. During our conversation, Mr. Stone seemed concerned, still, about the quality of journalism and Black peoples place in it. He was articulate, witty and sharp. Now, here we are, 40 years following the founding of our organization, yet, the struggle remains for Black journalists. Blacks make up a strong quarter of this region’s population and almost 50 percent of this city’s population. Today, more than 70 percent of the student population within the School District of Philadelphia is Black. Though these numbers stand in our favor, records have proven, we as a people are largely under-appreciated and ignored – through employment and coverage at media companies in the Philadelphia region. If you have not joined PABJ or renewed your membership dues, I can only suggest you consider. Theres no better time than now to come on board. We are committed to fulfilling the legacy of Mr. Stone and our founders by moving this organization into the 21st Century. Last year, the chapter held this regions first job fair at Temple University, for freelance journalists; we provided a forum for the public, following Philadelphia Magazines “Being White in Philly”; and launched PRISM Magazine, which serves as an outlet for members to get multimedia work published, while empowering the African-American community to become citizen journalists and learn multimedia. The chapter also adopted the multimedia theme #PABJGenNext. The Twitter hash tag is not specific to a demographic. However, it’s a renewed mindset for our members, helping our colleagues in the industry adjust and become successful in the new multimedia age of journalism. As we continue to address ongoing issues regarding diversity in the hiring and coverage of African Americans, please know that as chapter president Im focused on expanding this organizations mission. In addition to presenting a job fair in its second year, our 2014 programming includes a Gubernatorial Forum crafted for the African-American community in Southeastern Pennsylvania and professional development workshops such as our Broadcasters Series. The chapter is also currently working with city officials to amend an exhibit of the citys Economic Opportunity Plan for Comcast Corporation to address the inclusion of Black communication professionals and journalists at its planned Innovation and Technology Tower in Center City. I want to thank those who came out Tuesday night and participated in the memorial. The chapter will hold a separate, much larger event for Mr. Stone at a later date. In the meantime, before the end of the month, all are invited to stop by The Philadelphia Tribune, 520 S. 16th St, and sign a large commemorative photo of Mr. Stone that will be framed and placed in the newsroom of The Philadelphia Daily News. Please know I take my position at chapter president seriously, and look forward to working with each of you in the near future as we continue to work together in the spirit of our founder, Charles “Chuck” Stone. Thank you. Johann Calhoun President Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 19:45:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015