BY DEXTER MULLINS
nabjconvention.org
Named for the battle of Midway Island, USSMidway is one of the Navy’s longest-servingaircraft carriers that has made San Diego itshome. And for this year’s NABJ@35 event, itserves as the site of the opening reception.“This is a really great way to welcome ev-erybody to San Diego,” said Malcolm Eustacheof North Carolina. “It’s really unique, and itspeaks to the naval history of this city.”The 70,000-ton floating city is just 55 feetoff the surface of the Pacific Ocean, spanningthe length of three football fields and thewidth of one. USS Midway has been turnedinto one of the most-visited ship museumsin the world, featuring more than 60 uniqueexhibits and nearly 30 restored military air-crafts. The Midway opened as a museum June7, 2004.“We’ve just exceeded all financial and at-tendance expectations,” said Joe Ciokon, pub-lic affairs officer and former command masterchief of the Navy broadcasting service. “In 13months, we had over 900,000 visitors. Now,we’re at over 5 million.“This is probably the biggest success storyof any ship museum across the country.”
A floating piece of history
Ciokon, who is one of the many 600 vol-unteers that now staff the Midway’s hallwaysand caverns, attributes much of the popular-ity of the ship to the overwhelming supportthe retired servicemen and local communityprovides. Many community members, such asVic Vyrdia, can recall a time when the Mid-way was a different kind of ship, stuffed to its
Left: The USSMidway sitsashore at thePort of SanDiego onMonday.Bottom: NABJPresidentKathy Timessits with SanDiego MayorJerry Sandersduring the35th AnnualNABJ Conven-tion openingreception onthe deck of USS Midwayin San Diego.
JANE DOE/THE MONITOR
USS Midway carries on rich history
Floating museum serves as a welcoming deck for journalistsat NABJ’s 35th annual Convention and Career Fair
TODAY’S HIGH
Q&A WITH NABJ’S PRESIDENT
Kathy Times addresses issuesthat members are facing, suchas job losses and financialdifficulties.
Page 3
FEES STUMP MEMBERS
The host hotel for the NABJ@35event is not shy about the extrafees it requires to use amenities.
Page 5
A GREEN INITIATIVE
NABJ implements new standardsto ensure the waste it generatesis properly recycled or disposed.
Page 11
KENNETH HAWKINS/
nabjconvention.org
National Association of Black Journalists Convention
º www.nabjconvention.org º Wednesday, July 28, 2010
National Association of Black Journalists Convention
º www.nabjconvention.org º Thursday, July 29, 2010
KENNETH HAWKINS/
nabjconvention.org
Continued on Page 9
BY CORRINNE LYONS
NABJConvention.org
T
he executive board of the Nation-al Association of Black Journalistsvoted unanimously Tuesday to de-lay plans to pick the destination forthe 2016 convention.NABJ has already secured its next five con-vention sites: Philadelphia, 2011; Orlando,2013; New Orleans, 2014; and Minneapolis,2015. The board voted to hold off on select-ing the 2016 location until the organization’sfinancial situation is clearer and the boardmakes changes to its planning process.Under the current bylaws, NABJ TresurerGregory Lee Jr. said the organization mustfinalize convention plans five years in ad-vance, but that is “no longer practical.”After this year’s convention, a committeewill be formed to evaluate the current sys-tem and present the executive board with areport. The board agreed to have a plan inplace by July 31, 2011.Lee said the change was something that“should have been done three years ago.”Before the vote Tuesday, Lee, chair-man of the ad hoc committee, made apresentation that offered board mem- bers several ways for NABJ to savemoney during conventions.Lee said NABJ needed to use collegecampuses for meeting space and nego-tiate with smaller hotel chains. He wenton to say that the number of events withmeals needed to be reduced, includingthe Salute to Excellence Awards Gala andthe Gospel Brunch.The ad hoc committee recommendedthat NABJ partner with other minority or-ganizations -- including the National As-sociation of Hispanic Journalists, the AsianAmerican Journalists Association and theNative American Journalists Association --to offset costs. Lee said NABJ could partnerwith one minority group each year, alter-nating between the different organizations.The board then discussed the 2012 UNI-TY convention in Las Vegas. UNITY is agathering of the members of the aforemen-tioned minority organizations that takesplace every four years.Charles Robinson, Region II Director,said he was concerned that UNITY Journal-ists of Color and the other partner organi-zations would attempt to prey on NABJ’smembership size due to the fact that it isthe largest of the four.“Are they trying to pimp us?” Robinsonsaid.Lee responded: “Pimping is a strongword.”Robinson later said that he didn’t meanthe comment in a negative way, stating thatit was a rhetorical analogy. He did empha-size, though, that he feels that NABJ would be shortchanged.When a UNITY convention is held, Leesaid, the first 20 percent of revenue goes toUNITY. Forty percent is split evenly amongthe four partners and the remaining 40 per-cent is split proportionately based uponregistrations before the convention. Leepointed out that on-site registrations, whichmany NABJ members utilize because of scheduling and other considerations, goesto UNITY. That formula was used duringthe 2008 UNITY convention and was not fa-vorable for NABJ.“NABJ loses out in the UNITY model,”Lee said.Lee told the board that he asked UNI-TY officials for numbers of those who reg-istered on-site during the 2008 convention, but he never received them. Even withouthaving those figures, Lee said NABJ “hadthe most members there.”The board discussed Lee’s presentationand then voted to suspend planning untilthey could work out these issues.
2
•
THE MONITOR
Thursday, July 29, 2010 •
www.nabjconvention.org
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
# N A B J 2 0 1 0
•
CONVENTION
7:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
Registration & Welcome Center
8:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Professional Development Breakfasts
8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Moneta J. Sleet Jr. Photography &Design Competition/Exhibit Hall
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Career Fair & Exhibition
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
Healthy NABJ
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Cyber Café
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Opening Ceremony& Newsmaker Plenary
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
NABJ Authors’ Showcase & Bookstore
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Workshop Session I
11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Short Course Session(s) A
1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Workshop Sessions II
Scott Smith sets up the Bloomberg booth for the NABJ San Diego Convention JobFair. Set up for Career Fair at San Diego Convention on Wednesday July 28, 2010.
BREANA COPELAND/NABJCONVENTION.ORG
Plans For 2016 Put On Hold
KNOWLEDGE IS
POWER
SOCIAL MEDIA
Michael Feeney, whoworks at the New York Daily News and is anhonoree at the Salute toExcellence Gala, has afew tips to ensure thateveryone from studentsto seasoned profession-als use social media to en-hance their reporting andstay connected with theirfriends while maintaininga professional posture.
• No Twitter rants, be-
cause you never who’swatching
• Use caution when
joining trending topics onTwitter
• No posting of raun-
chy photos of yourself viaTwitter or Facebook
• Limit access of col-
leagues on your socialnetworking pages, if youadd them at all
Compiled byCorrinne Lyons
Executive board votes to delay convention site selection
•
The NABJ foundingmeeting held Dec. 12,1975, consisted of attend-ees from various media backgrounds, including journalists, disc jockeys,advertisers and publicists.The original founders,however, chose to limitmembership to journal-ists.
• NABJ’s first conference
was held in Los Angelesin 1990. This year’s eventis the second NABJ con-vention held in California.
• A few local NABJ chap-
ters pre-date the nationalorganization. The Chi-cago Association of Black Journalists was foundedin 1972, and the Philadel-phia Association of Black Journalists was estab-lished the following year.
Compiled byLetrell Crittendon
LOOKING
BACK
BY Corinne LYons
NABJConvention.org
Since her NABJ presidentialvictory last year, Kathy Timeshas addressed issues of members
facing job oss and nancia dif
-
cuties. She ecenty answeed
questions for the NABJ StudentMedia Projects about her presi-dency and her plans for the orga-
nization’s futue.
QUesTion:
Conventions are
planned around ve years in ad
-
vance. Last year, NABJ was criti
-cized for not booking enough rooms.
What measures have you taken this year to stay within the contract?What safeguards do you hope NABJ would adopt to prevent it from hap
-
pening in the future?
AnsWer:
We renegotiated ourhotel contract and virtually cut
the numbe of ooms we weeobigated to in haf. An ad
hoc committee is exploring our
convention mode and wi pes
-ent some options to the board
of diectos this wee. We’e
revisiting guidelines that require
us to contact with conventionhotes ve yeas in advance of ou convention. We wi continue
to offer quality programs that
attact ou membes, and we aeaeady taing with ie-minded
organizations about holdingconventions and regional events
togethe.
Q:
There are a growing number of
associate members and a decline in full members. What part do associ-
ate members play in the health of theorganization? How does NABJ planto accommodate this shift?
A:
When we downsized, wecoud not enew the contact of ou communications diecto. Hewas a geat contact empoyee.
Our associate members stepped
up and too ove duties such as
sending e-blasts to the member-
ship, witing news eeases, and
they’re responsible for deliveringa superb campaign to spread the
wod about the convention pans.
We’ve delivered great program-ming for our associate members,
and we have some exciting op
-
tions that wi hep deive thei
services to professionals outsideour membership to boost our rev-
enue. We’e constanty conside
-
ing ways to boost thei oes yea-
round and appreciate their many
contibutions. Thee is a pan inthe wos to add pubic eationscategoies to ou annua awads.
Watch for the announcement dur-
ing the Saute to Exceence Gaa.
Q:
Students can receive a six-monthextension on their membership.
Has the number of students takingthis extension increased with thechanges in the industry? How doesthis extension allow them to land a journalism job?
A:
Students get to stay in touch
with a membeship that can nu
-ture them and point them in theright direction during a tough
economy.
Q:
Recently, NABJ submitted a let
-ter to CNN questioning their di-
versity. What led to the letter beingwritten and submitted? What doesNABJ hope will happen as a result?
A:
Fo months we watched main
-
steam and cabe netwos ey positions on the des, but we
noticed African-American jour-nalists did not get a shot at prime
time. We’ve been woing dii
-gently to get our members in the
management ans since manag
-
es hie and e. The ast stawcame when the disgaced fo
-
me goveno of New Yo, EiotSpitze, was hied to host a showon CNN. We want ou quaied
members to have the best shot atlanding these coveted positions
that inuence miions of view
-
es. We’e ecuiting new aianc
-
es to hep us in this endeavo. It’stime fo viewes and eades to
reconsider their support of mediathat don’t fully embrace diversity
and tae the Afican-Ameicanmaet fo ganted.
Q:
Two years is a very short amount
of time to change an organiza-
tion. With roughly a year left in your term what would you like tochange?
A:
I am ecuiting copoate ead
-ers and philanthropists to adviseus and ensure our organization
emains sovent. They wi hep
us raise funds, identify strate-
gic aiances and buid a new business mode. We wi maetou band, aise ou poe andepenish ou eseves. Stat
-
ing in the fa, we wi offe aseies of unique Media Insti
-
tute seminas that wi appea
to you and the communities
you seve. Topics incude im
-migration, the census and re-districting, and entrepreneurial
and investigative jounaism.We’ aso wo with a team toestuctue the oganization.
Q:
One of the items you mentionedthat you’d like to work on previ
-
ously was revamping the website.What are some of the changes you’dlike to see made? When will we seethose changes?
A:
We’ve edesigned the website,and the boad wi eview thest phase this wee. We pan toadd the socia netwoing com
-
ponent next month as we as fea
-
tues that wi aow chaptes tointeact with each othe and con
-
nect membes acoss the county.Thee wi be a test phase as we
add content and other features
befoe we unvei the na pod
-
uct to the membeship.
Q:
NABJ is looking for an execu-
tive director. How does not havingone effect the day-to-day opera
-
tions of the organization? What
are the requirements NABJ is look-
ing for in a potential candidate?
A:
The requirements are postedin our job announcement on our
website. We’e ooing fo some
-
one with expeience managing a
convention, managing an asso-
ciation and a ea visionay whocan attact new evenue soucesthat ae in ine with ou missionstatement. Ou inteim executivediecto, Dew Bey, stepped in
and didn’t miss a beat since he
was the immediate past nancecommittee chai. The tansitionwas petty seamess. He ene
-
gotiated ou ageement with the
University of Maryland that al-
owed us to deay a huge downpayment, and woed with a
team to ensure the success of aWest Coast convention during a
ecession. That’s no sma feat.
Thursday, July 29, 2010 •
www.nabjconvention.org
The MoniTor
•
3
TAMEkA FlOWErS/NABJCONVENTION.OrG
NABJ President Kathy Times at NABJ board meeting on Tuesday, July 27, 2010.
nABJ Pdt Katy Tm
Discusses membership, future of multimedia journalism
It’s time for viewers
and readers toreconsider theirsupport of media that
don’t fully embracediversity and take the
African-Americanmarket for granted.
Q&A
Go to www.NABJConvention.orgto see another side of Kathy Times.
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