NAHJ Boston, you’re on the air at WBUR

For those of you who missed last night’s NAHJ Boston meeting (and you know who you are and we know who you are and where you work) here’s a quick recap.

Sitting three stories above bustling Commonwealth Avenue, eight NAHJ members and three WBUR officials met inside the radio station’s dining hall. WBUR “Con Salsa” host Jose Masso led the meeting by introducing Paul La Camera, general manager;  Sam Fleming, managing editor of news and programming; and John Davidow, news director and managing editor.

They briefly talked about WBUR’s presence in Boston and nationally. The station employees 130 staffers including eight local journalists such as general assignment reporter Bianca Vazquez Tonness. They help  produce local shows such as “On Point,” “Radio Boston,” and “Car Talk.” The station operations on a $21 milllion annual budget, with $7 million coming from listeners and six percent from the federal government. As La Camera pointed out, the station is self-sufficient despite its affiliation with Boston University. “We really are as populist as an institution can be,” he said. They also spoke about the importance of diversity on the dial.

As he, Davidow, and Fleming left skid marks on the tile floor as they dashed out the door to make the Red Sox game, the meeting continued. Several servings of cheese-topped pasta and tender chicken breasts later, new goals were presented.

Among them:

Create a printed facebook of Latino media professionals in Boston. This would serve as an historic narrative, a thoughtful catalog of reporters who worked in TV, print and radio in Boston in the past 30 years or so. This will provide a time frame of which reporters worked where in Boston and where are they now. We would have a printed record to hopefully present a year from now for NAHJ Boston’s anniversary gala. The printed version would be complemented with an online database. The narrative part of the project maybe morph into a student intern project or thesis.

Establish a speaker’s bureau, a resource for local community leaders and institutions to go to when they need a Latino media personality to speak on his or her craft or a specific topic.  As we gather the information about our currrent journalists, we will catalog their talents and skills for this bureau.

Brainstorming ways to raise money for student scholarships or projects. One idea mentioned was a gala dinner, perhaps a one-on-one interview with a popular visiting musician and followed with a meet-and-greet dinner at a college such as Berklee. The goal is to have some ideas of where and when to do this in 2009 at the upcoming November meeting.

Network with other local professional networks such as Latino Professional Network and the local chapter of Independent Latino film producers. Have at least one NAHJ member attend their events to establish our presence and spread the word.

Reach out to journalism departments at local colleges and universities to make our presence known. One idea was to have a future meeting at a local college newspaper. (Northeastern, Emerson, etc.)

Create an E-newsletter to let other members and potential members know what we’re doing. (I think I am doing this now with this entry.)

Create an online calendar (perhaps on this blog or our facebook page) of future meetings, which will take place the second or third Thursday of every month and at various local news organizations. (NESN, WCVB or WBZ-TV, etc.)

JDiaz

Boston UNITY letter to the Boston Globe

(The follow letter was sent to Boston Globe Editor Marty Baron this week)

March 16, 2009

Martin Baron
Editor of The Boston Globe
135 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA  02125
Dear Mr. Baron,
As The Boston Globe prepares to reduce its newsroom staff, we’d like to remind the Globe of the importance of keeping a diverse staff.

For a city as diverse as Boston, where nearly half of its residents are people of color, a newsroom with a sizable percentage of Latino, African American, and Asian American staff is critical to providing accurate coverage of those communities that still lack decent media exposure.

It has been reported that the Globe plans to make staff cuts based on seniority.  However, because the Globe has hired many of its journalists of color only in the past few years, and because certain collective bargaining rules must be followed, such a strategy would unfairly reduce minority journalists at the Globe; many of us are nearly at the bottom of the seniority list in almost every department.

Any reduction of journalists of color at the Globe would make a less diverse and less relevant newspaper for our communities. The newspaper’s few journalists of color help create a product that offers balanced and creative coverage. These staffers bring to the table what their colleagues may not — speaking other languages, knowledge of the city’s mostly minority neighborhoods, and perspectives shared with the city’s minority residents.  We hope that specialized skills such as knowledge of other languages will be considered alongside seniority.

We understand the financial challenges the Globe faces, along with other newspapers across the country. Still, we implore you to take journalists of color into consideration on any upcoming decisions. A less diverse staff will not help the newspaper in its quest for long-term stability.

Our organizations all stand by the Globe.  Please let us know what we can do to help.

Sincerely,

Russell Contreras
National Association of Hispanic Journalists — New England, President

Shirley Goh
Asian American Journalists Association — New England Co-President

Latoyia Edwards
Boston Association of Black Journalists — President

NAHJ Boston Meeting, Oct. 14, 7 PM @ 90.9 WBUR

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists of Boston will hold its next general meeting

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 7 PM @ the 90.9 WBUR
890 Commonwealth Ave, Boston

We will talk about our plans to raise money for scholarships, multimedia training for members, a Fall mixer, a membership drive, speakers bureau, and efforts to build student chapters at area colleges for internships. Your ideas will be welcome. WBUR’s own Jose Masso will be hosting us and WBUR general manager Paul LaCamera will give some opening remarks.

Free food! Free drinks!

(And yes, we’ll finish in time so you can go watch the Red Sox beat down the Rays.)

Tu Casa Es Mi Casa: Latino Heritage Month @ The Boston Globe (Oct. 8, 2008)

Bentley College Hosts Cross-Cultural Exchange to Forge Global Partnerships

Bentley College Hosts Cross-Cultural Exchange to Forge Global Partnerships

Waltham, MA – Global diversity champion Carole Copeland Thomas will partner with Bentley College to host the first in a series of Multicultural Symposiums and a career expo to help young adults and professionals build new strategic alliances locally, nationally and globally. The purpose is to overcome divisions of ethnicity, race, gender, politics, class and ideology and build intercultural relationships.

Event and Media Availability Details

WHEN: Wednesday, October 15, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, October 16, 10:45 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

WHAT: Multicultural Symposium & Career Expo

WHO: Liz Walker, Channel 4’s award-winning Journalist

Dr. Gloria White-Hammond, International Woman’s Rights Activist Stephen Crosby, Commonwealth Compact cofounder & UMASS Boston Dean

Paul Condrin, President of Personal Markets at Liberty Mutual Group

Dr. Farai Cherisika MD, MPA, John Snow, Inc.

Dr. Carole Cowan, President, Middlesex Community College

Dr. Aaron Nurick, Professor of Management & Psychology, Bentley College

WHERE: Bentley College, LaCava Center, Waltham

Sponsors include Liberty Mutual, American Airlines, WAL-MART, John Hancock, Amtrak, The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, Massport, Jobs For The Future, Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance

For more information please contact Carole Copeland Thomas, Multicultural Symposium Founder, at carole@tellcarole.com, 508-947-5755, or visit the website at www.mssconnect.com .

About Carole Copeland Thomas: Carole Copeland Thomas is the voice of personal empowerment. She is a keynote speaker, empowerment expert, diversity professional, syndicated radio host, and leadership consultant in C. Thomas & Associates, a business she started in 1987. Ms. Thomas served as an adjunct faculty member for Bentley College for a decade, and has spoken throughout the United States, London, England, El Salvador, Kenya, Canada, and Australia.

Carole is the host of Focus On Empowerment heard every Friday, Saturday and Sunday on 
WBNW-1120 AM Radio in Boston (simulcasting on the web at www.moneymattersradio.net ).

Job Opening: Visual Journalist

Quality-minded 16,500 daily covering the beautiful upper Connecticut River valley of Vermont and New Hampshire has an opening for a person who can gather facts and create compelling informational graphics for the paper and the Web. The job may also include page design, Web-driven design, creating illustrations and other work. We seek a journalist with proven professional skills and strong ethics to join a staff whose alumni include journalists now at The New York Times, The Washington Post and St. Petersburg Times. Please send a resume, samples of your work and a cover letter stating salary requirements to Geoff Hansen, Photo & Graphics Editor, Valley News, P.O. Box 877, White River Junction, Vt. 05001. No phone calls or e-mails, please.

Job Opening: The Sentinel & Enterprise Features Reporter

The Sentinel & Enterprise, an award-winning daily newspaper in North Central Massachusetts, has an immediate opening for a features writer. The successful candidate will write features and human interest stories for our daily and weekend papers. This candidate must be able to talk easily to people and have a good knowledge of pop culture and subjects that appeal to young and female readers. Must have at least a year of daily or weekly experience _ sorry college and internships don’t count _ and be able to pound the streets and work the phones. Interested candidates should send resume, cover letter, references, work samples and salary requirements to Jeff McMenemy, Editor, The Sentinel & Enterprise, 808 Main St., Fitchburg, MA 01420. 

Job Opening: WBUR Reporter

WBUR at Boston University seeks a creative and highly motivated reporter to work in its nationally recognized News Department. Responsibilities include the development of original story ideas, the writing and production of long form feature reports and spots that meet the high journalistic standards of WBUR, and contribute to the overall editorial content of the News Department. As one of NPR’s top news stations, WBUR reporters work with all of NPR’s national news magazines. Bachelor’s degree in journalism or liberal arts required. Applicant should have four to six years of broad reporting experience preferably in pubic radio. To apply visit http://www.wbur.org/inside/jobs/..Boston University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

NEW MEDIA INTERN, NESN.COM

NEW MEDIA INTERN, NESN.COM

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION:

Provide a variety of support to NESN.com’s daliy operations while gaining valuable experience in various aspects of new media.

Create pre- and post-game pages

Copy edit, post and update stories

Edit and post relevant video, photos and audio content

Research future projects

Assist with other facets of editorial Web production

Potential writing opportunities may exist

QUALIFICATIONS:

Must be able to receive college credit for this internship and provide verification that credit will be received. Must have solid knowledge of and interest in sports – a background in hockey and/or baseball is especially helpful. Excellent research and organizational skills and must be detail oriented. Must possess basic journalistic skills – copy editing, familiarity with AP Style, etc.

Ability to be successful working in a fast paced, loosely structured environment. Should have strong communication and interpersonal skills. Must be a self-starter who can work independently with minimal supervision but also able to work effectively within a team environment. Available and willing to work night and weekend shifts. Experience working with/having knowledge of new media practices and/or multiple media formats – text, video, audio and photo – is a plus. Pursuing a degree in Journalism, Communications, Englis or a related field is preferred.

Please send resume to jobs@nesn.com with “New Media Intern” in the subject line. Please also submit a one-page essay explaining your interest in this internship, your sports background/interest, related classes you’ve studied at school, and related extracurricular activities in which you are involved.

Pre-Unity Breakfast @ The Boston Globe

To celebrate the Unity year, the Boston Globe will be hosting a pre-Unity breakfast on Wed. July 16 from 8 am to 9:30 am for all members of the Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and Native American Journalists Association in New England.

It will be an opportunity to network and meet fellow minority journalists from around the region, as well as hear from a distinguished panel on race and the presidential campaign. Some issues that will be explored: Is America ready to elect a person of color as president? How has the media handled the coverage of a woman candidate? A black candidate? How would the election of a person of color affect affirmative action?

Panelists:
Dante Ramos, deputy editorial page editor, Boston Globe
Joe Williams, deputy Washington bureau chief, Boston Globe
Janet Wu, political reporter, WCVB-Channel 5
Sara Suarez, news director, Univision New England
Elizabeth Mehren, journalism professor, Boston University

The event will be held at the Boston Globe, 135 Morrissey Blvd. in Dorchester. Parking is available. Closest T stop: Red Line JFK/Umass.

Please RSVP Shirley Goh at sgoh@globe.com by Monday, July 1