The organization’s web site has been plagued with outages for years. Ramanda, who is taking on web service duties at her job at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, hopes to remedy that.

KCABJ members voted at the January meeting to re-elect Glenn E. Rice as president of the organization. Glenn has served a number of terms as president and has been elected to other executive board positions in KCABJ. He also has served as regional director and treasurer of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Also re-elected were Ramanda Hicks, vice president/print; Robyn King, vice president/broadcast; Anita K. Parran, secretary; and Lewis Diuguid, treasurer.

Members learned at the meeting that the NABJ convention, which runs June 20-24 in New Orleans, will conflict with the traditional dates of the KCABJ Urban Student Journalism Academy at Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley. The academy normally starts the Monday after Father’s Day.

On that schedule, the academy would start June 18 this year and finish June 29. The dates are set to coincide with students finishing school for the summer, but the KCABJ program couldn’t occur at later dates because students get involved with family vacations and other commitments.

KCABJ members will set the academy dates when they meet in February. The applications generally are available starting in March with a late April deadline.

Ramanda also volunteered to re-institute KCABJ fundraisers during the year. Anyone who’s interested can contact Ramanda at 816-235-1111.

NABJ News
The early bird deadline for the NABJ convention came sooner than normal this year because the convention dates have been moved up. The convention normally occurs in August, but it will be June 20-24 this year in New Orleans.

Entries now are being accepted for the Salute to Excellence National Media Awards. The deadline is Jan. 23. The entry fee is $75 for members and $100 for non-members. For more information go to www.nabj.org.

NABJ President Gregory Lee Jr. writes in a January column about the vanishing diversity in the news industry. Stalwarts such as CBS’ Russ Mitchell and CNN’s T.J. Holmes have “left their jobs for new opportunities.”

“Though both of these talented journalists worked for major news networks regarded as destinations for many of their colleagues, these men had long toiled on weekend shifts,” Lee wrote. “Their situations became so out-of-sync with their abilities that they made a decision unheard of just a decade ago. Mitchell returned to the local network level, and Holmes left to go to BET.”

Lee quotes 2010 NABJ Lifetime Achievement Award winner Paul Delaney, who had been a pioneer black journalist with The New York Times, saying, “We find ourselves fighting for our professional lives. New media resembles old media.”

Lee announced that he planned to visit major media outlets to reintroduce them to NABJ and its advocacy for more diversity in the news industry.

News You Can Use
Journalists are invited to attend the Conference on Health Disparities March 22-24 in Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.nabj.org.

NABJ is offering scholarships and student projects for persons interested in careers in journalism. The one-week fellowships include print, broadcast, photojournalism, graphic design, multimedia and public relations. For more information go to www.nabj.org.

KC People
KCABJ’s membership grew by two for the new year with the additions of Anita Parran and Amber Mobley.

KCABJ academy student and faculty member Gary Cotton was accepted in the Sports Journalism Institute. Gary is a senior at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism. He will be one of 11 students in the national program June 1-9 in Columbia. The institute is a nine-day comprehensive program for journalism students of color entering sports journalism careers.

KCABJ Membership Application for 2012
Mail this application with your $20 check or money order to KCABJ, P.O. Box 32744, Kansas City, Mo. 64111. It covers your annual membership dues. Membership entitles you to receive the KCABJ monthly newsletter sent via e-mail and e-mailed monthly meeting notices.

NAME___________________________________

DATE____________________________________

HOME ADDRESS_________________________

_________________________________________

E-mail address____________________________

Phone (w) _____________ (h)________________

Cell Phone _______________________________

Occupation (Title, company and address):

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

FULL/ASSOCIATE/STUDENT MEMBER
(circle one)

Years of Experience________________________

KCABJ and/or NABJ member
(circle one or both)

(Membership in KCABJ runs from January through December. Annual dues of $20 has not changed since 1981. It is the lowest of any of the affiliates of the National Association of Black Journalists. Membership is subsidized by donations from KCABJ members.)

The offices that are open for a one-year term are president, vice president/broadcast, vice president/print, secretary and treasurer. Please let KCABJ President Glenn E. Rice know whether you are interested in having your name on the ballot. He can be reached at grice@kcstar.com.

KCABJ had a good turnout at its holiday gathering at Gates BBQ restaurant on Linwood and Main. People who showed up also celebrated the organization’s 30th anniversary of serving black journalists and Greater Kansas City.

Glenn thanked members for their service and support of KCABJ and its programs. He also notified members via email of serving a second year as chair of the NABJ Elections Committee. The upcoming ballot will include amendments to the NABJ constitution.

NABJ News
Entries are being accepted through Jan. 9 for the 2012 National Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence contest.

The work had to have been published or broadcast from Jan. 1, 2011, through Dec. 31, 2011. For more information go to www.nabj.org.

NABJ has decided to honor news director and diversity champion, Michael Fields with the NABJ Ida B. Wells Award. Fields is the news director of WABE, 90.1 FM in Atlanta. The awards program will take place Jan. 26 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. That’s also the day and the location of the NABJ Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. NABJ President Gregory Lee said in a prepared statement, “We are proud to salute these worthy honorees.” In the last 19 years, NABJ has inducted more than 45 journalists into the Hall of Fame. This year will include Gwen Ifill.

NABJ has given Chapter Grant Awards to nine professional and student chapters. The recipients are the NABJ affiliate chapters in Boston, Columbus, Hampton and Triad. The student chapters are Carolina, Jackson State, University of Louisville and Winthrop University.

NABJ this month congratulated T.J. Holmes on his move to BET. Holmes had anchored CNN on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He joined the network in October 2006.

Just as KCABJ celebrated its 30th anniversary in December, NABJ toasted its 36th anniversary this month. The anniversary date for NABJ was Dec. 12.

Don’t forget that the NABJ convention in 2012 is earlier than normal. It will be June 20-24. Early bird registration already is available. Go to www.nabj.org for more information.

KC People
People already are sending in their membership dues for 2012. They include Glenn Rice, Lewis Diuguid, Jonathan Carter, Imo McCosh, April Jackson, Markl Johnson, Kia Breaux, Ramanda Hicks and Liliya Karimova.

Blaise Labbe, news director with KCTV-5, was honored this month with the Urban League of Greater Kansas City’s 2011 Difference Maker Award for advancing the principles of diversity and inclusion in the electronic media. The number of black producers and anchors have all increased since he took the job in February 2010. Labbe said he maintained a commitment to serving Kansas City and its diverse population.

KCABJ Membership Application for 2012
Mail this application with your $20 check or money order to KCABJ, P.O. Box 32744, Kansas City, Mo. 64111. It covers your annual membership dues. Membership entitles you to receive the KCABJ monthly newsletter sent via e-mail and e-mailed monthly meeting notices.
NAME___________________________________

DATE____________________________________

HOME ADDRESS_________________________
_________________________________________

E-mail address____________________________

Phone (w) _____________ (h)________________
Cell Phone _______________________________

Occupation (Title, company and address):

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

FULL/ASSOCIATE/STUDENT MEMBER
(circle one)

Years of Experience________________________

KCABJ and/or NABJ member
(circle one or both)

(Membership in KCABJ runs from January through December. Annual dues of $20 has not changed since 1981. It is the lowest of any of the affiliates of the National Association of Black Journalists. Membership is subsidized by donations from KCABJ members.)

KCABJ members are encouraged to bring a friend and to renew their membership for 2012. KCABJ will provide a President’s Platter for those who show up.

The party starts at 7 p.m.

The membership also decided to hold elections for 2012 officers at the January meeting. That is set for noon on Saturday, Jan. 21 at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center. KCABJ will provide lunch for those attending. A paid membership for 2012 is required for any vote to count.

NABJ News And More
National Association of Black Journalists President Gregory Lee Jr. said NABJ in the coming year will continue to take diversity seriously in the news industry. As a “watchdog,” NABJ “is committed to speaking up, speaking out, and wants to offer real solutions to the problems we see.”

Lee encourages NABJ members to contact Media Monitoring Chair Eric Deggans about issues that need addressing.

The NABJ Annual Hall of Fame Awards Gala will take place Jan. 26 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Gwen Ifill will be among the inductees.

The NABJ convention will occur June 20-24 in New Orleans. It is earlier this year than previous years, so mark your calendars if you plan to attend.

In other media news, the Maynard Institute reports that the Occupy Wall Street movement blooming in cities nationwide has attracted few people of color.

“By not covering this aspect of the story, media outlets are missing important opportunities to gauge the future impact of the protests and offer insight into communities of color,” Nadra Kareem Nittle wrote in the Maynard newsletter this month.

“Answering these questions with comprehensive reporting would broaden the public’s perspective on the protests as well as on minority communities,” she wrote. Questions to ask include, “Why aren’t more people of color actively engaged in this movement when minorities suffer most from the wealth gap in America?

“Will growth of the protests be hampered by an inability to recruit people of color? Are the solutions that the protesters are seeking in the best interest of minority residents.”

News You Can Use
The Maynard Institute Media Academy 2012 is now accepting applications. The dates are Jan. 9-13 and March 12-16 at Harvard University. The program is for media managers in business and editorial departments.

The academy will provide participants with leadership, entrepreneurial and management skills. For more information go to www.mije.org.

The San Antonio (Texas) Express-News has an opening for a metro columnist. For more information call O. Ricardo Pimentel at 210-250-3165.

The North New Jersey Media Group has an opening for a vice president/editor of The Record (Bergen County, N.J.) For more information e-mail Gina Stulen at stulen@northjersey.com.

KCABJ Membership Application for 2011
Mail this application with your $20 check or money order to KCABJ, P.O. Box 32744, Kansas City, Mo. 64111. It covers your annual membership dues. Membership entitles you to receive the KCABJ monthly newsletter sent via e-mail and e-mailed monthly meeting notices.
NAME___________________________________
DATE____________________________________
HOME ADDRESS_________________________
_________________________________________
E-mail address____________________________
Phone (w) _____________ (h)________________
Cell Phone _______________________________
Occupation (Title, company and address):
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
FULL/ASSOCIATE/STUDENT MEMBER
(circle one)
Years of Experience________________________
KCABJ and/or NABJ member
(circle one or both)
(Membership in KCABJ runs from January through December. Annual dues of $20 has not changed since 1981 when KCABJ was founded. It is the lowest of any of the affiliates of the National Association of Black Journalists. Membership is subsidized by donations from KCABJ members.)

Scholarship winners are graduates of the summer 2011 KCABJ Urban Student Journalism Academy at Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley. They are among the high school and college students metrowide who completed the intensive two-week program in print, broadcast and convergence journalism.

The recipient of the ninth annual KCABJ-Lucile H. Bluford Scholarship is Paul Pierce II. He is a freshman at the University of Kansas-Lawrence.

The KCABJ-Roy Wilkins Scholarship has been awarded annually since 1987. It is named after a former editor of The Call, Roy Wilkins, who also served as head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People during the Civil Rights Movement. The winner of the 2011 KCABJ-Roy Wilkins Scholarship is Lauren Clay. Clay is a junior at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is the 25th recipient of the scholarship.

The 10th annual KCABJ-Laura R. Hockaday Scholarship went to Courtney Lewis, a junior at Lee’s Summit North High School. The annual scholarship is named after Hockaday, who until she retired in 2000 was the longtime society editor of The Kansas City Star. Hockaday has received numerous awards for making her work inclusive of the racial, ethnic, gender and other diversity in Greater Kansas City.

The 18th Annual KCABJ-Nancy Diuguid Scholarship was awarded to Makayla Lewis. She is a junior at Blue Valley North High School. The scholarship is funded by KCABJ Treasurer Lewis Diuguid and named for his mother, who died in 1994 of Alzheimer’s disease. Nancy Diuguid had longed to be a journalist, but such career options were mostly closed to young black women in the 1950s.

Each scholarship award was based on the students¦ performance during the 2011 journalism academy.

KCABJ President’s Award:
This honor goes to the area journalist or organization that has done the most to further the interests of the Kansas City Association of Black Journalists.

The recipient is judged by the president of KCABJ to have selflessly given time, talent and resources to benefit other journalists of color in Greater Kansas City. KCABJ President Glenn E. Rice chose Randy Waters and the Production Division at The Kansas City Star for their decades of service to KCABJ in printing the KCABJ Journal.

KCABJ Thumbs Down Award
KCABJ issued no Thumbs Down Award for 2010-2011. The infamous distinction is given to the media or persons in the media in Greater Kansas City who have set back the image of African Americans or other people of color.

KCABJ 2011 Media Awards:
Elana Gordon with KCUR-FM; KCABJ Broadcast Radio: Spot News Award for “First Lady Michelle Obama Tells NAACP Convention to ‘Get Up.’”

Dr. Susan B. Wilson, Sylvia Maria Gross and Alex Smith with KCUR-FM’s “KC Currents”; KCABJ Broadcast Radio News Magazine Award for “Generation Rap’s Granddad Steps Down,” “African American Mothers Meet in Johnson County,” “Country Club Plaza is a Destination for Local Teenagers” and “Pianist Harold O’Neal: Translating Martial Arts into Jazz.”

Elana Gordon with KCUR-FM; KCABJ Broadcast Radio News Features Award for “Film Explores History of Segregated Medicine in Kansas City.”

Monroe Dodd, Andrea Silenzi and Walt Bodine with KCUR-FM’s “Walt Bodine Show”; KCABJ Broadcast Radio: Talk Show Award for “KC History: The Quest for Citizenship.”

Iris Hermosillo, Sandra Olivas, Sherie Small, Dale Jacobson and Bob Totsch with KCTV-5; KCABJ Broadcast Television: Community Affairs Award for “Que Pasa KC.”

Glenn E. Rice and Mike McGraw with The Kansas City Star; KCABJ Newspapers Daily (over 100,000): Enterprise Reporting Award for “Who Killed Leon Jordan.”

Joe Robertson, Eric Adler and Rick Montgomery with The Kansas City Star; KCABJ Community Public Service Award for “Saving 17,000 Kids” Series.

Helen T. Gray with The Kansas City Star; KCABJ Newspapers Daily (over 100,000): Feature Writing Award “A Welcome Change.”

Jenee’ Osterheldt with The Kansas City Star; KCABJ Newspapers Daily (over 100,000): Commentary Award for “Passage to Identity Is Still A Struggle.”

Eric L. Wesson with The Call of Kansas City; KCABJ Newspapers Weekly: News Writing Award for “Ghetto Goldmine.”

Sarah Gish and Jennifer Hack with INK; KCABJ Newspapers Weekly: Feature Writing Award for “Turning Points.”

Terez A. Paylor with INK; KCABJ Newspapers Weekly: Sports Reporting Award for “Is Sporting Kansas City’s Teal Bunbury the Next American Soccer Star?”

NABJ News
The National Association of Black Journalists last month released its Fourth Annual Television Newsroom Management Diversity Census, and the news was not good.

Journalists of color filled only 12 percent of the newsroom manager positions at stations owned by ABC, the Belo Corp., CBS, Fox, Gannett, Hearst, Lin Media, Media General, NBC, Nexstar Broadcasting, E.W. Scripps Co., Post-Newsweek and Tribune. That’s despite people of color constituting 35 percent of the U.S. population.

Of the 1,157 TV managers, 1,017 are white, 81 are black, 42 are Hispanic, 16 are Asian and one is Native American. The jobs are general manager, news director, assistant news director, managing editor, assignment manager and executive producer.

The NABJ report said: “These are the people who set the news agenda and make coverage and personnel decisions. More than half of the stations have no diversity at all in those positions. Another 61 of the stations each have one manager of color. (Yet) many of these stations are located in television markets with significant non-white populations.”

The NABJ report quoted Doris Truong, national president of the Asian American Journalists Association, saying: “When the American Society of News Editors released its annual newsroom census this spring, AAJA expressed disappointment in the continued decline in journalists of color working for print and online publications. To learn that the outlook is even more bleak in broadcast news is disheartening.”

NABJ President Gregory H. Lee Jr. said: “These numbers are disappointing. If the media doesn’t reflect America, the stories and issues of those who are under-represented will not be told.”

On a positive note, NABJ last month inducted five journalists into its Hall of Fame, the organization’s highest honor. The inductees were Gwen Ifill with “Washington Week”; Pat Harvey a CBS co-anchor; Ruth Allen Ollison, who spent two decades in the broadcasting industry; Wallace Terry, (posthumously) who was deputy bureau chief for Time magazine in Saigon (He died May 29, 2003.); and Johnathan Rodgers, TV One president and chief executive.

Rod Hicks and Benet Wilson will chair the NABJ Convention in 2011 in New Orleans. The convention will run from June 20-24. NABJ already is seeking proposals for workshops, half-day short courses, day-long learning labs and sponsored meal functions. The deadline is Nov. 4. The convention will be at the Hilton Riverside in New Orleans. For more information go to www.nabj.org.

News You Can Use
The Boston Globe is seeking interns for 2012. For more information contact Paula Bouknight at bouknight@globe.com or call 617-929-3120.

The KCABJ/Roy Wilkins Scholarship, named after a former editor of The Call of Kansas City. He later headed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People during the Civil Rights Movement.

The KCABJ/Lucile Bluford Scholarship, named after the former editor and publisher of The Call.

The KCABJ/Laura Hockaday Scholarship, named after a longtime society editor at The Kansas City Star who worked tirelessly to make her stories and columns inclusive of people of color.

The KCABJ/Nancy Diuguid Scholarship, named after the mother of KCABJ Treasurer Lewis Diuguid who annually funds the award because his mother had wanted to be a journalist, but the profession was mostly closed to women of color when she was a college student.

The scholarship winners were selected based on the quality of the stories they turned in, their classroom performance and on their daily quiz scores and final exam during the first week of the two-week academy. The membership voted to award checks to the students instead of U.S. savings bonds because of complications with that federal program.

The students in the 2001 KCABJ Urban Student Journalism Academy all have been notified that they are to attend the 2 p.m. Oct. 22 media awards program at The Star’s Press Pavilion. Admission is free and open to the public.

Stories the students produced in the academy are going through a final edit before being printed in the 2011 KCABJ Journal. KCABJ member Pamela Spencer is doing that work. The Star annually has produced the newspaper.

The publication will be available at the 20th Annual KCABJ Media Awards ceremony along with copies of the students’ newscasts for radio and television. The students went to KMBC-TV, Channel 9 to produce their TV newscast. They got to practice at KSHB-NBC, Channel 41 with news anchor Cynthia Newsome.

The students produced their radio newscast at KPRS-FM, where Robyn King, KCABJ Vice President/Broadcast, walked them through the process.

The students’ work will be showcased with other media professionals, who will receive awards on Oct. 22 for their enterprise journalism covering African Americans and other people of color. KCABJ President Glenn E. Rice also will give out the President’s Award to the person who has done the most to promote the interests of KCABJ for the year.

Judges for the print and broadcast entries plan to meet Sept. 24 to finalize their work. The winners will be announced at the Oct. 22 ceremony. Light refreshments will be provided.

NABJ News
The election of officers during the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Philadelphia resulted in one tie vote between candidates for the student representative on the NABJ board. A follow-up election took place with Wesley Lowery as the winner over Marissa Evans.

KCABJ President Glenn Rice has been tapped by NABJ President Gregory H. Lee Jr. to help with issues on the NABJ Constitution, which currently has no provisions for tied elections.

Glenn announced at the September KCABJ meeting that Mary Benton of Houston has been picked to serve as region VI director, which includes Kansas City.

News To Go Places
The office of the Kansas City Federal Reserves is seeking an editor for its TEN Magazine. For more information contact Tammy Edwards, assistant vice president of community development at tammy.edwards@kc.frb.org.

KC People
Greg Moore, past president of KCABJ, was in town last month for the wedding of Jenee’ Osterheldt, Kansas City Star features columnist.

KCABJ members are working on a holiday party to celebrate the organization’s 30th anniversary.

The event will take place at The Kansas City Star Press Pavilion, 16th and McGee. The deadline for entries is Aug. 25. In previous years the deadline had been in July, which created some confusion earlier this year.

Print, broadcast and new media entries will be accepted. KCABJ Vice President/Print Ramanda Hicks agreed to chair the judging for the newspaper and magazine entries. She will be joined by KCABJ Secretary Anita Parran, and they will pick at least one other person to help with the judging.

The broadcast and new media entries will be judged by KCABJ members Sharon Cheers, Lori Oyler and KCABJ Treasurer Lewis Diuguid. During the ceremony in October, KCABJ will give awards to Kansas City area journalists for their outstanding work about African Americans and other people of color.

In addition, the students who graduated from the 2011 KCABJ Urban Student Journalism Academy will be honored. Four will receive scholarships based on their performance in the summer program. Each will get copies of their student newspaper and TV and radio broadcast tapes.

This year also marks the 30th anniversary of KCABJ. Members at the August meeting discussed having a reception to honor the anniversary and combine it with a 2012 membership drive.

NABJ News
Hundreds of journalists attended the Aug. 3-7 National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Philadelphia. KCABJ President Glenn E. Rice was among the national NABJ award winners for a series of stories he authored with Mike McGraw for The Kansas City Star on the 1970s slaying of black political leader Leon Jordan.

Glenn also chaired the NABJ Elections Committee. Gregory H. Lee Jr. was elected president of the organization, replacing Kathy Times, whose term expired. Kathy had been KCABJ vice president/broadcast when she worked as a reporter in the 1990s at KSHB-TV, Channel 41.

In a prepared statement to NABJ members, Lee said he was seeking members who want to serve on committees overseeing membership, development and communications.

“We will tackle membership recruitment efforts expeditiously,” Lee said. “We will hold true to our mission and effectively advocate for black journalists.

“We will also continue our revenue upswing by seeking out diverse sponsorship opportunities…. Our time together helped spark increased enthusiasm in NABJ, which led to many members rededicating themselves to the organization. With more than 2,500 attendees we exceeded our projections.”

The 2012 NABJ convention will run June 20-24 in New Orleans. It is months ahead of when the convention normally occurs partly because of NABJ deciding earlier not to participate in the UNITY: Journalists of Color Inc. convention in 2012. It will be the first time NABJ has not be part of UNITY since UNITY conventions began in 1994. They occur every four years bringing together black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian American journalists. Disagreements over finances and representation in UNITY led to the NABJ split.

Jobs And More
TEN magazine is seeking an editor to manage print and electronic projects. For more information contact Tammy Edwards, assistant vice president – community development with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. She can be reached at tammy.edwards@kc.frb.org.

KC People
KCABJ members who were unable to attend the NABJ convention can contact Lewis Diuguid at 816-234-4723 to read copies of the convention newspaper, The Monitor. Several KCABJ academy students in the past have worked for the convention publication and because of their efforts, their entire way to the convention was free.

The membership at the July meeting received reports that the students this summer were exceptional.

Seven students completed the two-week program, which KCABJ President Glenn Rice and KCABJ Vice President/Broadcast Robyn King coordinated. The students were Courtney Lewis, Lee’s Summit North High School; Makayla Lewis, Notre Dame de Sion; Arien A. Ragsdale, Lincoln College Prep; Lauren Clay, St. Louis Forest Park Community College; Paul Pierce II, Staley High School; Myles Swoopes, Emory University; and Darrell Strong Jr., Langston University.

The students will be honored at the 20th Annual KCABJ Media Awards ceremony in October at The Kansas City Star’s Press Pavilion. Four scholarships will be awarded to the top performing students in the class.

The KCABJ Urban Student Journalism Academy took place at Metropolitan Community College – Penn Valley.

KCABJ Awards Update
The July 23 deadline has passed for entries to the 2011 KCABJ Media Awards. Persons interested in still entering can contact awards program coordinator Lewis Diuguid at 816-234-4723 to get a deadline extension.

NABJ News
The National Association of Black Journalists is gearing up for the NABJ convention in Philadelphia on Aug. 3-7.

Multimedia training and the Jobs Fair will be two of the highlights particularly in the industry hit hard by layoffs. One of the speakers will be Arianna Huffington with the Huffington Post.

In other news, NABJ President Kathy Times criticized CNN over “the deplorable lack of diversity” in its prime-time schedule. African American journalists were overlooked for open slots at the 24-hour cable news network.

One news release from NABJ said: “Currently there are no African American anchors hosting prime time news hours for any major cable network…. Prominent civil rights organizations like the National Urban League, NAACP as well as the Lawyer’s Committee on Civil Rights Under Law have all pledged their support for a drastic course of action should this matter continue to be overlooked.”

Meanwhile, layoffs continue in the newspaper industry with 700 journalists finding themselves out of work at Gannett newspapers. Those laid off included longtime NABJ member and Louisville columnist Betty Baye.

In other news, UNITY Journalists of Color Inc. is accepting applications for its New U, a program working to help journalists of color become entrepreneurs.

News To Go Places
Harvest Public Media is offering internships to broadcast journalists. For more information go to http://www.kcur.org/interns.html.

KCUR-FM has internship openings. For more information go to http://www.kcur.org/interns.html.

The Telegram & Gazette in Worchester, Mass., has an opening for a general assignment reporter. For more information send e-mail to humanresources@telegram.com.

CNN Money has several positions open. For more information go to http://jobsearch.money.cnn.com/a/all-jobs/list/q-assistant+editor/l-new+york+ny/c-aol.

The Cathedral of Hope UCC in Dallas has an opening for a Web developer. For more information go to www.cathedralofhope.com.

The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk has an opening for a news reporter. For more information go to https://commsjobs.ats.hrsmart.com/cgi-bin/a/highlightjob.cgi?jobid+2984.

The Armstrong-Hilton in Hong Kong is seeking a copy editor. For more information contact Peter Day at pete@ahediting.com.

The Chicago Tribune is seeking full- and part-time copy editors. For more information contact LaToya Smith at llsmith@tribune.com.

The Lincoln Journal Star in Nebraska is seeking a presentation editor for A1 editing and design. For more information contact Jim Johnson at jjohnson@journalstar.com.

KC People
KCABJ academy student Rickeena Richards is in New York now working in the Teach for America program. She joins Amber Mobley in taking that teaching route after working as a reporter.

Raymond Banks, also a KCABJ academy graduate, has completed his summer abroad studying in London. He has created a blog at http://rbanksaboard.blogspot.com/2011/06/bbc-world-news-analyse-of-social-media.html.

The college on Monday, June 20 canceled classes because of the heat. The air conditioning remained off the entire week.

A storm that weekend had damaged the equipment, and new parts had to be ordered.

However, KCABJ members had made the commitment to continue the program regardless because speakers had already agreed to the community college location.

Thanks to KCABJ President Glenn Rice and KCABJ member Sharon Cheers for bringing in ice cold bottled water for the seven students and speakers. Thanks also to KCABJ Treasurer Lewis Diuguid for providing the large ice chest on wheels.

They attended the mandatory orientation on June 18 at The Kansas City Star Press Pavilion. The students are Courtney Lewis, Lee’s Summit North High School; Makayla Lewis, Notre Dame de Sion; Arien A. Ragsdale, Lincoln College Prep; Lauren Clay, St. Louis Forest Park Community College; Paul Pierce II, University of Kansas-Lawrence; Myles Swoopes, Emory University; and Darrell Strong Jr., Langston University.

The students received their first assignments due on June 20. The academy runs from June 20 through July 1 at Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley.

The classes are from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Humanities Room 302. Members of KCABJ are encouraged to stop in to help edit the students stories and to work with them on the necessary changes.

The first week is dedicated to the fundamentals of reporting and writing and print journalism. KCABJ President Glenn E. Rice will lead that part of the program. Each student will produce stories from in-class news conferences with real newsmakers. They also will be responsible for story assignments outside of class.

The newsmakers include Kansas City Councilman Jermaine Reed, Kansas City Star Editor and Vice President Mike Fannin and Jimmy Johnson, who will talk with the students about this year marking the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.

KCABJ Vice President/Broadcast Robyn King put together the broadcast week of the program. During that week, the students will produce their radio newscast at KPRS-FM. They will do their TV newscast at KMBC-TV, Channel 9.

Several on-camera TV news journalists will speak with the students, including Bryan Busby, Kelly Jones, Shawn Edwards and Cynthia Newsome. KCABJ Treasurer Lewis Diuguid and KCABJ member Sharon Cheers will get the students through that week.

Four scholarships will be awarded to the top graduates of the Class of 2011 at the KCABJ Media Awards Banquet on Oct. 22. The students also will receive copies of their newspaper and broadcast tapes.

NABJ News
The National Association of Black Journalists is gearing up for its Convention and Career Fair on Aug. 7 in Philadelphia.

The convention will feature many continuing education workshops, and journalists looking for work will be able to interview at the jobs fair.

KC People
Jonathan Entzminger, a graduate of the KCABJ academy and William Jewell College, reports that he has switched jobs, going from the Roswell Daily Record to the Farmington Daily Times in New Mexico. Jonathan will work as a copy editor and reporter.

KCABJ President Glenn Rice, in addition to chairing the NABJ elections this year, is a finalist for a Salute to Excellence Award from NABJ. It is for a series of stories he co-authored on the slaying of Freedom Inc. Founder Leon Jordan.

Opportunity Knocks
The Grammy Foundation is offering paid counselor positions for college students and recent graduates at its summer Grammy Camp on July 9-18 and Aug. 2-8 in Brooklyn. For more information call 609-452-2820.
The Philadelphia Inquirer has an opening for an editor to assist the editorial page editor. For more information contact Harold Jackson at hjackson@phillynews.com.

KC People
KCABJ’s membership bumped up with the addition of Lori Oyler.
Congratulations to KCABJ Vice President/Print Ramanda Hicks. This month, she earned her bachelor’s degree in communications studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She expects to continue her studies with work on her master’s degree.