Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Journalists of Color Hold Annual Conference in Chicago

UNITY Journalists of Color, Inc is holding its 2008 conference in Chicago, Illinois from Aug 23-Aug 27. UNITY is a strategic alliance advocating fair and accurate news coverage about people of color, and aggressively challenging the industry to staff its organizations at all levels to reflect the nation’s diversity. The journalism industry has an obligation to deliver a complete, fair and representative picture of the communities and world in which we live. In order to achieve this, diversity in the newsroom and in coverage is fundamental. Unity envisions a nation in which newsrooms are inclusive and reflect the communities they cover, and where people of color hold positions of influence. To achieve this UNITY conducts research, convenes people and advocates change by offering attainable solutions to the industry. Unity's goals are:

To raise awareness and participation of the media industry in understanding the diverse cultures represented by the UNITY alliance members.
To increase representation of people of color at all levels in the nation’s newsrooms.
To increase and broaden news coverage focusing on people of color, and to dispel racial and ethnic stereotypes and myths.
To become recognized as the principal national alliance of journalism professionals advocating for diversity and multiculturalism in the news media.
To create a self-sustaining organization with a diversified financial base that complements, and does not compete with alliance partners.


The conference is addressing two environmental issues (daylong sessions):

1) How Green is Your Beat? Journalists of Color and Environmental Reporting, sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.

2) Covering Climate Change: Why Non-White Communities Could Be Hit the Hardest, presented by NPR

UNITY, representing more than 10,000 journalists of color, is comprised of four national associations: Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association. In addition to planning the largest regular gathering of journalists in the nation, UNITY develops programs and institutional relationships that promote its mission. For more on information on UNITY '08 call (703) 854-3585.

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