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11:33 AM / Thursday March 28, 2024

16 Aug 2019

Tucker becomes new NABJ president

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August 16, 2019 Category: Local Posted by:

ABOVE PHOTO: Dorothy Tucker (Photo courtesy: Denise Clay)

At its annual conference in Aventura, Florida, the National Association of Black Journalists elected Chicago journalist Dorothy Tucker as the organization’s 22nd president.

By Denise Clay

Presidential politics of all kinds were in the air at the annual National Association of Black Journalists Convention last week.

The yearly gathering of Black journalists from around the world was held just outside Miami at the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort and Spa and attracted more than 4,100 attendees, according to Drew Berry, executive director of NABJ.

Presidential candidates from both the Democratic party and NABJ itself took center stage during the conference. On the organizational side, Dorothy Tucker, an investigative reporter on Chicago’s CBS-2 newscast is NABJ’s new president, besting former president Gregory Lee Jr., senior managing editor at The Athletic and Marlon Walker, education reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Tucker ran a campaign reminiscent of the kinds of political campaigns that you’ll be seeing in 2020. She went all over the country, sent almost weekly videos to NABJ members, and touted her achievements as the organization’s vice president for broadcast. She also appeared before the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, NABJ’s founding chapter.

And it paid off, something that Tucker alluded to in her post-election news conference.

“I talk for a living, but I am speechless…I am humbled by your support over the last few months,” said Tucker. “One of the greatest things about running for this position is the opportunity to meet so many members and engage with you. I promise I will earn your vote and respect. I will represent everyone.”

In other NABJ election results of local interest, Philadelphia Magazine reporter/columnist Ernest Owens lost his race for NABJ secretary to incumbent Cheryl Smith, publisher of the Garland Journal and the Texas Metro News in Dallas-Fort Worth. Tory Parrish is NABJ’s new Region I director, replacing Philadelphia Tribune editor Johann Calhoun, who opted not to run for re-election.

Also on hand were three of the Democratic candidates vying for the 2020 nomination —-Senators Cory Booker and Bernie Sanders and South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg —- and President Donald Trump’s lone Republican challenger, former Governor of Massachusetts William Weld. The candidates took questions from a panel of journalists about issues ranging from the economy and health care to immigration and White nationalism. 

The weeklong gathering also marked the end of an era for NABJ. Sarah Glover, the first two-term president of the organization, oversaw the gathering for the last time. She was honored by the TV One network for her achievements, which include expanding NABJ internationally by cultivating relationships in the Middle East with the Al Jazeera network, with Afro-Columbian journalists in Columbia, and in China.

Glover, the former two-term president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, also fought to have women of color included in the #MeToo movement, advocated for more journalists of color in the executive ranks of the nation’s newsrooms and revived the organization’s Ethel Payne Fellowship, which pays for NABJ members to tell the stories of Africa, and a content creator’s grant, which allows members to cover stories that they may not otherwise be able to afford to do.

“It has been my distinct honor to serve as the 21st president of NABJ,” Glover said at the organization’s annual Salute to Excellence dinner. “I appreciate the opportunity and will continue to be engaged and supportive of our beloved association.”

Philadelphia was well represented at the conference. On Monday, the Pennsylvania Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, joined by PABJ president Manuel McDonnell Smith and representatives from the Philadelphia Marriott on Market Street, made a pitch to the NABJ board to bring the convention to the City of Brotherly Love in either 2023 or 2025. The year 2025 is NABJ’s 50th anniversary.

Also, the location for the 2022 NABJ convention was announced. It will be held in Las Vegas and will be a joint conference with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, as will next year’s conference in Washington, DC.

The dates for next year’s gathering will be July 8-12, 2020, a week before the Democratic National Convention.

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