Veteran journalist Roland S. Martin appointed as NABJ’s vice president-digital

Photo above of Roland Martin. Credit: Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. (March 14, 2018) — Sarah Glover, president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), is proud to announce the appointment of former NABJ Journalist of the Year, Roland S. Martin, as vice president-digital.

Martin, a lifetime member of NABJ who joined the group as a student in 1989, is a 27-year veteran journalist who has worked in newspaper, radio, television and online. He is in his 10th year as a senior analyst for the Tom Joyner Morning Show; is host and managing editor at TV One Cable Network; and is CEO of his own media company, Nu Vision Media, Inc.

Glover said appointing Martin as NABJ’s vice president-digital was based on not only his long history of leadership in NABJ, but also his digital experience.

“I’m proud to have fellow NABJ Baby Roland Martin join the NABJ board as vice president-digital. Roland brings a breadth of digital journalism experience and three decades of support for NABJ. He’s played a pivotal role in disseminating news and information to African-American audiences across digital platforms. Roland is one of the first cross-platform digital journalists that has excelled in broadcast, print, online, social and in the Black Press. Roland’s entrepreneurial knowledge and business skills will also help NABJ to continue to grow its footprint and resources,” said Glover.

This will be Martin’s third stint on the NABJ board. He was the national student representative from 1989-1991 and secretary from 2009-2011. He has also served in leadership roles in NABJ professional and student chapters. In 2013, he was named NABJ Journalist of the Year.

Martin shared that his appointment as NABJ’s vice president-digital will allow him the space to help re-develop the journalism industry.

“From the day I joined NABJ as a student in 1989, I’ve never limited my skill set development to just one area of media. Now, 29 years later, our industry has shifted completely to a digital model that requires journalists to know how to do effective storytelling in radio, TV and print. My goal in accepting this position from our president, Sarah Glover, is to advocate for a massive re-training and development of our membership, and to push digital media operations to be far more forceful in ensuring their workplaces embrace inclusion rather than traditional media,” said Martin, who was the founding editor-in-chief of Tom Joyner’s BlackAmericaWeb.com, and has launched and worked with several other sites over his career, including blogging for Essence.com

“In 2005, I launched the first black news source audio podcast at the Chicago Defender, and a year later, a video podcast. There is no turning around. Digital media isn’t the future. It’s the present and the future. NABJ must be leading the way for journalists of color in the digital journalism space.”