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Hot agenda, hot Dallas greet NABJ 2003 By Marcus Braziel NABJ Convention Online Staff As NABJ 2003 opens in Dallas today in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal and the resignation of the organization’s treasurer following plagiarism allegations, members will no doubt be looking to meet and greet old friends, honor top African American journalists, job hunt, and workshop hop. Mike Woolfolk, Convention Chair and NABJ Vice President, predicts that this will be a fabulous convention. “A lot of people have worked long and hard to make sure that the 28th annual convention NABJ is the best convention that the organization has seen,” Woolfolk said. This is an election year for NABJ, with three candidates vying to head the organization. Elections are scheduled for Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Bryan-Breeman room. Members have also been allowed to vote online this year. The results of the election are to be announced Friday evening at the Special Honors Banquet. Due to the downturn in the economy, the professional journalism organizations have found it tougher to raise funds and attract sponsors for convention events. But, no major cutbacks are planned for this year’s convention, according to Executive Director Tangie Newborn. She said the organization has sought to reduce expenditures in other ways. “Our cutbacks were mainly in operation staffing,” Newborn said. “We started to work smarter in managing our finances. We looked at other areas in which we could cut back, but we did not want to limit our programs and services to our members and definitely to our students, because the students are the heart of the organization,” Newborn said. Providing daily stipends for the students participating in the student development projects was one way to cut costs, Newborn said. “We have found that the students are out in the community and not always able to get back and eat at specific times. Thus, providing them with a stipend will allow them to manage their time as well as learn financial management,” Newborn said. On NABJ’s sizzling convention schedule there are quite a few events that deserve a bookmark. On Thursday, National Security Adviser, Dr. Condoleezza Rice will be the featured speaker at the NABJ Newsmaker Plenary. NABJ President Condance Pressley noted that Rice would just be getting back from a historic visit to the Middle East. She will not only speak, but will also take questions. On Friday, a plenary discussion on diversity and ethics in journalism will take place, with panelists revisiting the Jayson Blair episode. Blair, a former New York Times reporter, resigned after admitting to fabricating stories. Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher of The New York Times will appear on the panel, Woolfolk said. “They are coming forward to deal with the issues, deal with the questions, take the heat and talk about some solutions,” Woolfolk said. “I think it will be a solution-oriented program. It’s not about finger pointing and scolding, but looking for viable solutions to move forward,” he added. With more than 40 workshops on the schedule, everyone should find something of interest. In addition to the workshops throughout the week, there are other events that NABJ members are expecting. The Photo auction, to be held on Saturday is put on by the visual task force. This is one of the fundraisers for the scholarship program. There will be 3 on 3-basketball tournament; a golf tournament; and advanced movie screenings, which are, geared for the arts and entertainment journalists that critique films. In our social hour NABJ loves to party, Woolfolk said. There will be several social events, including a spades/bid whist tournament and many parties, including one hosted by Tom Joyner of “The Tom Joyner Morning Show.” Pre-registration is up from last year’s meeting in Milwaukee. Roughly 1,300-1,500 conferees pre-registered last year. This year there are 2,200 pre-registered conferees. Woolfolk noted that large cities attract more attendees. “However, when it’s all said and done, NABJ pretty much averages between 2,500 to 3,000 convention attendees,” said Woolfolk. That figure includes those who register on-site. This year's conference agenda isn't the only thing that's hot. The weather forecast for Dallas is expected to hit 100 for several days in a row. |
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