By JÓSE LÓPEZ BRIBIESCA, ANNIE GREENBERG,
AMY PHAN, NICQUEL TERRY, VIRGINIA TORRES and APRIL YEE
The UNITY News

Leaders of UNITY’s member organizations debated whether, after 20 years, the organization will continue in its current structure, amid concerns that it may have strayed from its core mission, and is unprepared to handle the journalism’s current troubles.

During several sessions at the UNITY 2008 convention, past and present leaders of the member organizations raised issues central to whether UNITY is meeting its mission. Among them were UNITY founders Juan Gonzalez and Will Sutton, who suggested the convention take place every two years, instead of four.

The National Association of Black Journalists, the largest member group, announced that it plans to survey its members within weeks about future participation in UNITY, citing financial and planning concerns.

Christopher Nelson, NABJ’s student representative, said officials plan to evaluate the relationship after the survey.

“There are those who say we need to get out, and there are those who say we need to stay in to maintain the connection,” Nelson said. “UNITY is still relevant. The question is: How is UNITY going to push forward the diversity agenda?”

Maybe UNITY needs to change, said Ernie Suggs, NABJ vice president of print.

“But I don’t think UNITY needs to end. It’s like fighting a war,” Suggs said. “You can’t have the four battalions coming together every four years to fight a war. You have to have the platoons fighting on the front in each city.”

Rafael Olmeda, whose term as NAHJ president ended Friday, said UNITY is vital to the industry, especially in the wake of recent buyouts, because it gives hope to journalists looking to network and revive their careers.

“We’re a coalition,” he said, “We can’t let news organizations get away with entertaining the idea that because of the economy, they don’t have to pay attention to diversity.”

UNITY also boosts member’s revenues by covering most conference expenses.

“We end up not paying for a lot,” Olmeda said, “It works out to our benefit.”

Onica Makwakwa, executive director of UNITY, said the idea that the four minority organizations stand to lose money during a conference year “is a myth.”

In fact, an analysis of IRS 990 forms filed by each of the organizations shows significant increases in revenue that officials attribute to their participation in UNITY.

Twenty percent of total revenues from the annual UNITY convention go directly to UNITY. Of the remaining 80 percent - 40 percent is split equally among the four member organizations, and 40 percent is allotted based on attendance.

Patty Talahongva, an executive producer for White Spider Communications, said UNITY also helps relieve a lot of stereotypes.

“Being open and aware can help us as journalists,” said Talahongva, who was president of NAJA in 2003 and 2004. “UNITY is UNITY because we all come together.”

Several longtime members of the Native American Journalists Association are split on whether UNITY has delivered on the promise of bringing diverse groups together.

“We are the smallest group, but still [feel] an equal part of it,” said Jeff Harjo, executive director of NAJA.

But former NAJA and UNITY president Kara Briggs said changes need to be made because UNITY may have lost its focus.

“Some [NAJA] members struggle to pay the high registration fees,” Briggs said. “We’ve lost perspective of what we are all about.”

“UNITY still struggles in representing Native Americans in all, or even half of the convention panels,” said Ruth Denny, former executive director of NAJA.

A sticking point was the absence of an NAJA member on a panel about diabetes, a major issue across Indian Country.

While each of the organizations have concerns about the relevance of the conference, Sharon Chan, who is the national governing board member for AAJA, believes in the power of the UNITY convention and minority journalists working together.

Chan, a Seattle Times reporter and incoming AAJA president, said, “In the future, I see a richer, more diverse media landscape.”

“I believe journalists of color matter more in this online world where readers are more proactive about discussing, demanding, and producing news content,” Chan said.

“Someone, either big or small, will figure out a business model,” she said, “If we fail, we will try again.”

By DION RABOUIN
The UNITY News

Here are the winners of the contested board of director elections for National Association of Hispanic Journalists and Asian American Journalists Association:

AAJA Treasurer:
Candace Heckman, breaking news editor, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle

NAHJ Vice President:
Hugo Balta, vice president of news and news director, WNJU Telemundo 47, Fort Lee, N.J.

By DANIELLE HESTER
The UNITY News

Beth Daley has worked at The Boston Globe for 14 years.

But just recently, her workload has doubled, maybe even tripled.

The 41-year-old environmental reporter says newsroom buyouts have shrunk her staff. She has weathered the cuts over the years, but that doesn’t mean that she and others still at the Globe haven’t been affected by staffing changes.

“High layoffs and turnover rates are definitely making us work harder,” said Daley.

The impact of turnover and layoffs has hit many working journalists hard. Some feel overwhelmed by increased workloads and having to juggle multiple things at once.

Daley is one of two reporters for the Globe’s science section. Although her section is holding steady, the heavy layoffs of metro staff have resulted in extra coverage for Daley.
On top of covering her sections, she now has to post daily blogs and produce multimedia projects.

“You don’t have the time to spend six to eight weeks on a story anymore. It is really hard to do in-depth stories now,” Daley said.

There is a sense of anxiety when talking to working journalists. They know the industry is changing, sections need to be filled and little revenue is coming in.

In addition to being concerned about the job changes and increased workload, journalists also work under uncertainties: they may have friends being laid off or know people who are taking buyouts. Some worry that they could be next.

The worry, fear and desperation can lead to increased stress. But change and limited jobs are not what keeps some in journalism.

Many say it’s the craft. They love to write, they love to tell stories, and they love to be the voice of the people.

“What I do is important,” said Kathy Pellegrino, recruitment editor of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “If I can have a helping hand in keeping the industry vivid and relative to today’s changes then I am happy with that.”

Mark Miller, assistant managing editor for Newsweek, said that although journalists are anxious, they should have an open mind to change.

Miller said he tries not to overload his reporters. He talked about how editors are being affected too. In some cases, assistant editors may be writing, editing and creating copy for the Web.

“We would like to pay people more, but it’s the business.”

At UNITY: ’08 veterans and aspiring journalists lined up looking for employment, knowing how the conditions of the industry and the impact of turnover for those already employed.

Many remain optimistic.

Cristina Azocar, president of the Native American Journalists Association, says that just because the industry is changing, doesn’t mean that journalists can’t do their jobs effectively.

“We don’t have to stay in the system,” she said. “We need to create our own system; think of it as an opportunity.”

By EUNICE LEE and APRIL YEE
The UNITY News

A man protesting Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade’s speech to the UNITY convention was punched by a supporter. He was then removed from a McCormick Center ballroom as journalists looked on.

Soon after Wade began speaking, the man, Souleymane Jules Diop, a Senegalese journalist currently living in asylum in Canada, stood and shouted that “You’re not speaking for my people.” Suddenly, another man wearing a “WADE IN 2012” cap approached Diop and swung his fist into Diop’s right shoulder.

UNITY members stood and stared. They took notes and shot photos as Wade’s supporters blew whistles and waved banners. Some chanted “We love you” as they marched down the ballroom’s central aisle toward the stage.

Chicago police officers arrested Diop for trespassing and took him to the police station. Meanwhile, Wade calmly stood at the lectern throughout the scuffle as NABJ President Barbara Ciara asked supporters to quiet themselves and sit down.

The speech came two days after Wade’s arrival sparked protests from Senegalese residents and patriots on two continents. He was coming to speak about climate issues and increasing food production. But he was questioned everywhere about the treatment of journalists in his country.

Dozens of Senegalese came to Chicago and attended the speech wearing T-shirts and signs that The UNITY News learned were paid for by Wade’s political party, the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), according to Wade’s niece, Thialal Sabara. Wade’s party also paid for plane fares, a chartered bus and hotel rooms.

Wade has been called a leading advocate for democracy in African nations and has been embraced by the international community. He attended the G8 summit, an international gathering of world leaders, in Japan earlier this month.

And, NABJ members, who had visited Senegal last year, invited him to UNITY. NABJ defended their invitation vigorously.

“Why did we invite President Bush? “ NABJ President Barbara Ciara. “Why did we invite (former Secretary of State) Colin Powell? Why did we invite (former National Security Adviser) Condoleezza Rice? Why do we invite any world leader?

“We asked him to come to us because of free and open dialogue,” she said.

Wade arrived Wednesday and immediately was hit with questions about his treatment of the press.

Two journalists covering a soccer match in June were beaten by Senegalese police after they went onto the field to question players. Wade said that the journalists were attacking the players, a charge the protesters denied.

The beatings also led to the formation of the Committee to Protect and Defend Journalists. And on Monday, most newspapers, radio stations and TV stations staged a press blackout to protest the beatings and Wade’s failure to publicly condemn them.

Friday, hours before Wade’s speech, more than 70 protestors and supporters clashed outside the convention center. Supporters waved flags as a man in a suit chanted into a megaphone: “Abdoulaye Wade is the best president in the world.” They held signs with messages such as “YOUTH FOR WADE” and “WE WANT MORE YEARS WITH WADE”

Wade’s niece, Thialal Sabara, who has lived in the U.S. for 17 years, was among those in the crowd. Wearing the flowing sky blue and yellow colors of Wade’s party, Sabara came out in anticipation of her uncle’s critics.

“The opposition was going to be here to say bad things about the president,” she said. “We don’t like that.”

Sokhna Ndaiye, the general secretary of the Mouvement des femmes liberales, a New York satellite of Wade’s party, said: “He is the best president we have ever had since our independence.

“We sacrifice ourselves because we know if he stays for 20 years, we’ll be a big country like U.S.”

Protesters picketed and chanted.

“He’s just like Cato (a 2nd century BC Roman leader),” said Ousmane Diallo, a Senegalese-American from Iowa City, Iowa. “He’s a tyrant.”

When a Wade supporter shoved a protester, police blocked off the street and made the protestors move to the corner of East Cermak Road and Martin Luther King Drive. Police moved supporters away from the convention center across the street.

Despite the controversy, the ballroom when Wade entered to speak was less than half full.

As expected Wade opened his speech about The Great Green Wall, his plan to plant trees across 7,000 kilometers to stop the Sahara from growing south and taking up farmable land.

But even as he spoke about ways to save his country, protesters pounded the ballroom doors, shouting that Wade was a “tyrant” and a “dictator.”

Later on Friday, NABJ hosted a fund-raising dinner for Wade that was paid for by the Senegalese government, Ciara said. Later Friday, Wade was scheduled to fly to Washington, D.C., to meet with White House and State Department officials about his agricultural plan. His 100-person entourage, including journalists exclusively from state-owned media organizations, was to accompany him.

UNITY staff writers Andres Caballero and Wesley Lowery also contributed to this report.

By KYLA SMITH
The UNITY News

Surrounded by recruiters, students and notepads, Sharon Rosenhause began saying goodbye to her colleagues Friday.

At the end of next week, the managing editor at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel will retire after serving more than 20 years in the newspaper business, as a mentor and a long-standing voice for journalists of color.

Rosenhause, who joined the Sun-Sentinel in March 2001, pushed to diversify newsrooms and news coverage with a stern but compassionate demeanor, friends and colleagues said.

She served as the chairwoman of the American Society of Newspaper Editors Diversity Committee, and was a member of the advisory board of the Race and Diversity Workshop at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, according to the ASNE Web site.

Rosenhause hosted a Diversity Leadership Institute, according to ASNE, and found funding for a Florida Society of Newspaper Editors multimedia scholarship for diverse college students.

In 2006, she was awarded the Robert G. McGruder Diversity Leadership Award.

Friends praised Rosenhause for her hard work and described her as a light-hearted person who loves pink flamingoes, tennis, HBO’s “The Wire” and is determined to master her newly purchased Mac computer.

Rosenhause was too busy saying goodbye to talk about her impending retirement, but friends, colleagues and protégés were eager to share their thoughts on her guidance and influence:

“She is one of the strongest forces in the newsroom. She has a great mind for judgment and knows a good story. Everyone respects her and she is a motivator. She will be missed dearly.”
Bowdeya Tweh
Intern, Sun-Sentinel

“When I first came in five years ago, Sharon seemed intimidating and scary, but deep down she is a teddy bear. When I heard the news, I teared up. I can’t imagine the newsroom without her.”
Belinda Long Ivey
Graphic Artist, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

“When I had rough days working eight hours in the newsroom and eight hours on a reserve base, Sharon told me that I couldn’t work like this anymore. That showed me what type of editor she was, and that she cared about people.”
C. Ron Allen
Staff Writer, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

“She was a woman of very few words but they were intense words that were well chosen. Her retirement represents a real loss in a time of massive layoffs. Not only did she inspire me in the newsroom she inspired me to get back out on the court after not playing tennis for over 30 years.”
Michele A. Salcedo
Race and Demographics Editor, South Florida Sun-Sentinel