Chicago Defender cease print publication, moves iconic news content to digital platform

The Chicago Defender, launched in 1905 by John Sengstacke Abbott, was originally a four-page, six column handbill. Producing news of interest to the black community, it became a vocal advocate for issues of the day, including the migration north, anti-lynching legislation, and for integrated sports.  And it was the first newspaper to have a section devoted to children, the Bud Billiken Page.  The Defender had its ups and downs, its slowdowns and rebirths across the century.

It was at one point the largest African American newspaper in the world and the first to achieve national distribution in the country. It went from a weekly publication to a daily, and back to a weekly. John Sengstacke, nephew of the founder, took over the paper.  He was a mover and shaker in the community:  he brought together the publishers of African American newspapers and organized them into the NNPA; he acted as a counsel to presidents, and was instrumental in advocating for integration in the armed forces. After his death in 1997, who the paper was bought by Real Times Media.

The Defender was always in the forefront of the struggle for racial equality in Chicago and beyond, and it continues that role today and will in the future.

The Chicago Defender is now embracing the next generation for media, moving toward a digital platform. Real Times Media, which acquired the Chicago Defender in 2003, announced that on July 11 the paper will evolve from a printed newspaper and relaunch as a digitally-focused content platform dedicated to online editorial, premiere events, custom publishing, and archival merchandising.

“It is no secret that the media and publishing landscape has shifted drastically and the pace of change continues at dizzying speeds,” said Hiram E. Jackson, chief executive officer of Real Times Media. “That is why, over the past few years, we’ve made significant investments in digital media. The Defender already has a digital daily edition, one that reaches hundreds of thousands of readers weekly.  We are just continuing that trajectory for the Defender.”

Real Times Media is an innovator in the African American news and entertainment space. “For more than 10 years we have developed new ways of reaching and touching our community, particularly through targeted events,” said Jackson.

Readers of the Chicago Defender will be able to get their news daily online, rather than waiting for the weekly paper to come out.  Research has shown that those who look to the Defender for news, entertainment and information want the flexibility of receiving that content when and how they want it and digital is the preferred format.

 “We understand that to some of our loyal readers, this rite of passage is a painful one. However, we are committed to preserving the legacy of the Chicago Defender and are excited to be making this bold step to ensure its vitality for the next 100 years,” said Jackson “We remain committed to being an iconic news organization, but we must double-down in the areas where we are seeing growth. Ceasing print operations allows us to do that. And readers of the Defender are now all over the city, reaching them online is a win-win for all of us.”

“The Chicago Defender will lead the way in reinvigorating news delivery for the African American press, one that makes business sense in this digital age,” said Jackson.  “This trailblazing move will allow the Defender to not only continue, but to thrive. All of us at Real Times Media are excited about this next act.”

Although the Chicago Defender will no longer print a weekly edition, it will continue to highlight pivotal moments via special print editions to create more capacity to actively engage with the community.  With this transition, the publication will retain its existing editorial and management staff and continue to offer its signature events — Men of Excellence, Women of Excellence, the relaunch of Who’s Who in Black Chicago, and activities surrounding the Bud Billiken Parade. Additionally, the money saved by not producing a print edition will go back into developing more content on a daily basis.

Currently the Defender prints 16,000 weekly papers, but it has almost half a million unique monthly visitors to its website.

 “There is so much opportunity for the Chicago Defender, on a digital platform, to grow nationally and become a premier player in the African American media space,” adds Jackson.

The Defender’s final weekly issue in print is scheduled to hit newsstands on July 10, 2019. The brand will seamlessly begin publishing daily content of interest to the Chicago community on July 11 at www.chicagodefender.com.

NABJ Names Karen Attiah 2019 Journalist of the Year

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 12, 2019) –“Bold, fearless and timely” are words used by fellow journalists to describe the work of Karen Attiah, the 2019 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Journalist of the Year.

 

The annual award recognizes a black journalist who has amassed a distinguished body of work with extraordinary depth, scope and significance to the people of the African Diaspora.

 

The Journalist of the Year Award will be presented to Attiah duringNABJ’s National Convention & Career Fair, which will be held Aug. 7-11 in Miami, Florida. More information is available at NABJConvention.com.

 

Attiah is the Global Opinions editor for The Washington Post, where she commissions and edits commentary on global issues from a variety of international writers and often writes on issues relating to race, gender and international politics, with a special interest in Africa. Attiah is a previous winner of NABJ’s Salute to Excellence Award in Digital Commentary and is the recipient of the 2019 George C. Polk Special Award. She recently received an honorary doctorate from Dickinson College for her contributions to the field of journalism.

 

 

“NABJ is proud to recognize Karen Attiah as the 2019 Journalist of the Year,” said NABJ President Sarah Glover. “Karen has courageously used her commitment to her craft to provide thought-provoking commentary and insights that have led to positive dialogue and the visibility of issues that have not only impacted people of color and minority communities, but also journalists around the globe. I’m especially proud to see how Karen has propelled the tragedy of her writer’s death into a purpose-driven calling to further the cause for press freedom.”

 

In 2018, Attiah was celebrated for raising her voice and using the power of her pen to bring attention to and offer ongoing coverage of the murder of fellow Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Attiah’s reporting of Khashoggi’s death helped bring international coverage to the political persecution he faced as a journalist, which caused him to flee Saudi Arabia in 2017. Her work also inspired ongoing global dialogue about protecting the role of the free press.

 

"This is a huge honor to receive the NABJ Journalist of the Year award. To be invited to be in the company of black journalists, writers and storytellers who have broken barriers and paved the way for me to be in this field is nothing short of incredible,” said Attiah, upon being notified of her recognition. “But most importantly, after the murder of my colleague and friend Jamal Khashoggi, this recognition is a humbling call to action –that I must help to honor his legacy by speaking and writing against oppression and injustice around the world."

 

In her acclaimed editorial “'I can’t breathe’: The power and tragedy of Jamal Khashoggi’s last words,” Attiah provides a sobering description of how her fellow columnist’s last words eerily echoed the last words of Eric Garner. She highlighted the devastating “cruelty with which lives, and dreams, have been asphyxiated” at the hands of “people in power.” Garner died in 2014 in police custody, after an NYPD officer put him in a chokehold.

 

Attiah has leveraged her platform to bring light to systematic issues that gravely impact the black community worldwide. In the editorial “Christine Ford, Anita Hill and the dangerous myth of the strong black woman,” Attiah wrote about how institutions have historically mistreated black women when it comes to sexual abuse and exploitation by using “perceived strength” as an excuse to not see them as “vulnerable or effective witnesses to their own pain,” even in the era of “me too.”

 

Attiah has also used her writings to underscore the importance of diversity in media. In her editorial “Why did it take Vogue 125 years to have a black photographer shoot a cover?" she discussed the challenges black photographers face in a predominantly white industry and also emphasized that the importance of diversity in powerful publications should become a norm and not just a milestone.

 

“Karen has been a tireless force—as editor, writer and video journalist—to bring new voices, diverse viewpoints and critical issues to our readers and viewers,” said Fred Hiatt, Washington Post Editorial Page editor. “Last year, in the face of a state-sponsored murder that represented personal loss to her as well as professional loss to all of us, Karen refused to bow or be cowed. She helped ensure that the crime would not be forgotten or excused but that, on the contrary, it would become a marker in the struggle for free expression everywhere.”

 

Attiah will receive the Journalist of the Year Award at the NABJ Salute to Excellence Gala during the NABJ Convention on Saturday, Aug. 10, at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa. The awards ceremony is the only event in the United States that honors exemplary coverage of African/African-American people or issues exclusively. The Salute to Excellence Gala also highlights the work of media organizations and individuals involved in print, broadcast and online journalism, marketing and communications.

 

Click here to purchase tickets or register for the #NABJ19 Convention.

 

Media Contact:

 

Kanya Stewart

Director of Communications

kstewart@NABJ.org

NBC's Lester Holt to Get Walter Cronkite Journalism Award

Lester Holt, the award-winning journalist and anchor of “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt,” will be the 2019 recipient of the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, Arizona State University officials announced today.

Holt will receive the 36th-annual Cronkite Award from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, which has honored a journalism luminary with the award since 1984. The ceremony will be in Phoenix on Nov. 4, Cronkite’s birthday. The late CBS News anchor, the namesake of the school who gave out the award for decades, would have been 103.

Holt has anchored the flagship NBC broadcast since 2015, following eight years as anchor of the newscast’s weekend edition and 12 years as co-anchor of “Weekend TODAY.” He also leads NBC’s special reports, major breaking news and primetime political coverage and has served as principal anchor of “Dateline NBC” since 2011. Just recently, he was one of the moderators for the first Democratic presidential debate of the 2020 election cycle. According to Nielsen Media Research, it was watched by more than 18 million viewers on television alone, making it the most-watched Democratic debate ever.

His work has been recognized with multiple Emmy Awards, a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and the Fred Friendly First Amendment Award. In 2016, he was named Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists.

“Lester Holt is a fantastic role model for our students and all journalists for his insightful, caring, fact-based journalism and stories that focus on the impact of major news events on everyday Americans,” said Cronkite Dean Christopher Callahan. “He embodies the cherished news values of accuracy, honesty, fairness and objectivity championed by Walter throughout his long career.”

Known for his outstanding work in the field, Holt has anchored the evening newscast and reported on breaking news events from around the globe. Recently, he anchored from Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, and last year he reported from the Korean Peninsula on the growing tensions between the United States and North Korea just weeks before the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Over the past several years, Holt has reported from Manchester, Brussels and Paris on the terrorist attacks that took place across Europe. He anchored from South Africa during the Nelson Mandela memorial service, reported from Cairo on the political and civil unrest in Egypt during the Arab Spring, covered the 2010 earthquake and nuclear crisis in Japan, and reported on the immediate aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Holt was also on the ground in Hungary during the migrant crisis in Europe in 2015 and anchored from Cuba numerous times, including during the opening of the U.S. embassy, President Barack Obama’s visit and the funeral of Fidel Castro. Additionally, he was embedded with U.S. Forces reporting on the ongoing military operations in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2012.

One of Holt’s trademarks is his on-the-ground reporting focused on everyday people. He reported in Texas and Florida following the 2017 hurricanes and from Las Vegas on the Mandalay Bay shooting, providing first-person accounts of the devastation. In January 2017, he traversed the nation to talk with Americans about their hopes for the next four years. Holt has also covered more than a dozen natural disasters, including the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

In 2016, he was selected to moderate the first presidential debate, which is still the most-watched debate in U.S. history. He conducted one-on-one interviews with Presidents Donald Trump and Obama and the top presidential candidates leading up to the November 2016 elections. Holt has also covered every Olympics for NBC News from the ground since the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Holt started at NBC News in 2000, anchoring “Newsfront” and then “Lester Holt Live” on MSNBC and later served as the cable network’s lead anchor for major news events. He rose to co-anchor of “Weekend TODAY” in 2003 and in 2007 was named weekend anchor of “NBC Nightly News.”

After studying government at California State University in Sacramento, he started his television journalism career in 1981 as a reporter at WCBS-TV in New York. The following year he moved to Los Angeles to report for KCBS-TV (then KNXT) before returning to WCBS in 1984. He moved to Chicago in 1986, where he served for 14 years as the afternoon and evening news anchor for WBBM-TV.

The first recipients of the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism were CBS founder William Paley and former CBS News President Frank Stanton in 1984. Other past award recipients include TV news anchors Tom Brokaw, Diane Sawyer and Scott Pelley; newspaper journalists Ben Bradlee, Helen Thomas and Bob Woodward; and media executives Katharine Graham, Malcolm Forbes and Al Neuharth.

The Cronkite School, named in Cronkite’s honor in 1984, prepares the next generation of journalists in both the time-honored fundamentals embraced by Cronkite and the skills necessary to thrive as journalists in the digital age. Some 70 full-time faculty include media scholars and top professionals, including five Pulitzer Prize winners.

Housed in a state-of-the-art media complex in downtown Phoenix, the school has been featured in The New York Times, The Times of London and USA Today as a leader in 21st century journalism education and innovation.

The Cronkite School also is the home of Arizona PBS, which serves as a journalistic teaching hospital for hundreds of students who work under 15 full-time faculty in professional immersion programs that include a nightly television news broadcast on Arizona PBS, digital reporting bureaus in Phoenix, Washington and Los Angeles, business, borderlands and health care reporting units, a digital innovation and entrepreneurship lab, a digital production desk, an audience engagement lab, the Carnegie-Knight News21 multi-university reporting program, and the new Howard Center for Investigative Journalism.

Kamala Harris statement on Alex Acosta plea deal

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) took to Twitter to call for Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to step down over his involvement in a secret plea deal given to billionaire and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2008.

Alex Acosta should resign as Labor Secretary. We need leaders committed to fighting for justice for survivors of abuse, not protecting predators.

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 9, 2019

NATIONAL BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CONFERENCE CONVENES IN ATLANTA - JULY 24-27 2019

The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) convenes in Atlanta, Georgia July 24-27, 2019. The theme: Economic Empowerment through Entrepreneurial Pursuits demonstrates the importance of entrepreneurship in economic parity. The conference kicks off with a reception at Hotel Indigo at the Atlanta Airport in College Park with Trav Wright and the All Stars.

On July 25-26 of the conference the group meets at the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture & History. The attendees are comprised of entrepreneurs and dignitaries from the United States, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Ghana and Senegal.

A highlight of the conference is the Women Empowerment panel comprised of 8 successful women of various industries.

One such panelist,Tammeisha Smith currently serves as the Owner and Chief Executive Officer of the Dunbar Center, Inc. The Dunbar Center, Inc. is a community health & wellness facility, which was selected as an anchor project for the City of Newark’s Model Neighborhood Initiative under the administration of Mayor Ras Baraka.

Attorney Kimberly K. Haynes, another esteemed panelist, is among Atlanta and Baton Rouge's elite civically engaged leaders within the professional community. A graduate of Spelman College and Tulane University School of Law, Haynes is Founder and CEO of OMBI Group LLC, a premier sports and entertainment firm that specializes in the representation of sports and entertainment professionals and executives.

Ms. Courtney Reynolds, Chairman of the National Black Chamber of Commerce and moderator of the Women’s Empowerment panel, says “I am extremely proud of the power these panelists wield, of their community involvement and their unique perspectives of inclusion. I believe this is the most important panel of the conference.”

There are many, many panel topics including: Modern Medicine, Inclusion & Diversity, Opportunity Zones, Cannabis, Privacy, Capital Access, Ports & Trade, Artificial Intelligence, Infrastructure, Diaspora Trade, Film making and The Business of Fashion.

The conference is open to everyone and registration can be completed here: http://bit.ly/NBCC2019. To make reservations at the Hotel Indigo – Atlanta Airport go here: http://bit.lyNBCCINDIGO.