NABJ MEMBER UPDATE: CHRISTOPHER NELSON NAMED NBC NEWS ASSIGNMENT EDITOR

JANUARY 10, 2013 – NABJ Communications Chair, Christopher Nelson has been named an assignment editor at NBC News based at the network’s world headquarters in New York effective January 14.

 Nelson returns to NBC News after having been a freelance multimedia journalist which allowed him to serve as a contributing editor at OBABL Media covering law and politics for the legal news website "On Being a Black Lawyer.” He also contributed to sites such as TheLoop21.

He will be the primary overnight news editor which will often make him a first point of contact editorially which means he’ll be responsible for screening and researching stories for all platforms, acting as a liaison on behalf of the Rights & Clearance, Standards and Legal departments in advance of stories being reported or video & images making air, he’ll be responsible for alerting news executives and managers to news which breaks overnight and assist in orchestrating coverage, assist in coordinating remote field movements in North and South America in cooperation with regional chiefs and bureau desks if needed, and communicate editorial and logistical information to all NBC entities as stories are breaking and developing.

 "In between school and work Chris has had time to serve as a leader in NABJ since 2005 when he became NABJ's Regional Student Representative,” said NABJ President, Gregory H. Lee, Jr. "I'm extremely proud of Chris and I know that great things await him in NYC.”

 Previously, he worked as an assignment editor for the network in 2011. He first joined NBC News in the summer of 2010 as a participant in the network’s prestigious News Associates Program a highly competitive early career program designed to attract candidates who reflect racial, ethnic, economic and geographic diversity, as well as candidates with disabilities. His rotations as a news associate included time spent as a reporter/producer for TheGrio, NBC News’ videocentric African-American news site, time spent as a researcher on the domestic news desk, and time spent as an assistant segment producer at MSNBC, the cable network.

From January 2009 until July 2010 he was a news writer at WJZ-TV, the CBS owned and operated station in Baltimore, Maryland. He also filled in as an assignment editor and web producer. He contributed to coverage of the indictment, trial, and conviction of Baltimore’s former mayor Sheila Dixon on public corruption charges. He also field produced on Election Night 2008 helping to coordinate coverage of the slots referendum, which made gambling legal in the state of Maryland. Nelson began his career as the station’s broadcast apprentice in July 2008. While at WJZ-TV he also reported and blogged for B, Free Daily and BTheSite.com, Tribune’s tabloid style sister publication of The Baltimore Sun and its accompanying website geared towards readers ages 18 to 35.

 In February 2012 he was named a fellow of the Reynolds Center for Business Journalism where he received training in business journalism and computer assisted reporting at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) Conference.

As an industry leader in addition to his duties as NABJ Communications Chair, Nelson, also serves as a Deputy Program Chair for the association’s annual convention #NABJ13 to be hosted in Orlando, Florida helping orchestrate training and programming for NABJ’s convention attendees. Previously he was co-chair of the SEED (Student Education Enrichment and Development) Committee overseeing for two years selection of internship and scholarship recipients and working as an on-site mentor to broadcast students in the annual weeklong Multimedia Student Projects, and to the inaugural class of public relations students who participated in the weeklong Public Relations Student Project.

Nelson is a May 2008 graduate of Loyola University Maryland where he earned a bachelor’s of arts degree in communication with a specialization in journalism. While at Loyola he was awarded a fellowship to study multimedia journalism, intercultural communications, and Italian in Cagli, Italy. In May 2012 he earned a master of studies in law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.

In addition to his NABJ membership he also holds memberships in the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) and Radio Television Digital News Association (RTNDA). An avid volunteer he frequently serves as a facilitator and speaker at diversity trainings and workshops around the country.

 An advocacy group established in 1975 in Washington, D.C. NABJ is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation and provides educational, career development and support to black journalists worldwide.

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