NABJ members Tracy Brown and Sandra Stevenson Selected for 2012 New York Times Leadership Academy

Washington, DC  (January 4, 2012)—The National Association of  Black Journalists (NABJ) members Tracy Brown of Newsday (pictured far right) and Sandra Stevenson of  The New York Times (pictured second from the left) have been selected for the New York Times Leadership Academy. They are featured here with other academy participants, National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) members Rodrigo Cervantes of Atlanta and Teresa Frontado of Miami.

The Leadership Academy is a unique training and development program for print and Web journalists who are, or aspire to become, newsroom managers.  Beginning or mid-career managers will be guided through the issues and challenges of newsroom leadership and will gain skills necessary to lead in a rapidly-changing media world. 

"We are very proud of Tracy and Sandra for being selected for this prestigious program and for their commitment to serving as leaders in their newsrooms,” said NABJ President, Greg Lee Jr. "This continued partnership creates more opportunities for journalists of color in all areas of the newsroom, and NABJ is happy to see that  the New York Times continues to support this effort."

The four journalists selected to attend the Academy will receive all-expense-paid leadership training at The Times during the fall and at Harvard University through the Maynard Institute Media Academy in January and March (each session at Harvard is a week-long).  The group will come together one last time at the summer NABJ convention to share their experience with interested colleagues.

It was a lack of programs for midcareer professionals that prompted The New York Times in 2006 to develop a program intended to help journalists of color who wanted to move into the top levels of their profession.

The Times Leadership Academy is open to journalists with strong leadership and managerial potential who want to develop their careers in that direction. Applicants should have two to five years of experience working in a range of newsroom management positions, including — but not limited to — department or section heads, deputy or assistant editors, assignment editors, slots, photo editors, photographers, layout/design and graphics editors. Journalists selected to attend the Academy have their expenses paid by The Times, including transportation and housing.

Dana Canedy, senior editor at The Times in charge of the program, said, "The Leadership Academy is a critical part of our industry and newsroom commitment to diversity. It is a great program for developing promising editors of color.”

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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