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Updated:
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Posted: July 9, 2008 |
MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact:
NABJ Communications
(866) 479-NABJ
Charles Whitaker
Northwestern University
(847) 491-3014
c-whitaker@northwestern.edu
CNN's Johnita P. Due to Receive 2008 Ida B. Wells Award
Representatives of The National Association of Black Journalists and the National Conference of Editorial Writers have selected Johnita P. Due, senior counsel and Diversity Council chair of CNN, as the 2008 recipient of the Ida B. Wells Award. The Wells award is presented annually to a media executive who has demonstrated a commitment to diversifying the nation’s newsrooms and improving the coverage of people and communities of color.
In selecting Ms Due, the Wells jury cited her passionate and impactful leadership of CNN’s Diversity Council, a team of network colleagues dedicated to ensuring that CNN’s news coverage and overall staffing reflect the rich racial and ethnic composition of the nation.
Under Ms. Due’s charge, the Council has embarked upon many initiatives designed to make the corporate culture at CNN more inclusive and to expand the network’s coverage of minority communities. Those efforts have ranged from convening a summit for senior management devoted to including more diverse guests and perspectives on air to crafting presentations and leading diversity video screenings and discussions with staff that underscore the business case for diversity and to highlight how to be more inclusive in every day coverage.
As a result of these efforts, CNN has made great strides in diversifying its staff, including key promotions and appointments of women and people of color to executive and senior management positions. CNN’s commitment to diversity of perspectives is notable in its political coverage. The network has also taken a leading role in the production of noteworthy reports on underserved populations such as its “Uncovering America” series, which provided illuminating and provocative coverage of African-American, Asia-American, Hispanic and GLBT communities, and the groundbreaking “Black in America” documentary series.
According to Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide, Ms. Due’s leadership has been critical to the success of these initiatives. “She has been able to work closely with and engage all levels of management and staff so that everybody feels ownership in the goals of the Diversity Council,” he wrote in nominating Ms. Due for the Wells award.
The Ida B. Wells Award selection committee agreed that Ms. Due’s work is just the sort that this honor was created to highlight. We are pleased to add her name to the long list of honorees.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Ida B. Wells Award, which is named in honor of the distinguished 19th century journalist and publisher who won international acclaim for her fearless crusade against lynching. First bestowed in 1983, the award is designed to give tangible and highly visible recognition to an individual or group of individuals who have provided distinguished leadership in increasing access and opportunities to people of color in journalism, and helped improve the coverage of communities of color. Presentations alternate between the annual conventions of the sponsoring bodies, the National Conference of Editorial Writers (NCEW) and the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).
Past recipients of the award include Jay T. Harris, former publisher of the San Jose Mercury News, Steve Capus, president of NBC News, and Donald Graham, publisher of the Washington Post.
The 2008 award will be presented to Ms. Due on September 19 at the awards luncheon of the 62nd annual National Conference of Editorial Writers Convention to be held at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock, Ark.
An advocacy group established in 1975 in Washington, D.C., NABJ is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation, with more than 4,100 members, and provides educational, career development and support to black journalists worldwide.
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