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Updated: Wednesday, July 28, 2004 Published: Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Carole regrets her departure from ABC News weekend anchor desk

RELATED LINKS New York Association of Black Journalists honors Carole Carole Simpson calls for diverse newsrooms Interviews with Carole

While praising Simpson as an advocate for diversity and fairness in Americas newsrooms, NABJ President Herbert Lowe said the association is appalled that her departure from the anchor desk means that there are no black journalists anchoring network newscasts in prime time.

Simpson, an Emmy-winning senior correspondent at ABC News and NABJ's Journalist of the Year in 1992, announced she would be leaving the anchor desk at the end of her report tonight.

Its been my great pleasure to have brought you the news on the weekends for 15 years, she said. Thank you for allowing me into your homes. I will miss you.

Simpson told viewers said she would be staying with ABC News, filing reports on World News Tonight with Peter Jennings and on the weekly Sunday broadcast. She ended by looking into the camera and saying with her one-of-a-kind voice: I'm Carole Simpson and I used to tell you every Sunday, Have a good week and good night, but now its time to say goodbye.

This is a sad night for journalism and newsroom diversity, said Lowe, a criminal courts reporter at Newsday in Queens, N.Y. Sunday evenings just wont be the same anymore without Carole letting us know whats going on in the world. She is a living legend, a source of inspiration for so many journalists black journalists in particular and we would all do well to aspire to her measure of integrity, professionalism and commitment to diversity.

According to the latest annual survey by the Radio & Television News Director Association (RTNDA), the number of minorities in Americas broadcast newsrooms is down. Simpsons departure from the anchor desk will further compound the efforts of organizations like NABJ that advocate for media companies to be resolute and sincere about their diversity efforts.

For far too long there has been a void for black anchors on the networks in prime time, said NABJ Vice President-Broadcast Barbara Ciara, managing editor and anchor at WTKR-TV in Norfolk. The last major player was Bryant Gumbel (on NBCs The Today Show) and before that (NABJ founding member) Max Robinson on ABC News before Peter Jennings took over. So we've made no progress over the decades in terms of diversifying the network newscasts.

Simpson pushed for diversity to newsroom executives at an RTNDA luncheon a few years ago.

Everyone has something to contribute in the newsroom, but not if they have no place at the table, or no place at the rim, she said. To have a real democracy we need a multitude of voices. If the news historically and currently is exclusively held by a select group of people, the discussion is exclusive. If the news does not reflect the nation's diversity in on-air staff, in story selection, in management, in employment, we are doomed.

NABJ's mission is to expand job opportunities and recruiting activities for veteran, young and aspiring black journalists. No one has supported NABJ more than Simpson, who for years has donated many thousands of dollars to the association for college scholarships, Lowe said.

Simpson joined ABC News from NBC News in 1982. She covered such major breaking stories as the Senate impeachment trial of President Clinton, the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings, the Oklahoma City bombing and Nelson Mandelas release from prison in South Africa.

Carole Simpson is a living testimony to excellence in journalism, said Condace L. Pressley, assistant program director at WSB Radio in Atlanta and NABJ's immediate past president. She is the reason many women and minorities chose this honorable profession not only because of her example, but also because of her actions.