National Association of Black Journalists • September 2002 • $3.50 From Ground Zero to War Zone Black journalists’ battle to cover the big story DROP IN YOUR NONPROFIT INDICIA SEPTEMBER 2002 VOL. 20 NO. 3 OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACK JOURNALISTS T ABLE OF NABJ Publisher Contents Condace Pressley Editor Rick Sherréll Sherréll Publishing Group - Atlanta, Ga. Copy Editors Malecia El-Amin Chianti C. Cleggett Sharyn Flanagan Tony Moor Paula Paige Lamar Wilson Contributing Writers Steven Gray Jackie Jones M.L. Lake Meta Mereday Melissa Monroe Richard Prince Louise Reid Ritchie Ernie Suggs Art Director Carolyn Wheeler On the cover: Ground Zero – the collapsed South Tower of the New York World CEW Productions - Fairfax, Va. Trade Center. Photos by Ozier Muhammad/New York Times. NABJ Officers President Condace Pressley WSB Radio (Atlanta) Columns Vice President - Vice President - COVER STORY From the President 2 Broadcast Print To Our Readers 3 Mike Woolfolk Bryan Monroe From Ground Zero to WACH-TV (Columbia, S.C) San Jose Mercury News Career-Wise 17 Commentary 21 Secretary Treasurer War Zone Gregory Lee Glenn E. Rice Black journalists were on site at last year’s biggest The Washington Post The Kansas City Star Departments story. Some by chance, some by choice Bookmarks 18 Parliamentarian Immediate and some were never in the picture . .4 Sharyn Flanagan Past President Chapter Spotlight 20 USA Today William W. Sutton, Jr. The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) The NABJ Journal (USPS number pending) NABJ Directors The Faces of War is published four times a year by the Region I Region II National Association of Black Journalists— Robin Washington Sarah J. Glover Photo essay by Carl Juste . .8 the largest organization of journalists of The Boston Herald The Philadelphia Inquirer color in the world. To discuss news items, photos and letters, call (301) 445-7100, Region III Region IV Bonnie Newman Davis Ernie Suggs ext. 110; fax to (301) 445-7101 or e-mail Virginia Union University Atlanta-Journal [email protected]. For Constitution The Washington Post’s information concerning advertising, call Gerald Van Treeck at Achieve Region V Region VI Metro 7 Randye Bullock Stephanie Jones Communications, phone (847) 562-8633; P. R. Networks, Inc. The Commercial Appeal Thirty years ago, they fought for a fair chance. fax (847) 562-8634; e-mail (Memphis) Today, there’s still work to be done . .11 [email protected]. NABJ members receive one free copy; additional copies of Region VII Region VIII Cheryl Smith Natalie Y. Moore this or back issues are available to KKDA Radio (Dallas) St. Paul Pioneer Press members and non-members at $3.50 each; annual subscriptions are $14. Region IX Region X Reprints not permitted without prior Venita Hawthorne James Lynne Varner Beyond City Hall The Arizona Republic Seattle Times Blacks covering state, national political coverage written approval of NABJ. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Associate Representative are few and far between. .15 Meta Mereday, Marketing/Media Consultant NABJ, 8701-A Adelphi Rd., Adelphi, MD 20783-1716. Student Representative Tiffany Black, The Philadelphia Inquirer Executive Director Tangie Newborn 9/11 as I Saw It A day, a flight and a perspective I’ll always remember. On Sept. 11, 2001, I woke up also learned that the Federal generation, I was listening to early and drove to the airport. I held Aviation Administration had coverage on AM radio on the drive a ticket on Delta Flight 1428 from ordered all U.S. airports closed and back. Robert drove me to the Atlanta to Nashville. I arrived in planes diverted to Canada or back Hartsfield Airport parking deck Nashville at 7:43 CDT—that made to Europe. where my car was parked and armed From the President it 8:43 a.m. in New York. There was At that moment, I realized that security guards were allowing cars not a cloud in the sky, no one close to me knew that I’d out, but not in. So, Robert left me at so you’ll understand landed safely. Quickly I called home the entrance to the deck to search my confusion at the and let my family know that I was for my car. I felt confused and hard landing. safe and figuring out how to get discombobulated, said a prayer for Upon deplaning, I home and back to work. At my myself and for the thousands of saw a crowd gathered hotel, like millions of Americans, I others touched by tragedy that day around two television sat glued to a television set, my and God led me to my car. sets. On one set was mouth agape, unable to There was no traffic on Atlanta’s the burning twin comprehend tragedy unfolding interstates. Imagine that: No traffic towers of the World before my eyes. I watched as the first in Atlanta. The lighted signs Trade Center. On the tower collapsed, then the second. overhead read, “All Airports Closed. other set was a live As I sat there in front of the TV, National Emergency.” shot of a fire at the the phone rang. It was NABJ calling As much as I hated being away Condace Pressley Pentagon. The sound on to make sure I had landed safely. on a major news day, on Wednesday, both television sets was muted. The While talking to the office, it I came in with the second shift to horror of what happened had not became clear that I needed to close relieve our first team. Covering this hit me. the Washington, D.C. office and story 24/7 for the first week left me I grabbed my cell phone and send our employees home to be with numb. I cannot fathom what it must called my newsroom. Chris, my their families. As Tangie Newborn have been like for reporters at news director, told me that two (NABJ executive director) and I Ground Zero. commercial jetliners had flown into talked, she looked out her window In this issue, we salute NABJ the towers of the World Trade to see snipers atop the National Journalist of the Year Byron Pitts of Center. A third plane had crashed Archives building adjacent to the CBS News and his amazing into the Pentagon. Quickly, I ended NABJ national headquarters. coverage from Ground Zero and in our call. He had more important By midday, the RTNDA Board Afghanistan. There are other stories things to do than talk to me. of Directors voted to cancel the as well, and I assure you that they are Immediately, I wanted to go 2001 convention and I hitched a far more interesting than my Sept. home, but was not sure how to ride home with former RTNDA 11 experience. make that happen. I’d gone to Chairman Robert Garcia of CNN Nonetheless, I held onto my Nashville for a board meeting of the who’d driven to Nashville. Another boarding pass from that day, and I Radio-Television News Directors news director from Central Florida pray that our nation never Association (RTNDA) that was to with relatives in Atlanta hitched a experiences loss like that again. begin on Sept. 12. ride also, and that afternoon the Not knowing what to do next, I three of us, each with a week’s worth recovered my luggage and hailed a of luggage, piled into Robert’s taxi to the hotel. The driver had his Prelude and headed home. radio tuned to an all-news station, I work in radio and am very and it was by listening to the top-of- proud of the medium, so it seemed the-hour newscast that I not only appropriate that in the initial hours You can e-mail Condace Pressley learned of the terrorist attacks, but I of the biggest story of our at [email protected]. 2 www.nabj.org National Association of Black Journalists NABJ Journal / September 2002 “Black” Like Me Using self-respect as a guide to style Unlike most editors, I very imposition of such substantial error class—a class in which The NABJ seldom use my allocated space to tell of form and content since, the basic Journal should have been the first you what’s inside this issue. That’s color, black, should be in lower case. member and is long overdue what the table of contents is for. Some dude will attempt, for the in joining. To Our Readers Instead, I’ll usually have something 1000th time to ‘explain’ away why The New York Times style guide to say that may, or may not, have to its correct to identify Blacks as says that when trying to determine do with the subjects “blacks” while they hold as accurate whether to use “African-American” covered within these the capitalization of Hispanic, or “black” you should try to pages. Today, it’s about Jewish, or Irish. It does not make determine and use the term being Black. That’s sense!… Black is Black; that is, preferred by the group or person “Black,” not “black.” denoting a person, encapsulating being described. I prefer that they Whenever in a ethno-racial origins while ‘black’ is a add “Black” to the list of options— position to do so, as color for an inanimate [object] like because there’s a big difference part of my own style paint.” between me and a can of paint. I am book, I insist that Mr. Nwangwu requires his more than a color and prefer to “Black,” when referr- editors, contributors and reporters name myself “Black” instead of ing to my people, to capitalize the “White” and having someone else name me my issues and “Black” ethno-racial identities and “black.” It is a matter of style…and my communities, be all other ethnic origins.