TBABJ Membership Meeting Oct. 11 in Tampa

Members and friends of the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists:

We're meeting at 11 a.m. next Saturday -- Oct. 11 -- at The St. Petersburg Times Tampa office, 1000 N. Ashley Dr., Tampa.

This is a crucial meeting. We'll be taking about the Griot Drum Awards, which picked up the St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Bay & Co., Hill & Knowlton and WFTS-Ch. 28 as sponsors this week. We need to get more applicants for our $1,000 scholarships and more sponsors to ensure our banquet is profitable.

We should also start brainstorming what we'd like to do when the national convention comes here next year.

We have moved the date from its traditional spot, the first Saturday of the month, because I'm participating in a charity event tomorrow and couldn't attend. Hope to see you there!

Eric Deggans
President, Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists
Chair, NABJ Media Monitoring Committee
TV/Media Critic, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times
http://www.tbabj.com
(727) 893-8521

Photos from UNITY-Tampa 2009 Kick Off Party

Better late than never, we have finally managed to grab hold of some pictures from our kicking Kick Off Party for the Tampa 2009 NABJ convention, held in Chicago on July 26 at the UNITY gathering.

DJ Funkmaster Flex kept the crowd on the dance floor during his entire set, and I'm still running into journalists of color from the Asian American and Hispanic journalists groups who are raving about our party.

Here's some shots, for those of you who couldn't see it for yourself, including local sax legend Eric Darius, who kicked off the party. For those of you who did attend, perhaps they will bring back fond memories...

TBABJ $1,000 scholarship deadline extended to Oct. 22

ATTENTION: Educators, high school students, college students and anyone who knows them:

The Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists (TBABJ) has extended the deadline for its 2008 Scholarship Contest to Oct. 22. That means students of color with some connection to the Tampa Bay area can apply for one of three different $1,000 scholarships we are awarding this year.

Go to the application form, which you can print out, by clicking here.

Please encourage all undergraduate college students and graduating high school seniors of color (African American, Hispanic, Asian, etc.) to apply for this contest by OCT. 22, 2008. Applications must be postmarked by this date to be considered.

This year, we will award three $1,000 scholarships to deserving minority college students who are pursuing careers in journalism. Our desire is to empower young journalists of color to join the ranks of the working press.

In addition to the scholarship, our 2008 winners will receive student membership in the National Association of Black Journalists and TBABJ for one year.

Students currently enrolled in college or graduating high school seniors are encouraged to apply. Graduate students and previous grand prize winners are NOT eligible. Applicants MUST have a connection to the Tampa Bay area, which includes Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, among other communities in the region. We expect our winners to attend TBABJ’s annual awards banquet in November.

Completed application packets must be postmarked by Oct. 22.

Questions? Contact Kevin Graham, TBABJ’s Scholarship Coordinator, at 813-226-3433 or kgraham@sptimes.com.

Good luck!

Eric Deggans
President, Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists
Chair, NABJ Media Monitoring Committee
TV/Media Critic, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times
http://www.tbabj.com
(727) 893-8521

Application form for TBABJ $1000 Scholarship

2008 Student Scholarship Application -- feel free to print out and mail in!

Deadline: Applications must be postmarked by WEDNESDAY, OCT. 22, 2008!

All materials become the property of TBABJ and will not be returned.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Last Name:_________________ Middle Initial:____ First Name:___________________

Permanent Address:_______________________________________________________

City:_________________________ State:________ Zip Code: ____________________

Permanent Phone Number:___________________ Personal E-mail:_________________

Present Address: __________________________________________________________

City:_________________________ State:________ Zip Code: ____________________

Present Phone Number:_____________________________________________________

Social Security Number:____________________ Are you a U.S. Citizen:___Yes ___No

If not, do you have legal documentation supporting your stay in the United States?______

School Classification for school year 2008-09 (i.e. freshman, sophomore, etc):_________

College or University:______________________________________________________
(High school seniors, please name your current school and the post-secondary institution you plan to attend.)

Projected Graduation Date (mm/yy):__________________________________________
II. Please consider the following topic in a 500-word essay:

Analyze the media’s coverage of a recent news story involving race, class or religion. Discuss how you would have covered the story.

Please enclose a photograph and five collated copies of the following:

► Completed Application

► Essay

► Resume

► Three to six examples of journalistic work (Broadcast journalists may submit a DVD but must note their role in each production, i.e. sound technician, lighting, writer, producer).

Please also include one sealed copy of the following:

► Official school transcript (Must be enclosed in an official school envelope and be stamped by your registrar’s or principal’s office).

► One to two letters of recommendation from faculty, employees or journalists familiar with your career goals.


Mail applications to:

Kevin Graham, Scholarship Coordinator
Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists
1000 N Ashley Drive, Suite 700
Tampa, FL 33602

TBABJ co-sponsors reception for NPR's Juan Williams Sept. 15

NPR and Fox News analyst Juan Williams will be the honored guest of a reception co-sponsored by the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists on Sept. 15, when he comes to the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg.

Juan will be speaking at Poynter as part of a fundraising "community conversation" panel called "Election 2008: Covering the Issues." The conversation starts at 6:30 p.m. and costs $25. But the meet-and-greet with Juan afterwards, starting at 8 p.m., is free to members and friends of TBABJ -- just tell the folks at the door you're with the organization.

The event is to be held next Monday, Sept. 15, at the Poynter Institute, 800 Third St. South, St. Petersburg.

Again, friends and members of the TBABJ will be able to attend the reception for free. Even if you're not a member, come by and spend time with us and leave with an application. Please email us if you plan to attend, though walk-ups are welcome. To attend the 6:30 p.m. presentation at Poynter, you must pay a $25 donation.

If you have any questions, feel free to email TBABJ president Eric Deggans or call 727-893-8521. This is an invaluable opportunity, especially for journalism students and those interesting in political reporting, to meet one of the highest-profile black journalists covering this year's elections.

Please join us for an interesting, revealing evening. And feel free to email or call me if you have any questions.

Eric Deggans
President, Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists
Chair, NABJ Media Monitoring Committee
TV/Media Critic, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times
www.tbabj.com
(727) 893-8521

TBABJ Meeting Saturday at Kizmet Cafe in St. Petersburg

TBABJ Members and friends --

We're meeting at 11 a.m. Saturday (Sept. 6) at one of our newer spots: Kizmet cafe in St. Petersburg.

As usual, we have a lot going on. We are considering organizing a reception at the Poynter Institute for Fox News and NPR pundit Juan Williams, who is appearing at the Institute on Sept. 15.

We have also been asked to co-host a public forum featuring Hillsborough Supervisor of elections Buddy Johnson. It's a great opportunity to give people of color in Hillsborough a chance to learn about new voting technology and discuss recent controversies. Currently, we're talking about Sept. 25 for the date, but we have yet to secure the participation of our previous forum partners, the Hillsborough NAACP and CAIR.

We also have to start lining up sponsorships for the Griot Drum Awards banquet, scheduled for Nov. 20. And, of course, the national convention in Tampa is less than a year away.

Here's the address: Kizmet 1101 1st Avenue NORTH, Saint Petersburg, FL 33705 (727) 821-1078.

Hope to see you there!

Eric Deggans
President, Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists
Chair, NABJ Media Monitoring Committee
TV/Media Critic, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times
http://www.tbabj.com/
(727) 893-8521

Chapter meeting at 11 a.m. Saturday (Aug. 16) in Tampa

TBABJ Members and friends:

Our next meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. this Saturday, Aug. 16, at the Golden Corrall restaurant, 6942 WEST HILLSBOROUGH AVENUE 33634 (813)882-9805.

We usually meet on the first Saturday of each month, but the UNITY convention was exhausting for many of us and I wanted to give everyone a chance to get back to their lives a bit. Unfortunately, we also have several projects which need to advance soon, so we can't take too much of a breather. Among them:

-- Hillsborough County's bureau of elections wants to co-sponsor a public forum on the new voting machines with us, CAIR, HRC and the NAACP. So we'll need to talk a bit about how that might work.

-- We have extended the deadline for our Griot Drum scholarships because our first go at soliciting applicants didn't yield much response. We'll need to plan a new strategy for spreading the word.

-- We have set Nov. 20 as the date for our Griot Drum awards dinner, so we need to work on organizing that event.

-- The South Florida NABJ chapter needs us to judge its awards contest, in exchange for judging ours. So Camille Spencer is seeking members to help with the judging, and we need to schedule that.

And we need to congratulate each other on a very well done kickoff party presented during UNITY last month.

I'm hoping you'll join us Saturday and lend your sweat equity to our effort.

Here's directions: Obviously, in Tampa, you can just get on 580/Hillsborough Ave. from any major artery and drive west to Town N' Country.Take I-275 to Route 60 north to ext. 4: Hillsborough Ave. turn left (west) on hillsborough and look for the restaurant.

As always, call or email if you need to discuss anything beforehand.

Eric Deggans
President, Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists
Chair, NABJ Media Monitoring Committee
TV/Media Critic, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times
(727) 893-8521