Membership meeting at 11 a.m. Nov. 8

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

We'll be meeting next week, at 11 a.m. on Saturday Nov. 8, at a old spot: the Perkins Restaurant at 612 N. Dale Mabry Hwy., just south of I-275, in Tampa, 33609.

It will be an important meeting. We'll be taking about final preparations for our Griot Drum Awards scholarship banquet and awards ceremony, which will feature keynote speaker Mark McEwen, former anchor of CBS This Morning, and host ABC Action News anchor Deiah Riley.

At this stage, we need to sell tickets and make sure the event is full. So please let me know if you plan on coming and stop by the meeting with ideas for selling tickets. Price is $30 for members and $35 for non-members.

We'll also be talking about our Christmas Party, tentatively scheduled for Dec. 11. And brainstroming ideas for the national convention coming to Tampa next year. We need to decide soon what we will do as a local fundraiser,. so bring some ideas.

Feel free to call or email is there are any problems. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you Nov. 8.


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

Tickets now on sale for Griot Drum Awards!

The Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists would like to invite you to the premiere journalism event in the Tampa Bay area: the Fourth Annual Griot Drum Awards dinner.

Scheduled for 7;30 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, the Griot Drum Awards honors journalists in several categories, highlighting those who have excelled in coverage of issues important to people of color. Proceeds will fund our scholarships to aspiring young journalists of color.

Our keynote speaker this year is Mark McEwen, former anchor of CBS This Morning. Our 6 p.m. opening reception will feature a meet-and-greet with McEwen, who is touring the country speaking on his book about recovering from a stroke while working as a news anchor in Orlando.

We would love for you to join us. Tickets are $30 for TBABJ chapter members and $35 for non-members, or $300 for a table of ten.

Please feel free to contact me with any ticket orders, or print out the form below.

We're looking forward to seeing you next month!


Eric Deggans
TBABJ President



TICKET ORDER FORM
Name­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_________________________________ Number of tickets______________
Address________________________________ Total enclosed_________________
Telephone_______________________________ email_____________________

Finalists named for 2008 Griot Drum Awards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:


Contact: Eric Deggans, TBABJ President, (727) 893-8521 (w); (727) 642-8907 (cell)

The Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists is pleased to announce finalists for its fourth annual Griot Drum Awards.

Winners and categories will be named at the awards banquet Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008 at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, 801 Third St. South, St. Petersburg.

An opening cocktail reception starts at 6 p.m.; the banquet will begin at 7:30 p.m.Tickets for the event are priced at $30 each for association members and $35 each for non-members. Media organizations or individuals can purchase a ten-seat table for $300.



Our keynote speaker will be Mark McEwen, former anchor of CBS This Morning, and our host will be WFTS-Ch. 28 morning anchor Deiah Riley. Contact chapter president Eric Deggans for more information or to order tickets.



The finalist list:


Matt McGlashen, WFTS-Ch. 28, five categories.


Dennis Hollingsworth, WTSP-Ch. 10, one category.


Susan Casper, WFTS-Ch. 28, one category.


Ginny Diaz, WFTS-Ch. 28, one category.


Jackie Callaway, WFTS-Ch. 28, one category.


Brendan McLaughlin, WFTS-Ch. 28, two categories.


Spencer Briggs, WEDU-Ch. 3, one category.


Tom Lake, St. Petersburg Times, two categories.


Jamal Thalji, St. Petersburg Times, two categories.


Molly Moorhead, St. Petersburg Times, two categories.


Julie Kumari Drapkin, St. Petersburg Times, two categories.


Stephanie Garry, St. Petersburg Times, one category.


Demorris Lee, St. Petersburg Times, one category.


Rodney Thrash, St. Petersburg Times, one category.


Carrie Pratt, St. Petersburg Times, three categories.


Lara Cerri, St. Petersburg Times, three categories.


Sarah Hoye, Tampa Tribune, three categories.


Michelle Bearden, Tampa Tribune, one category.


Anwar Richardson, Tampa Tribune, one category.


Nicholas Williams, Tampa Tribune, one category.


Fred Bellet, Tampa Tribune, four categories.


Joseph Brown III, Tampa Tribune, one category.


Charles Cherry II, Florida Courier, six categories.


Wade Tatangelo, Creative Loafing, one category.


Alex Pickett, Creative Loafing, one category.


Megan Voeller, Creative Loafing, one category.

ABC Action News anchor Deiah Riley confirmed as Griot Drum Awards host

ABC Action News morning and noon anchor Deiah Riley has been confirmed as Mistress of Ceremonies for the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists' fourth annual Griot Drum Awards.

Deiah has anchored the Tampa ABC affiliate’s morning newscasts since 2003, when she came to town from WXIA-TV in Atlanta, where she anchored that station's award-winning 5 p.m. news broadcast.

Born and raised in the Panhandle, Deiah graduated from Bethune Cookman College in Daytona Beach with a degree in mass communications, working at stations in Phoenix, Arizona, Mobile, Alabama and Montgomery, Alabama.

Scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday Nov. 20 at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, the Griot Drum Awards is the Tampa Bay area's biggest local journalism awards contest. This year, the TBABJ will award honors in 23 categories while also bestowing several $1,000 scholarships.

The evening begins with a 6 p.m. opening reception, featuring a meet-and-greet with our keynote speaker, former CBS This Morning anchor Mark McEwen.Sponsors include the St. Petersburg Times, ABC Action News, WTSP-Ch. 10, WTVT-Ch. 13, Tampa Bay & Company, the New York Times Regional Media Group and the Poynter Institute.

Tickets are still available for the event, priced at $35 each for non-members and $30 each for members; the Poynter Institute is located at 801 Third Street South, St. Petersburg. Feel free to call 727-893-8521 to register your order or email here; walkup purchases are possible, but seating may be limited.

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...