Tickets now on sale for the 2010 Griot Drum Awards & Scholarship Banquet!

Tickets are now on sale for the Griot Drum Awards & Scholarship Banquet, the signature event of the nationally-recognized Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists!

Held each November, it is the only locally-produced journalism awards program that honors coverage of people of color.

The 2010 installment of Griot Drum will be held Nov. 18 at the Dr. Blaise F. Alfano Conference & Banquet Center, 11606 McKinley Drive, Tampa.

The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a reception featuring local saxophonist Jonathan Milton. ESPN’s Jemele Hill, one of the few women of color serving as a national sports columnist and TV personality, will headline the 7 p.m. dinner and awards presentation. Since joining ESPN in November 2006, Hill has made regular appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN First Take, Jim Rome is Burning, and Outside the Lines.

More than 200 guests are expected to attend this year’s ceremony, which will include performances by the Gulfcoast Academy of Performing Arts (formerly the Soulful Arts Dance Academy) and Tampa musical prodigy Caleb E. Sanders. Area high school seniors and college students will be given financial support to pursue their education in the field of journalism.

Proceeds from ticket sales will help TBABJ fund those scholarships. Tickets are $20 for TBABJ members, $25 for non-members and $200 for a table of ten.

Please complete the order form and return with the total amount to the address listed below.

See you Nov. 18!

Best,

Rodney Thrash
Staff writer, St. Petersburg Times
Co-chair, 2010 TBABJ Griot Drum Awards
Office: 727.445.4167
Cell: 813.610.1268
E-mail: rthrash@sptimes.com

TICKET ORDER FORM

Name _________________________________

Number of tickets _________________

Address _________________________________

Total enclosed _________________

Telephone _________________

E-mail _________________________________

Return to:
Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists
c/o Rodney Thrash
710 Court Street
Clearwater, Florida 33756

Meeting Announcement!

TBABJ will hold its next meeting on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 11 am at the Tampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker St.

We're planning an annual media awards ceremony in November, and a Christmas party in December. Your input would be greatly appreciated.

If you have questions, email TampaBayABJ@gmail.com.

Hope to see you there!

Two Job Openings! Bay News 9 and Bright House Sports Network

Below is information on two job openings in the Tampa Bay area:

-Bright House Sports network is looking for a team player to enterprise original sports stories, shoot and editor videotape and write original stories for their website. This individual would also report on location for breaking news. Candidates must have strong story development skills, and be able to develop sources and break stories. They must also be able to work in a team atmosphere and work flexible hours and days. If you have web and TV experience, upload your resume through http://www.mybrighthouse.jobs/. The position is under news, production and programming. DVD demos can be sent to BHSN, sports reporter/VJ, 7901 66th Street N, Pinellas Park, FL. No phone calls, please.

-Bay News 9 has a photojournalist opening. A minimum of two years TV news experience is required. Live truck, Pinnacle Liquid non-linear editing and ENPS knowledge is helpful. You will be trained to expand skills in truck operation. Flexibility is required to work different schedules. Send three packages that have been shot and edited within the past week. Candidates must upload a resume via the Jobs page on http://www.baynews9.com/ and send a demo to Bay News 9, Attn: C. Morton, 700 Carillon Parkway, Suite 9, St. Petersburg, FL 33716.

Poynter Institute offers full day of photojournalism training

Be part of the live studio audience for the National Press Photographers Foundation's Video Storytelling Workshop: 2010 Edition at The Poynter Institute on Saturday, Sept. 25. Veteran photojournalists will show you how to your make your stories more memorable and refine your videostorytelling.

In this full day of training, you'll learn how to find and develop memorable characters; how to make mundane stories -- like meetings and weather stories -- more interesting; how to work with sound; and how to anticipate moments in the field, even on tight deadlines.

Presenters include:

Darren Durlach, NPPA's 2009 Ernie Crisp Television News Photographer of the Year, and senior photojournalist at WBFF-TV in Baltimore
Lynn French, assistant chief photographer and veteran multimedia journalist at KPNX-TV in Phoenix
Jason Witmer, winner of numerous NPPA and Texas AP awards for his work as a solo video journalist for Chron.com in Houston
Joe Fryer, winner of four national Edward R. Murrow awards and a regional Emmy for best reporter in 2009, of KARE-TV in Minneapolis
Whether you're working in a team or as a solo journalist, you'll learn fresh approaches to make your packages -- both daily turns and long-form pieces -- more memorable. The Video Storytelling Workshop starts at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday, Sept. 25, and is offered both live at The Poynter Institute and online through Poynter's NewsU. The host is Al Tompkins, Senior Faculty/Broadcast and Online at The Poynter Institute and author of the daily online journalism story idea column, Al's Morning Meeting, on Poynter.org.
Can't stay for the day? Your advance registration also gives you access to the video replays of each presentation when they become available at Poynter's NewsU.

The cost for this daylong workshop is just $55 for NPPA members or $35 for student members. Non-NPPA members pay just $65 for a full day of training. Sign up now to get these registration rates. Scholarships are available for members of AAJA, NABJ, NAHJ, NAJA, NLGJA and JAWS.

Come to Poynter for a day of training from some of the best in the industry. For more information and to register, go to Video Storytelling Workshop: 2010 Edition.