TBABJ mourns the loss of pioneering black journalist, educator Lionel C. Barrow Jr.

I don't remember the exact date when I met Dr. Lionel C. Barrow Jr. But the moment itself is etched in my mind, like discovering Jackie Robinson lives in your neighborhood.

Dr. Barrow had come to a TBABJ meeting with no fanfare or fuss, waiting until the moment when we introduced ourselves around the table to reveal the extent of his achievements. And what a list: former vice president and associate director of research for the nation’s third oldest advertising agency Foote, Cone and Belding in New York, New York; Dean of the School of Communications at Howard University from 1975-1985; founder and onetime head of the Minorities and Communication division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). And more.

And despite his many achievements, Dr. Barrow never talked down to us or condescended. He just let us know that he was available for counsel whenever we might need him and made plain he would be keeping an eye on us.

We never saw him as much as we wanted; even in recent years, Dr. Barrow had a busy life. But whenever he stopped by a meeting or function, he always had time for a word of wisdom, a smile and encouraging thoughts. I felt a sense of pride that a man so accomplished cared enough for our little group to stay in touch.

TBABJ offers condolences to Dr. Barrow's family and gives thanks that we had the priviledge of meeting such an accomplished black journalist and learning from his example.

Sincerely,

Eric Deggans

TBABJ President

TV/Media Critic, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times

The following is a tribute circulated by TBABJ member and Barrow mentee Rodney Thrash:

Dr. Lionel C. Barrow, Jr………… a Legacy
Educator, journalist, professor emeritus, civil rights activist, former Dean of the Howard University School of Communications, Dr. Lionel C. Barrow, Jr. (Lee to all 12/17/26 ) passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family on Friday January 23, 2009, in Tampa, Florida.

While at the Melech LifePath Hospice, Dr. Barrow celebrated with pride, tears and applause the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States, while reflecting on his fellow Morehouse College classmate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

His powerful involvement in the 1960’s with the Unity Democratic Club in Brooklyn, NY, resulted in the successful election of Representative Shirley Chisholm to the Congress of the United States, and most recently that fervor carried him on to work for the election of Barack Obama, while campaigning to be a Super Delegate.

Throughout his distinguished life and career, he provided leadership too many organizations. From 1961-1971, Dr. Barrow was a researcher in the advertising industry. In 1968, he became vice president and associate director of research for the nation’s third oldest advertising agency Foote, Cone and Belding in New York, New York. He served as Dean of the School of Communications at Howard University from 1975-1985 during which time the school radio station was established.

As a member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Dr. Barrow pioneered and founded in 1968 the Ad Hoc Committee on Minority Education, in an effort to recruit, train and place minorities in communications. In 1970, he founded and became the acting head of the Minorities and Communication Division of AEJMC. The AEJMC established the Lionel C. Barrow Scholarship in his honor in 1970 to support graduate education for women and minorities seeking to become professionals in the communication field. The scholarship is available today. In 1997, he received the AEJMC Presidential Award for his contributions.

His legacy survives in his research and in the faces, voices and contributions of African-Americans, other minority journalists, and women on radio, television and other media.
Dr. Barrow is survived by his beloved wife, Dr. Frederica Barrow, five daughters, six grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. He was initiated into Alpha Rho chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, at Morehouse College, May 25, 1944.

A memorial celebration will be held for Dr. Barrow at Grace Episcopal Church in Tampa, Florida on February 8, 2009 at 1:00 pm. A second memorial celebration is planned in the Washington, DC area the weekend of February 14-15, 2009.

Membership meeting at 3 p.m. Saturday, two more scheduled

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

It's always a struggle to get started in a New Year, and I apologize for taking so long to reach out to you regarding the activities of the local chapter. TBABJ officers met early this month by telephone, but our membership meeting has been delayed by lots of busy stuff occupying officers in early 2009.

I'm happy to announce, however, that we have settled on dates and times for our next three meetings: the first is scheduled at 3 p.m. Saturday -- Jan. 24 -- at The St. Petersburg Times Tampa office, 1000 N. Ashley Dr., Tampa. We plan to schedule our February meeting at 11 a.m. Feb. 7, in the Times building in St. Petersburg, 490 1st Ave. South, St. Petersburg.

Our March meeting will be, as it has been over the past two years, a multimedia seminar, featuring several speakers offering tips on how to turn traditional TV and print reports into award-winning multimedia presentations. We hope to schedule this meeting for 11 a.m. March 7 at the Tampa Tribune, as we have in the past. But that date and time has not yet been confirmed.

Anyone who is interested in being part of the multimedia presentation, please contact me at this email address or using the information in my signature below.

I'm also pleased to announce that St. Pete Times reporter Camille Spencer has agreed to take over as membership coordinator, relieving former coordinator Demorris Lee. Demorris has a lot on his plate leading the student projects for the NABJ convention in Tampa this year, so it's great that Camille could step up and help give him some breathing room.

If you have any questions about your membership, please feel free to contact Camille or myself.

As always, these will be crucial meetings. We are planning events for the national convention in early August and deciding which projects we can take on for the rest of the year. we particularly need help securing sponsorships for a fund raiser we will hold on Aug. 7 during the convention.

Please try to make one of our next two meetings if you have any ideas on how we can proceed there.

Our goal is to make meetings more predictable by holding them on the first Saturday of each month at 11 a.m., scheduling them a month or two in advance so you and we can plan for them better.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You don't have to be a member or a person of color to attend our meetings -- if you're interested in networking with journalists of color or getting involved with our activities, we want you in the house. It doesn't matter how long it's been since you were last at a meeting, whether or not you are a member, or whether you're even a journalist.

If you'd like to help make area media more accurate and diverse, we'd love to have you at our meetings.

Hope to see you Saturday or soon....and feel free to check out http://www.tbabj.com/ for updates!

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

Membership meeting at noon Saturday in Tampa

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

We'll be meeting at noon Saturday at a new spot, the Piccadilly restaurant on Dale Mabry in Carrollwood, at 11810 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. I have to schedule the meeting so late because i have to make two kids' soccer games that morning; I hope it isn't a problem.

This will be our last meeting of the year, scheduled to go over the results of our latest Griot Drum Awards dinner, our Christmas Party 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 Saturday.

Here's the info on the restaurant again:Piccadilly Cafeteria - www.piccadilly.com11810 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa - (813) 963-1660

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 the 2008 Griot Drum Awards

These photos were taken by membership chair Demorris Lee. They document, from right to left and top to bottom: dancers from the Soulful Arts Dance Academy; host Deiah Riley with friends; St. Petersburg Times consumer affairs reporter Ivan Penn accompanying his wife, vocalist September Penn, in a gospel song; Poynter visual journalism guru and ordained pastor Ken Irby delivering the invocation; ABC Action News anchor Wendy Ryan; keynote speaker Mark McEwen and 10 Connects reporter Tammy Fields; Central Avenue Remembered star and Tampa's poet laureate James Tokely.

TBABJ Announces the Winners of the 2008 Griot Drum Awards

The following journalists were honored with awards at the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists’ Griot Drum Awards banquet Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008 at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg.

Winners:
Television, Spot News -- "MLK Parade," WFTS News and Production Team, WFTS/ABC Action News.

Television, Non-Deadline Reporting -- "Freedom Riders," Dennis Hollingsworth, WTSP-TV 10.

Television, Investigative/Series, "Taking Action series," Matt McGlashen and Jackie Callaway, WFTS/ABC Actions News.

Television, Community/Public Affairs, "A Gulf Coast Journal: Buck O'Neill profile," Jen Noble, WEDU-TV.

Television, Documentary, "Central Avenue Remembered," Spencer Briggs, WEDU-TV.

Deadline and Spot News Reporting, Print (circ. above 100,000): "Jury spares Steele's Life," Jamal Thalji, Molly Moorhead and Julia Kumari Drapkin, St. Petersburg Times.

Print, Investigative Reporting, (circ. above 100,000), "A Chase an Outcry and Shots in the Dark," Tom Lake, Molly Moorhead, Jamal Thalji, Julia Kumari Drapkin, St. Petersburg Times.

Print, Features, (circ. above 100,0000), "Mom's Call to Action," Sarah Hoye, The Tampa Tribune.

Print, Community/Public Affairs, (circ. above 100,000), "Fraternizing with the enemy, "Rodney Thrash, St. Petersburg Times.

Print, Sports Feature, (circ. above 100,000), "Family Blessings," Anwar Richardson, The Tampa Tribune.

Print, Investigative Reporting (circ. below 100,000), "American Recession, Black Depression," Charles Cherry II, Florida Courier.

Print, Features, (circ. below 100,000) "United Front, "Wade Tatangelo, Creative Loafing.

Print, Community/Public Affairs, (circ. below 100,000), "Complete Systems Failure," Jenise Morgan, Florida Courier.

Print, Sports Feature, (circ. below 100,000), "New Name, Same Winning Spirit," Charles Cherry II, Florida Courier.

Print, Commentary, (circ. below 100,000), "Black Colleges Deal with Mission Creep," Charles Cherry II, Florida Courier.

Print, Criticism, (circ. below 100,000), "Numbers Man," Megan Voeller, Creative Loafing.

Photo, Deadline and Spot News, "Relatives Devastated," Fred Bellet, Tampa Tribune.

Photo, Features, "Comfort," Lara Cerri, St. Petersburg Times.

Photo, Sports News, "Strong Finish," Fred Bellet, Tampa Tribune.

Photo, Sports Feature, "Athlete of the Year," Fred Bellet, The Tampa Tribune.

Graphic or Photo Illustration, "A Night on the Town," Lara Cerri, St. Petersburg Times.

Photo Illustration, "The Iraq War: What Would MLK Say?" Charles Cherry II, Florida Courier.

New Media, "In the Mix," Sarah Hoye, The Tampa Tribune.

TBABJ Announces Its 2008 Griot Drum Scholarship Winners

The Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists is pleased to announce its 2008 Griot Drum Scholarship Winners.

TBABJ members chose this year's winners from its largest field of candidates yet; applicants needed only be high school or college students of color studying journalism or preparing to study journalism in college with a connection to the Tampa Bay area.

The three honorees each will receive $1,000 scholarships and one year's paid membership to both the TBABJ and the National Association of Black Journalists.

They also will be honored during our Griot Drum Awards banquet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20 at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg. Please join us in congratulating the winners:

Jacqueline Haberman is an intern at WUSF, the public radio station at the University of South Florida, where she is a senior. She spent her summer serving as arts and entertainment editor for The Oracle, USF’s student newspaper, and also previously interned for AARP, where she helped establish a presence of the organization’s Divided We Fail campaign on university campuses across the state. In her scholarship essay, Jackie analyzed the role race played in media coverage of this year’s presidential elections. She criticized the media for labeling groups of voters by their ethnicity and assuming voters shared similar views because of their race.

Erik Maza calls Bradenton home, but this University of Florida senior has already placed international work experience on his resume. Erik recently returned from Guatamala, where he was among a dozen student writers and photographers documenting stories of hunger and malnutrition. He spent his Spring 2008 semester studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain, as part of the English degree he is completing along with his bachelor’s in journalism. His byline has appeared in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the Gainesville Sun and as he has worked as a stringer for the Associated Press. In addition to his many talents, Erik is also fluent in Spanish and speaks Italian.

A 2008 graduate of Wharton High School in Tampa, Christina Ramos is in her first semester at the University of Central Florida. While at Wharton, Christina traded lunch time with her friends to work on stories and page design for her school newspaper. Christina had a busy senior year at Wharton. She served as president of her school’s National Honor Society, chairperson for her Senior Class Council and volunteered through Key Club. She graduated with a 4.9 GPA. Terry Sollazzo, Christina’s high school newspaper adviser, said, “She sets goals for herself and is relentless in pursuing those goals. She seeks out the truth and reports it fairly. In other words, she is just what this industry needs.”

TBABJ Thanks 2008 Griot Drum Awards Sponsors

Despite a financial picture that often seems less than rosy these days, a host of local companies and organizations came together this year to make our Griot Drum Awards a reality. This is our space to thank them for their continued and most appreciated support.

TITLE SPONSOR
The St. Petersburg Times
The Poynter Institute

DIAMOND LEVEL
Tampa Bay & Company
Bright House Networks

New York Times Regional Media Group

PLATINUM LEVEL
St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
Hill & Knowlton
10 Connects - WTSP-Ch. 10

SILVER LEVEL

Fox 13 - WTVT-Ch. 13