Lights, Camera, Action! The Alcorn State University (ASU) Chapter of The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is ready to kick off this school year with many different events and activities to expand on the knowledge of emerging student journalists.
The NABJ is a non-profit organization that provides innovative, quality programs and services to its members. The organization advocates on behalf of black journalists and media professionals in the U.S. and worldwide. The NABJ’s membership is more than 4,000 strong and includes emerging journalists, professional journalists, student journalists, journalism educators and media professionals of all kinds.
Many of The NABJ’s members serve on and participate in domestic and global professional and student chapters. This allows them to consistently reach, support and engage black journalists and media professionals in their local communities through meetings, panels, workshops, media institutes and regional conferences. The NABJ also offers its members the opportunity to join multiple task forces and committees that align with their professional disciplines and goals.
“The ASU-NABJ Chapter has been instrumental in providing students with networking opportunities where they can interact with professionals in the Mass Communications field. It also has motivated students to define their career goals and take steps to further them,” said Mass Communications Professor and Co-Advisor of The ASU-NABJ, Toni Terrett.
Every year, the NABJ hosts a National Convention in a state of its choice. In 2022, the National Convention was hosted in-person in Las Vegas, Nevada for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The President of the ASU-NABJ Chapter, Dejona Sims, stated that, “The NABJ has opened doors for me. It has helped me experience Las Vegas for the first time and meet big television talent from all over the country. The NABJ is a membership you can use even after you graduate from college. This organization is a great opportunity and I would definitely recommend any interested student.”
The ASU-NABJ Chapter has plans of attending the 2023 National Convention in Birmingham, Alabama from August 2-6, 2022.
Ladarrius Besst, a Mass Communications major from Jackson, Mississippi, hopes to “gain more knowledge within the journalism field and connect with like minded individuals as well as professionals.”
He also stated that, “the more participation, the more the organization can truly grow and expound on opportunities.”
The ASU-NABJ Chapter has many different upcoming events for the 2022-2023 school year. The events are as followed:
October 4: Virtual Lunch and Learn with the Regional Director
October 20: Lunch and Learn with the Director of Operations For Gray Media Training Center at WLBT, Michael White
November 10: MAB Student Workshop at Jackson State University
For more information on The ASU-NABJ Chapter contact Mrs. Terrett at terrett@alcorn.edu.