MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ — Karen Lincoln Michel, state bureau chief of the Green Bay Press-Gazette in Wisconsin, has been elected president of UNITY: Journalists of Color Inc. for the 2007-2009 term.
The 17-member UNITY board of directors unanimously elected Lincoln Michel, a past president of the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA), on Saturday during the board’s fall meeting at the alliance’s headquarters in McLean.
Lincoln Michel will lead the board in governing UNITY, a strategic alliance of journalists of color that advocates for positive change to advance their presence, growth and leadership in the fast-changing global news industry. This alliance includes the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) and NAJA — and represents more than 10,000 members.
“We are in a time of great change in our industry, and in the world we cover as journalists,” Lincoln Michel said. “UNITY and all journalists of color have a stake in the future of the news business, and it is my hope that our organization will play a major role in shaping a new course.”
Lincoln Michel has served on the UNITY board for more than six years between 1994 and this year. She served as a communications liaison for the UNITY ’99 convention in Seattle and currently serves as vice president of the Woodland chapter of NAJA.
Lincoln Michel, who was unopposed in the election, succeeds Mae Cheng, a regional editor with Newsday in Melville, N.Y. whose two-year term ends Dec. 31.
“I am delighted that Karen was elected to lead UNITY,” Cheng said. “There is not another leader who has the depth and experience with UNITY and the strong leadership skills that Karen possesses. She is passionate about the organization and its goals and she has the will to carry UNITY to new heights.”
The UNITY board also selected as vice president Aki Soga, business editor at The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press. Soga succeeds NABJ Bryan Monroe, who recently became vice president and editorial director for Ebony & Jet magazines. John Yearwood, world editor of the Miami Herald and current NABJ treasurer, will become UNITY’s new treasurer. Yearwood succeeds Javier Aldape, editor and vice president of Diario Hoy in Chicago. And Rafael Olmeda, assistant city editor at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and recently elected NAHJ president, will serve as secretary.
More than 10,000 people are expected to attend UNITY’s convention, July 23-27, 2008, in Chicago. UNITY ’04 brought more than 8,100 attendees to Washington, making it the largest convention of journalists in U.S. history.
About UNITY: Journalists of Color
UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. is a strategic alliance advocating news coverage about people of color, and aggressively challenging its organizations at all levels to reflect the nation’s diversity. UNITY, representing more than 10,000 journalists of color, is comprised of four national associations: Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association.
In addition to planning the largest regular gathering of journalists in the nation, UNITY develops programs and institutional relationships that promote its mission. For more information on UNITY, visit http://www.unityjournalists.org/, email info@unityjournalists.org or call (703) 854-3585.
