NAHJ-DC Chapter Membership Drive with special guest Ray Suarez from PBS Newshour
Time: 7 PM – 9 PM
Location: McClendon Room at the National Press Club. (It’s on the 13th floor upstairs behind the bar.)
Address: 529 14th St. NW,  Washington, DC
Cash bar

Come network with top journalists in the Washington area. NAHJ Lifetime member and Hall of Famer Ray Suarez will be on hand. Bring a friend and renew your NAHJ membership online. The full membership dues will go to the national fund. http://nahjdc.org/

SPECIAL RAFFLES AVAILABLE AT THE MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
National Convention Registration
Winner must register by the early bird registration date and be a paid NAHJ member.
Raffle ticket cost $25

Walt Disney Gift Basket
The Disney Basket contains: a picnic basket, hat, two Mickey toys,
picture frame, mug, wooden animal toys, and a Mickey watch.
Raffle ticket cost $25

Suarez has more than thirty years of varied experience in the news business. He came to The NewsHour from National Public Radio where he had been host of the nationwide, call-in news program “Talk of the Nation” since 1993. Prior to that, he spent seven years covering local, national, and international stories for the NBC-owned station, WMAQ-TV in Chicago.

He is the author most recently of a book examining the tightening relationship between religion and politics in America, The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith in America.  Suarez also  wrote The Old Neighborhood: What We Lost in the Great Suburban Migration  (Free Press), and has contributed to several other books, including What We See  (New Village Press, 2010), How I Learned English (National Geographic, 2007), Brooklyn: A State of Mind (Workman, 2001), Local Heroes (Norton, 2000), Saving America’s Treasures (National Geographic, 2000),  and Las Christmas (Knopf, 1998).  Suarez currently hosts the monthly radio program “America Abroad” for Public Radio International, and the weekly politics program “Destination Casa Blanca” for Hispanic Information Telecommunications Network, HITN TV.

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Antoine Sanfuentes Named NBC News Washington Bureau Chief
NBC News promoted Antonio Sanfuentes to Washington Bureau Chief. Sanfuentes spoke to members of the NAHJ DC Chapter last Fall at our first membership meeting at NBC studios in Northwest Washington.

More from the NBC Release
NEW YORK, NY— January 28, 2011— NBC News President Steve Capus announced today that Antoine Sanfuentes will be the next NBC News Washington Bureau Chief, effective February 7, 2011. Sanfuentes replaces Mark Whitaker, who held the position since July 2008. Most recently, Sanfuentes served as the Deputy Washington Bureau Chief for NBC News and NBC News Vice President.

In his new position, Sanfuentes will report to NBC News President Steve Capus, and his daily responsibilities will include the oversight of all bureau management, administration and editorial affairs, working closely with NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd and NBC News executives including Alexandra Wallace and David Verdi. In addition, Sanfuentes will have executive oversight of “Meet the Press.”

“Antoine’s inclusive management style combined with his expert knowledge and experience make him the ideal leader to guide the Washington Bureau into the next phase,” said NBC News President Steve Capus. “He is a true news producer through and through, with an outstanding dedication to integrity and professionalism in the field. He started his career in our DC newsroom and knows both the team and the political beat better than anyone.”

Sanfuentes built his career at NBC News, starting out as an intern for NBC News station WRC while at American University. Sanfuentes graduated in 1989, and in 1990 he became a desk assistant at the NBC News Washington Bureau. In 1995, he became a White House producer, then Senior White House producer— covering the White House for thirteen years. Over his time at NBC News, Sanfuentes has also produced notable coverage from across Africa alongside Ann Curry, including reports from Darfur, the eastern Congo and an historic interview with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

Joanna Hernandez, current vice president of UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. (UNITY), has been elected president of the organization.  (See UNITY Press Release)

Ms. Hernandez was elected by UNITY’s board of directors at its fall board meeting this past weekend. Sharon Chan, president of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) was elected vice president, Leisa Richardson of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) was elected secretary, and Michaela Saunders, current UNITY secretary of the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) was elected treasurer.

Their two-year terms begin on January 1, 2011.

“I am honored to serve UNITY with such a phenomenal team at this critical time in our industry,” Ms. Hernandez said. “I am looking forward to strengthening our alliance and working closely with the industry to advance UNITY’s mission of increasing diversity and seeking fair coverage of people of color and our communities.”

In addition to being the immediate past vice president of UNITY, Ms. Hernandez has served as a director on both the UNITY and NAHJ board of directors. She is a Multiplatform Editor at The Washington Post and an adjunct professor at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. Ms. Hernandez previously was director of the Features Production Center for The New York Times Regional Media Group; held several newsroom positions while at The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.; has worked as a copy editor in several newsrooms, including The Record and Herald News in Northern New Jersey, the San Francisco Examiner, and Newsday on Long Island, N.Y.; and began her journalism career as a reporter in Connecticut. She has a journalism degree from New York University and is a graduate of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education management training program.

“The leadership of UNITY Journalist of Color accomplished much in the past year by focusing on advocacy, policy, and protecting the freedom of journalists globally. We worked to secure relationships with publishers and broadcasters to protect jobs and pushed for diversity in newsrooms everywhere. Better still we provided journalists the tools to be their own boss through our New U training program. It’s a good start but there are economic challenges that lay ahead that will require a steady hand to steer us toward continued success,” said Barbara Ciara, outgoing UNITY president.

Antonio Sanfuentes, Vice President and Deputy Bureau Chief at NBC News Washington, and Camille Edwards, Vice President of News at NBC 4, spoke at the first NAHJ Washington, D.C. Chapter meeting on Tuesday, September 14. The meeting was held at the NBC studios on Wisconsin Avenue in Northwest.

The meeting was a wide ranging discussion on the value of diversity, the need for behind the scenes journalists, and the basics of negotiating a contract in the tough economy.

Both managers said they have a hard time finding well-qualified off-air producers.  Edwards said she receives manyresumes for on-air reporters but struggles to find good producers. Sanfuentes said he is looking for interns who are interested in learning how the NBC bureau works. He created a program to track interns in hopes they could become a potential hire.

NBC Local and Network are looking for interns. Visit our Job/Internship page for details.

Check out the Jobs/Internships page for 7 new Washington area jobs.
Click here for more.