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NABJ’s Tucker ‘Out Hustled’ Competitors

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Dorothy Tucker, Investigative Reporter at WBBM-TV, reacts after winning the NABJ presidential candidate election on Friday at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort in Aventura, Florida. MARTHA ASENCIO RHINE/NABJ MONITOR

 

New Leader as Black Journalists Exert More Clout

 

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Dorothy Tucker, investigative reporter at WBBM-TV in Chicago, reacts after winning the NABJ presidential candidate election on Friday at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort in Aventura, Fla. (Credit: Martha Asencio Rhine/NABJ Monitor)

New Leader as Black Journalists Exert More Clout

Dorothy Tucker, who won a larger-than-expected victory to become president of the National Association of Black Journalists, said Wednesday that she believes she won because “I out hustled my competitors. I was told by a past president that if I was going to win,” out-hustling was what she had to do, Tucker told Journal-isms by email.

Tucker, an investigative reporter for WBBM-TV in Chicago and the NABJ vice president-broadcast, garnered 411 votes Friday, defeating Gregory H. Lee Jr., senior managing director of the Athletic website and a past NABJ president, who scored 203 votes; and Marlon A. Walker, education reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and NABJ vice president-print, 138 votes.

NABJ, the largest and oldest of the journalist-of-color associations, set a record for its convention attendance, with more than 4,100 people in Aventura, Fla., outside of Miami. In addition, the association expected a surplus for a fifth year in a row.

The convening, dominated by millennials, took place at a time when black journalists are exercising more clout as the news media finally acknowledge the role of racism and white nationalism as part of the appeal of President Donald Trump.

Moreover, black journalists are increasingly forcing recognition of those issues as central to the very existence of the nation.

“The Fourth of July in 1776 is regarded by most Americans as the country’s birthday,” the New York Times Magazine declared Tuesday in introducing its “the 1619 project.”

“But what if we were to tell you that the country’s true birth date, the moment that its defining contradictions first came into the world, was in late August 1619?

“That was when a ship arrived at Point Comfort in the British colony of Virginia, bearing a cargo of 20 to 30 enslaved Africans. . . .”

At a Tuesday night kickoff for the event, The Times’ Nikole Hannah-Jones said, “Trust me, you’ve never seen anything this black in the New York Times. The # of black writers, black artists, black photographers, black poets. . .”

To ensure a place at the head of an organization whose members place high value on such coverage required being nimble, Tucker said by email.

“I was told by a past president that if I was going to win I had to out hustle my opponents. So that’s what I set out to do. What did that mean?” she asked.

“1. I started early reaching out to chapter presidents. The campaign officially started April 1. I called in to my first chapter meeting April 2nd. I emailed every chapter president asking for the opportunity to share my message. If I didn’t reach them via email I reached out on Facebook or contacted a member who might have a cell phone number. I either Skyped, called or personally visited 28 chapters meetings or social events.

“2. I attended the Millennial [Media] Summit [PDF], which I had done in the past and I attended every regional. I engaged as many members as I could. My goal was to hear their concerns. It became clear pretty early on that one of the biggest issues was the cost of the convention. Members, both young, mid-career and veterans complained about registration, events, hotels. I heard their pain and included solutions to make the convention more affordable in my campaign.

“3. I flooded social media. My goal was to send a FB post, tweet or IG every day. I wasn’t always successful but I was pretty close. Many of those posts were video messages where I shared my platform. I think the videos made it easier for members to remember my message.

“4. I shipped 3500 pieces of my campaign literature to Miami to be stuffed in convention bags. I was the only candidate to have materials in convention bag. I hope it sent a [signal] that I was serious about winning.

“5. I had four years of emails that I had collected during my term as Vice President, Broadcast and I asked my friends to send me emails of their NABJ friends. I sent two mass emails with personal video messages.

“6. I personally called as many members as I could. I spent about an hour before work and several hours after work on the phone calling members, like you, asking for your support and vote.

“7. I had an incredible number of committed supporters who signed on early to retweet, share my FB [Facebook] and IG [Instagram] posts, created their own, sent emails and texts to their friends, made phone calls and gave me the strength to keep hustling.”

Tucker added, “The size of the victory was surprising. I thought it would be a much closer race because I was up against a past popular NABJ President and a respected VP of print. Looking back on the campaign and the response from supporters I think women in the organization turned out for me. I know there was some concern that our executive board could be all male if the two women running for the E-board [executive board] lost.

“I believe that may have prompted some of my sisters to work just a little harder to get out the vote for me and Cheryl [Smith, candidate for secretary]. I also heard from many members that I was ‘everywhere’ and was working hard for their vote so they rewarded me.

“‘What did I tell members on Saturday night?” when the new president traditionally addresses the membership?

“I didn’t so much tell them what they could expect I showed them. I immediately went to work, taking advantage of the attention and asking them to fill out the job satisfaction survey I had created and to look for more information on a membership drive. And I sent a message to our corporate partners, thanking them for their support and asking them to fill out an upcoming survey about the experiences at the job fair including how many of members were offered jobs.”

During the campaign, Tucker told Journal-isms she believed NABJ presidents such as the late Thomas Morgan were onto something in the 1990s when NABJ board meetings were covered by members for the membership.

“Better communications was a recommendation from a number of members,” Tucker said by email. “I think that includes reporting on board meetings. You’re always welcome to come or send a local representative when we’re not in DC. I also hope to do more video reports to keep our members informed.”

Lee, the presidential runner-up and a founder of the Sports Task Force, declined to discuss the contest. “I have no statements on my role because I always execute things behind the scenes and seek no credit,” he said by email.

Tucker campaigned on a pledge to boost entrepreneurship and had the endorsements of 11 of NABJ’s founders. Forty-four of them, not all still living, founded the group in 1975.

Karen Attiah, global opinions editor at the Washington Post, accepts her award as Journalist of the Year (Credit: Twitter)

Other convention highlights:

Marie Nelson

 

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