Join SAABJ at the Silver Stars Game June 1

Join SAABJ for Future Journalist Night at the Silver Stars game on June 1. A portion of ticket sales if you use this order form or purchase through the link goes to SAABJ scholarships. We hope to see you there! Use the promotion code: SAABJ.

SAABJ Gets Involved!

The new year is starting to be a busy one for SAABJ. For starters, several members of the chapter participated in the MLK March to show community spirit and spread the word about our scholarships.

SAABJ President Marvin Hurst, said "I'd like to thank the SAABJ members who came out for MLK 2013. They brought family, friends, and loved ones to help promote minorities in the media as well as our scholarship programs. Moreover, they participated in the celebration of a king and the second inauguration of the nation's first African-American president on the same day. As President Barack Obama indicated during his inaugural address, it's 'We the people.' I'm so happy WE showed up and WE have each other."

Next month - Feb. 8 - is the deadline for students to submit their applications for the scholarships. Please encourage any high school seniors you know or college students to apply at http://www.saabj.org/scholarship.asp

In addition to our scholarships, SAABJ will be making some big news later this year with another large scholarship donor and a community/charity event it hopes to coordinate. So don't miss the meetings and get involved! If you are not on the SAABJ e-mail list, contact Marvin at mhurst@kens5.com

Here's a link to a story in the Express-News about the MLK March. You can see the awesome SAABJ signs Aissatou Sidime-Blanton made: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/MLK-Day-march-showcases-S-A-diversity-4211966.php#photo-4065321

To see more photos from the MLK March, go to:  http://www.saabj.org/photos.asp

Stand Your Ground Panel Discussion May 17

Hopefully you heard the news by now that SAABJ and the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists are co-hosting a panel discussion on Thursday, May 17 on the topic of "Stand Your Ground: The Intersection of Crime and Race" at 6 p.m. at the UIW Library.

With all the controversy surrounding the Trayvon Martin case in Florida, SAABJ thought this would be a great opportunity to explore the issue as it relates to San Antonio. Like Florida, Texas has a similar Stand Your Ground law called the Castle Doctrine.

The discussion will explore how this doctrine/law is applied in San Antonio and what citizens should know when it comes to their rights. A panel of experts will include law enforcement, neighborhood watch groups, academia and attorneys.

In other SAABJ news, three members won convention registration discounts to the NABJ Convention in New Orleans next month. Aissatou Sidime, Marvin Hurst and Melissa Monroe transferred the discount certificates to students who are registering for the conference.

SAABJ's March Meeting

SAABJ's meeting on March 31 at WOAI was packed with information, upcoming activities and new members.

• We have selected three scholarship winners.
• We are planning to make the announcement in mid to late May at an event we are planning for the public.
• Stay tuned for details about our exciting event in May that will deal with issues trending across the U.S.
• Our next meeting is Saturday, April 28. Location TBA.
• We also welcomed our newest member, Jeff Jones. His bio is below.

Jeff Jones is an aspiring broadcast journalist who is new to the SAABJ family. The Houston-native was introduced to San Antonio in the fall of 2006 when he began his collegiate football career at Trinity University. Five years later, Jeff earned both a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication and a master’s degree in Education from Trinity.

Jeff now teaches Communication Applications at Lee High School and takes classes at the University of the Incarnate Word as a part of their master’s in Communication Arts program. Upon graduation in December 2012, he plans to combine his prior sports knowledge and new found familiarity with communication to pursue a career as a sports broadcaster.

SAABJ's Scholarship Program BIGGER and BETTER

The San Antonio Association of Black Journalists (SAABJ) is kicking off 2012 with its scholarship program and for the first time in its history will give a total of $4,000 to students this year. And this is just the beginning!

With its corporate partners, KENS-5, KSAT and the Express-News, SAABJ is hoping to help fund student education and identify future journalists. This new scholarship program will also provide mentors and potential internships to students. The media partners have committed future dollars to help SAABJ give away more scholarships in the years to come. Previously SAABJ only gave away anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 in scholarships annually due to limited funds.

"The SAABJ and our corporate media partners are serious about investing in the future of upcoming journalists," said Marvin Hurst, SAABJ president. "This is a process where we hope to take seedlings, if you will, and mentor them into the journalists of tomorrow. We are thrilled to help fund a college tuition in media. The prize and reward belong to the recipients. The joy of assisting belongs to SAABJ and our media partners."

The deadline for students to submit applications is Feb. 24. For more information on the scholarships, go to this link: http://www.saabj.org/scholarship.asp

How to Market Yourself in Tough Times

SAABJ’s professional enrichment series continued on Oct. 30 with “The Power of On-Line Media: Facebook, Twitter, and Beyond” with special guest Benet Wilson.

Benet is the chairwoman of the NABJ’s National Digital Task Force and was a trade journalist for 20 years. She turned her own blog into such an interesting product that Google wanted to purchase it. She gave important tips on how to brand yourself outside of your organization to help keep you marketable at all times.

From covering the aviation industry, Benet used her knowledge of the industry as content for her social networking. Here are some must-haves items she mentioned to keep in your networking toolbox:

-        Facebook
-        Twitter – Should have professional and personal accounts
-        Google profile
-        Linked In
-        Blog and offer to be a guest blogger
-        Personal Website that features your first and last name
-        Professional email
-        Must be willing to do media appearances

Just recently, Benet was laid off from her company and despite the tough economic times, she said her social networking skills have been bringing in job offers for her.

Transitioning to PR

Transitioning into Public Relations was the topic for the September San Antonio Association of Black Journalists monthly meeting on Sept. 24.

Hosted by KENS 5-TV, the group listened to special speakers Rebecca Villarreal, president of the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and Randy Escamilla, the first Hispanic male in Texas to be accredited (APR) in Public Relations.

The two speakers talked about the secrets to being successful in PR, which is learning how to plan, learning as much as possible about PR (the objectives and goals of a campaign) and joining PRSA to network and get professional development.

Rebecca said in small PR shops, you have to learn how to be the "jack of all trades"  and often show your worth. Randy said if you find you have a passion for something in PR, such as social media, you can easily spin off into that field.





Rebecca Villarreal and Randy Escamilla