The National Association of Black Journalists, frustrated by job losses in its membership, setbacks in diversity efforts and a perceived decline in news that benefits African American communities, will reach out to elected officials as it seeks allies to reverse these trends, NABJ President Gregory H. Lee Jr. said on Friday. “NABJ’s mission is to…

Time magazine this week published “Beyond 9/11: Portraits of Resilience,” a photo-rich commemorative edition dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. No identifiable African Americans are pictured in its 64 pages. Asked about the omission, Time spokesman Kerri Chyka said by email: “TIME is declining to comment at this time.”…

Alternative Press Concedes Its Readers Are “So White” If the sight of the Tyronne Foster & The Arc Singers gospel choir performing in a bar did not signal that this was not your ordinary journalism convention, then maybe the burlesque dancers, not to be called strippers, the magic act and the swinging New Orleans brass…

Clinton Says U.S. Wants to Capitalize on bin Laden Death Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday telegraphed the State Department’s public relations strategy in light of the killing of Osama bin Laden: “Our goal is to give it meaning and shape a narrative that will convince people he was a murderer and not a martyr,”…

President Releases Birth Certificate “There comes a moment in almost every American presidency when the commander in chief turns media critic in chief,” David Folkenflik reported Wednesday for NPR. “For President Obama, that moment occurred Wednesday morning. He released his birth certificate to quell persistent rumors that he was somehow not born in this country…

Diversity Advocate “Planned for My Retirement Since . . . 21” Paula Madison, executive vice president and chief diversity officer for NBCUniversal, is retiring on May 20 after more than 35 years in the news media, NBCUniversal intends to announce on Monday. Madison, 58, a board member of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education and…

Bob Herbert, the first African American op-ed columnist at the New York Times, is leaving the paper after 18 years, the Times said on Friday. His last column appeared on Saturday. “I have been writing a column for 25 years, nearly 18 at The New York Times,” Herbert said in a note to the Times…

Samuel F. Yette, a reporter, teacher, author and photojournalist whose publication of the 1971 book “The Choice: The Issue of Black Survival in America” coincided with his dismissal as the first black Washington correspondent for Newsweek magazine, died Friday at an assisted living facility in Laurel, Md. He was 81 and had Alzheimer’s disease, a…

College to Own First Black-Owned Building in Chicago’s Loop Johnson Publishing Co. has sold its historic building on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue to Columbia College Chicago, the company announced on Tuesday. It has not yet selected a new home and is to remain in the building for 18 months. “The sale of 820 S. Michigan is…

Did White House Decide Who Represents Trotter Group? An attempt by the White House to reach out to the nation’s organization of African American columnists has resulted in anger and resentment on the part of those in the group who were ignored or, worse, disinvited. Some lost money when they made travel arrangements to Washington…