McLEAN, Va. — UNITY: Journalists for Diversity is pleased to announce the election of David Steinberg as its president.
“I appreciate the support of the UNITY board and plan to announce, as early as next week, specific proposals to reform UNITY to make it more efficient, cost effective, and responsive to its alliance members and partners,” Steinberg said.
UNITY is an alliance of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA).
“I’m confident that David’s experience working across a broad base of stakeholders will make UNITY even stronger and will strengthen the journalism industry as a whole,” said UNITY Vice President Doris Truong, who has been the organization’s acting president since late April. “It was encouraging to see a contested race because that shows the passion and commitment of the candidates to UNITY’s mission.”
AAJA President Paul Cheung said: “I am looking forward to working with David on how best to grow and shape UNITY’s future. This is the time for us to step up, roll up our sleeves and get down to work!”
Mary Hudetz, president of NAJA, was the nominations chair for the election. Janet Cho, a business reporter for the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, was also a candidate for the presidency.
“This election presented a difficult choice between two very qualified candidates ready to serve and lead UNITY as it heads in a new direction,” Hudetz said. “I congratulate David and look forward to working with him in the coming year.”
Cho, a former AAJA vice president for print, also congratulated Steinberg as he prepares to lead the coalition of journalism associations.
“Congratulations to David, and thank you to the board members who voted,” Cho said. “The next few months will be critical ones for reassuring our alliance group members and others in the media industry that UNITY remains relevant and necessary. David will need all of our collective support.”
Steinberg, a two-term NLGJA president, is the copy desk chief/stylebook editor at the San Francisco Chronicle. He has served as UNITY’s treasurer since Jan. 1.
“David was one of the best presidents NLGJA had,” NLGJA President Jen Christensen said. “He is a man of integrity and vision, and we have great confidence that he can lead UNITY in the right direction.”
Steinberg was elected to complete a presidential term that expires Dec. 31, 2014. The vote will be ratified by the board at an upcoming meeting, which will be scheduled as early as next week.
“What UNITY needs to succeed in today’s environment is the fundamental support of all journalism diversity organizations,” Steinberg said. “We must restore the sense of partnership and shared values that UNITY was founded and built on, and overcome differences that distract us. That will be my overarching goal as UNITY president.”
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About UNITY: Journalists for Diversity
UNITY: Journalists for Diversity, an alliance of four journalism organizations representing more than 4,000 journalists, is the nation’s most diverse journalism organization. A coalition of the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Native American Journalists Association and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, UNITY is a strategic alliance advocating fair and accurate news coverage about people of color and LGBT issues and aggressively challenges news organizations to increase diversity in whom they employ at all levels of their companies.