New Categories Recognize Excellence in New Media/ Multimedia Reporting

WASHINGTON, April 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) announced the nominees for its annual Salute to Excellence Awards. More than 200 nominees competed in more than 70 categories to receive the country's only journalism awards recognizing exemplary journalism as it relates to African and African-American subjects, profiles and themes in 2008.

"In this historic year, journalists treated issues of race and black America with heightened importance," said NABJ President Barbara Ciara. "The field of candidates was remarkable and choosing the stand-out few took long hours and extensive debate."

CNN anchor T.J. Holmes will host the 2009 NABJ Salute to Excellence Awards Gala on August 8, 2009 in Tampa, Fla. The Salute to Excellence National Media Awards Gala coincides with NABJ Annual Convention and Career Fair Aug. 5 - 9 in Tampa. The Salute to Excellence National Media Awards competition is open to all media organizations and individuals involved in print, broadcast and/or online journalism media.

Past award recipients include CBS News' Byron Pitts, Washington Post Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist William Raspberry and CNN's Soledad O'Brien. Nominees this year include the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson and Kevin Merida, HBO, the Detroit Free Press and The History Channel.

"We have been committed to the best work that tells the stories of the black condition," said Wayne Dawkins, former NABJ chairman of historical records. "I think it's always great to see that good journalism is being done everywhere, not just in the major markets. These are the kind of stories that make you sit up and go 'Wow.'"

Entries were judged on content, creativity, innovation, use of the medium and relevance to the black community. Finalists are notified in advance, and winners are announced at the Salute to Excellence Gala.

The NABJ Convention is the largest gathering of minority journalists in the country. For more information about the NABJ Convention or the 2009 Salute to Excellence Awards and for a complete list of nominees, please go to: www.nabj.org.

An advocacy group established in 1975 in Washington, D.C., NABJ is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation, with more than 4,100 members, and provides educational, career development and support to black journalists worldwide.