The Society of Professional Journalists Sessions Help PR Practitioners and Journalists Better Understand the Burgeoning Ethnic Online Media Landscape

WASHINGTON, DC and NEW YORK CITY, NY- The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) continues its stimulating Journalism Education Series with two sessions devoted to the increasingly powerful online presence of ethnic populations. Journalists and online social networking marketers provide insight into the rapidly growing online communities serving Hispanics, African Americans and US Asians at "Leap the Digital Divide: Communicating to Communities of Color Online." The breakfast sessions at The Washington Post on Tuesday, April 22 and the Associated Press in New York City on Thursday, April 24 are designed to help communications professionals more effectively connect with their ethnic audiences. Marketwire, a full-service newswire and communications workflow solutions provider, sponsors SPJ's inaugural Journalism Education Series.

Panelist Kay Madati, vice president of marketing at Community Connect and the driver behind the success of AsianAvenue.com, BlackPlanet.com, MiGente.com, GLEE.com and the recently launched Faithbase.com, will begin the program at each venue by providing an overview of the ethnic media landscape. Washington, DC panelists also include Bruno Lopez, vice president/general manager of Univision Online, Tariq Muhammad, director of AOL Black Voices, and Lynette Clemetson, managing editor of TheRoot.com. The New York City event features panelists Kay Madati, Lynette Clemetson, and Peter Rivera, senior vice president of AOL Latino. Award-winning reporter and writer Sally Lehrman will moderate both events.

"Professional communicators often don't realize the powerful Internet presence of ethnic populations and why they are drawn to certain websites," said Terrence G. Harper, SPJ executive director. "Our panel discussions will shed light on the growing popularity of ethnic online media and give attendees the insight they need to reach and resonate with their ethnic audiences."

Representative topics covered at the April 22 and 24 sessions include:

-- Online media and the role they play in news and engagement

-- What audiences they serve

-- How they reach and engage ethnic populations

-- Which sites are the best fit for different types of news and stories

-- How journalism can enhance dialogue in a social networking environment

when users are generating most of a site's content

-- How to frame news and stories when targeting ethnic audiences online

-- Whether community-specific sites deliver richer analysis and more

relevant new coverage than mainstream outlets

-- How professional reporting complements community journalism

online -- and the role of journalism when users are generating most of

a site's content

-- The ethical issues that are arising about pitching and advertising to

online sites and bloggers

"At Marketwire we've recognized a growing need to distribute news to the increasingly powerful ethnic populations in North America. In response, we enhanced our African American, North America Hispanic and US Asian newslines, which now reach more ethnic media, more web sites and more opinion-leaders," said Jessica Strange, Marketwire executive director, media relations. "These SPJ seminars advance our commitment to helping public relations professionals effectively communicate to their influential ethnic audiences. We're grateful to SPJ for helping us make this happen."

For more information about the Washington, DC and New York City sessions, click here. To register, please visit the Journalism Education Series website at https://www.spj.org/jes-form.asp.

SPJ's Journalism Education Series is a first-of-its-kind initiative that aims to inform the general public about the core principles of good journalism, the standards under which respectable news organizations operate, and the challenges journalists often confront when gathering the news. SPJ is working exclusively with Marketwire within the newswire industry to help communication professionals, as well as community and civic groups, gain a better understanding of the tenets of responsible journalism and the profound importance of a free press. The series focuses on SPJ's core missions including the free flow of public information, journalism ethics, and the importance of diversity in the news-gathering process. Experienced journalists and experts in media ethics and media law devise the series' curriculum and instruct all programs. Marketwire sponsors and presents the series to professionals working in investor, media and public relations, while SPJ delivers it.

About the Society of Professional Journalists

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. For more information, visit us at www.spj.org.