KCABJ members met for the annual Christmas party and elected new officers for 2005. KCABJ member and past president Anita Parran was the host of the holiday party. Members gathered at her home for good food, friendship and drinks.

KCABJ members elected their Executive Board for 2005 in an unopposed slate. Tracy Allen was returned for a second term as president. Tracy is a reporter, editor and columnist with The Call of Kansas City. She was widely praised by members for helping to keep the KCABJ Urban Student Journalism Academy going after Rockhurst University in 2004 abruptly notified KCABJ that it would not have the program back on campus even though it had been there since 1992. Rockhurst wanted to start charging KCABJ for the use of the facilities and added on other requirements when the classroom space had always been provided at no cost and without stipulations. Tracy was able to get Penn Valley Community College to provide the classroom space for the academy, which is free to participating students. KCABJ pays the college for the students lunchtime meals.

At the December holiday meeting members returned Tanyanika Samuels to the post of KCABJ vice president/print. Tanyanika is a reporter for The Kansas City Star. Eyobong Ita was re-elected as KCABJ secretary. Ita is a reporter at The Star. Lewis Diuguid was re-elected as KCABJ treasurer. Lewis is vice president of community resources at The Star. April Jackson, a producer for KSHB-TV, Channel 41, stepped down as KCABJ vice president/broadcast. Members elected Robyn King as KCABJ vice president/broadcast. Robyn King also is known as Robyn Knight as the nighttime/early morning DJ for KPRS-FM.

Tracy told the members that the meetings for 2005 would take place at 11 a.m. on the fourth Saturday of each month at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, 3700 Blue Parkway. At the Saturday, Jan. 22 meeting members will vote on activities they will take on for the year and set dates for the KCABJ Urban Student Journalism Academy and the 14th Annual KCABJ Media Awards. Tracy let members know she was finishing the annual audit, KCABJ budget for 2005, bonding requirement and other paperwork sought by the National Association of Black Journalists for KCABJ to maintain its affiliate status.

Conflict of Interest Slip-Up

Conservative syndicated columnist Armstrong Williams accepted $240,000 from the Bush administration to promote the controversial No Child Left Behind law on his television and radio shows, USA Today reported on Jan. 7.

The payment was targeted to win more black support for No Child Left Behind. Williams is black. Instead, the payment gives the appearance of a conflict of interest. E&P (Editor and Publisher) magazine reported that Williams also had written about the so-called school reform law in his newspaper column at least four times last year.

Williams' actions prompted Tribune Media to terminate its weekly column syndication contract with him. Williams said he understood the action, however, he would not return the $240,000. The National Association of Black Journalists called on the White House to rebuke those in the Department of Education for using taxpaper money to try to influence public opinion on administration policy. NABJ called on all media outlets that use material or commentary from Williams to drop him immediately.

"I thought we in the media were supposed to be watchdogs not lapdogs," NABJ Vice President/Print Bryan Monroe said. "I thought we had an administration headed by a president who took an oath of office to uphold the First Amendment, not try to rent it."

Opportunity Offers

The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss., has an opening for a page designer in sports. For more information send e-mail to Sports Editor Rusty Hampton at rhampton@clarionledger.com. The Associated Press in Chicago has an opening for a sportswriter. For more information check out http://apweb.ap.org/h.

WKTK-FM and WSKY-FM in Gainsville, Fla., have an opening for a sales/marketing position. Send e-mail to dickoneil@entercom.com for more information. The stations also are seeking a morning show co-host. A female is preferred to interact with a male counterpart. For more information send e-mail to ljacoby@entercom.com.

Applications are being sought for the 2005-2006 John S. Knight Fellowships at Stanford University. The application deadline is Feb. 1, 2005. For more information call (650) 723-4937 or send e-mail to knight-info@lists.stanford.edu.

KOAM-TV in Pittsburg, Kan., has openings for a news photographer, master control operator, and news reporter. For more information contact Lewis Diuguid at (816) 234-4723. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is seeking a higher education reporter. For more information send e-mail to Cynthia Todd at ctodd@post-dispatch.com.

KC People