The UNITY '08 Convention — one of the largest gatherings of journalists of color in the nation with nearly 10,000 participants — was held in Chicago from July 23-27 and had a strong USC Annenberg presence. The event united the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Native American Journalists Association with the purpose of promoting fair and accurate news coverage about people of color and challenge the industry to staff news rooms that reflect the diversity of the populations they cover.

The convention featured panel discussions, topic-focused workshops and networking events. USC Annenberg-related highlights included:

Immigration Storytelling: "Keeping Ahead of the Fast-Changing Curve," presented by USC Annenberg's Institute for Justice and Journalism, including journalism professor Roberto Suro (pictured), IJJ director Steve Montiel, IJJ associate director Frank  Sotomayor and IJJ senior fellow Victor  Merina. "A holistic approach to covering immigration is the focus of this daylong Justice and Journalism workshop," according to the Unity program. "Designed to help reporters and editors reconsider the way they cover immigration, these sessions will provide new research, sources and resources to identify and capture emerging developments."

Journalism professor Félix Gutiérrez took part in a breakfast panel alongside CBS national correspondent Byron Pitts to discuss how race issues have changed the United States since 1968. Other topics included how to report the Beijing Olympics in a non-stereotypical manner, remaining sensitive to cultural issues while not presenting shallow coverage; how to report on issues in Iraq without raising public suspicions of Arab and Muslim Americans, learning from mistakes made by the media during WWII which resulted in the ridicule and confinement of Japanese Americans; how to cover Native American issues and report other current race-related issues in America and the world.

USC Annenberg, in collaboration with the California Endowment,  hosted "Fiesta California," a dinner reception at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on July 25. Dean Ernest J. Wilson III will highlight USC Annenberg's California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships.

Also, USC Annenberg's Johnson Scholars Leigh Lockhart and Anita Little (pictured, below left) attended a press conference with Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade (pictured with Scholars).

Other faculty and program directors attending the convention included journalism director Geneva Overholser, associate journalism director Pat Dean, Knight Digital Media Center director Vikki Porter and founding director of The California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships Michelle Levander.

Unity Convention
Immigration Storytelling