FT. LAUDERDALE – Is journalism defined the same way in the Caribbean as in the United States?
Several Caribbean-American journalists posed that question at the first National Association of Caribbean-American Journalists’ convention held recently in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The morning discussion-with a handful of Caribbean-American journalists, journalists from the Caribbean, representatives from the World Bank, the Caucus of Ambassadors and the Association of Caribbean Media Workers-set the tone for the day-long event. Organizers say the aim of this first-of-its-kind meeting was to, among other things, bridge the gap between journalists in the region and the diaspora so both groups can be more effective in covering the region and the diaspora, share resources and promote journalism excellence.
During the hour-long discussion, The Miami Herald Editor Carol Reynolds-Srot said journalists in the Caribbean must elevate the level of professionalism if they want to be taken seriously and compete on a global scale.
Another journalist, Paula Madison, an executive at NBC Universal, agreed. She shared a story about a difficult dialogue with journalists from the Caribbean when another journalism organization in 1990 met with Caribbean journalists in Jamaica. Most, she said, entered the profession because “they like to write and felt like doing journalism.”
“There was a big disconnect between those journalists and the few trained journalists in the room,” she said.
NACAJ president Ann-Marie Adams, editor and publisher of The Hartford Guardian, said this discussion points to the many challenges the organization faces as it tries to build a bridge with journalists in the Caribbean.
“It’s as if we are speaking a different language sometimes,” Adams said. “We have a lot of work to do. And some journalists get the big picture and are working with us to achieve those goals.”
Those goals, Adams said, include helping media outlets in the U.S. recognize the Caribbean is more than sun, sea and sand and that carnival is not the only product that comes from the Caribbean or the diaspora.
“Other communities with similar journalism organizations in the U.S. have done this effectively,” Adams said, “We can, too.”
The small success of this year’s convention, Adams said, will help the group be even more effective for the next convention in 2010.
