Ford Awards Grant To Advance Entrepreneurship Among Journalists of Color

MCLEAN, Va., -- UNITY Journalists of Color, Inc., has received a $100,000 grant from The Ford Foundation to implement a New U: News Entrepreneurs Working through UNITY (New U) project. The New U project will support the creative ideas of participating journalists of color through a series of two-day "boot camps" at each of the four summer 2010 UNITY alliance partners' conventions. In addition to offering training and one-on-one mentoring, the program will include a competition for start-up funding to assist news entrepreneurs to realize their ideas.

The program is intended to increase the number of innovative thinkers and product developers who are of color, providing them with a forum in which to develop and express innovative ideas. New U will also be a conduit for participants' access to development capital and a network of like-minded people, creating the opportunity for journalism entrepreneurs of color to flourish and succeed in a new way.

"One of the best and most effective ways for journalists to evolve in the 21st century is to own their work product. This professional development opportunity will teach journalists the business side of the industry to help journalists of color not only survive but thrive in a changing economy," said Barbara Ciara, UNITY President.

New U will be implemented out of the organization's headquarters offices in collaboration with UNITY's alliance partners. In addition, Doug Mitchell, founder/creator of NPR's "next generation radio" and Alli Joseph, a producer, entrepreneur and Native American Journalists Association member, will serve as program managers; Mitchell and Joseph are also the program designers.

"The reason the Ford Foundation has funded New U is that there are so few opportunities in entrepreneurship for journalists of color," said Calvin Sims, Program Officer at The Ford Foundation.

Information for applying to participate in New U will be distributed through UNITY and alliance partner websites, newsletters and other member communication outlets.

About UNITY: Journalists of Color
UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. is a strategic alliance advocating news coverage about people of color, and aggressively challenging its organizations at all levels to reflect the nation's diversity. UNITY is comprised of four national associations: Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association representing more than 10,000 journalists of color,

In addition to planning the largest regular gathering of journalists in the nation, UNITY develops programs and advocacy initiatives that promote its mission. For more information on UNITY, visit www.unityjournalists.org, emailinfo@unityjournalists.org or call (703) 854-3585.