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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO —Nearly 6,000 attendees are registered for the UNITY: Journalists of Color quadrennial convention that opens Wednesday at McCormick Place West in Chicago, and continues to July 27.
Titled “A New Journalism for a Changing World,” the five-day convention includes working journalists discussing diversity in the middle of a rapidly evolving news industry, plus scores of journalism students working on projects including a newspaper and online newscast, a student training campus at Columbia College Chicago, a Media Showcase and Career Expo, author appearances, awards galas recognizing journalism leaders and special evening events.

Wednesday’s highlights at UNITY ’08:

• The Opening Ceremony for UNITY ’08 celebrates the beginning of the convention with cultural aspects of the four alliance organizations – Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists and Native American Journalists Association. The program will represent a vibrant intersection of the diverse cultures within UNITY with music and dance.
  5 to 6:30 p.m., McCormick Place West, Skyline Ballroom
  (more)
  An opening reception, complete with a view of fireworks over the Chicago River, follows at the Field Museum.  Co-sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company. 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.,
  The Field Museum, Stanley Field Hall
• The Media Showcase and Career Expo opens. The all-day expo features a career center with workshops, a photojournalism gallery, demos of the latest digital technology, a press conference area, a bookstore, an author carousel, a cyber café and networking lounges.
  9 a.m. to 5 p.m., McCormick Place Expo Hall
• Daylong professional workshops include: “A Harmonic Convergence: Part 1,” sponsored by The New York Times, about how reporting, researching, interviewing and editing are merging in various media formats; “How Green Is Your Beat? Journalists of Color and Environmental Reporting,” sponsored by Toyota, about how communities of color may be heavily affected by environmentally unsafe conditions; and “Immigration Storytelling: Keeping Ahead of the Fast-Changing Curve,” presented by the USC Annenberg Institute for Justice and Journalism; and “Telling the Full Story: Reducing
  Disparities, Improving Outcomes for Kids and Families of Color,” sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, about national and state data on child well-being broken down by race.
  
  

NOTE:  Members of the working press who wish to cover this forum will need to obtain press credentials.  The process for acquiring credentials can be accessed through the convention website at www.2008unity.org.  For additional information on obtaining credentials, contact UNITY at info@unityjournalists.org.

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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, representing more than 10,000 journalists of color, 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.

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