Nov. 23, 2004

Contact:
Melanie Hall
Finance and Administration Manager
UNITY
(703) 854-3585
e-mail

Mae Cheng Elected UNITY President

ARLINGTON, Va. (November 23, 2004) - Mae Cheng, an editor at Newsday and the outgoing president of the Asian American Journalists Association, has been elected president of the UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc.

Cheng, assistant city editor for the newspaper’s New York City edition, was selected Nov. 20 by the UNITY board of directors at its Fall meeting held in New York City.

She succeeds Ernest R. Sotomayor, whose two-year term ends Dec. 31. Sotomayor, Long Island Editor with Newsday.com in Melville, N.Y., who did not seek re-election to the UNITY board of directors.

“Mae has demonstrated tremendous leadership as president of AAJA the last two years by taking her association to record membership, and more programming with more industry partners than ever before, making the strongest possible case for improving journalism through greater diversity,” said Sotomayor. “As UNITY moves beyond its third convention, and prepares to implement long term plans, including its next convention in 2008, the coalition could not have found anyone more qualified than Mae for the top leadership role.”

Said Cheng, "I'm deeply honored to have been elected UNITY president. Our current leadership has raised the energy of the organization as well as the level of discussion throughout the industry on such key issues as diversity in the newsroom, media consolidation, and fair and accurate coverage in the media. I look forward to continuing that work and continuing to make UNITY a preeminent organization of journalists."

The UNITY board also selected as vice president Bryan Monroe, assistant vice president of news at Knight Ridder and vice president/print of the National Association of Black Journalists. He succeeds Dallas Morning News columnist Esther Wu, who was elected AAJA’s new president and takes office January 1, 2005.

Named treasurer was Javier Aldape, publisher at Diario La Estrella, a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Fort Worth, Texas. Aldape, former treasurer of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, succeeds Condace Pressley, assistant program director at WSB-AM in Atlanta. Re-elected as board secretary was Matt Kelley, an investigative reporter with The Associated Press in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Native American Journalists Association.

Cheng will lead a 17-member board that sets policy for UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc., a strategic alliance of journalists of color that advocates for positive change to advance their presence, growth and leadership in the fast-changing global news industry. This alliance includes the Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association. The four associations have grown to a combined membership of more than 9,500.

UNITY held its third convention in August in Washington, D.C, with attendance of 8,100 – the largest convention of journalists in history. The program included newsmaker appearances by President George W. Bush and challenger Senator John F. Kerry.

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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.