NBC has been a leader for diversity in broadcasting, but recent reports that Hall and Roker will be replaced by former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly are being seen by industry professionals as whitewashing.

Published reports suggest Kelly will be replacing "Today's Takes," the hour of programming led by Hall and Roker.

Roker tweeted last week that the show leads the ratings in its time slot and consistently beats its competition. This achievement deserves praise, not punishment, as replacing talent often is associated with low ratings performance. Kelly has a well-documented history of offensive remarks regarding people of color. On The Kelly File, her Fox News show, the host said then-First Lady Michelle Obama's commencement address at Tuskegee University pandered to a "culture of victimization."

 

While NABJ wishes Hall well on her next move, NABJ requests a meeting with NBC leadership on the top-rated show's dismantling. We look forward to dialogue and resolve regarding black journalists and their continuing roles at NBC both in front and behind the camera.

of the few places that has a population that's overwhelmingly majority-minority,” he said. “We saw an opportunity to host a career fair to cater to the audience here in South Florida.”

SFBJA promised the recruiters that it would have a diverse set of registrants attending the fair, said Diasgranados. “It's important to hire within the region instead of bringing talent from outside South Florida,” he said. “The Tri-County area is full of talent, so we wanted to have a chance to showcase that to our local recruiters.”

The fair had 18 companies in attendance including the Miami Herald, the South Florida Business Journal, WPLG/Channel 10, Telemundo, I Heart Media, the Sun Sentinel, NBC 6, the Miami Dolphins and the Miami Heat.

Samantha Ragland is a recruiter for the Palm Beach Post who learned about the fair after Diasgranados texted her in November and asked her to be on a panel. “In my former life, I was an 

adjunct professor and I loved it. Nothing energizes a life like students hungry for knowledge, so I try to give back as often as I can,” she said.

Ragland attended the fair with a few missions. “One was to recruit a full-time social media producer, the last of which was hired at the NAHJ job fair at FIU in Spring 2016. Two, I wanted to recruit for possible interns and spread the word about Cox Media Group's Digital Talent Program, a super rad career program for digital journalists of color,” she said. “And three, to pour into whoever needed to be filled.”

The panels created by Diasgranados were great, said Ragland. “The applicants listened and soaked up everything. Some stayed after to ask more questions. Often, they needed simply to be encouraged,” she observed. “The field is competitive and the application process can be disheartening. Can you believe that I'm actually still answering emails from the fair? They're asking about business cards and resume advice and to tell me they've applied. It's great.”

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NABJ President Sarah Glover, NABJ Founder and Former NABJ President DeWayne Wickham and Global Journalism Task Force Co-Chair Rochelle Riley met with Inés Ford Fernández, Ambassador for the Republic of Cuba Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the United States, in Havana, Cuba on Friday.