'GoodWorks' Begins Season 2

GoodWorks with Rahman Khan begins its second season April 3. The Charlotte-based TV show, which highlights people and businesses that are making a positive impact in the community, airs Fridays at 9:30 p.m. on WTVI.

Rahman Khan interviews Warren Ballentine.

This season, look for shows that feature actor and author Hill Harper; author and children’s rights advocate Marian Wright Edelman; national syndicated radio show host Warren Ballentine; and companies such as Coca-Cola Bottling and Compare Foods. Click here for more on GoodWorks.

NABFEME Event to Celebrate Women In Media

The Charlotte Network of the National Association of Black Female Executives in Music and Entertainment presents NABFEME Napkin Night: Women In Media. The event will be held April 1, 6-8 p.m. at Mez (210 E. Trade St., inside the EpiCentre).

Napkin Night is one in a series of events sponsored by NABFEME Charlotte to promote personal and professional development and is geared towards women of color in the city’s entertainment industry. This event will feature an informative panel discussion, networking, and a chance to win prizes in the business card drawing at the end of the night.

Scheduled panelists for the event are Bea Thompson, V101.9 FM; Nsenga Burton, RushmoreDrive.com; Cheris Hodges, Creative Loafing; Tonya Jameson, The Charlotte Observer; and Stephanie Grant, ESPN Regional. Bridgette E. Wright, Charlotte Style Magazine’s publisher and editorial director, will serve as the evening’s moderator.

RSVP to Felisha Fletcher at ffletcher@nabfemecharlotte.org if you plan to attend. Mez will validate parking at EpiCentre’s garage. For more details, visit www.nabfemecharlotte.org.

The Charlotte Observer Initiates More Layoffs

Observer Announces Cuts In Staff, Pay

By Jefferson George
Posted on charlotteobserver.com on March 23, 2009

Faced with sharply declining revenues in the recession, The Charlotte Observer will cut its workforce by 14.6 percent and reduce the pay of most remaining employees, the company announced this morning.

In addition to the 82 companywide layoffs -- 60 full-time and 22 part-time employees -- the Observer also plans to reduce the hours of some employees. The company's plan to save costs also includes a one-week furlough for employees later this year if economic conditions don't improve.

"We have really looked every place we can," said Ann Caulkins, the Observer's publisher, during a meeting with newsroom employees this morning.

Today's announcement is the fourth round of staff cuts over the last several months, and reductions will be in several departments, including advertising, operations, circulation, marketing and the newsroom.

A total of 30 newsroom positions -- 19 full-time and 11 part-time -- will be eliminated, Observer Editor Rick Thames said. In addition, 14 full-time newsroom employees have been offered reduced hours, said Cheryl Carpenter, the managing editor. Editors expect to finish notifying all affected employees by noon, Carpenter said.

Among remaining employees, pay for those earning at least $25,000 a year will be reduced according to a graduated scale, Caulkins said. "The top earners get more of a pay cut," she said.

Caulkins blamed the recession and especially the banking crisis for the Observer's plummeting advertising revenues, which she said were so hard to imagine that she hesitates to predict how the economy will affect the Observer in the months ahead.

"I can't begin to think 'next,'" she said.

Charlotte-based Internet Company Partners With Vibe

RushmoreDrive.com announced today that it has reached an agreement to deliver site and Web search results for Vibe.com, the website for Vibe magazine. RushmoreDrive, a Charlotte-based company that launched a year ago, replaces Google as Vibe's search engine.

RushmoreDrive is billed as the first-of-its-kind search engine for the black community, and it was launched essentially to take a chunk out of Google's dominance over Internet search engines. According to RushmoreDrive, which is a subsidiary of InterActiveCorp (IAC owns dozens of brands including Ask.com, Match.com, Citysearch.com, and Evite.com), it will make available its proprietary identity search platform to Vibe.com. Vibe's new results will include text-based results as well as images, videos, and other custom results tailored to the Vibe audience.

Community Invited to CAABJ's Annual 'Secrets to Accessing the Media' Workshop

Greetings from the Charlotte Area Association of Black Journalists.

You're invited to CAABJ's fourth annual “Secrets to Accessing the Media” workshop, taking place Saturday, April 18, 1-3 p.m. at the Afro-American Cultural Center (401 North Myers St., Charlotte). This event is free and open to the public and will be a great opportunity for you to learn more about media outlets in the Charlotte area. CAABJ has assembled a great panel of journalists who will provide insight into how their individual publications and broadcasts are produced and they’ll also give you tips on how you can get your stories told.

Each year, CAABJ holds this workshop because we recognize that many in our community feel the media isn’t accessible when they have good news to share or have a particular program or event they’re seeking to promote. Therefore this is your opportunity to meet some of the men and women who are the decision makers as to what stories air or get printed. This is your chance to build contacts so you can learn how to publicize your business, church, charity, fundraiser, special event, nonprofit organization, or anything or anyone you feel is newsworthy.



Above is a video recap of last year's workshop.

The workshop’s panelists are April Bethea, reporter for The Charlotte Observer; Glenn Burkins, publisher and editor of QcityMetro.com; Janine Davis, producer and co-host of Power 98 FM’s morning show; Kristen Miranda, WBTV/WJZY consumer reporter; Carlton Hargro, editor of Creative Loafing; and Richard Thurmond, editor and associate publisher of Charlotte magazine. This, in effect, covers newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, and Internet.

This event is free, but space is limited so we ask that you RSVP by emailing us at rsvp@caabj.com if you plan to attend. Doors for the workshop will open at 12:30 p.m. and light refreshments will be served.

Sincerely,

Jarvis Holliday
CAABJ President

NABJ Reinvention Town Hall Teleconference

Some of the worst and most draining emotions seem to overcome us whenever we go through a job transition. The truth of the matter is that layoffs, buyouts, or downsizing can happen to anyone at anytime with today’s economic situation. Job transitions are part of the current state of our industry.

Please join the next NABJ Reinvention Town Hall that will focus on, "Getting Your Head Together: Dealing with the Emotional Side Of Job Loss."

Wednesday, March 18
1-2 p.m.
Click here to register.


Panelists include:

Jackie Jones
After 30 years of experience in writing, editing, teaching, management and consulting, Jackie Jones is now a life coach, working with people who want to enhance or change their careers. Before launching Jones Coaching, she was a senior lecturer at Penn State University, where she taught news reporting, copy editing and ethics. Prior to joining Penn State, she was an assignment editor at The Washington Post.

Lynnette Khalfani-Cox
Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach®, is a personal finance expert, television personality and the author of several money-management books including the New York Times bestseller Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom, and The Money Coach's Guide to Your First Million. She is a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and CNBC.

Sidmel Estes-Sumpter
Sidmel Estes-Sumpter, is president of Breakthrough Inc., a dynamic executive media management consulting firm. She was executive producer of Atlanta's top-rated morning program, Good Day Atlanta, and Fox 5 News.

Wil LaVeist
A talented author, editor, columnist and Internet consultant, Wil LaVeist has more than fifteen years of award-winning print and online journalism and media startup experience with companies such as The Arizona Republic and Tribune Interactive Inc. He has managed media teams and developed innovative online and print products.