By Jorge Rojas
Diversity Committee Chair
The 2016-17 Diversity Fellows have been selected. For the first time in the program’s history, it will feature an all-female class of Fellows.
Introducing …
- Jane Allison Havsy, a multimedia journalist at the Daily Record (Parsippany, N.J.) who pretty much does it all: write, blog, shoot vide
o, tweet, copy edit and proofread. Jane, a Penn graduate, ma
nages freelancers and coordinates local sports coverage with the other Gannett New Jersey newspapers.
* Stef Loh, a college sports reporter for the Seattle Times. Originally from Singapore, Stef has covered college football on both coasts in four conferences and is a past president of the Association for Women in Sports Media. She is an
Oregon grad.
* Shauntel Lowe, the deputy editor of special projects at Bleacher Report in New York. Shauntel, a UCLA graduate, previously worked as an editor at AOL Patch in San Diego and reported on education, health and crime at the Vallejo Times-Herald.
* Diana Nearhos, a reporter at The Post-Star in Glens Falls, N.Y., who serves as the minor-league hockey writer and undertakes some editing roles from time to time. Diana, a Boston College grad, describes herself as a voracious reader and incessant questioner who just wants to know your story.
“This is an exciting group of accomplished sports journalists
who all have promising futures,” said Tommy Deas, APSE President and executive sports editor of The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News. “The Diversity Fellowship program is a cornerstone of
APSE’s effort to help address the issue of diversity in sports departments by training future sports editors from all backgrounds.
“We thank all who have donated to the cause, and we will continue to need financial support for this program. There is
more work to do, but this program has produced success stories across the country.”
APSE still has its work cut out to reach a goal of $8,000 to help fund the Fellows’ participation at APSE events such as Diversity Weekend, contest judging, regional meetings, and the annual conference.
This year’s Fellows will soon meet for a weekend of training and enrichment, tentatively planned for Nashville in November or December. They will take part in the web judging contest, and help judge at the winter meetings (Feb. 22-26) in Lake Buena Vista, FL. The program also includes a mentorship component; working with the Sports Journalism Institute; the professional development day at each Fellow’s region; and concludes at the APSE summer conference in New Orleans (June 26-29).
The training will prepare the Fellows to take a substantive leap forward in their careers as part of an overall push toward improving diversity by APSE. This is the sixth year of the Diversity Fellowship Program, and we are proud to say a great many of the 21 graduates continue to make an impact and thrive in our industry.
There have been many generous sponsors of the Fellowship, with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM), LANG Newspapers, USA Today Sports Media Group, and the Boston Globe among the leaders. APSE would like to attract a major sponsor but also has implemented a tier structure whereby members can contribute as much or as little as they can afford.
The tier levels are:
Platinum — $1,500
Diamond — $1,000
Gold — $750
Silver — $500
Bronze — $250
Friend of the Program — Any amount $249 or under.
If you are interested in helping sponsor this important initiative, please contact APSE president Tommy Deas (tommy.deas@tuscaloosanews.com), secretary-treasurer Bill Eichenberger (billapse707@gmail.com) or myself. No amount is too small!
Jorge Rojas is chairman of the APSE Diversity Committee. You can reach him at (305) 376-3213 or jrojas@miamiherald.com.
