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Student Journalist of Year Continues Leadership Tradition

Photo credit: Jason Miccolo Johnson/NABJ Mashaun D. Simon, student representative of the National Association of Black Journalists, presents Student Journalist of the Year award to Ruth Tisdale in Indianapolis. Simon called Tisdale "a very good example of young people making a mark in this industry and in this organization."

By Shauntel Lowe
Black College Wire

The latest new-age pioneer to be named Student Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists, Howard University’s Ruth Tisdale, begins her career with encouragement from the first student given the award.

Tisdale, editor-in-chief of the Hilltop, Howard’s student newspaper, was officially presented with the honor at the Aug. 16-20 NABJ convention in Indianapolis.

She was nominated by former Hilltop editor-in-chief Josef Sawyer, who has just graduated from the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley and is planning to go to Africa to work on a "Frontline" public television program about the new president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

"I felt that Ruth has made the most sacrifice, being editor-in-chief for two years," Sawyer said. "I'm surprised Ruth didn't get a triple bypass at the end of her term." That she was editor-in-chief for two years "showed the type of moxie I haven't seen in a while."

Mashaun D. Simon, NABJ student representative for 2005-07, called Tisdale, 22, "a very good example of young people making a mark in this industry and in this organization. She had a drive and a focus and she did not let others keep her from doing what she thought was important and necessary.

“The fact that NABJ, which is the largest organization of black journalists, recognizes this young girl for her achievements and her commitment shows others in the industry that they should take notice of her,” Simon said.

Tisdale said she didn’t campaign for Sawyer’s nomination, but considers it a blessing.

“I told him, 'don’t worry about it,' because I don’t really do journalism for awards and recognition. I just do it because it’s something I want to do,” she said.

On Feb. 28, 2005, under Tisdale’s guidance, Howard became the first and only historically black college or university with a daily newspaper. Publication of the Hilltop, co-founded and named by famed author Zora Neale Hurston in 1924, increased from two days a week to five.

Tisdale, of Pensacola, Fla., began working toward daily publication after attending a convention of the College Media Advisers in November 2004.

“It’s time for us to make the jump,” she told Black College Wire after the convention.

And the jump was made.

Her pioneering move follows that of NABJ's first Student of the Year.

Talia Buford, former editor-in-chief of the Hampton Script and now a reporter for the Providence Journal, was honored in 2004 after a year in which her leadership skills were put to the test.

On Oct. 22, 2003, nearly 6,500 copies of the Script were seized by acting president Dr. JoAnn Haysbert after the editors chose not to run on the front page a memo from Haysbert about the condition of the school cafeteria, as she had requested, instead putting it on page 3. Buford navigated her paper’s staff in its battle over free-speech rights, garnering national attention and acclaim for her persistence and dedication.

Even now, nearly three years after the event and two years after the award, Buford said people still ask her about the battle with the administration and congratulate her for her honor.

“It’s always going to be a tagline in my life,” she said. “The award definitely made my name a little bit more known in the industry.”

Buford said the name recognition helped her in the post-graduation job search. She said Tisdale “definitely has something to be proud of.”

“I would say to Ruth to be really be proud of this and not take it for granted and to realize that she does deserve this because what she did was a very good accomplishment and hopefully will open doors for other HBCUs across the nation,” she said.

Tisdale, who calls the Hilltop her “first love,” said she hopes other HBCUs will increase their publication, whether by going daily or increasing publication by one day a week.

And though she is now a graduate, with a degree in political science, she hopes to see the student paper continue to expand and stay on the cusp of new technology.

“I’d love to see the Hilltop merge together with online and television and radio and do multimedia. That’s the way our industry is going right now,” she said.

"The Hilltop and Howard University," boasted Sawyer, "for a while has produced the best journalism, not just among HBCUs, but among all universities."

Tisdale is now working as a full-time editorial assistant for the Roanoke (Va.) Times, with the long-term goal of being an editor.

She said she’s still “learning her craft,” but the NABJ conventions have helped her become a better reporter because of the mix of young and seasoned journalists.

“The convention is a great way to learn more about your craft and to network with other young individuals going through the same things you’re going through. It gives you a leg up" to talk to "seasoned journalists to get more knowledge of what you’ re doing,” she said.

Buford said it was important for young journalists not to be afraid to branch out of their comfort zones and consider smaller publications in less popular locales as launching pads for their careers.

“Be realistic, but don’t settle,” she said. “You may not be working for the Washington Post or New York Times, but you also don’t have to settle for a paper that is less than stellar. You can still go to a really solid paper where you can stretch your journalistic muscles,” she said.

Tisdale also had a few words of advice.

“Grab a hold of a seasoned journalist and just learn from them. Sometimes in our generation we feel that we’re just hot journalists and we don’t take the time to ask for help and that’s one of the things I got out of [the convention] this year. There are so many seasoned journalists with a wealth of knowledge we don’t really tap into,” she said.

Shauntel Lowe is a student at the University of California, Los Angeles and an intern for the Black College Wire. She can be reached at [email protected].

Posted Aug. 25, 2006