Roland Martin Named NABJ’s Journalist of the Year

WASHINGTON—The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) announced that Roland S. Martin, nationally syndicated columnist, television host, and radio and television commentator, is to receive the organization’s Journalist of the Year award. It is one of NABJ’s most coveted honors celebrating the accomplishments of black journalists and those who support blacks in the media. Martin was selected for the award by NABJ’s Board of Directors.

Martin currently is host and managing editor of TV One’s Washington Watch with Roland Martin, and a senior analyst for The Tom Joyner Morning Show. He is also a nationally syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate and a contributor to CNN.

“Roland Martin has had an enviable career as a multimedia journalist, becoming a respected and trusted voice in print, on air and online,” said NABJ President Gregory Lee, Jr. “He is unapologetic about his quest to provide well-rounded coverage of the African-American community, and to provide unique insights to diverse audiences across the many platforms on which he is asked to contribute on a regular basis.”

Martin will be honored with others at the association’s Salute to Excellence Gala on August 3, 2013, during NABJ’s 38th Annual Convention and Career Fair in Orlando.

“I am enormously thankful and humbled that NABJ has bestowed this amazing honor on me for my work as a fearless voice in advocating the critical issues facing voters in the 2012 election, but especially as they relate to African Americans,” said Martin. “I hope this honor serves as a lesson to any young or veteran journalist that Black media platforms are just as essential and important to us today as they have always been. Before CNN, TV One offered me a TV platform for my commentaries, as well my own show. After CNN, TV One and Tom Joyner, are still there. It pleases me greatly to be at a place where our voices and images are the norm, and not the exception. I’m enormously thankful for the opportunity.”

Those who nominated Martin noted his important coverage of voter suppression, perhaps the biggest story of the 2012 presidential election.

“No other African-American journalist and member of NABJ brought more news and analysis to black communities about the most important story of 2012 than Roland Martin,” said Vanessa Williams, former NABJ President and an editor at The Washington Post. “As managing editor and host of Washington Watch on TV One, Roland consistently offered journalism that reflected the hopes and fears of many African American voters as they anxiously watched to see whether Barack Obama would win a second term as president of the United States.”

Earlier in his career, Martin was a radio talk show host for WVON-AM in Chicago. He is the former executive editor and general manager of The Chicago Defender, one of the nation’s oldest black newspapers. He was the founding news editor for Savoy Magazine, and the founding editor of BlackAmericaWeb.com.

A published author, he has written three books: “Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith,” “Speak, Brother! A Black Man’s View of America,” and “The First: President Barack Obama’s Road to the White House as originally reported by Roland S. Martin.”

A lifetime member of the National Association of Black Journalists, Martin served as the organization’s first national student representative, and as national secretary of the board from 2009 until 2011.

Martin is a graduate of Texas A&M University and Louisiana Baptist University. He is married to the Rev. Jacquie Hood Martin. The couple resides in Washington, D.C.

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