President navigates pandemic to meet the organization’s convention goals
By Rayshaun Baker-Lynch
NABJ Monitor
NABJ President Dorothy Tucker never predicted to lead the organization through a pandemic.
In 2020, Tucker was engulfed in a delicate negotiation to move the convention to a virtual format without losing $1.3 million in hotel cancellations. The next two conventions went digital, and now, she’s proud to preside personally over the group’s gathering.
“I think I am as excited as everyone else,” Tucker said. “From my perspective, this is something that we have been working on for a year, if not more, and it’s finally come to pass, and I’m just really thrilled that everything is coming together.”
Tucker, an investigative reporter for WBBM-TV CBS2 Chicago since 1984, has won awards from the regional Edward R. Murrow honor to the 2021 Lifetime Achievement award from the Chicago Association of Journalists. But she often talks about how proud she is of the work she has done with NABJ.
NABJ’s first-ever news platform has been a goal for Tucker, and one she is most proud of achieving during her term.
“I’m in awe of what this organization is able to produce. Now when you see the site, you will see some original stories,” Tucker said.
NABJ Executive Director Drew Berry said he is impressed with her work over the past three years for the organization.
“I think that Dorothy’s legacy would be financial stability for the organization,” Berry said. He also lauded her support of the Student Multimedia Journalism Projects and Black News and Views.
Next year NABJ will hold its conference in Birmingham, Alabama, ending Tucker’s term in a smaller city than the organization is used to having and one of the birthplaces of civil rights.
“I think this is an opportunity for our members to really go in and hear, see, touch and feel the Black history that they may have forgotten about,” Tucker said. “I’m looking forward to Birmingham.”
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