22nd Annual NAMIC Conference to Feature 'A Conversation With Soledad O'Brien'

22nd Annual NAMIC Conference to Feature 'A Conversation With Soledad O'Brien'

NAMIC And CNN Partner To Present Special Forum On Ethnicity And Gender

NEW YORK, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Soledad O'Brien, CNN anchor and special correspondent, has been confirmed as a special guest speaker for the 22nd Annual NAMIC Conference, Diversity: Pipeline to Innovation. Presented annually by NAMIC (National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications) in conjunction with Cable Diversity Week, the 22nd Annual NAMIC Conference will be held September 14-16, 2008 at the New York Marriott Marquis in Manhattan.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060705/NYW092LOGO )

NAMIC, in partnership with CNN, will present a special luncheon, "A Conversation with Soledad O'Brien," on Monday, September 15 at 1:00 p.m. EDT. O'Brien will discuss "CNN Presents: Black in America," the network's landmark, multi-media initiative reported by O'Brien. The groundbreaking documentary series featured six hours of programming revealing the state of Black America 40 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The NAMIC session will be an in-depth, one-on-one interview with O'Brien conducted by CNN correspondent, Lola Ogunnaike. "A Conversation with Soledad O'Brien" will also include a Q&A session with the luncheon's attendees.

"It's crucial that we as a media industry shine a light on the issues still affecting Black Americans today," commented O'Brien. "This is a discussion that needs to be had as we face our future as a nation, and NAMIC is the perfect organization to be furthering the conversation."

"We are delighted to partner with CNN to continue the compelling dialogue sparked by the Black in America series," said Kathy Johnson, president, NAMIC. "The NAMIC Conference presents an optimal setting to further the discussion on ethnicity and gender in America at this dynamic time in our history."

An award-winning media veteran with a career spanning more than 20 years, O'Brien also covers political news as part of CNN's "Best Political Team on Television." A past recipient of NAMIC's Mickey Leland Humanitarian Achievement Award, O'Brien was part of the coverage teams that earned CNN a George Foster Peabody award for its Hurricane Katrina coverage and an Alfred I. duPont Award for its coverage of the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia. O'Brien has also received the National Urban League's Women of Power Award and a Gracie Allen Award for her reporting from Cyprus on the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict as well as her post Hurricane Katrina reports from the Gulf Coast. Also among O'Brien's many honors are the NAACP President's Award, which she garnered in recognition of her humanitarian efforts and journalistic excellence and the inaugural "Soledad O'Brien Freedom's Voice Award," created in her honor by Community Voices at the Morehouse School of Medicine for her accomplishments in her field along with her commitment to cover stories that others fail to pursue.

For more information on the 22nd Annual NAMIC Conference or to register online, log onto www.namic.com or call the NAMIC national headquarters at (212) 594-5985.

About NAMIC

NAMIC (National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications) is the premier organization focusing on multi-ethnic diversity in the communications industry. Founded in 1980 as a non-profit trade association, today NAMIC is comprised of 2,000 professionals belonging to a network of 17 chapters nationwide. Through initiatives that focus on education, advocacy and empowerment, NAMIC champions equity and inclusion in the workforce, with special attention given to ensuring that the leadership cadres of our nation's communications industry giants reflect the multi-ethnic richness of the populations they serve. For more information, please visit www.namic.com.

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Source: NAMIC

CONTACT: Daphne Leroy, Vice President, Marketing & Communications,
NAMIC, +1-212-594-5985, daphne.leroy@namic.com; or Charmaine Chapman, BTB
Communications, +1-310-882-5498, char@btbcommunications.com

Web site: http://www.namic.com/

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