Sherri Jackson
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Kari Nesbitt
Natalie Brown, assistant food editor for Southern Living Magazine, is the editor of the book “Our Best-Ever Cakes & Pies,” one of Southern Progress’ special publications. The book recently went on sale in area bookstores.
Chianti Cleggett has joined Birmingham Home & Garden magazine as managing editor. She formerly served as a freelance writer for the shelter magazine, which displays home interiors and gardens from around the region. As a member of the editorial team, her duties now include choosing content for the magazine and raising awareness about the publication to new readers throughout the city. In addition to the bimonthly issues, Chianti also assists with scouting content and designers for the magazine’s special issues, which include the Entertaining Guide and Second Homes.
Cleggett is a former associate with The Lewis Group PR firm where she managed content for various client publications. She is also a freelance writer for the Birmingham Times weekly newspaper and Lipstick magazine.
Her work has been printed in various other publications including the NABJ Journal, The Crisis (NAACP), The Financial World, Deep magazine and Birmingham magazine. Cleggett also serves the community as a volunteer with various organizations.
Ronda Robinson of Fox 6 News along with Vincent Parker received a Community Health Award from the Jefferson County Department of Health for the Fox 6 On Your Side team’s reporting on health issues. The team was awarded for its “significant contribution to public health and the well-being of the community.
Robinson is a former president of BABJ.
Sherri Jackson, CBS 42 News anchor, is the only finalist in the National Association of Black Journalists’ Salute to Excellence Awards for television market 16 and under in the Specialty Reporting category for her “AIDS from Alabama to Africa,” which aired last fall. In her series of reports, Jackson journeyed to Tanzania and Kenya and tells the story of children orphaned because of AIDS. Then in Birmingham at the clinic that treats people with HIV and AIDS from 65 of Alabama’s 67 counties, she reports who the victims are in our area, concluding that the fastest growing group of people infected with HIV/AIDS is African American women and children.
Since Jackson is the only finalist in the category, she will be the winner. The award will be presented at the NABJ Salute to Excellence Gala on Saturday, July 26, at the Unity ’08 Convention in Chicago. Jackson is immediate past president of the Birmingham Association of Black Journalists.
Solomon Crenshaw Jr., a sportswriter for The Birmingham News, was part of a four-member team that earned honorable mention in The Associated Press Sports Editors’ contest for project reporting for newspapers with circulations between 100,000 and 250,000. The News’ project was a four-story package that compared athletics in Birmingham city high schools with athletics in high schools in the surrounding suburbs.
Crenshaw is treasurer of BABJ and a founding member of the organization.
Several BABJ members at The Birmingham News won awards in the spring from the Alabama Associated Press Managing Editors newspaper competition. They include: Tamika Moore, first place in photo illustrations, second place in best humorous moments, second place in best picture story, second place in photo portfolio and honorable mention in feature photo; Robert K. Gordon and Rahkia Nance, second place in deadline reporting; Chanda Temple Guster, honorable mention in lifestyle features; and Solomon Crenshaw Jr., second place for sports nondeadline reporting. The newspaper also won the community service award for its “Birmingham at a Crossroads” series.
Norman King recently joined the staff of Southern Living Magazine as an assistant editor/test kitchen professional. He will work mostly with the magazine’s Health Living section to help readers focus on wise food choices.
Kari Nesbitt, a December 2007 graduate of Auburn University, has begun work as a communications specialist with the YWCA of Birmingham. She is a former member of Auburn’s Black Journalists chapter and is the daughter of longtme BABJ member Samuetta Nesbitt, senior vice president for communications with United Way of Central Alabama.
