The Center for Broadcast Journalism announced Harry Colbert Jr. as the new vice president for the St. Paul organization.
The center is a non-profit organization that focuses on teaching the next generation of broadcast journalists. It was founded by Georgia Fort and Marianne Combs. Fort, the president of the Center for Broadcast Journalism, said Colbert will fit because of his years of experience in reporting and teaching journalism.
Fort said she originally met Colbert around 2010 when she was the radio host for 89.9 KMOJ news.
Colbert will focus on programming and the radio station for the organization, according to Fort. The center’s radio state is POWER 104.7 FM.
Colbert said that as the new vice president, he wants to increase representation for Black journalists in the newsrooms via reporting and in leadership. Colbert worked at publications including MinnPost, North News, and Insight News. Colbert was also the former president of the National Black Association of Journalists Minnesota chapter.
For him, teaching the next generation of students is something vital.
“At the end of the day I have X amount of years left, both as a professional and as a human being on this planet. And someone did something important for me who put me in this position. Therefore, it’s my obligation and my purpose to make sure I do for the next generation,” Colbert said.
When Colbert became the editor-in-chief of North News in 2020, he covered the George Floyd protests. Colbert said the experience showed him how little the Black community was being reported on accurately.
“It highlighted the fact that our stories need proper framing. These are the stories that people in our communities had been telling long before they had been being broadcast live, streamed, televised,” Colbert said.
According to David Pierini, the current editor of North News, which covers North Minneapolis, Colbert’s ability to be a trusted source helped the team cover the protests more accurately.
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“Through the George Floyd protest from the time his murder happened right up until the verdict, he was kind of one of the leading voices in the Twin Cities. I mean, he really was a respected voice through the columns that he wrote,” Pierini said.
Colbert will start on Nov. 3. For new journalists going into broadcast journalism, he said that authenticity is everything.
“Be true to your purpose, be true to your calling, and keep the community first,” Colbert said.
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