Sherrod to appear at NABJ

By BLISS DAVIS
nabjconvention.org

Sherrod

Nearly two  weeks after Shirley Sherrod was accused of being a racist and ousted  from the U.S. Agriculture Department she is set to appear at the NABJ  Convention in San Diego on Thursday.

The former director of rural development in Georgia is scheduled to speak at a session  titled “Context and Consequences: A Conversation with Shirley Sherrod”  at 8 a.m. The room location has not been announced.

Conservative  blogger Andrew Breitbart, who recently set off a firestorm after  releasing a video clip on his blog edited to appear as if Sherrod was  spewing racist sentiments, was invited to the conference as well. He  initially accepted the invitation but later declined, according to NABJ.

The session  will focus on how media react to and report news, as well as the  influence of new and nontraditional media platforms such as blogs and  social media on traditional news organizations.

The panel will  also explore the debate over whether bloggers should be in the same  category as journalists who blog as part of their job.

Kathy Times,  president of NABJ, says that bloggers should not be considered  journalists. She said that equating them as such is part of what fueled  the controversy surrounding Sherrod.

“This digital  age is a landmine,” said Times. “[Sherrod] has come out swinging really  gracefully when she could have easily become a victim of the news.”

After  reviewing and releasing the 45-minute video of Sherrod’s remarks in its  entirety, the NAACP apologized for condemning Sherrod before reviewing  the entire video.

Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of  Agriculture, and other White House officials apologized as well. She has  also been offered another job with the USDA.

While it was  initially unclear if Sherrod would attend the convention, space was  already set aside if she decided to attend. Every year the convention  reserves a session block in the event that a major news story breaks.  Times says getting Sherrod to the convention was a joint effort.

“It all really  came together because [Sherrod] really wanted to be here,” she said.

Video at the center of the controversy.