2004 Special Honors Winners
February 11, 2004
Ms. Duanne Crawley
National Association of Black Journalists
NABJ Special Honors
8701-A Adelphi Road
Adelphi, MD 20783-1716
Re: 2004 Special Honors Division; Category: Community Service Award
Title: Battling AIDS in Our Community, s special supplement and
social marketing campaign
Dear Judges:
I’d like to nominate Mollie Finch Belt,
the publisher of The Dallas Examiner, who has shown extraordinary
business practices
by putting the good of the community above corporate profits, as
a contender in the Community Service Award category.
In December 2002, Mrs. Belt made an extraordinary commitment to
become a bigger part of the solution for the increasing rate of
HIV/AIDS in the African American community. The Examiner, which
has a circulation of 10,000 and a staff of freelance writers, decided
that limited resources would not be a stumbling block for forming
an HIV/AIDS social marketing campaign.
By January 2003, the plans were set. The paper,
which has a focus on the African American community, would produce
a supplement on
HIV/AIDS, host a town hall meeting with a celebrity and do an even
better job of including HIV/AIDS related stories throughout the
newspaper. This decision was part of Mrs. Belt’s ongoing commitment
to include health news as a regular feature in the weekly paper.
The HIV/AIDS supplement release date was set to coincide with the
June 26 National HIV Testing Date. Mrs. Belt made a concerted effort
to garner financial support for the HIV/AIDS supplement. But when
the advertising was slow to come in, she made the financial sacrifice
to produce the 12-page insert anyway. She then arranged to have
thousands of extra copies printed that were distributed free to
public facilities, college campuses, barbershops, beauty salons,
government housing developments and sites for HIV testing.
On Aug. 6, The Dallas Examiner sponsored an HIV/AIDS Town Hall
meeting with actor Danny Glover as the special guest. More than
2,500 people attended and at least 200 people were tested on site
for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Some sponsors stepped forward, but the bulk of the expense was
born by The Examiner.
Mrs. Belt took time from her personal schedule to build relationships
with AIDS support organizations, radio stations, community organizations
and a local church.
The Examiner created a media campaign that resulted in more than
50 mentions on local and national radio, television and in print.
Over the year, she has sponsored several HIV/AIDS projects by providing
free or discounted advertising space.
In September, she partnered with Rev. Rickie
G. Rush, Inspiring Body of Christ Church’s pastor. Rev.
Rush announced that The Examiner town hall meeting had changed
his life and his annual spiritual
warfare event would include a special emphasis on HIV/AIDS, The
Examiner took on the role as media sponsor, helping get his message
out by arranging interviews with two of the top television stations
in Dallas.
Mrs. Belt has been more worried about the increasing number of
people acquiring HIV and dying from AIDS than she has the bottom
line.
For her personal commitment and sacrifice, I nominate her company,
The Dallas Examiner, for the Special Honors Division Community Service
Award.
Sincerely,
Sharon Egiebor
Executive Editor
editor@dallasexaminer.com
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