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Nicole Livas promoted to co-anchor
Nicole Livas has been promoted to co-anchor of WAVY-TV's 5:30 p.m. daily newscast. Livas will continue to co-anchor the 10 p.m. newscast on sister station WVBT-Fox 43. Livas returned to her Virginia Beach hometown three years ago from WJAR-TV in Providence, R.I where she was the 5:30 p.m. co-anchor. Becky Livas, Nicole's mother, was the first black female television personality in the Norfolk market in the 1970s.

Heather Vincent joins BET
Heather Vincent is the new executive producer of "BET Nightly News". Vincent was the vice president for program planning at MSNBC where she worked on "Headliners & Legends," "MSNBC Investigates," "Weekend Magazine" and "National Geographic Explorer."

Kudos

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Barbara Ciara is one of three Hampton University alumni selected for induction into the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications 2003-2004 Hall of Fame. Ciara, NABJ Vice President/Broadcast, is anchor and managing editor of WTKR NewsChannel 3. Other recipients include Douglas Smith, a former sports writer with USA Today; and Emil Wilbekin, former editor-in-chief of Vibe magazine and current editorial director and vice-president for brand development for parent company Vibe Ventures.

The three media professionals were selected for the school’s Hall of Fame based on their professional achievements in journalism and communications that have had regional, national or international impact. The recipients are also recognized for having emerged as trendsetters, experts or notable authorities, and as media professionals who have worked toward the advancement of inclusiveness in the journalism and communications field.

Ciara and Smith will be inducted during the Class of 2004 senior celebration May 8.

Former Hall of Fame inductees include Washington Post columnist and 1976 HU alumna Donna Britt; Dr. William Kearney, founder of HU’s Department of Mass Media Arts, and 1980 HU alumnus Brett A. Pulley, a senior editor at Forbes Magazine.

Tia Williams pens "The Accidental Diva"
In her first novel entitled "The Accidental Diva", Tia Williams, the beauty director at Teen People magazine, crafted a smart, sexy, story about a black woman at the top of her game who comfortably co-exists in both "black" and "white" worlds. A native of Fairfax, Va., she lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. The book will release on April 26 and can be pre-ordered at amazon.com.

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Roxanne A. Jones selected as ABC, Inc. 2004 Black Achiever in Industry
Roxanne A. Jones, senior coordinating editor, ESPN The Magazine, and vice president at ESPN, has been chosen as ABC, Inc.'s honoree for the Harlem YMCA Black Achievers in Industry for 2004. The Black Achiever in Industry awards program, presented by the Harlem branch of the YMCA of Greater New York, annually honors African-American men and women in supervisory, managerial and professional positions. Jones is the chair of the NABJ Sports Task Force.

Lisa Cox wins Edward R. Murrow Award
WVTM-TV Executive Producer Lisa Cox is recipient of the Radio-Television News Directors Association's regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for excellence in electronic journalism. Cox produced "Beneath the Rubble: Birmingham Voices Then & Now," which won for Best Documentary. The news special marked the 40th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four girls on September 15, 1963. WVTM-TV also won for Overall Excellence and Best Newscast. The station's news division is led by NABJ member Yvette Miley, VP/News Director.

NABJ student member honored by USA Today
Tamira Cole received an Honorable Mention by USA Today out of 600 nominees from colleges and universities nationwide for the All-USA College Academic Team. Cole is the first student in the history of Austin Peay State University to be honored. She is an English major and double minor in Journalism and Psychology.