Categories: OLD Media Moves

Staten Island biz editor becomes prez of NY Press Club

Stephannia Cleaton, business editor of the Staten Island Advance, will be sworn in as the first female African-American president of The New York Press Club at the organizationâ€™s Annual Awards and Installation Dinner on June 26.

An award-winning New York City newspaper journalist for more than 20 years, Cleaton graduated from Virginia Tech and began her journalism career as an intern at the New York Times. She went on to work for the New York Voice and Associated Press before joining the Staten Island Advance in 1989.

In 1991, she received an award from the New York Association of Black Journalists for her feature story on the â€œThe Bride and the Bill,â€? which discussed the high cost of planning a wedding.

Cleaton will be the second African-American to be club president since the organizationâ€™s inception in 1948. (The first was Joe Bragg of WHN radio in 1977.) In addition, she will be the first newspaper person elected to the NYPC presidency since 1991. By coincidence, Cleaton celebrates her 20th anniversary as member of the club this year.

â€œIt is certainly an honor to be chosen to lead such a sterling organization. The New York Press Club has an excellent and deep history, and I hope, as president, I can add to that legacy,â€? she stated.

Cleaton is also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, vice president of the Garden State Association of Black Journalists and is an adjunct professor in the College of Professional Studies at St. Johnâ€™s University, Staten Island campus.

BusinessWeek won the NYPC award for business coverage this year for excellence in a story or series representing business, finance, trends or management. The winning story was called “Why GM’s Plan Won’t Work” and was written by David Welch and Dan Beucke.

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DC Livers, managing editor says:
June 26, 2006 at 1:22 pm
While we congratulate Ms. Cleaton on her accomplishment, we are deeply saddened that it took so long to happen. Newsroom diversity remains a stain on American journalism and news outlets continue to fail to address the need to diversify.
In particular, Press Clubs have a special mandate to set the standard for diversity and while New York's diverse population is no surprise to the world, the lack of diversity at the state's news outlets is shocking.
The Historical Black Press Foundation seeks to foster dialogue on this important issue and invite all interested parties to attend the 2nd Annual Black Press All Star Awards in Baltimore, MD on September 15-17, 2006.
It is our hope to create a pressing need to address this national tragedy and to apply the sensitivity and financial seriousness that it deserves.
For more information call 646-322-3047 or visit us at blackpress.org.