Native American Journalists Association (NAJA)

The Native American Journalists Association that strives to teach and empower Native American journalists. Their goal is also to increase the percentage of Native American journalists in mainstream media.

The association is based in Norman at The University of Oklahoma. NAJA hosts an annual conference to discuss the state of journalism of Native Americans and how it can be improved.

NAJA membership is extended to professionals, students, corporations and organizations. Students are able to work with professionals in their fields of interest in order to gain experience and make contacts. NAJA offers internships and opportunities for students to showcase their works at the national conferences.

NAJA’s website is well organized and offers the world an opportunity to view the works and progress of Native American Journalists. The information is accessible and right at your fingertips.

I never know the association was based in Norman. It’s great to know that OU students have the opportunity to work hands on with the national organization.

The site is an important tool to for Native Americans and others in that they are able to easily see what is going on in their community. It is an excellent tool for quick references and appropriate uses of language relating to Native American peoples.

Writing With Sensitivity

When writing and referring to other cultures and communities, at times it is hard to use language that is not offensive to your readers.

I would attribute the problem to ignorance and not the writer purposefully attempting to be insensitive. I think the saying “charge it to my mind and not my heart” is appropriate when referring to this issue. In order to combat the ignorance, writers must always be conscious of the words and phrases that are appropriate to use.

Doing research and asking subjects how best to say things would help eliminate the issue.

Writing the Right Way!

I never would have thought there would be a major difference in journalistic and academic writing styles. I definitely like the academic writing style better because I have more license to be creative and expand on ideas. In journalism, for the most part, the key to a great story is to be concise and include the major points of the story. In high school, everyone is given the tools to be a great writer, but who actually remembers all the obscure rules of the English language. I certainly didn't, so my challenge is to re-learn, retain, and use the rules!