On Wednesday, March 14, The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) announced veteran journalist, Roland Martin, as vice president-digital.

Martin, joined NABJ as a student in 1989, and has been active ever since.  With a career spanning 27 years, Martin has a great deal of experience in various kinds of media.  He is a host and managing editor at TV One Cable Network, a senior analyst for the Tom Joyner, a position he’s held for 10 years, and is CEO of his own media company, Nu Vision Media, Inc.

Veteran journalist, Roland Martin, was named vice president-digital of the National Association of Black Journalists (Courtesy Photo)

Sarah Glover, president of NABJ, said appointing Martin as vice president-digital was a decision based on his long history with the African American media organization and his great deal of digital experience.

“I’m proud to have a fellow NABJ Baby Roland Martin join the NABJ board as vice president-digital.  Roland brings a breadth of digital journalism experience and three decades of support for NABJ.  He’s played a pivotal role in disseminating news and information to African American audiences across digital platforms.  Roland is one of the first cross-platform digital journalists that has excelled in broadcast, print, online, social, and in the Black Press.  Roland’s entrepreneurial knowledge and business skills will also help NABJ to continue to grow its footprint and resources,” said Glover, according to a statement released by NABJ.

Martin’s appointment will make his third stint on the NABJ board.  Previously Martin served as the national student representative from 1989-1991 and secretary from 2009-2001.

Further, Martin has served in various leadership roles in both professional and student NABJ chapters.

With over twenty years as a member of the press and NABJ, Martin was named NABJ Journalist of the Year in 2013.

Martin said he has always been attracted to pursuing a variety of media platforms.

“From the day I joined NABJ as a student in 1989, I’ve never limited my skill set development to just one area of media.  Now, 29 year later, our industry has shifted completely to a digital model that requires journalists to know how to do effective storytelling in radio, TV and print,” he said according to an NABJ statement.

Now, the multi-platform journalist has major plans in accepting the position as vice president-digital.

“My goal in accepting this position from our president, Sarah Glover, is to advocate for a massive re-training and development of our membership, and to push digital media operations to be far more forceful in ensuring their workplaces embrace inclusion rather than traditional media,” Martin said.