Charlotte, NC / April 14 2025 - At the National Association of Black Journalists Region III Conference held April 10–12 at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC, more than 100 journalists gathered for a series of dynamic discussions. Among them was a standout panel titled “How to Power Forward in Political Reporting,” moderated by Walter Smith Randolph, Executive Producer of Investigations at CBS New York.
Held in the university’s New Science Center, the panel featured veteran journalist and Roll Call columnist Mary C. Curtis, North Carolina Central University law professor Irving Joyner, and Spectrum News 1 political producer Chris Williams. The conversation wove together history, lived experience, and the evolving role of the press in a polarized political landscape.
Mary Curtis reflected on the rapid pace of political and cultural shifts: “I wasn’t surprised by what’s happened—but I was surprised by how fast it happened.” She added that while America relies on the idea of checks and balances, “with progress always comes pushback.”
Irving Joyner grounded the discussion in historical context, tracing his family’s journey from slavery on the Joyner plantation to the Wilmington Massacre of 1898, and through the Civil Rights Movement. “We have survived worse,” he said. “If we give up, it’s over. We survived because we came together.”
The panel emphasized the importance of journalism as a public service. “It’s not just a job—it’s a career, a calling,” Joyner said. “There is freedom of the press, and it’s your job to raise the consciousness of the people so they know what the real deal is.”
Chris Williams acknowledged the mental weight political journalists carry but expressed resolve: “Even though it’s always in my head, I feel determined. We’ll never run out of stories.”
The discussion also explored how journalists can navigate the increasingly blurred lines between their personal and professional lives in the digital age. Moderator Walter Smith Randolph emphasized the importance of digital and social media training, especially learning to separate personal life from professional identity.
“People are always paying attention,” Williams added, reinforcing the reality of constant visibility. Curtis agreed: “People start to pay attention when it hits them. The question is: what’s next?”
Joyner offered a final word of caution to journalists in the spotlight: “If you are in the public eye, you have to always be careful and prepared. Be as private as you can.”
As the session closed, Randolph summed it up with a call to action: “We’re not just covering politics—we are part of the democratic process. And with that comes responsibility.”
