Black publisher receives Press Club of New Orleans’ Lifetime Achievement Award

30th July 2018   ·   0 Comments

By Nayita Wilson
Contributing Writer

The Press Club of New Orleans (PCNO) recognized members of the local media for their professional contributions during its 60th Annual Excellence in Journalism Awards Gala at the Jung Hotel in New Orleans on July 21. During the event, The Louisiana Weekly’s President and Publisher Renette Dejoie Hall and political commentator Clancy DuBos each received PCNO’s Lifetime Achievement Award, earning the organization’s highest honor for their leadership and influence in local media.

Dejoie Hall is the granddaughter of Constant Charles Dejoie Sr., who founded the paper in 1925 as The New Orleans Herald. Dejoie Hall is the publication’s third generation and its fourth publisher.

“She has made it survive into the third generation. There are not many Black institutions that have survived that long,” attorney and The Louisiana Weekly board member Ernest Jones said in a video documentary for Dejoie Hall that debuted at the awards gala. “The family recognized that it had a mission, and its mission was not only just to put out the paper and tell the stories, but to provide a forum for people who had oppositional viewpoints. She has still done that.”

Dejoie Hall said, “I stand on [the] shoulders of my grandfather, who was resolute, committed and had the wherewithal and the means to start the paper to give a voice to the voiceless. I stand on the shoulders of the second generation who gave and opened doors for Black politicians. My father, in particular, opened doors and financed many Black politicians.”

Today, Dejoie Hall said she leads the newspaper with support from family, staff and friends – many of whom stood with the publication during its make-or-break moment following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Following the hurricane, The Louisiana Weekly operated remotely from Houston for 11 months, relying on staff who volunteered time and talents and on-the-ground contributors who donated articles and photographs.

She said receiving the lifetime achievement award is another milestone that she will cherish. Dejoie Hall is the first African-American publisher to earn a lifetime achievement award from the Press Club of New Orleans. Earlier this year, the publication received acknowledgment that the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice School of Law at Northeastern University relies on its archives which document racially motivated murders that occurred between 1930-1970.

Clancy DuBos, political editor for Gambit and political commentator and election night analyst for WWL-TV, has worked in print and broadcast for more than 45 years. He began his reporting career as a teenager at The Times-Picayune and has since worked at WDSU-TV and WVUE-TV. He and his wife and business partner, Margo, are also immediate-past owners of Gambit, where he maintains a weekly political column.

Colleagues credit DuBos for his ability to communicate political matters with knowledge and understanding.

“It takes a good political reporter to understand the system, and it takes a good political reporter to understand the people in the system. But it takes a great political reporter to understand both the system and the people, and I think Clancy is a great political reporter because he can do that,” Ron Faucheux, political pollster, said in a video documentary for DuBos that debuted at the gala.

DuBos thanked his wife, family, former teachers and professors, friends and colleagues for encouraging and mentoring him throughout his lifetime and career.

“When my dad died in November 2017, I wrote that he was the best politician I ever knew, and he was,” DuBos said. “He never ran for office. He never even put up a yard sign, but he understood the importance of relationships and treating people right and giving a kind word of encouragement. He taught me that politics, and by extension life, is really about how we treat one another.”

Regarding the profession, DuBos said media is under attack literally, economically and politically with challenges such as fake news, propaganda and rhetoric. “Yet I am actually optimistic about the future. It’s not going to be easy – nothing worthwhile ever is. But the interesting times that we find ourselves in, they won’t last forever,” DuBos said.

Each year, the Press Club awards scholarships to promising students pursuing studies in journalism and communications. At this year’s gala, the Press Club awarded three $2,500 scholarships. Anna Foster of Mandeville and Nicole Jones of Baton Rouge, both public relations majors at Louisiana State University (LSU), each received Press Club of New Orleans scholarships. Emma Lacy of Baton Rouge, a journalism major at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, received the Renaissance Foundation Scholarship.

New Orleans City Councilmember-at-Large Helena Moreno, accompanied by Councilmembers Joseph Giarrusso, District “A,” and Jared Brossett, District “D,” presented a proclamation to PCNO for its 60th anniversary.

This article originally published in the July 30, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.