As we celebrate our 95 years of serving the Black community, we reach back to those who took part in the process of getting the news out to the people.
By KEVIN ‘CHILL’ HEARD
Managing Editor
The Call and Post Newspaper has long been hailed as a place famous for journalist to learn their craft. Our list of interns, who have gone on to successful careers in journalism locally, nationally and internationally, is a source of pride from our earliest days.
As we celebrate our 95 years of serving the Black community, we reach back to those who took part in the process of getting the news out to the people. The list of those who have come through these doors and learned about the news business is notable.
And, in the case of some cases, we don’t have to reach that far back to grasp an example of those who credit the Call and Post for not only giving them their first break but also allowing them to test their metal in the field.
In 2006, one such intern was JaNaé Bates.
JaNaé is currently an editor for PR Newswire but credits the Call and Post as the place where she learned to fly – “literally!”
On several occasions, JaNaé was my first call when the Cleveland Air Show rang me up to offer a spot for a writer to jump into a high-tech precision plane and tackle G-force speed, once with the Navy’s Blue Angels and another with the Army’s Golden Knights. Although JaNaé-the-fearless-intern wasn’t required to jump out of the plane, she made it known that if such an opportunity arose; she was ready, willing and able!
When the Disney Pixar folks asked if I had anybody who they could strap up in a comfy couch attached to 65 gigantic balloons that would lift a brave reporter 40 feet into the air to promote the animated film “Up,’ you guessed it, JaNaé was Johnny-on-the-spot!
Simply know as “the intern,” around the editorial department, she was a favorite among the staff for her intelligence and willingness. In a 2008 story written by C&P staffer Felicia Haney (herself a former intern), about Bates, who was on her way to study at the London Metropolitan University in London, England, Haney describes Bates thusly “… In 2006, JaNaé Bates walked through the Call & Post’s door as a wide-eyed, bushy-tailed intern ready to spend her sophomore summer off from Wilberforce University, soaking up the ins and outs of an African-American weekly newspaper.”
As a part of our 95th Anniversary, JaNaé Bates sat down with us last week to share her story of how the Call and Post played an integral role in shaping her life. Her story serves as a testament, that after 95 years, the C&P is as much a part of building up of our community and nurturing young leaders in “day now” as we were “back in the day.”
If you worked for or at the Call and Post Newspaper over the last 95 years in any capacity, contact us by email at info@call-post.com or call us at (216) 588-6700. Don’t let the next 95 years come and go without you checking in at least one more time. History is calling you. You have a story to tell and now is the time to tell it.
Yes, we are still looking for you and your story.
