HABJ - Houston Association of Black Journalists

Houston’s Legendary Black News Reporters

In 1937, McElroy landed a job as a youth column writer at the Informer, the oldest African-American newspaper in Texas. McElroy also served as the Texas correspondent for Jet Magazine and was elected as President of the Press Club of Houston. He was the first black reporter and the first black columnist at the now-defunct Houston Post daily newspaper in 1954 1964: Co-director of the first annual High School Reporters' Conference, held at Prairie View A&M University[25] Among many "firsts" achieved by McElroy, he became the first African American member of Houston Press Club,  

Houston’s Black Radio Stations

The first noted radio station in the U.S. with black programming dates back to 1947 in Memphis, TN on station WDIA

• KYOK, 1590 AM From 1954 to 1999,
• KCOH Texas’s Oldest Black Radio Station. 1953.The station has been broadcasting locally since 1953, first on 1430 AM and then on 1230 AM.
• KTSU was Houston's first FM Black radio station, launching in 1972,

 

Houston’s Black Historical Disc Jockey

Since the 1940s, Black disc jockeys—or deejays—have been an inseparable part of Black radio. These men and women played music, sold products, discussed politics, and entertained listeners. Because they spoke the language of the community, they forged strong relationships with their Black audience.

• Rick Roberts, 1950s - 1970s KYOK-AM sponsored events such as the "We Love You" concert
• Skipper Lee Frazier, Houston deejay with KCOH in Houston during the 1970s and '80s.
• Gladys Hill, aka Dizzy Lizzy, Hotsy Totsy, Zing Zang or Grandma Gee Gee.
• Legendary Houston personality deejay “Walt Love”,
• Georgia “Boogaloo” Frazier
• "Groovy" George Nelson (circa 1961/1962)

 

Houston’s First Black TV Anchors

• Alma Newsom, launched the careers of hundreds of broadcasters. She joined KHOU in 1971 as community affairs director, program manager, talk show host, reporter and news anchor.
• In 1973, Diana Fallis became the first Black female Anchor in Prime-time in Houston on ABC 13 Houston (KTRK) 1973-1983.
• Linda Lorelle, joined KPRC 2 in 1989 as a weekend anchor. She was then promoted to the weekday evening anchor position for 16 years.
• Mary Benton, joined KPRC-TV in 1994 as a news reporter and fill-in weekend anchor.
• Melanie Lawson joined ABC’s KTRK-TV Channel 13 in 1982 and is currently the anchor of Live at 5 and ABC13's midday show, Eyewitness News at 11 a.m.

 

Houston’s Legendary Black Photographers, and Camera Operators

Houston photographers help to chronicles Black history and shape American History. There were only four Black Professional Portrait Photographers in Houston, beginning in 1919. They were: A.C. Teal, Herbert J. Provost, Louise Martin and Benny Joseph.

• A.C. Teal, Teal School of Photography in Houston from 1946 to 1947
• Benny Joseph, worked for the Buffalo Booking Agency, radio station KCOH-AM, and notable entertainers like B. B. King, Junior Parker, Bobby Bland, Buddy Ace and several others. He documented racial discrimination for the NAACP.
• Provost Studios, since 1948: Chronicling Black Houston for 75 years. Herbert, Georgia and Jerome Provost of Provost Studios, Texas’s leading professional photographers.
• Louise Ozelle Martin, She is known as a pioneer for African-American female photographers. In 1946 she opened Louise Martin Art Studios, and captured the ins and outs of Houston’s black community as a society photographer.
• Earlie Hudnall, Jr.: began photographing in the 1960s his photographs collections are in major museums across the county

 

Black Online /Digital Media Outlets

New online and digital media platforms for Black millennials and Gen-Z reaches more than 60 million people per month

• AfroNet, an invite-only bulletin board in the late ’80s that became a haven for Black people to connect and create.
• Black World Media Network A multimedia digital platform, BWMN connects the Black World through news, information and culture from the United States, Canada, Africa,