Television reporter Brittany Noble-Jones was named the 2015 Emerging Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) on May 14, 2015.
The award recognizes an early career journalist who, through their body of work, displays a commitment to NABJ’s goal of outstanding achievement by black journalists and a commitment to providing balanced coverage of the black community and society at large.
Noble-Jones – a general assignment reporter at KMOV-TV, a CBS affiliate in St. Louis – was one of the first journalists to cover the aftermath of the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. Her interview with Brown’s mother shortly after his death – using the app Instagram – trended worldwide.
Noble-Jones’ use of social media to immediately tell the story, rather than wait until her newscast aired, was noteworthy. She also used social media to find potential witnesses, who she later interviewed.
“Brittany Noble-Jones is focused, driven and diligent,” NABJ President Bob Butler said. “Many within NABJ have watched as she has honed her reporting skills and developed her brand. Those in the communities she covers know that she is relentless in her pursuit of the truth. This was on full display as Brittany was one of the first reporters to highlight the tragic shooting death of Mike Brown and the subsequent unrest Brown’s death prompted.”
Noble-Jones also gained national attention when she was the only journalist to report on the case of Terry Robinson, a St. Louis man who claimed two police officers unjustly detained him and threatened to plant evidence on him. Robinson said he secretly recorded the conversation with the officers. In 2014, The Riverfront Times named her the best TV reporter in the St. Louis area.
Noble-Jones was previously a reporter and substitute anchor at WEYI-TV in Flint, Mich. She began her on-air career as a reporter at WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tenn. Her first job in television, however, was behind the scenes when she worked as an associate producer at KAIT-TV in Jonesboro, Ark., while completing her graduate studies at Arkansas State University.
An “NABJ Baby” Noble-Jones participated in the NABJ Multimedia Short Courses at both Florida A&M University and North Carolina A&T State University. Later, she participated in NABJ’s Multimedia Reporting Project as a broadcast student at the association’s San Diego convention.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from Alcorn State University, and a master’s degree from Arkansas State University. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and her local NABJ chapter, the Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists.
Noble-Jones will be honored along with NABJ’s other award winners at NABJ's Salute to Excellence Gala on Aug. 8 during the association’s 40th Annual Convention and Career Fair in Minneapolis.
About the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ)
An advocacy group established in 1975 in Washington, D.C., NABJ is the largest organization for journalists of color in the nation, and provides career development as well as educational and other support to its members worldwide.
Source: Aprill Turner, NABJ
