Deirdre M. Childress
Entertainment Editor
The Philadelphia Inquirer
NABJ Vice President-Print Deirdre M. Childress is an award-winning editor for The Philadelphia Inquirer. In Philadelphia, she has served stints on the digital, city, sports, suburban and entertainment desks. She’s worked at The Washington Post, Los Angeles Daily News, United Press International, Syracuse Newspapers and Los Angeles Times.
Education
Childress has been at the forefront of digital training at the Inquirer; establishing a special desk in Sports and studying innovations on an elite team. She earned a bachelor’s degree, with a double major, and a President’s Award from Colgate University. She’s also studied at The Poynter Institute, UCLA and London University.
Experience
Deirdre edits film/entertainment/TV coverage for the Inquirer and managed a three- time Pulitzer Prize finalist, staff reporters and freelancers. She was among just 12 company managers who successfully produced a digital revenue model for Philadelphia Media Holdings, the parent company of the Inquirer. A Los Angeles native, she’s been an editor and/or reporter in major and midsized markets – Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Syracuse and Philadelphia. Deirdre’s covered the arts, government, design, entertainment, suburban communities and sports. She coordinated mayoral election coverage, the 2004 NAACP Convention, the Oscars in print and online and launched a multi-media sports project at philly.com. You can find her on Facebook and at http://twitter.com/deirdre22
Related Experience
Former NABJ Secretary, Deirdre’s been a member of BJASC, WABJ and PABJ. She re-launched the Print Newsroom Census, helped to lead NABJ delegates to Senegal and coordinated the first international meeting in Toronto, saving NABJ $15,000. A strong fundraiser, she served on the Hall of Fame group, co-created the On the Move campaign, and put the Journal online, saving $25,000. Deirdre helped to launch the Reinvention Committee and several advocacy missions, gaining jobs for members. She mentors with NABJ Founder Acel Moore’s High School Program and at LaSalle, Temple and Rutgers.
Deirdre recently moderated a session of BlogTalkRadio for the NABJ Reinvention Committee and Digital Journalism Task Force. She has made appearances on FOX and NBC. She was a regular contributor to NPR’s “News and Notes.” Two of those NPR discussions can be found here: Roundtable: Media, Tech Companies See Major Cuts and Roundtable: Obama and McCain to Skip UNITY?
Deirdre is committed to making the 2011 Philadelphia Convention a tremendous success!
Statement
NABJ’s CEO must be a first-hand witness to the struggles of black journalists, but also a survivor who understands how to transform our careers with new opportunities at multimedia companies, as freelancers and as entrepreneurs.
My two terms on the Executive Board and at a newspaper shifting from print to a groundbreaking digital model give me that breadth of experience. My vision is about embracing innovation, fostering sustainable careers and giving our Members better lives.
Let’s move forward to empowerment!
My top goal as your President is to inspire, to stay tenacious, and to always place our Members First!
Talk to Deirdre
Deirdre wants to hear from NABJ members with great ideas, pledges of volunteer efforts and general concerns. You can email her at dchildress1@comcast.net, call her at 215-854-2463, find her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter, @deirdre22.