National organizations have banded together to set-up a fund devoted to the slain Virginia television journalists.
NAB, RTDNA and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will contribute to and accept donations from broadcasters on behalf of Alison Parker and Adam Ward; the WDBJ(TV), Roanoke, Va. personnel were slain by an embittered former colleague on live television.
A portion of the contributions will be distributed to family members of Parker and Ward by the NAB. An additional contribution will go to Vicki Gardner, executive director, Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, who was also shot and wounded.
“We encourage our member companies to join with NAB in supporting the families of these two young journalists, who were taken way too soon,” says NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith.
NATAS President Bob Mauro encourages members to support the effort “and hope these donations help them in their time of need.”
Any remaining funds will be directed to the Committee to Protect Journalists, an organization dedicated to press freedom and protecting the rights of reporters to work without fear of reprisal.
NAB previously donated $10,000 to CPJ following the murders of James Foley and Steven Sotloff, American journalists abducted and murdered while covering the Syrian Civil War. NAB is developing an online method of contributing to the Alison & Adam Memorial Fund. More than $40,000 has been committed to-date from broadcasters, according to the trade lobby.
