Tené Croom, co-chair of the Black Press Task Force for the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), is a veteran broadcast journalist and public relations executive.
After majoring in English at Knoxville College in Knoxville, Tennessee and taking writing courses at the University of Tennessee, Croom began her long career in radio in 1977 at WRKB Radio – then the only black-owned cable radio station in the country. She started in broadcast radio in 1978 as a disc jockey and news anchor at WJBE-AM, which was owned and operated by James Brown, the “Godfather of Soul.”
From 1983 until 2011, she worked at American Urban Radio Networks (AURN) – 17 of those years she was Director of News. She left in August 2011 to start her own communications/marketing company.
Tené is now President of Tené Croom Communications and has had as clients Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, Pittsburgh Branch of the NAACP, Black Stuntmen’s Association, actor Ji-Tu Cumbuka, among others.
She is also a freelance correspondent for National Newspaper Publishing Association (NNPA) newspapers, including The New Pittsburgh Courier, EURweb.com, Radio/TV Business Report (RBR.com), and Onyx Woman magazine.
You can hear her regularly on BBC London’s Dotun Adebayo Show and other BBC radio shows discussing hot-button urban issues happening in the United States. She is also featured on “The Perri Small Show” on Chicago’s WVON-AM – giving insight on headline making news of the day.
Tené has been a speaker at a number of national conferences including the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Convention and Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) at National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Conference. In 2016 she was among moderators of panels at the NABJ’s Region 1 conference in Baltimore and a moderator in 2014 and 2013 of the panel “Meet the Black Press” at the NABJ’s national conventions. In 2011, Tené was a panelist at the “Summit on Evolving the Image of the African American Male in American Media” held at the University of Pittsburgh.
For all her national and domestic news reporting, Tené has received a number of awards. In 2011, she received the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation (PBMF) “Legacy Award.” The New Pittsburgh Courier in 2010 gave Tené their prestigious “50 Women of Excellence” award in recognition of her excellent work on the job and in the community.
Tené Croom
412-478-1815
tene.croom.tc@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter – @TcTene
Follow on YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/user/tcroomcommunications
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