News Roundup

Summer Job Prospects Dim for Teens

Young adults may have to exercise a bit of creativity when it comes to earning cash this summer, according to a study released by Challenger, Gray, and Christmas Inc. this week.

Fewer than 1 million 16- to 19-year-olds will find summer jobs this year, the lowest in 55 years, according Challenger’s labor report, which analyzed non-seasonally adjusted data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The types of jobs teens typically seek in retail and food service are being eliminated as consumer spending plummets,” said John A. Challenger, CEO of the global outplacement consultancy firm.  Furthermore, competition has grown stiff for remaining jobs as out of work, more experienced job seekers vie for the same positions, despite being overqualified, he said.

Last year, employment among teens grew by 1.15 million between May and July, a rate that was 29% slower growth than in 2007.  In March 2009, almost five million teens were employed, an 11% drop compared to the same time in last year.

–Renita Burns

China Volleyball Team Gets First Black Player

For the first time in its history, China’s national volleyball team will have a black player.

Ding Hui, 20, will play as the first black player for the national squad, the China Volleyball Association announced last week. Ding, of South African and Chinese heritage, plays the libero — or defensive — position.

The national team’s head coach Zhou Jian’an, had kept an eye on Ding since before he caught the public’s attention in 2007 at the World Youth Championships in Mexico, where Hui’s team took second place. At the time Zhou was impressed but thought Ding was too young to play in the Beijing Olympics of 2008. Now Ding will join his team in training for the

“We pick players for their ability and to meet the needs of the team as a whole,” Zhou said in an interview with the China Daily newspaper. “He’s no different from the other players. They are all Chinese.”

Ding wants to build his reputation on his on-court performance and not on his appearance. However his team and coaches view him or how he wants to be viewed has not stopped media from singling him out because of his race. One of China’s biggest Internet portals described his main characteristics as having “Black skin, thick lips, and big white teeth,” according the United Kingdom’s Timesonline.com. The article also stated that his bloodline is the reason for his “pliability, toughness, and agility.”

Raised on the east coast of Hangzhou, an industrial city and the capital of China’s Zhejiang province, Ding was shy and introverted because he looked different, says his mother Yu Jianxiu. It was volleyball that broke him out of his cocoon, she says.

Marcia A. Wade

NABJ Names Michele Norris  Journalist of the Year

The National Association of Black Journalists named National Public Radio host Michele Norris  its journalist of the year for her “crisp, bold, assertive, and heart-warming reporting” during the 2008 presidential election.

Norris moderated more than 15 hours of conversations throughout the fall election between voters of different races from York, Penn. The participants shared candid and revealing thoughts that were aired in six segments on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” which she hosts, and “Morning Edition

“A reporter and news analyst of the highest regard, Michele’s reporting during the election delivered great thought and perspective on race during Barack Obama’s historic candidacy,” Ciara said in a press release.

Norris won the NABJ Salute to Excellence Award in 2006 for her coverage of Hurricane Katrina. She has also received an Emmy and a Peabody Award for reporting she did with ABC during 9/11.

Also receiving accolades is sports writer and co-host Michael Wilbon of The Washington Post and ESPN who will receive NABJ’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Wilbon is one of fewer than 20 black sports columnists at major daily newspapers in America. NABJ identified Cynthia Gordy, a Washington correspondent for Essence Magazine,  as Emerging Journalist of the Year.

CNN anchor T.J. Holmes will host the Salute to Excellence Awards Gala in August in Tampa, Fla.

Marcia A. Wade

More Students Using Credit Cards for Education Expenses

A rising number of college students are using credit cards to cover tuition, according to a study released by educational lender Sallie Mae earlier this month.

On average, students charged $2,200 in direct education expenses in 2008, more than double the 2004 average of $942, according to the study that examines credit card use of student loan applicants.

“Too many students are at risk of overpaying for college by pulling out credit cards to pay for textbooks or even part of their tuition bill, instead of using less expensive financial aid to cover these items,” said Marie O’Malley, director of consumer research for Sallie Mae and author of the study, in a statement.

Nearly 30% of borrowers charged tuition to their credit cards, an increase from 24%  in 2004 when the study was last conducted.

What’s more, a whopping 92% of undergraduate credit-card holders charged textbooks, school supplies, or other direct education expenses, up from 85% in the previous study.

To address the problem, Sallie Mae is urging students to create and follow a financial plan to ensure responsible spending. Education and financial institutions, as well as parents, should also provide students with information on how to use credit wisely.

Renita Burns