Fresh off the start of a rebranding campaign, ICT is adding new staff to its Indigenous-led newsroom dedicated to telling Native stories.
R. Vincent Moniz, Jr., the senior producer for the ICT newscast, was hired full-time. He’s NuÉta and Oglala from the Three Affiliated Tribes. He’s been with the company for almost two years as a contract worker. Moniz is based in Bismarck, North Dakota.
“Indian Country Today was the dream. If I could work with Indian Country’s ‘Justice League’ that would’ve been absolutely amazing and so as I moved up through journalism and learning different styles of writing. ICT has always been a dream of mine, to be able to work with people, with everybody,” Moniz said on the “ICT Newscast with Aliyah Chavez.”
“In addition to being a talented journalist, he’s also an award-winning poet,” said Shirley Sneve, vice president of broadcasting.
Sneve added that the funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting allowed the newscast to expand.
(Related: A new day, a new ICT)
McKenzie Allen-Charmley, Dena’ina Athabaskan, was hired as a full-time producer in June. She is a recent graduate of the Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
“They (ICT) uplift, they inspire, they support and that just really aligned with my core values and honestly my heart because it feels good to be around people in a work environment where everyone has that same kind of thinking,” she said.
She hopes to tell Native stories that put Native voices in the forefront, and be a role model for others.
“As an Alaska Native and Black journalist, she brings a wealth of cultural knowledge to the newscast,” Sneve said. Allen-Charmley will be working from the ICT headquarters in Phoenix.
Aliyah Chavez, Kewa Pueblo, is adding newscast managing editor to her newscast anchor role.
“In the three years Aliyah has been at ICT, she is a proven journalist with a passion for news.” Sneve said.
For digital, Jason Begay joins the team as the national editor and coach. Begay, Navajo, is a veteran journalist and long-time educator.
As a coach, his job is to develop ICT’s national student internship program across the country.
“I really think confidence is one of the best things we can teach students and interns,” he said.
Begay’s been working as a journalist since 1995. For the past 12 years he’s been at the University of Montana as a journalism professor while doing some freelance on the side. He will be on a sabbatical from the university for the next year. He will be working from Missoula, Montana.
He said the timing and ICT’s digital platform is what interested him in rejoining a newsroom.
“The way ICT’s using readership data and apps is really exciting. It’s an exciting form of publication that I don’t have a lot of experience in and really want to have experience in,” Begay said.
ICT’s operation side has also made a new and familiar hire.
Sky Vasquez, Bishop Paiute, is rejoining ICT after leaving in November 2020. She said it’s an honor to resume her position as vice president of operations.
“I always valued the leadership and team at ICT and truly felt we are contributing to changing the narrative of Indian Country,” she said. “As we all struggled through this unprecedented time we label ‘the pandemic,’ we fought to care for our loved ones, family, friends and our tribal communities. I was fortunate enough to be able to step away and care for my own family in their time of need. As I see my family and community grow stronger, I am happy to step back into the pursuit of my own professional goals and contribute to the mission of ICT.”
This story has been corrected to show that ICT hired four staff members and one staff member has a title change.
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