The history of African Americans in the news media is a relatively recent story of firsts. Consider Dorothy Gilliam, who in 1961 became the first black woman reporter hired by "The Washington Post", or Bob Herbert, who in 1993 became the first black columnist at "The New York Times", or even Mark Whitaker, who in 1998 became the first black editor of one of America's three major newsweeklies, "Newsweek". These are just a few of the trailblazers who overcame obstacles to rise to the highest echelons of the media world. Prior to the 1960s, however, African Americans working for the predominantly white media were few and far between. After the subsiding of the dramatic civil rights demonstrations that shook most of America out of complacent acceptance of the status quo, the hiring of African-American news people slowed for a time before accelerating in the 1970s, gaining real speed in the 1980s and 1990s. This two-volume biographical encyclopedia chronicles the success stories and considerable strides made by over 240 African American media figures from newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the Internet.