By Elise McGlothian—
Kamara Daughtry is the creator of the Young Professional Network, Digital Career Opportunities Worldwide (DCOW) on Facebook that boasts more than 5,000 members. Its paid options provide different levels of membership, which you can learn more about here.
The group is designed for journalists from all over the world to provide mentorship, opportunities, and career advice about the future of journalism with the motto: veterans + early career journalists = wisdom. As part of our continued Black History Month Series, I chatted with Kamara about the group – and how it’s expanding. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Where did you get the inspiration to launch the group?
As a student at Miles College (a Historically Black College and University), I was blessed to receive a paid fellowship from the Emma Bowen Foundation. This allowed me to intern at the CBS affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama. That internship program lasted three years, but I understood that a lot of students, especially Black and Hispanic students, don’t have the opportunity to stay at a news station for three years.
I also saw there was a big gap between staff and management, and I wanted to change that. I didn’t like how people were apprehensive to talk to supervisors or scared to talk to management. So, I said, “Let’s bridge the gap.” I wanted to help people get the career advice and connections they needed on a technology platform. The Facebook group started off with a few hundred people, but then it started expanding. There were so many news directors, hiring managers, and TV recruiters who found all these talents on the page.
What is the Emma Bowen Foundation?
The Emma Bowen Foundation is the reason why a lot of minorities, not just Black, but Hispanics and Asian Americans, are in this business. We’re exposed to different opportunities in the media industry, and not just traditional journalism. There are so many different areas of media where we have to be represented.
What is your goal for the group?
My job is focused on training and development because oftentimes, even as a student, you have to be rewired because essay writing is different from news writing. And for a lot of people, it can take about six months to grasp that, depending on where you are at.
I also saw that a lot of journalists who were going into their second and third media jobs still needed help. Everybody is dealing with time constraints, so you can’t get feedback like you normally would. And now everybody is remote, so having an online platform is the best way to get that help. But you need an actual person to help you do it.
Who is DCOW designed to help?
I designed it to help everybody, but I saw that many of the students who joined were Black and Hispanic.
When we talk about what schools students of color attend, there’s sometimes a clear difference in education and resources from one institution to the next. Students know this, and they asked for help.
How has being a Black communicator influenced your work?
We have to have a newsroom that reflects the community we serve. So, being a Black journalist, it affects me because I’m looking at things through a different lens. I bring my experience to the table, and say, “Hey, this is what I’m seeing, and this is how we can change and help this group of people.”
And I really think when we just begin to have different ethnicities at one table, we’ll definitely be open to more ideas, especially when we talk about different images that we produce in our news. So, I like the direction that things are going with diversity and inclusion. I’m just excited! And as a Black journalist, I get to see this transformation happen, which a lot of Black journalists didn’t get to see before.
What is your ultimate career goal?
To help people get jobs! I want to make an impact by training and giving people different insight into the jobs they want. My main goal is just to help people. So that’s what I like doing. That’s my calling.
How did the DCOW group adapt to the pandemic?
I would like to acknowledge two ladies – Kristen L. Pope and Lyndsay Levingston – who were partners on DCOW webinars during the summer. Right now, a lot of the internships are remote, making virtual chats the only way to get information.
We have seen exponential growth during the pandemic. Over four or five months, we had about 100 people joining every week. People needed jobs, and they wanted to look at different things. There were also so many students who needed help, especially the ones who were graduating in May. They needed to be prepared. We set up webinars, classes, trainings, provided reel critiques, and everything that they would have gotten from an internship. We had to do everything quickly because people are still graduating, and companies are still hiring.
What advice would you like to share with communicators?
Don’t be shy to help people. Don’t be afraid to get out and do it. Be yourself. Love yourself and keep God first. Don’t be afraid. If you want to do something, if you want to help somebody, go ahead. Don’t leave them in the dark.
I also really encourage everyone to get linked up with a trusted person, a trusted mentor. And just know if you do decide to join DCOW, we’ll make sure you’re taken care of.
About Kamara
Kamara currently works as a social media specialist for Sinclair Broadcast Group based in Baltimore, Maryland where she helps television stations with overall strategic recommendations on their social media platforms. Prior to joining Sinclair Broadcast Group, Kamara worked at ABC network in New York City on the national assignment desk as a digital news associate. Kamara proved to be a rising star when she graduated college early and landed a job in Sarasota, Florida at WWSB as a digital producer-reporter.
Kamara, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, started her journalism career while in high school. She attended West Georgia Technical College, a dual-enrollment program that allowed her to go to high school and take video production/journalism classes. After Kamara completed this program, she went on to graduate from Miles College. During college, Kamara received a paid fellowship from the Emma Bowen Foundation, which allowed her to intern at the CBS affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama for three years.
