Former president
Clinton spoke to a cheering, applauding crowd of
hundreds Wednesday as he addressed the nation's largest and
oldest minority journalism organization. Clinton,
speaking at the opening ceremony of the annual
convention of the National Association of Black
Journalists, addressed his efforts to combat AIDS in the
United States and abroad.
Clinton praised
the progress of several African nations in fighting AIDS
and said now is the time to help countries that are helping
themselves. "These people are fighting for their
lives, and they are fighting for the lives of their
children, and they are trying to get their act
together," Clinton said. "It would be unconscionable if we
don't do something to help."
Covering these
and other issues is the responsibility--and
advantage--of a diverse cadre of journalists,
Clinton said. That group remains largely absent from
such reporting ranks as the White House press corps, he
noted. "You get different and better questions if the people
asking the questions represent America and the world,"
Clinton said. "Every one of us filters the world
through the prism of our own experience. The press
corps should look like the country they are reporting
to."
Clinton's
appearance Wednesday was his third before NABJ. He addressed
the group in 1992 as a presidential candidate and again in
1997 during his second term as president. (AP)