Neil Foote
Neil Foote is a collaborator, connector, strategist and journalist. He has experience in all aspects of the media, including print, broadcast and the Internet. Foote has been a newspaper reporter (The Miami Herald & The Washington Post), a newspaper industry executive (American Society of Newspaper Editors) and an Internet strategist (The Dallas Morning News, Belo Corporation, Tom Joyner). He is President and CEO of Foote Communications LLC, a public relations, web consulting and multicultural marketing firm. His clients include the Tom Joyner Foundation, J. Anthony Brown, AMS Production Group and REACH Media Inc. He also is an assistant professor of University of North Texas’ Department of Journalism.
Previously, Foote was Director of Communications for Tom Joyner’s Reach Media. He managed the public relations and communications plan for all entities of the multimedia company that is the parent company for the Tom Joyner Morning Show, the nation’s #1 syndicated morning entertainment radio show. He is charged with creating an overall media plan for the company as well as each of its subsidiaries and special projects and has worked secure articles and appearances in major national media, including the New York Times, Forbes, Fortune, Ebony, Black Enterprise, CNN, Regis & Kelly Live! and NPR.
Jane Foote
A veteran newspaper reporter and editor, Jane Foote is Foote Communications’ Chief Operations Officer. She had a distinguished career at The Washington Post and The Dallas Morning News where she worked in several roles, including metro reporter and editor, financial reporter and local columnist.
Michael H. Cottman
Michael Cottman an award-winning journalist and author, is a Senior Correspondent for REACH Media/Radio One, the nation’s largest black-owned media company. Cottman — a former reporter for The Washington Post, Newsday and The Miami Herald — is also presently a lecturer in the Department of Journalism at University in Washington, D.C. Cottman is also covering the 2008 Presidential campaign and offers political commentary and analysis for The Tom Joyner Morning Show and XM Radio.
Cottman, the author of three books including the story of a 17th-Century slave ship, has spent nearly 30 years reporting about politics, social trends and America’s expanding multi-cultural society. Cottman has worked for some of the nation’s top newspapers, including The Washington Post, Newsday, The Miami Herald and The Atlanta Constitution. In addition to writing for newspapers. He has received numerous awards including journalism’s highest honor, the Pulitzer Prize, which he shared with a team of reporters at Newsday in 1992. Cottman also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2000 to discuss his book, “The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie.” He has also appeared on CNN; NPR; PBS; C-SPAN Booknotes; ABC News and CBS News affiliates, The Learning Channel and The History Channel.
