LOS ANGELES, Feb. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Ticketmaster, a Live Nation Entertainment company (NYSE:LYV) and UNITY: Journalists for Diversity, Inc. have selected Charmaine Nero as the recipient of a student fellowship program created to advance diversity in sports reporting. The Ticketmaster/UNITY fellowship program grants a deserving student journalist with $2,500 in tuition assistance and provides media access to select NBA All-Star related activities in New York City, Feb. 11-15, 2015.

The Ticketmaster/UNITY fellowship program was offered to currently enrolled journalism students as well as recent graduates who were asked to submit short essays on the importance of diversity in sports journalism. In addition to $2,500 in tuition assistance, the selected student will report on a variety of in-arena and community-facing NBA All-Star related events and conduct interviews with NBA fans in attendance. The student-written stories will be published on the Ticketmaster Blog and UNITY: Journalists for Diversity website, as well as submitted to a number of other outlets and news organizations.

The most outstanding applicant, Charmaine Nero, is currently serving as President of the Columbia Journalism Association of Black Journalists and pursuing her Masters of Science degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Nero is a freelance reporter for Examiner.com and has covered news for The Midtown Gazette and GlobalCityNYC.com. She has also served as anchor, producer, writer and editor for Columbia University’s Columbia Nightly News, a weekly news broadcast program.

As part of the Ticketmaster/UNITY fellowship program assignment, Nero will highlight the services and benefits of NBATickets.com, the Official Ticket Marketplace of the NBA. Ticketmaster and the NBA partnered to create NBATickets.com, which provides fans a single, comprehensive destination for buying and selling game tickets directly from their favorite teams and other fans.

“Diversity of viewpoints is the key to comprehensive coverage of news and world events, and is the hallmark of good journalism,” said Russell Contreras, President, UNITY: Journalists for Diversity, Inc. “We are proud to join with Ticketmaster on this important fellowship program to help prepare Charmaine and the next generation of sports reporters for their careers in journalism.”

“Through our partnership with UNITY, and with the support of the National Basketball Association, we are delighted to award a very deserving journalism student like Charmaine with not only access to some of the marquee events during NBA All-Star 2015 and wide distribution channels for her work, but with financial assistance to help her continue to pursue her journalism education,” said Jared Smith, president, Ticketmaster North America.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, Live Nation Media & Sponsorship and Artist Nation Management. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.com.

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About UNITY

UNITY: Journalists for Diversity Inc. is a strategic alliance advocating fair and accurate news coverage about diversity – especially race, ethnicity, gender identity and sexual orientation – and aggressively challenging the industry to staff its organizations at all levels to reflect the nation’s diversity.