UNITY shutting down at end of March

WASHINGTON (AP) - An umbrella organization for a group of minority journalists is shutting down.

UNITY, Journalists for Diversity, announced Wednesday it would cease operations on March 30. The group began in 1994 with a convention every four years bringing together the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Native American Journalists Association and the National Association of Black Journalists.

NABJ left the group in 2011 following a revenue sharing dispute. NAHJ left in 2013, and those two organizations have since held joint conferences. UNITY then dropped its name of Unity: Journalists of Color Inc. and added the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association.

UNITY President Neal Justin says without a national convention and with so many strong programs all seeking funding "it just doesn't seem feasible to continue."