#theafro

[theboxingshop]

@samderrrr24 Looking Good Sam ! #theafro #thefro #thehair #coach #teamtbs #attitude #teach #learn #teachersofinstagram (at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ9kHuwlHet/?igshid=1aboou8c4zujf

[once-silenced]

“We wish to plead our own cause.”

The state of black news media (sources aimed at a black audience) is something awful – it is much like a child nestled in its mom’s womb. Black media is gentle, and desires great attention. The state of black-oriented media is a dreadful one, to say the least.

There are opposing arguments to what constitutes black media, and they are simple, yet complex and are deserving of airtime. It makes sense that the two arguments are at odds with one another. Depending on how one defines black media dictates what fits into the black media category.

On one side, folks view black media as sources aimed at a black audience. And on the other side folks view black media as sources that are black owned, and operated. These definitions are at odds with one another; thus, yield opposing arguments for what fits into the black media category.

After visiting the Afro-American Newspaper in Baltimore, for the first time, this past February, I was invited to engage, and think about the nuances of living in a 21st century society, and the ways in which a 21st century society adversely affects the state of black news media. News for younger generations, the millennials and such, does not mean the same as it does for the older generation. For this reason, there is a harsh decline in the viewership of black news outlets as a whole.

News, not like what’s the tea in The Shade Room, or The Wendy Williams Show – is it hot or cold today – though news sources are a shady bunch, too. News, not like media takeout, though that too is arguably news… it’s news to somebody. I mean news, similar to that of the first of three definitions provided by the Merriam-Webster dictionary: a report of recent events. I mean news, similar to the types of articles you would expect to be in the Baltimore Sun, or the New York Times, or The Washington Post, or, God forbid, The Afro. News.

So, how do we fix it? What is our solution? Is there still a reason to “plead our own cause,” like the Freedom’s Journal suggests that black voice does? What is black media, and is its definition crucial to the trajectory of its reach. Will outlets like The Afro suffer from not keeping up with the Kardashian, or buzzing like the beehive, or tossing lemons in their spilled tea?

How does black media, print journalism, make an intelligent shift into 21st century journalism in a social media driven society? Can the black voice count on others to tell their stories? Is there a need for black-oriented media?

The black voice needs not disintegrate because it could not keep up in a tech savvy world.

[destined4stardom]

So I've been waiting to share this until it was legit but I can scratch this one off the bucket list. Check out my first piece for #TheAfro on the shelves now! #published #journalist #intern #building #multifaceted #mylife #blackwallstreet #jacknostalgia #charmcity #creatives #blackboy #blacklivesmatter #NotAboutARiot