Region 2 Town Hall

Freedom's Voices Uncovers Our Roots and More

By Wayne Dawkins

The panel "Cut from the Same Cloth: Black Journalists in the Black Press
and in the Mainstream Media" demonstrated that both groups grapple daily with similar issues. The issues include producing quality content,
controlling costs and serving customers' ever-changing needs.

The panel was among three at the May 4, 2002, NABJ Region 2 (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania) symposium, "Freedom's Voices: Celebrating 175 Years of the Black Press."

The "Cloth" panelists were Wayne Dawkins, Daily Press (Hampton Roads,
Va.); Alfred Edmond, Black Enterprise; Cynthia Franklin, KIP Business
Report; Walter T. Middlebrook, Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.); Brother Eric
Ture Muhammad, Final Call, and Kevin B. Richardson, Philadelphia Tribune.

George E. Curry, editor of NNPA (Black Press of America) News Service, was
moderator. He probed the panelists for direct answers. For example, he asked what
could be done to stop the anti-affirmative action attacks by conservative think
tanks, including newspaper opinion pages and other media. A panelist recommended that consumers tell sponsors that they won't buy the
products if ideological attacks continue.

Other points made by panel members:
* Black-owned newspapers must show more unity in fighting racism and do less internal fighting as they compete for readers.
* At a major metro newspaper, a lot of energy was invested in hiring and
retaining experienced writers and editors of color, and in training the
entire newsroom to be aware of what goes on in communities of color.
* Yes, black journalists who have worked many years at mainstream mediums
may seem to be toiling on "plantations," but a black-owned medium can seem
like a "plantation," too, instead of a utopia.

About 100 people attended the symposium at theColumbia University School of
Journalism. The first panel, "Honoring Our Pioneers: Black Voices Write
Freedom," featured James E. Booker, freelance writer and public relations consultant; Herb Boyd, Amsterdam News/The Black World Today; Phyl Garland, of the Columbia University journalism school, and Hazel Trice Edney, NNPA Washington correspondent.

The third panel, "Impact: The Black Voice in Modern Media," featured Karen
E. Quinones Miller, Philadelphia author, whose first novel was published by Simon and Schuster; Anthony Paige, DUVA Boxing; Garry Pierre-Pierre, Haitian Times; Condace Pressley, WSB Radio in Atlanta and president of NABJ, and Danya Steele, HarlemLive.org.

Photos from May 4 Townhall