Black Media, more important and necessary than ever

The Louisiana Weekly is a touchstone of knowledge that brings information, insight, analysis, and in-depth reporting on issues impacting the Black community, locally and nationally. Now in our 97th year and counting, The Louisiana Weekly continues to carry out its mission of covering news from a Black perspective and, in real-time, supporting Black businesses.

More than just reporting on events, Black media is the go-to platform for illuminating the truth, searching for justice, and deep-probing investigations from a Black perspective.

The fact that 84 percent of journalists in mainstream media are white validates the communications theory that everyone sees things through their prisms, which means that their experiences, values, and beliefs may color their judgment. Also, 64 percent of editorial departments are staffed by men, indicating gender bias that doesn’t exist in Black media.

“Too long have others spoken for us. Too long has the publick been deceived by misrepresentations, in things which concern us dearly…” co-founders Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm, free men of color, wrote.

While Black media may be somewhat homogeneous, these institutions cover the entire Black experience.

“Why Black Media Matters Now,” a report from Craig Newmark School of Journalism at CUNY, explains the ongoing need for Black media. The study is a project of the Black Media Initiative at the Newmark J-School’s Center for Community Media.

Black media is “leading the way and providing critical coverage, centering the community and connecting us to the Historical fight for justice. Black media publishes, by a factor of as high as six times, more coverage than mainstream media on issues of importance to Black communities, including racism, health disparities, and voting access,” the authors wrote.

Additionally, Black media stands with victims of injustice, reports on public policies that negatively impact Black communities, and acts as a guardian of Black interests.

Along with The Louisiana Weekly, Data News Weekly, The New Orleans Tribune, Think 504, and WBOK 1230 AM Radio are keeping Black communities informed on issues in a manner that local mainstream media doesn’t.

Although these media are locally based, their subscribers and listeners are national and international.

Not enough of us in our Black communities treasure the gift of knowledge and information that the Black press provides. Far too many only seek out Black media when they are in trouble or victims of injustice.

Also troubling are advertisers, who, despite reaping millions of dollars from Black communities, think they don’t need to pitch their products to Black people whose spending tops more than $1 trillion dollars annually, through ads in the Black media. That list includes political organizations, candidates for elected office, utilities, and grocery stores, automotive dealerships, the travel industry and entertainment industries that benefit from Black support.

As America grows more diverse, overlooking a large segment of the market is not wise. We recommend that corporations, small businesses, and institutions with advertising budgets pitch their products to the tens of thousands who support and subscribe to Black media.

This article originally published in the December 13, 2021 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.