black~ish: Stepin Fetchit is an Eye Opener About Blacks in Advertising

As a Black-American woman in the midst of testing her multimedia journalism skills in advertising, my eyes are always wide open. I've been analyzing every single commercial and ad in magazines, newspapers, transportation hubs, as well as the ones that appear on my favorite television shows, black-ish.

The Richard Youngster episode that aired March 29, 2017, on ABC, opened my eyes even more. While social media expressed their disappointment of Chris Brown's appearance on the show, I was applauding the writers. About what? Blacks working in advertising and the lack of Blacks working in the business. I'm talking about the absence of Black creatives, talent, focus groups, and Blacks in executive positions at global agencies.

There were several truths in the episode, but the one that caught me off guard was how Richard Youngster was compared to Stepin Fetchit. Which, by the way, I never heard of until Andre, Rainbow and Ruby broke it down.

Know the history of Stepin Fetchit. Both sides! Catch up on #blackish here: https://t.co/Od3k2nUIGi pic.twitter.com/qrhkFcWjeg

— black-ish (@black_ishABC) March 30, 2017

Unfortunately, most people missed the history lesson, and the in your face message of what it's like to be a minority working in advertising. Even industry advertising newsletters didn't get or send a memo. 

Lucky for me, I did get the memo because my eyes are opened...even wider.

Did you get the memo? Discuss in the comment box below or e-mail your views to TCsViews@gmail.com.

Hyperlocal Newsroom Hype

Hyperlocal media outlets like BrickCityLive, DNAinfo, NJSpotlight, Patch, and Wrexham have been popping up in communities all over the world for several years. And like most traditional newsrooms, hyperlocals have to figure out how to stay relevant in the competitive world of journalism and make a profit. 

Hyperlocal newsrooms provide informative news on a local level. Now, I’m not talking about Eyewitness News at 5, 7 and 11pm, I’m talking about news that big networks and major publications don’t have time to cover. For example, air/water quality reports, residential development that may affect property taxes, or stories about local residents making their homes environmentally friendly.

To get a sense of what's taking shape in the hyperlocal news community, media professionals were invited to attend Sustain Local 2016 - a national conference on journalism sustainability, which took place on Thursday, October 6 and Friday, October 7, 2016.

(Image by TC's Views: #SustainLocal2016)

The conference, now in its third year, was hosted by the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University, in Montclair, New Jersey.  

To fully understand what Sustain Local was trying to achieve, I spoke with several media professionals and asked them to share their main take-aways from the conference. 

“This conference was addressing the hyperlocals about monetizing and financing,” explained Jane Primerano, Region 1 Director of the Society of Professional Journalists. “I know many people who are struggling with hyperlocals.”

Search #SustainLocal on Twitter to see what topics moved attendees during the conference.

Hyperlocals are usually run by veteran journalists who were squeezed out of traditional newsrooms due to layoffs and community weeklies that went out of business. Many of these hyperlocal journalists have multiple roles within their organization, which may include finding innovative ways to generate revenue. “Your average reporter is a terrible sales person,” said Primerano. “Those skills do not overlap.” 

Hyperlocals have a reputation of being run by a sole individual. However, a 2015 survey conducted by Arizona State University assistant professor Monica Chadha, found that some hyperlocals have more than 20 employees. And some of those hyperlocal employers are strapped for cash. 

“Journalism needs cash,” said freelance journalist Noah Levinson. “You have to find somebody to support it one, way or another.” Levinson’s take-away from the Sustain Local Conference does have merit but no matter what the business model, newsrooms will always have this problem, especially hyperlocal outlets.

After surveying 210 participants from 144 hyperlocals, Chadha’s research found that 39 percent of their annual revenues came from banner ads. The next tier of revenues came from grants, private foundations and subscribers, which collectively made up nearly 16 percent.

Sustain Local had prominent industry movers and shakers participate on a number of panel discussions where attendees learned innovative ways to rake in additional revenue. 

(Image by TC's Views: John Mooney founder of NJ Spotlight)

Hosting tutorial webinars and events are just some of the ways hyperlocal news outlets can stream additional revenue. “A good third of our income came from events,” John Mooney, founding editor of NJ Spotlight, said during the panel - How 501(c)3 News Organizations are Finding Sustainability.

Nevertheless, holding on to extra income may become a problem for some hyperlocals, especially since advertising is shifting to the social media platform, Facebook, observed Miriam Ascarelli, who teaches journalism and composition at New Jersey Institute of Technology. 

“If I were a local publisher, that would be a huge red flag for me,” said Ascarelli. “ You have to have a strategy for keeping those advertising dollars in your news organization and not let somebody else take them.”

(Image from Twitter: Michael Oreskes)

The chatter of advertising dollars and how to generate additional revenue at hyperlocal newsrooms finally subsided when Sustain Local’s keynote, Michael Oreskes, senior vice president of news at National Public Radio, took the stage. 

As an avid public radio listener, I gave a round of applause when Oreskes said, “People want to support local journalism because they depend on it.” And he’s absolutely right. 

Hyperlocal newsrooms are more connected to people in the communities they cover than traditional local news outlets. These days it seems like newsrooms only report about celebrity mishaps, crime and multiple alarm fires. As a results, some traditional newsrooms neglect to balance out their coverage with local community stories. 

It’s a good thing there’s a batch of community news organizations taking initiative to give the general public just a little bit more. Hopefully, traditional local newsrooms and hyperlocals will be able to bridge the gap and just focus solely on providing informative news we all can use.

Do you have a favorite hyperlocal? What's your view on the culture of local news? Leave your comments in the box below or email your views to TCsView@gmail.com.

Podcast Alert! The conversation moved from Hyperlocal Newsrooms to sustainable environmental practices. You can hear the "sidebar conversation" on season two of Better Said Than Written - the podcast supplement to Artz of Culturez - via SoundClound and now on iTunes and Sticher.

Henrietta Lacks: The Most Influential Person in Medicine

Thanks to social media, Black History Month has become more engaging and has uncovered stories that you probably never learned in grade school. Just last week one of my connections shared the following story about Henrietta Lacks on their timeline.  

*The following appeared on Facebook and edited for clarity

Lacks was a Black tobacco farmer from southern Virginia who was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She died in 1951 at the age of  31. 

The Media is Not Trying to Distract You

Guest Post: by Felicia Speakes

So, there’s been a lot going on in the media lately. Just about every week, a Black person becomes a victim of a crime. Either nine Black people are shot at church by a racist, or a cop kills a Black person during a “routine” traffic stop. With the onslaught of social media, we’re consuming these stories like food at a buffet line. All it takes is one photo or one headline and BOOM! … a story and the fallacies and opinions that come along with have traveled across the country and half way around the world.

Guest Post: 4 Tips to Launch & Preserve Your Personal Brand

(Created by TC's Views via Canva.com)

Depending on what career path you’ve taken, you’ve probably blended into the culture of personal branding. Artists, bloggers, business owners, entrepreneurs, journalist, musicians and writers are just a short list of people who focuses on their individual trademark in the digital world.

OK, so you may think that having a personal brand may be a bit narcissistic. You may be right but you should reconsider especially if you’re trying to increase your chances of making a career move or launching that great idea you’ve been dreaming about. 

In this guest article, Marsha Friedman, who is the author of Celebritize Yourself, shares four things you can do to get your personal brand up and running.  

What Would You Do?

ABC's What Would You Do? has a way to make viewers think. The actual title, "A White Male Haircutter Faces Racism At A Black Barbershop," should give you an idea of what to expect.

Trending Inspirational Words: Trent Shelton

The one thing I love on social media news feeds are motivational messages. Trent Shelton recently appeared in my news feed with a brilliant message. After doing some research, I found that Shelton has a mass following in the social media arena...and here's why. (LISTEN CAREFULLY)

To keep up with Shelton's inspiring words be sure to like his Facebook page. 

Oh SNAP!

Is it me, or is there an overwhelming amount of racist jabs on social media these days?

Throughout the month of October 2013 I saw one too many racial insults in my Facebook news feed. One post in particular got more than 50 comments. The gripe was about Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards being accepted in hair salons.

At first I wondered, “Why would food stamps be accepted at a hair salon?” As I read through the comments I realized that I wasn’t the only one who was thinking the same thing. “Does (the owner) have the business listed as a salon/food store,” one Facebook user asked. “You are selling food at the shop now???” Those comments made me realize that I wasn’t crazy and in fact, there is no correlation between food stamps and hair salons. But then the comments started to get repulsive and in my humble opinion, flat out racists.

Some comments went from taking cheap shots at women who prefers to wear protective hair styles, “O shit weaves on EBT?” One FB user took their best shot of mimicking Ebonics, “Girls got to get her hair did.” After reading the comment about “bringing in the China man to do nails,” that was my cue to log off and shut down my laptop.

Shout out to Jay Z: Stick with Barneys!

  

After word got out that a 19 year-old Black American man filed a $5 million claim against high-end retailer Barneys because he was racially profiled and retained in NYPD’s custody after purchasing a $350 belt, the news feeds of social media sites got flooded with rage. Turns out that Twitter and Facebook fans of Jay Z, aka Shawn Carter, wants the Brooklyn, N.Y.-born rapper to end his partnership with Barneys over the matter.

To be honest, I really think everyone is overreacting. Why is it that every time that something goes down in Black American communities Black celebrities have to be scrutinized in the process?