How southern publishers of color can connect with new community members

03/15/22 • 44 min

Dr. Marisela Martinez-Cola, professor of sociology at Morehouse College, and Meena Thiruvengadam, an audience development consultant and former global head of audience engagement for Bloomberg, discuss the demographic changes currently underway in the South and how publishers can connect with new Black, Brown, and Asian community members.

The conversation was hosted by The Pivot Fund on September 21, 2021, and sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Martinez-Cola and Thiruvendgadam were joined by Sonny “Messiah” Jiles, the publisher of the Houston Defender, and Cierra Hinton, the executive director and publisher of Scalawag magazine.

The Pivot Fund Pod is edited and produced by ZMC Podcasts.

The conversation was hosted by The Pivot Fund on September 21, 2021, and sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Martinez-Cola and Thiruvendgadam were joined by Sonny “Messiah” Jiles, the publisher of the Houston Defender, and Cierra Hinton, the executive director and publisher of Scalawag magazine.

The Pivot Fund Pod is edited and produced by ZMC Podcasts.

Previous Episode

How to turn newsletters into a media empire with S. Mitra Kalita

S. Mitra Kalita, the publisher of Epicenter-NYC, talks about leaving behind a high-profile job at CNN and a guaranteed paycheck to launch her own brand.

Kalita joined The Pivot Fund on Oct. 27, 2021, to discuss how she’s part of the movement to reimagine community-centered journalism and how Epicenter-NYC grew newsletters into an empire.

This conversation is co-moderated by The Pivot Fund's chief executive officer Tracie Powell and Liz Alarcón, the founder and executive director of Pulso, a nonprofit media start-up that shares news, history, and culture stories by and for Latinos.

The Pivot Fund Pod is edited and produced by ZMC Podcasts.

Next Episode

Who owns Black media?

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What does it mean to be Black media? And how can media that targets Black audiences be culturally competent?

The Pivot Fund and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press hosted this conversation on Feb. 23, 2022, about Black media ownership and the support systems they need to be successful and serve the Black community.

Tracie Powell, The Pivot Fund's CEO, moderated the discussion with Kamesha Laurry, an attorney and fellow at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Panelists included:

Joseph A. Torres, co-author of "News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media"
Sara Lomax-Reese, co-founder of URL Media and president and CEO of WURD Radio
Cheryl Thompson-Morton, director of the Black Media Initiative at the Center for Community Media at City University of New York
Hiram Jackson, the CEO of Real Times Media

Resources:

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press hotline: 1-800-336-4243.
rcfp.org

The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting.

For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit thepivotfund.org.

The Pivot Fund Pod is edited and produced by ZMC Podcasts.