Media Advisory Panelists including Karen Holmes Ward, Janine Fondon, Kelly Chunn, Manolia Charlotin and Melody Adams with Howard Manly moderating discussed the need for getting more information out on communities of color through the web versus bricks and mortar among other issues. Media is key to getting the word out on communities of color so that they can equitably participate in the growth of Boston at a reasonable pace. If students, visitors and locals don't know what is going on in ethnic communities, regardless of what culture they are, then it's reasonable to understand they can't attend or participate.

1. Bottom Line Fact:  Black media is in overall competition with each other and therefore they often don’t support each other’s common goals, there needs to be a comprimise.
   
   
2. Black news and other ethnic media professionals are at risk of job security when they stand up on behalf of their cultural stories. Independent cultural media is a necessity.

3. Black Media professionals agreed that local to national reporting needs to happen at the independant level with connections to all forms of media; because major news media is focused on covering and competing for the larger events, it is often too understaffed to cover smaller cultural events.
   
   
4. There needs to be a media group that shares cultura stories which need reporting.
   
   
5. There is plenty of room for reporting locally and in depth with new forms of media.

FROM THE PANELISTS

Karen Holmes Ward, WCVB TV: Among the challenges facing Boston is the controversy regarding Boston’s WILD Radio sale to Chinese media.  There is a lot of concern regarding Black media ownership.  The days of our dependance broadcast media ownership are gone by because of the new technologies and their ability to get news to the national public.  Bounce TV launch by MLK III and Andrew Young III; Comcast TV’s Latino channel; Black Heritage Network and Byron Allen’s Legacy TV Channel are just a few of the examples to model.

• Development of neighborhoods at the pace of downtown;
• How communities can prosper;
• Need for education to match the available jobs;
• Work towards safe neighborhoods and the image of safe neighborhoods;
• Bring metropolitan Boston together ethnically through diversity and equity;
• Deval Patrick 2nd black governor in US reflects Boston’s new diversity & growth;
• Barack Obama 1st black president in US reflects country’s new diversity & growth;
• Bring everyone together in a spirit of growth and cooperation toward common goals.

Common Goals with respect for the people, positions, professions, cultures and backgrounds:

• The New face of Boston is as a Mecca for education, opportunity and talent (youth focus);
• There are 150,000,000 college students at any one time in Boston, with money to spend;
• Boston’s growth is attracting national events, major films and global corporations;
• In Boston, Dudley Station is the new epicenter of economic growth;
• In Boston, Melnea Cass Blvd is the new Gateway Corridor;
• How do neighborhoods participate and grow?
  

Neilson reported African-Americans view more content on cable and mobile platforms than any other ethnic group at 212 hours of cable TV and 6 hours of mobile TV per month. The problem is Blacks are consumers of media, not producers of it.  Further, we don’t have enough managers in the broadcast newsrooms where the daily decisions are being made about what stories get told and how. We need to form watchdog groups and media groups that hold the media we have accountable for everything shown. Media thinks African-American’s are not paying attention because they don’t hear from us. 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) renews the licensing for broadcast radio and TV regularly. One of the things the FCC does before they renew is to read the letters from the community to decide whether or not licensure is valuable to the media's audience. Watchdog groups in this way have an impact on how the FCC views reporting.

Janine Fondon, Unity First:  Unityfirst.com has an audience of 4,000 in greater Boston and 2 million across the country.  We're an example that using digital media, we can be owners – it’s a tremendous opportunity with prospects at every level.  Making money in digital media is about what you’re managing the most, advertising support may not be there at all levels, but the important thing is the tremendous chance to have a voice and embrace all facets of what’s going on and sharing it.  Folks enjoy knowing what’s happening, they do take out advertising support and they hold feet to the fire on advertisers who should take out support.

 Kelly Chunn, Kelly Chunn Associates:  We do a lot of advocacy highlighting social issues – we sell ideas conceptually.  Much of what we do is get support for clients using media and support to ethnic media.  Established media is still traditionally a legacy of large audiences – which need the support from us of advertising and advocacy.  In the 1970’s we had to march to the streets to protest what was wrong in media.  Now we can organize from the streets to the suite to the “tweet.”  We must make our voices heard and not be passive consumers of information – the consumers' voice is listened to.

Howard Manly, Bay State Banner:  When you criticize media, be sure to give credit to where good work is done too.  Keep in mind that as we go digital and as ethnic community media gets better access to big events, because we have access to people of color doing great things in high places, we must think about how to cover these events in competition with major media and because were so stretched, we may not be able to cover some of the local stories.    

Melody Adams, Urban League:  The Pew foundation did a study on media that reported less than 2% of news stories were about Blacks and most of that 2% were stories in a negative light.  Additionally, Congressman Ed Markey needs your support on a bill for “Net Neutrality” regarding policy changes that keep the internet free and open to the public. 

Manolina Charlotin, Haitian Reporter:  I have a few questions for you to think about.  “What happens to a community when its voice is not being constantly heard?”  In ethnic media, which voice are you hearing and listening to?  What kinds of stories need to be told in depth and followed up on?  The challenge is to support (critically or complimentary) all media we have access to – that includes with advertising.  The key is harnessing the community’s energy and putting that energy into action to make sure the papers and other media we support are the voices we want to hear.