Black Media-Makers and the Fierce Urgency of Now

Black media-makers will discuss best practices for covering race and racial justice issues, and the future of American media.

The Black Lives Matter movement, the stark inequalities of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing racial resentment of the Trump Era made 2020 a uniquely challenging and uniquely fruitful year for Black media-makers. As Americans seek out more stories about race, and we are reminded over again of the myopic whiteness that has excluded Black perspectives from media, Black media-makers are the vanguard of media innovation and leadership. These media-makers work to tell stories with compassion and depth despite stagnation in industry diversity, censorship, misinformation, and the weaponization of “objectivity.” They also face police violence when covering protests, are demeaned by powerful politicians, and face an increasingly polarized American public. Yet, Black media-makers have more visibility and reach, across a greater number of platforms, than ever before and are using it to help us understand the soul of our nation. This symposium brings together Black media-makers across industries to discuss the urgency of now for Black storytellers, best practices for covering race and racial justice issues, and the future of American media. 

Schedule

10:00-10:15am EDT
WELCOME + INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

• John L. Jackson, Jr., Dean, Annenberg School for Communication
• Sarah J. Jackson, Presidential Associate Professor, Annenberg School for Communication; Co-Director, Media, Inequality & Change Center

10:15-11:15am EDT
BLACK IN MEDIA NOW

Panel 1 assesses the state of recent media made by Black Americans amidst the promises and limitations of new technologies and progress and decline in media industries. How do these circumstances ultimately affect the visibility of Black media-makers and their stories?

• Gene Demby, Co-host/Correspondent, Code Switch NPR
• Errin Haines, Editor-at-Large, The 19th
• Maori Holmes, Artistic Director & CEO, Blackstar Film Festival

11:15am-12:15pm EDT
COVERING RACE/COVERING ACTIVISM

Panel 2 examines national and local media coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement, among other recent racial justice and activist efforts. What unique challenges do Black media-makers face while covering Black activism? How do traditional values like “objectivity” play out in these contexts?

• Chenjerai Kumanyika, Assistant Professor, Rutgers School of Communication and Information; Co-host, Uncivil
• Stacy-Marie Ishmael, Editorial Director, The Texas Tribune
• Wesley Lowery, Journalist, CBS News

12:15-1:15pm EDT
BREAK

1:15-2:15pm EDT
WHITE HOUSE/BLACK JOURNALISTS 

What role do Black journalists play in covering presidential politics and policy? Panel 3 reflects on both the recent presidential race and electoral politics in coming years to highlight the crucial contributions of Black political journalists, as well as the backlash they face.

• Jelani Cobb, Staff Writer, The New Yorker
• Ayesha Rascoe, White House Reporter, NPR
• Beatrice Peterson, Campaign Reporter, ABC News

2:15-3:15pm EDT
MEDIA FOR ADVOCACY

Panel 4 spotlights the Black media-makers working at the forefront of community advocacy. What does the future hold for local, independent and grassroots media that center issues, voices and stories historically excluded from mainstream coverage?

Tauhid Chappell, New Voices Philadelphia Project Manager, Free Press
Nuala Cabral, Program Officer, Independence Public Media Foundation
Aishah Shahidah Simmons, Independent Filmmaker and Activist 

3:15-3:30pm EDT
CLOSING REMARKS

• Sarah J. Jackson, Presidential Associate Professor, Annenberg School for Communication; Co-Director, Media, Inequality & Change Center