Notes from the Blogging While Brown Conference
Chicago, Illinois
Workshop: “What’s next for traditional media?”
Participants: Monroe Anderson, Eric Easter, and Bruce Montgomery
The conversation, initiated by Eric Easter of EbonyJet.com went like this:
“Some people think that EbonyJet should be a CNN [for black people]. No it shouldn’t. Black people watch CNN and they get all the other news offered by mainstream news outlets. So our purpose is to present that news and explain what it means to black people, how that information relates to their lives.”
So I pondered….EbonyJet relates the commonly known news to the lives of their special audience – the African-American demographic.
But is it fair to assume that all news is so common and that everyone has such easy access to this information. And then I thought: What about news information that is known to have low reporting and low specific audience reporting? Science.
Then Deborah Small made a valid point that EbonyJet elevates celebrities above academicians.. I totally agree! The response from Mr. Easter:
“When we go to the publishers with this same issue - try to add more substance to the features- they push back. That type of content doesn’t sell magazines!”
For real? So, it’s all about selling magazines. I get that selling magazines is the goal, but must it be the only goal? I was under the impression that Ebony Jet once had a responsible role in the African-American community. What has happened? Have they changed or has our perception of them changed?
There was some hub-bub. My hand was quickly in the air, but I wasn’t called on. The conference organizer even got in on the action, Gina and as she correctly noted that this actually identifies an opportunity for someone (a blogger) in this room to fill. One or all of us could create the vehicle and supply this information we are complaining about EbonyJet not providing.
However, I do take issue (or two) with this proposal.
Chicago, Illinois
Workshop: “What’s next for traditional media?”
Participants: Monroe Anderson, Eric Easter, and Bruce Montgomery
The conversation, initiated by Eric Easter of EbonyJet.com went like this:
“Some people think that EbonyJet should be a CNN [for black people]. No it shouldn’t. Black people watch CNN and they get all the other news offered by mainstream news outlets. So our purpose is to present that news and explain what it means to black people, how that information relates to their lives.”
So I pondered….EbonyJet relates the commonly known news to the lives of their special audience – the African-American demographic.
But is it fair to assume that all news is so common and that everyone has such easy access to this information. And then I thought: What about news information that is known to have low reporting and low specific audience reporting? Science.
Then Deborah Small made a valid point that EbonyJet elevates celebrities above academicians.. I totally agree! The response from Mr. Easter:
“When we go to the publishers with this same issue - try to add more substance to the features- they push back. That type of content doesn’t sell magazines!”
For real? So, it’s all about selling magazines. I get that selling magazines is the goal, but must it be the only goal? I was under the impression that Ebony Jet once had a responsible role in the African-American community. What has happened? Have they changed or has our perception of them changed?
There was some hub-bub. My hand was quickly in the air, but I wasn’t called on. The conference organizer even got in on the action, Gina and as she correctly noted that this actually identifies an opportunity for someone (a blogger) in this room to fill. One or all of us could create the vehicle and supply this information we are complaining about EbonyJet not providing.
However, I do take issue (or two) with this proposal.
For one, as online people we tend to attract others like us and few people not like us, i.e., other smarty-pants type bloggers.
Two, EbonyJet has access to a demographic (and a rather dedicated one at that) that I and many others would like to reach. Activism or actionism is about reaching more than the choir. It’s about reaching people who need the help most and are the least likely to participate (out of fear, economics, no access to info etc) – the underserved. For me, EbonyJet has a direct line to one of my target audiences – the African-American community. So, why can’t a compromise be reached? To me, effective science outreach means reaching the most under-served audience. And if the point of EbonyJet, and other black media outlets, is to relate to people – to bring relevance and information to people – then it can’t just be about appealing to the lowest common denominator.