Black Press, White Media, and Black Reporters:
How Can We Coexist?
by Sera Osondu
On August 9, 2005, the founder of Jet , Ebony , and Black Enterprise magazines, John H. Johnson, passed away. The media mogul devoted 60 years of his life to building up his business, and paid millions of dollars toward accomplishing his endeavors, which were a huge contribution to the world of journalism. While the Chicago Defender , a newspaper that appeals to its black readership, dedicated 16 separate articles to Johnson, the Wall Street Journal wrote a one line blurb that said: "Died: John H. Johnson, 87, publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines, in Chicago" (Martin). This example is indicative of the bias that exists in mainstream media, and is one of the main reasons that publications which target the African-American population, were born and are alive today. In this paper, I intend to further discuss why such publications came to exist, the purpose they serve, and the problems that black reporters have and still face to today. I also intend to examine possible suggestions in resolving the issues that black reporters endure.
Black Press and its Purpose
Even today, there is a difference between white media or mainstream media, and the black press. Roland Wolseley, writer of The Black Press, USA , defines the black press in three ways. Wolseley believes that for a publication to be considered a black publication: it first must be owned and managed by blacks; second, it must be intended for its black consumers; and third, it must "serve, speak, and fight for the black minority" (Wolseley). By Wolseley's definition, consumers should be able to establish, and understand the purpose of the black publication. But before we get further into the black press and its purpose, we will attempt to understand why such publications came to be.
From the very first African-American publication, the purpose and objective was the fight for a worthy cause, equality. The first black publications, Freedom's Journal and Rights of All , published in New York between the years of 1827 and 1830, were created to appeal to anti-slavery abolitionists in the North. Both journals, the brainchildren of John B. Russworm, were issued in an effort to free those Africans who were still being enslaved in the South (Penn). Today, although we are no longer writing in an effort to abolish legal slavery, we are working to attain a certain freedom of speech and self that African-Americans have been deprived of in this country. It is clear that black publications do exist and have a significant place in our society.