Ripples began to emerge in early September from the launch of Word In Black, a collaborative of 10 of the nation’s leading Black publishers, managed by Local Media Association.
Last year, after the murder of George Floyd and America’s reckoning on race, we launched the Fund for Black Journalism, which became the seed for Word In Black.
Now, just in the past week:
- A profile piece by Editor & Publisher on the launch of the collaborative was republished by The Tennessee Tribune.
- That republished piece from a Twitter thread was then quote-tweeted by Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times on Labor Day.
- Within 24 hours of that push, 500 people signed up for the Word In Black newsletter and several first-time donations were made.
- In the days that followed, WIB publishers and staff were interviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Black News Channel, and Roland Martin’s Unfiltered, which resulted in more subscribers, more donors and more traffic to the site.
This new attention shows that when the various powers of media, regardless of platform, work together to highlight solutions that empower and engage communities from across our country, new growth and opportunity can occur. The 10 publishers involved in this critical initiative, along with the managing support team at LMA, are driving home a message that innovation and transformation truly is a collaborative effort — and what our industry needs most.
Want to get involved and learn more about Word in Black? Read LMA CEO Nancy Lane’s blog about what being an ally means and why Word in Black needs your support.