Black Press Week strengths and weakness
Staff Writer
2007-04-11
.bugnews.bloggieblog.com .
To many of you , the term “Black Press Week” is a new term to your ears , but to National Newspapers Publishers Association and the Historical Black Press Foundation it is a familiar term. According to Dr. Clint C Wilson a black press history expert, the Black Press has been around for 180 years. The Black Press Week is a celebration of the first Black Publisher and the event is held in March. Streetroachpics.com will take a look at two major institutions that host events doing Black Press Week.
Lets take a look at the two organizations and their history and, their relationship to the Black Press Week and, those who are in the Black Press. The first major institution that influences Black Press Week is the National Newspapers Publishers Association or NNPA. NNPA has been around since the 1940 and is a major force among the Black Press. Although most of the members are consider newspapers publishers and not a magazine publication, NNPA name is very well known and established. NNPA provides its members with shared resources and information. The members can network and discuss issues they face as newspaper publishers according to Donald Hatcher of the Amsterdam Newspaper in New York. NNPA internal operations are not known but, there is a standard non profit structure to its day to day operation.
On the other hand, there is the Historical Black Press Foundation. The Historical Black Press Foundation has office across the USA but it is less known. Most of the offices are more then like rented office space with phone services. HBPF has some partnership with new media outlets such as Blacknews.com according to HBPF website. The HBPF started in 2000 and , its focus is the new forms of mass communication such as pod casting along with other digital forms of media presentation. It is left up to assumption as far as the membership and HBPF ‘s goals for its members. HBPF’s feels the black press is for everyone and not a select few and HBPF’s feels they work hard everyday according to DC Livers.
One could say the organizations themselves provided strength to Black Press Week, but are they effective enough to uplift there membership. According to Mary Ratcliff an editor for a San Francisco base paper and a member of NNPA, she has never attended Black Press Week due to money. Black Press Week has always been held in District of Columbia and dose not travel around when it comes to the NNPA and HBPF based on the current records. One has to ask how many other members are just going to the website and receiving information and not doing eye to eye networking. NNPA has major corporate sponsors. HBPF may not have the same major sponsors and the long history of NNPA. Although NNPA and HBPF have access to other publisher and provided them with services, the two fail to education the public and its readers. If you ask people who are in the media about Black Press Week, you may get a blank look.
Where do we go from here. Although NNPA is the leader when it comes to the Black Press , it still has needs to do a few things. One of the items on the list is to have more of internet presences or make use of the new forms of mass communication. NNPA and its members have websites but all are not up to a good professional presentation. NNPA may not be using various technologies to have generated revenue for its membership such as text messaging, email list and etc. If NNPA provides its member with more internet technology, the membership can stay up with larger publications with greater resources.
HBPF is still new and making attempts to bring light to them. HBPF presentation and focus is not clear to streetroachpics.com but, it may be to others. It almost operates as twin to NNPA although HBPF has more internet based services that one can use.