{"id":6421,"date":"2022-10-06T11:53:34","date_gmt":"2022-10-06T11:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=6421"},"modified":"2022-10-06T12:00:38","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T12:00:38","slug":"trust-collaboration-keep-obmc-outlets-relevant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/06\/trust-collaboration-keep-obmc-outlets-relevant\/","title":{"rendered":"Trust, Collaboration Keep Ohio Black Media Collective Outlets Relevant"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Seated is Curtis Symon- luncheon guest speaker and HBCUGo TV president; William R. Ellis, Jr of The Reporter\/ Akron; Andre Washington; Dora Bruston- Akron NAACP treasurer- State VP. Standing in back is Ronald C. Todd, II- State Minority Affairs liaison; Derrick Forward- Dayton NAACP; Ohio NAACP president Tom Roberts; Rev. Mike McNair of Youngstown Buckeye Review; Walter White of Cincinnati Herald; Andre Savage of Toledo; Leonard Hubert, and Edna Borders-convention coordinator. OBMC photo\/The Reporter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Kathryn Mobley, The (Akron) Reporter<\/em><\/strong>
\nSpecial to The Truth<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Black-owned media outlets have long been vibrant
\nthreads in their communities \u2013 countering mainstream racism, educating on
\nsocial injustices and advocating for basic human rights among African
\nAmericans. In 1843, the Palladium of Liberty (Columbus) was Ohio\u2019s first
\nAfrican American newspaper.<\/p>\n

Fast forward almost 180 years later, African Americans now own radio,
\ntelevision and cable outlets in addition to newspapers, magazines and
\nwebsites.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Steve Francis of Francis D & I, Tiffany Edward, Monica Womack, Ohio MBE Director_ Jessie Mark of Columbus Urban League<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yet, these once heavily relied upon bastions of enlightenment now struggle
\nto avoid financial quicksand.<\/p>\n

For 40 years, Curtis Symonds has developed, operated and invested in
\nmedia entities. He believes one way to preserve them is for individuals and
\nsmall businesses to aggressively put some skin in the game. \u201cOur culture
\nhas a problem of investing in us. We look at us (Black entrepreneurs),
\ndoing our thing, we talk about it but we won’t invest,\u201d says Symonds. \u201cWe
\nhave to support each other.\u201d Something he applauds the Ohio Black Media
\nCollective (OBMC) for doing.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Charlotte McGuire, president SBOE, Ophelia Averitt, Ohio NAACP VP and State Sen. Vernon Sykes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sixteen media outlets comprise the Ohio Black Media Collective (OBMC),
\nincluding newspapers, radio and television stations. This September, the
\ngroup invited Symonds to speak at their second annual Black Press\/NAACP
\nluncheon. It was held in conjunction with the 92nd State Convention of the
\nOhio Conference of the NAACP. Representatives from sixteen cities and
\ncounties across Ohio gathered at the Crowne Plaza in Columbus
\nNorth-Worthington for the two-day conference.<\/p>\n

The luncheon theme was, \u201cThe Power of US\u2013 The Black Press.\u201d \u00a0Rev. Dr Mike
\nMcNair of the Youngstown Buckeye Review was the master of ceremonies,
\nWalter White of the Cincinnati Herald introduced his friend and guest
\nspeaker. Other OBMC members in attendance were Montrice Terry of the Toledo
\nCity League, and William R. Ellis, Jr of The Reporter (Akron\/Canton).<\/p>\n

According to Symonds, it’s difficult for small media outlets to command
\nlucrative advertising dollars from large clients because these clients
\ndon\u2019t value the Black consumer. \u201cAgencies will say: we know Black Americans
\nare watching more television than we do, we know their spending power is
\ntwice as much as everybody else. But they don\u2019t value Black Americans.
\nHowever, we must.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Akron NAACP President Judi Hill and Curtis Symonds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Symonds serious media journey began with ESPN in 1983 as an advertising
\nsales consultant. Later, he joined BET as an executive vice president of
\naffiliate sales. In the early 2000s, he co-founded HBCU Go TV, a broadcast
\nstreaming site for sports, interviews and other content associated with
\nhistorically Black Colleges and Universities.<\/p>\n

According to Symonds, he struggled to get investors. \u201cThere were some years
\nwhen I had to pump up my hustle because it was really lean,\u201d recalls
\nSymonds.<\/p>\n

He and his team gradually amassed content and gained traction on a digital
\nplatform. In 2021, he caught the attention of media mogul Byron Allen
\n(Allen Media Group) and sold HBCU Go for an undisclosed amount. Symonds is
\nnow president and his management team continues running HBCU Go. He is also
\nchairman of an Allen Media Group business development division.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Clair Roth, Ohio NewsRoom director and Shirley Washington, past Akron Delta Sigma Theta president welcom Curtis Symonds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sharon S. Gordon owns and operates Urban Trendsetters Media, a multi-media
\ngroup based in Columbus. She has an affiliate distribution partnership with
\nthe Allen Media Group and recently added HBCU Go to her digital lineup. She
\nexcitedly calls it a game changer. \u201cNow every Saturday, our youth can see
\nBlack greatness on HBCU Go for free.\u201d Urban Trendsetters broadcasts in
\nColumbus, Nashville, Louisville, Baton Rouge and in New Orleans.<\/p>\n

Symonds suggests the best way for Black media owners to thrive in this
\nhighly competitive industry is through collaborative relationships based on
\ntrust. \u201cPool our marketing dollars to buy time and space in larger markets,
\nshare stories and deliver \u00a0one message, one voice on statewide issues
\nimpacting the Black and Brown communities,\u201d Symonds maps out. The most
\nimmediate issue is to promote voter registration and voting in November\u2019s
\nmidterm election. \u201cIn Toledo they\u2019re saying this, in Akron they’re saying
\nthis, and in Dayton they\u2019re saying the same thing. It’s now in my memory,
\nget to that poll and register,\u201d explains Symonds.<\/p>\n

Gordon started her business in February 2003 and is one of a few Black
\nwomen running a media company. She echoes Symonds urging that African
\nAmericans must value the creative and industrious talents of African
\nAmericans. \u201cWe have to get to a point where we value going to a Morehouse
\nas we would going to a Stanford. We value shopping in our own designer
\nbrands as much as we value buying a Prada purse,\u201d proclaims Gordon. \u201cNo one
\ntells our story like Black Media.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Derrick Forward, Judge Terri Jamison, Ophelia Averitt, Justice Jennifer Brunner, State NAACP President Tom Roberts, Judge Marilyn Zayas, Andre Washington<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kathryn Mobley, The (Akron) Reporter Special to The Truth Black-owned media outlets have long been vibrant threads in their communities \u2013 countering mainstream racism, educating on social injustices and advocating for basic human rights among African Americans. In 1843, the Palladium of Liberty (Columbus) was Ohio\u2019s first African American newspaper. Fast forward almost 180 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,17],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[142],"class_list":["post-6421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-opinion","category-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6421"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6431,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6421\/revisions\/6431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6421"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=6421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}