BIPOC Media: Building Local Power Through Reporting

What are the stories that will be driving news coverage in the coming year for communities of color and our network partners in the media that serve them? In this 2023 preview for our monthly Meet the BIPOC Press roundtable with URL Media, we consider issues involving the economy, community investment, reproductive justice, local government, environmental justice, LGBTQ+ rights, the aftermath of COVID, and more. How will our partners be reporting the stories — and angles — that matter most? Laura is joined by Mitra Kalita, the publisher of Epicenter-NYC, a newsletter based in Queens, New York, and the co-founder of URL Media, a network of Black and Brown community news outlets; Alexandra Martinez, Senior Reporter with Prism, whose reporting on such topics as immigration and the affordable housing crisis also appears in VICE, CNN, and other outlets; and Malak Silmi, the local government reporter for Outlier Media, a Detroit-based service journalism organization with a mission to empower Detroit residents to hold landlords, municipal government, and elected officials accountable for longstanding problems. What are some of their stories?

“I think this is the year that much of mainstream America is accepting that we are either in or about to enter our recession. I think for communities of color, we've been there for the last year. You're seeing this with demand at food pantries, utilities, housing. One of the things I'm proudest of is that we covered the explosion of food insecurity.” - S. Mitra Kalita

“[At] Prism, we are a BIPOC-led newsroom . . . So that allows us to bring nuance to the reporting that we do. Without that nuance, you really can't have honest, truthful storytelling.” - Alexandra Martinez

“With our Documenters program, we employ citizens from across the city and the state to go into these local meetings, whether virtually or in person, and simply document . . . This has helped serve a lot of reporters as well as a lot of citizens.” - Malak Silmi

Guests:

S. Mitra Kalita: Co-Founder, URL Media; CEO & Publisher, Epicenter-NYC

Alexandra Martinez: Senior News Reporter, Prism

Malak Silmi: Reporter, Outlier Media

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