The BLACK PRESS: Soldiers Without Swords

FlimFlam

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I disagree. The doc. in the OP points to, hints at the fact that the original Black newspapers received advertising dollars from white companies in addition to Black businesses and organizations that supported them.

One of The Great Migration pull factors was Northern and Eastern city jobs from white owned business. Advertised and recruited to African Americans in Southern cities where these papers were also distributed.
Also, Black people didn't manufacture and produce all the goods and services that we used, so of course the white companies purchased ads in Black publications.

Those things were true in the era covered in the doc., were true when John H. Johnson ran Ebony and Jet, and are true today.

Responsible media covers stories, and discloses if they accept revenue from company when they report/discuss them during news coverage.
In the case of RMU, he says that his platform is largely user supported, and shouts out his contributors regularly.
BringTheFunkClub_Support2Ways_RVSD-768x189.jpg

I never said that Black people can't or don't buy ad space, I was expressing that a commercial press outlet cannot be maintained without white advertising ... even more true today than yesteryear

Roland martin dovetails directly into my point. He would fit the bill of "democrats in dashikis". His channel is a
Democratic party promotion platform. All his social punditry and news coverage ultimately concludes with corraling his audience to vote for whatever candidate their endorsing at the moment. That's not journalism, that's advocacy

In the wikilweaks documents it was noted that funding from those streams were dictating terms down to the specificity of what questions could and couldn't be asked... and for them to be presented in advance.

And that pendulum of dynamics can very well swing to the nominally different republican party. It isnt about the choice of party but that when your viabilty is rooted in such external forces, that shyt ain't black
 
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FlimFlam

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I read the article and skimed through the video

I guess id call it unremarkable?

Not sure what im being asked to express...
 

get these nets

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Above the fray.
I never said that Black people can't or don't buy ad space, I was expressing that a commercial press outlet cannot be maintained without white advertising ... even more true today than yesteryear
Not understanding your point, as African Americans are Americans, and as such live, work, and consume goods and services in the same country as other Americans.
Even small scale news media geared towards ethnic enclave of hyphen-Americans sells a % of their ad space or time to white advertisers.

1956-03-11-1024x571.jpg

Do they cease being hyphen-American owned because of this?
I

I don't get it.

Roland martin dovetails directly into my point. He would fit the bill of "democrats in dashikis". His channel is a
Democratic party promotion platform. All his social punditry and news coverage ultimately concludes with corraling his audience to vote for whatever candidate their endorsing at the moment. That's not journalism, that's advocacy
News publications have reporters and editorial boards and/or columnists. During election season, that paper or publication will endorse candidate for office x,y,a

Are all of these publications advocates? Or just Roland?

The thread with article/video I linked to has Roland giving the floor to a legendary Democrat politician who openly endorsed the Republican candidate for Virginia governor (and who ended up winning)
If Roland is in the pocket of Dems, what was his motivation for giving Wilder that national platform to say what he said?

Over the years, RM has had panelists, guests, and has interviewed candidates ,officials , and voters who are Republicans and Independents.
Since MAGA took over that party, self respecting Black Republicans have a hard time showing their faces and repeating the party line with a straight face.

In the wikilweaks documents it was noted that funding from those streams were dictating terms down to the specificity of what questions could and couldn't be asked... and for them to be presented in advance.

And that pendulum of dynamics can very well swing to the nominally different republican party. It isnt about the choice of party but that when your viabilty is rooted in such external forces, that shyt ain't black
Again, commercial or political interests trying to exert influence on the Press is nothing new. If you haven't watched the doc. in OP, you can pinpoint instances where govt would have wanted individual editors to stop pushing and advocating for Civil Rights advances. But they pushed forward anyway.
Think you are going out of your way and reaching to dismiss what independent Black media is doing
 
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FlimFlam

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" as African Americans are Americans "... on paper, sure... but in a practical and material manner, thats debatable. We don't have a shared fate with this nation or its dominate group... refer to and compare our pasts and presents for further reinforcement of that point

Im speaking well beyond any individual person or platform and and heading towards a more holistic possibility.

The possibilities of cultivating an alternative imagination are limitless but this "black" media isn't being funded to develop us in such terms .

For instance, we're living in a historical geopolitical moment. Historic to the point where the next decade or few will determine the next few centuries if not more. The "black" media aint and cant say jack shyt about it either. This moment is ripe for change with all the national and international shifts, vulnerabilities, choke points etc that we could engage with to manipulate reality to serve our needs , as was the case with other seismic shifts such as the abolition of slavery and the so called civil rights era.

It isn't a coincidence that commercial "black" discourse is right in alignment with the interests of the state department and major corporations... its cause they arent independent!

Ownership is spurious when you cannot act on your own unsanctioned terms...
 
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