The Houston Defender Network is proud to join the nation’s most trusted and innovative Black publishers, who have worked hard over the past three years to grow Word In Black into a national news site focused on solutions to racial inequities in America. As of Jan. 1, Word In Black has officially incorporated as a public benefit company.
Word In Black is the only media startup of its kind and serves as a future model for the industry. It was incubated inside Local Media Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization affiliated with Local Media Association. With a cumulative 800 years of service to the Black community, the 10 news publishers and the LMF team after three years of working together to drive growth transition to an independent company supported by shareholders.
“The creation of Word in Black as a public benefit company is a monumental step in the elevation of Black owned media committed to better serving our audiences by expanding our digital reach on multiple platforms,” stated Sonny Messiah Jiles, CEO of the Houston Defender Network. “ As we prepare to celebrate our 95th anniversary, this is one of many actions that indicate the Defender team’s efforts to give our readers what they want, when they want it and how they want it.”
What makes the collaboration so successful is combining the large and loyal audience of the 10 publishers with the new national brand, along with third-party management services that don’t drain local resources. Almost all of the support, both commercial and philanthropic, includes all 10 publishers and the national brand, reaching a combined audience of more than 1 million. All 10 publishers have been able to add mini-beats focused on health and education to their newsrooms, along with access to content developed by the national reporting team. It’s a winning formula that has not been tested anywhere else.
The public benefit corporation will be supported by the Word In Black Racial Equity Fund, a component fund of LMF. This support will ensure the great journalism funded by philanthropy continues to grow. Word In Black employs a newsroom of 10 FTEs along with contracted freelancers. The staff includes reporters and data journalists focused on health, education, finance, climate justice, religion and more. Read the 2023 Impact Report to learn more.
The new corporation’s shareholders include the 10 publishers, their companies, LMF, and LMA/LMF CEO Nancy Lane. All shareholders contributed to a capital raise to strengthen the infrastructure on the business side. The company will continue to be managed by LMA and LMF for at least the next three years to ensure a smooth transition and manage the growth.
The shareholders elected the first board of directors, as follows: Dr. Frances Toni Draper, CEO, The AFRO American, board chair; Elinor Tatum, CEO, New York Amsterdam News, first vice chair; Patrick Washington, publisher, Dallas Weekly, second vice chair; Denise Rolark Barnes, CEO, The Washington Informer, treasurer; and Nancy Lane, secretary.
“This is a day to celebrate an important step in the evolution of Word In Black,” said Dr. Draper. “Launching a digital news site focused on racial inequities in America, in collaboration with nine other leading Black publishers, has been game-changing for all of us. The transition to a public benefit corporation allows us to take Word In Black out of the pilot phase and develop it into a much larger national brand that is unapologetically Black.”
In the future, the group believes there will be opportunities to include more of the nation’s leading Black publishers. “We are already working with other like-minded local Black publishers on content campaigns involving large brands,” said Dr. Draper. “We look forward to casting a wider net as opportunities arise. Publishers that want to be involved are encouraged to contact us.”
“As chair of the board for Local Media Foundation, I could not be more proud of the work that has been done over the past three years,” said Larry Lee, publisher, The Sacramento Observer, and a shareholder in Word In Black. “We have been sharing our learnings with many others in the industry, which has led to the formation of several new collaborations, including News Is Out, a queer media collaborative. We believe this model is scalable and important to the long-term sustainability of local media.”
As part of the transition, Word In Black is hiring a director of business development to cultivate sponsorships, events, reader revenue and branded content opportunities.
Without the support of corporations, foundations and individuals, Word In Black would not exist. The board of directors would especially like to thank Google News Initiative, Conrad Hilton Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Comcast Foundation, Commonwealth Fund, Deloitte, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, McKinsey, Henry Luce Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Wells Fargo, AARP, Biogen, Meta Journalism Project and many others.
For more information about Word In Black and the WIB Racial Equity Fund, visit: www.wordinblack.com/aboutus and www.wordinblack.com/racial-equity-fund.