Why Black Media? A Panel Discussion

Wednesday January 30, 5pm

Why Black Media? A Panel Discussion

Department of Journalism of the Temple School of Media and Communication

First Floor Atrium of Annenberg hall, on 13^th street between Norris and Diamond Streets

Over 100 years ago Ida B. Wells, one of the first investigative journalists and one of the first black women to edit and own a newspaper, earned the nickname “Princess of the Press.” She said: “The people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press.” The Black Press was important at the turn of the 20^th century, what is its significance at the turn of the 21^st century.

Lori L. Tharps (Moderator) is an assistant professor of journalism at Temple University, an award-winning author, freelance journalist and popular speaker. Tharps was a staff reporter at Vibe magazine and a correspondent for Entertainment Weekly, she has written for Ms., Glamour, Suede, Bitch, Caribbean Life, Grid Philadelphia and Essence magazines and for The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Root.com and Ebony.com. Her work is included in Young Wives Tales: Stories of Love and Partnership, Naked: Black Women Bare All About their Skin, Hair, Hips, Lips and Other Parts, Bitchfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine and Women: Images & Realities. A Multicultural Anthology.

Kierna Mayo is the Editorial Director, Digital for EBONY.com. She is the former Editorial Director of Tyra.com, where she developed a cutting-edge, online women’s magazine for Tyra Banks’ Bankable Enterprises. She is former online editor at Cafemom.com. Kierna has written about culture and lifestyle for over 20 years. Her critically acclaimed writings have appeared in major national magazines including Essence, Marie Claire, Glamour, Seventeen, Vibe and Uptown among others. Kierna’s work has been featured in several books including And It Don’t Stop: The Best American Hip-Hop Journalism of the Last 25 Years.
Irv Randolph is the managing editor of the Philadelphia Tribune, the nation’s oldest continuously published African-American newspaper, a position he has held since December 1994. Under Randolph’s editorial leadership, the Tribune has been named “Best Newspaper” by the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) in seven of the last 14 years. During that time the Tribune has won more than 80 national awards. As managing editor, Randolph oversees the daily operations of the Philadelphia Tribune and its many editorial products, including a weekly educational supplement for Philadelphia public schools, a quarterly lifestyles magazine and Sojourner, a quarterly visitor’s guide to Philadelphia.

Stephanie Renee is a host (Mid-Morning MOJO -10am to noon) and Program Director on 900 AM WURD. “it has been a great joy to bring news, information and all kinds of music to my audience. I happen to be the only woman with a daily show in the station’s lineup, so it’s also fun to bring my effervescent estrogen onto the airwaves! It seems that it is my destiny to be the “pet girl” in most of the endeavors I undertake, but I don’t mind. There is great flexibility and necessity in being the “only” in such situations, of which I take complete advantage.

Vernon Odom has been a reporter with WPVI-TV’s Action News for over a quarter of a century. He was also the host of the station’s weekly Public Affairs program, “Visions,” telecast on Saturday evenings. While working for Channel 6, Odom has covered every major story of our time in the Delaware Valley region, plus all the Presidential campaigns dating back to 1976.