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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 1985)
Portland Observer, February 6, 1905, Page 5 lack newspapers experience steady growth by Henry Duvall M aybe it can bed attributed to the in fo rm a tio n age. M aybe i t ’s better management and production. T o d a y ’ s Black press is gro w in g, w ith newspapers num bering more than 320 and circulation exceeding six million in the nation, accoiding to Dr. James Tinney, a journalism professor at H o w a rd U n iv e rs ity ’ s School o f Communications. In a five-year study of Black news papers, Tinney has identified double the industry estim ate o f some 160 Black newspapers. There has been "a constant, gradual upswing," he says, discounting the general notion that Black press circulation has fallen o ff since its heyday in the '4Os Some papers have experienced a m arked increase in circulation and readership during the last two years, says Steve Davis, executive director of the N atio n al Newspaper Publishers A ssociation, w ith a membership o f about 138 Black papers. He points to the Philadelphia Tribune, Cleveland C a ll and Post and the W estside Gazette in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to name a few. Greater Black interest in events o f the day may account in part for the increase, he notes. "There is a feeling o f getting a com plete story fro m a Black perspective." M oreover, Davis says generally the quality o f the product has improved, national advertising is up and "smart" m anagem ent techniques are being applied. Tinney found in his study, yet to be published, trends that may explain the surge in n ation al advertising and overall growth. A num ber o f Black newspapers today are relying on advertising repre sentatives “ who serve as a conduit” to major corporations. The represent atives can guarantee that an ad w ill run in several Black papers rather than one, reaching a larger audience. Tinney notes that the corporations probably prefer doing business this way and the Black papers benefit from not having to carry large sales and advertising staffs. Another trend is the advent o f the Dr. Jam«« Tinney (left), profeeaor of journalism at Howard Univer sity. reviews the 60th snniversary edition of the Louisville Defender with two of his student-reeeerchers, Gerald Hinton and Krystal Quinn. (Photo: Hartee Little) m agazine supplem ent to serve as a m edium fo r n ation al advertising. Black m agazine inserts, m any o f which are entertainment oriented, are “ really proliferating,” he says. Dawn M agazine, published by the Afro-Am erican Newspapers and dis tributed to some 40 Black papers, is an example o f an insert that carries national advertising, he points out. Still another trend is an increase in newspaper chains or groups. A number o f papers are publishing separate editions for more than one city with in their respective states, such as the H artfo rd Inquirer (fo ur Connecticut papers), Sacramento Observer (three C a lifo rn ia papers) and the Baton Rouge Com m unity Leader (Five Lou isiana papers). Tinny has also found Black-owned bilingual papers in Texas, California, Florida and New York. “ I think this is real positive,” he says, regarding the form ulation o f linkages between Blacks and other ethnic groups. But one o f the problem s Black papers face is getting Black commer cial establishments to advertise, T in ney stresses. Community Profiles by Linda L. Thompson You walk over to the radio, switch it on and turn to a favorite station. T o a laym an , i t ’ s as simple as that. However, for those who are employees of that station, it takes hours o f com plicated planning and w ork to p ro duce for us 15 minutes o f relaxation and pleasure. O ur role model for this week is one o f those behind-the-scene workers who makes our radio listen ing a pleasure. She is Rose W ash ington, P ro m o tio n Associate fo r K IN K -F M -1 02. A native o f Seattle, W ashington, Rose came from a fam ily where she was one o f six children (tw o boys and four girls). W hile at Garfield High she special ized in their clerical program and was quite strong in this field by the time she graduated. Rose's ambition start ed early in life. After graduation, she went to work in a brokerage firm and enrolled in college. The strain o f both w o rkin g and fu ll tim e school was too much fo r Rose and she left the academic field to take a fu ll-tim e job with a legal service as an adminis trative assistant. " I love a challenging jo b ,” says Rose, " a n d once I have mastered the mechanics o f a jo b , I sometimes look for more challenges, either in the same firm or other agen cies. From Legal Services, she went to w ork fo r Western Hotels (which was (hen Western International) as a reservation manager. Soon after this jo b . Rose made her debut in to the City o f Roses and began working with the Urban League. Here she worked with Senior Adult Services and with the L E A P program. It was while with Urban League that she started back to school at P S U , later graduating with a B.S. in Speech Communication. W h ile in college. Rose went to work at Channel 8 in Television Pro gramming (part time) which led into her present position with K IN K . "The more challenging a jo b is,” she says, “ the more ‘Good Energy’ you have to put in to it and K IN K -F M -1 0 2 pro vides her with this opportunity. When away from work, Rose enjoys spending tim e w ith her daughter. Jasmine, reading and the theater. A t one point she was very involved with the Portland Black Repertory Theater where she had a variety o f roles: ac- Today, Black papers can be found in every state except N o rth D ako ta, South Dakota, Idaho and Wyoming, says the professor, a former editor of the Washington Afro-A m erican and assistant e d ito r o f the Kansas C ity Call, both Black papers. Some cities have a number o f com peting Black papers, basically trying to appeal to the same target popula tion. In Chicago, Tinney says, there are a dozen; in St. L o u is, six; in Washington, six; and in Kansas City, three. Tinney notes that Finding the more than 320 Black papers took quite a bit o f "digging" on his part and that he was assisted by student researchers. He admits that it is difFicult to verify circulation o f Black papers since only about one-sixth are audited, adding that a "co n se rva tiv e e s tim a te " of circulation is between 6 m illio n to 7.3 m illion. T he industry estimates more than 4.5 million. He has found papers that aren 't listed in the m ajor industry publica tion, Editor & Publisher Yearbook For example, the 1984 edition lists only one Black paper in Buffalo— The Buffalo Challenger. Tinney has iden tified two others: the B u ffalo C rite rion and the Buffalo Fine Print. In Washington, Tinny also found two more — the Washington Sun and D .C . Talk — in addition to the four that are listed. O ften the papers not included in the EAP Yearbook are found in mom and pop stores in the Black commun ity, he emphasizes. A n d m any are give-aways or controlled circulation papers that generally depend on local advertising. M ost Black papers are w eeklies, and many are fam ily owned and op erated. There are only three dailies— The Chicago Daily Defender, Atlanta Daily World and the New York Daily Challenge. There are about 12 "serru-weeklies," published twice a week. And there’s a m onthly "m a g a p a p e r," The N a tional Leader, com bining the ch ar acteristics o f both a newspaper and magazine. The paper started in 1982 as a weekly tabloid, says Tinny, who served as its religion editor. From 1827 to to d a y, there have been more than 3,000 Black news papers. But many Black papers are short-lived, he says, noting that his project included w riting up the his tories o f m ore than 200 o f the n a tion's Black papers One o f the newest papers is the City Sun in New Y o rk . T in n ey says the paper shows promise, which is how he describes the future of the Black press overall. tress, stage manager, public relations and p ro m o tio n . It was her involve ment with this group that aided her in her career choice. Rose has this to say about success: "Keep success in perspective. It is an individual thing. Success for me may be a good job ; fo r others it may be m arriage and five children. W h a t ever success is to you, work (use good energy) to make it happen. Society has a scale for success which include education, p ro perty, financial sta b ility , etc., and m any, especially youth, feel that if you do not achieve these, yhou are not successful. I am not saying that these things do not contribute to success, but let it be your choice — not by society's stand ards. Let success come from w ithin, then you w o n 't feel like a failu re if you d o n 't live up to these stand ards. “ Education (college degree) is great and I am a strong advocate o f educa tion. H o w ever, there are some jobs that are high paying and fu lfillin g that do not require a degree. That is why it is so im portant to have a feel for what you want to do, to start preparing yourself in this area." Rose has a quick mind and a vo cabulary to match. Therefore, success is a sure thing. U n til next tim e, remember: L ife has many hills and valleys. 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