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. The valleys
give us time to stop, rest and regroup
for the next hill that will surely come.
nnnnn
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