Media Minutes: July 24, 2009
Series: Media Minutes
From: Stevie Converse Candace Clement
Length: 00:05:00
The closing of the Bay State Banner, Boston's only black-owned community newspaper, is another example of the systemic crisis facing journalism. And Verizon is back in the Massachusetts legislature with a new video franchise bill that could harm community media.
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Piece Description
The closing of the Bay State Banner, Boston's only black-owned community newspaper, is another example of the systemic crisis facing journalism. And Verizon is back in the Massachusetts legislature with a new video franchise bill that could harm community media.
Transcript
Media Minutes
Show Date: 7-24-09
Producers: Stevie Converse and Candace Clement
TRANSCRIPT
Bay State Banner Closing Symptom of a Larger Problem for Journalism
The Bay State Banner has been reporting stories for the black community in Boston for 44 years. But the free weekly had to stop publishing this month due to financial woes.
The Banner has a reputation of holding city officials accountable to the public on a variety of issues, including development in poor neighborhoods and hiring more black police officers. Recognizing the value of a black-owned community newspaper, Harvard University law professor Charles J. Ogletree is putting together a group of investors to try to keep the paper alive.
And Boston Mayor Thomas Menino offered the Banner a $200,000 loan that would be funded by a private nonprofit, Boston Local Development Corp. Banner publisher Mel Miller has acce...
Read the full transcript

Nilagia McCoy
Posted on July 30, 2009 at 08:42 AM | Permalink
Review of Media Minutes Series
In full disclosure, I was first exposed to this show because a coworker of mine was interviewed on it this past week about issues surrounding cable franchising in Massachusetts. While I was already familiar with some of Free Press' work, I was unaware until then that they had a weekly radio program, so I've been going back and listening to older episodes. Anyhow, enough about me, and more about the show, which is excellent! I would even go so far as to say that this series is a must for any community radio station, as it provides succinct but in-depth coverage of subjects such as media bias, journalism, policies impacting community media and freedom of speech, and other topics that are sure to be of interest to anyone working in (or a fan of) community media. The hosts are lively, and have been providing an enjoyable and informative five minutes of essential media activism news for the past few years.