A little, just a little, good news
"The State of the News Media 2007" report was released earlier today. The results were not surprising: The state of the industry, in all sectors, is pretty bad. We've lost audiences, journalists, public trust -- you name it.
But the report contained two bits of good news that relate to the business of diversity in news media.
1. The ethnic media sector of our business continued to grow, helped along primarily by the continuing increase in Spanish-language media. As more and more Spanish speakers settle across the USA, smart businesspeople are proving print, online, and video for these media consumers.
2. The black press, which has been in decline since the 1970s, is still struggling but there is hope that new online news products will revive it. The report specifically cites the strength of BlackPlanet.Com, which has 15 million members, and blackamericaweb.com. This site is financed by popular DJ Tom Joyner and has 30,000 unique visitors each day.