By Kenneth Miller, Publisher
SACRAMENTO, CA–A rare and unique collaboration of two of California’s most influential media organizations converged for more than nine hours at the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel downtown across the street from the State Capitol.
More than a dozen languages were represented and over 150 media outlets ranging from newspapers, magazines, television stations, Podcast and more gathered and participated under the dual umbrellas of California Black Media (CBM) and Ethnic Media Services.
Secretary of State of California Shirly Weber got the conference started with a welcome address to the members.
“It’s an extremely important meeting where you are going to honor some individuals who have made an impact in California and an impact in the world,” she stated.
Weber represents one the state’s eight constitutional officers, all of whom are either female or a person of color.
Weber underscored, “the attack on media, people of color and the concepts of diversity, ethnic studies and what it means. California is a state that’s not banning books, but opening books. We are the most diverse state in the union.”
It was a most enlightening way to begin a jam packed session that began with the first of three plenary sessions that focused on “Building Inclusive Communication” and featured Maricela Rodriguez, Senior Advisor for Civic Engagement and Strategic Partnerships, Michelle Baass, Director of Health care Services and Susan deMarois, Director, California of Aging.
An hour later members had a front and center discussion with the state’s infrastructure power players in Secretary Amy Tong, Government Operations and Secretary Toks Omishakin, California StateTransportation.
It was without question the most intriguing dialog of the entire conference with Sacramento Observer Publisher Larry Lee teeing it up as the moderator and steadfast advocate of the media organizations who occupied every seat and space in the room.
Omishakin divulged that he had increased spending with media organizations, but got hammered when it was disclosed that it only reflected a pittance of his massive budget.
Publishers such as John Warren, San Diego Voice & Viewpoint, a constitutional scholar, challenged the secretary and his colleague to do more for the media, as a justified requirement.
The final session themed “Building Stronger Communities Together” addressed equality and civil rights and I was most impressed with Becky Monroe, a former lawyer and current Deputy Director of Strategic Initiatives and External Affairs, California Civil Rights Department.
Monroe’s passion and commitment to resolving hate crimes in the state is impeccable.
A Reporter’s Roundtable, Expo Awards Reception and Awards Ceremony culminated the collaborative effort.
It was all possible because CBM’s Regina Wilson and Ethnic Media’s Sandy Close.
“Collaboration is extremely important because we live in an increasingly diverse society. I think a lot of the times the images that come across the TV, we are divided. The funny part is we all have a friend from the opposite race and we all enjoy different cultural foods. I think when we do that at California Black Media, we grew our relationships and our knowledge of working with a diverse community that we had not worked with before to put on an event. It was above and beyond just media, it was about celebrating the diversity and excellence in journalism and the Ethnic Media partners that we serve,” explained Wilson.
“It’s critical that ethnic media work together. Alone as Chauncey Bailey said we are like fingers on an ant, when we work together, we are a fist. That was one of Chauncey’s last statements before he was killed in 2007. The City of Oakland must remember the importance of Bailey as a veteran Black reporter and that is the vision of Ethnic Media my fingers on the hand, we’re a fist. Why do we need to be a fist? Because we need to make our presence felt collectively in Sacramento. Public awareness campaigns that government agencies get millions of dollars and we’ve sat and waited for them to discover us and we can’t do that anymore,” Close eloquently elaborated.
Chauncey Wendell Bailey Jr. was an American journalist noted for his work primarily on issues of the African-American community. He served as editor-in-chief of the Oakland Post in Oakland, California, from June 2007 until his murder.
On Aug. 2, 2007, Bailey was shot three times with a sawed-off shotgun in broad daylight while walking to work at 7:30 a.m. He was shot in the back and in the head, and pronounced dead at the scene.
