With the election of Barack  Who’s Holding Tavis Smiley Accountable? Obama as the first black president of the United States, one of the two major post-civil-rights gains yet to be achieved for African Americans was realized The irony is that the most improbable of these two historic objectives—the long shot—got there first. Conversely, the other goal which was the far more realistic and most achievable of the two, languishes still unachieved and largely unidentified.
Take a black president versus a national weekly newsmagazine to empower black people, which would be the odds-on favorite to be realized first?
It’s 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. is having a dream and black activists are considering their next move. There’s this ongoing love-hate relationship with the mainstream newsmedia. On the one hand, we have complained about longstanding newsmedia bias, and alternatively sought the attention of that same reviled newsmedia by marching and demonstrating. Wouldn’t the, “get your own newsmedia solution” be the obvious next step to be moved on promptly?
Yet almost 50 years later this next step has not been made. What are we waiting for? Is there any group of people that have been more adversely impacted by newsmedia bias and therefore have known, felt, and seen the power that goes with being in that business and having that tool/device at your disposal?
While the improbable realization of having the first black president is huge and its symbolic impact immeasurable, the degree to which this historic development rectifies, or alters, everyday racially discriminatory policies and practices in America is limited. Nevertheless, its symbolic impact on altering the perception of what is possible for all Americans is profound.
“What does the election of the first black president mean to you?” That was the first question every white news talk-show host felt obliged to ask the parade of prominent black people who appeared in increasing numbers on cable news shows, since Obama won the election. Even black reporters were not exempt from being asked the question. Invariably, the response was, “this is a big step, something we never expected to see in our lifetime, but we still have a ways to go,” meaning we still have to address the societal ills born from racism and discrimination.
Ironically, in responding to this question, whether it was the black reporters or the civil rights leaders who make it their business to recognize impediments to African American advancement and identify solutions, not one offered any particular insight into what was yet to be accomplished. None of them mentioned the key remedy yet to be implemented, despite being right where that enduring problem resides—the newsmedia. Mainstream newsmedia bias and the lack of a national voice is the most significant social problem we face as African Americans. And not one of those people parading through those corridors called it.
And that’s somewhat disturbing, that even with the historic breakthrough of having the first black president accompanied by a palpable level of euphoria among black folk it has not raised the awareness among prominent African Americans regarding the obvious practical remedy yet to be achieved. To repeat, if mainstream newsmedia bias and a lack of our own national newsmedia presence or leverage is a consistent problem, then the obvious solution is to establish our own national newsmedia representation and our own voice. It’s time for someone to step up.
This is where U.S.A.ThisWeek comes in. Yes, someone has stepped forward and identified the problem and is offering the logical solution to this longstanding social dilemma in the form of a national weekly newsmagazine—U.S.A. ThisWeek. However, this is just the first step toward establishing our own national newsmedia operation the next step is to launch a national cable news television channel to assure African Americana permanent national newsmedia presence and representation.
Let’s explain what this entails so that those reading this article and watching the video (One More River to Cross) can appreciate the rare opportunity being offered here. Secondly, we will explain why we are using the internet to reach out to people for financial backing.
There has been one prominent voice speaking up on this subject recently--Bill Cosby. In an appearance on Larry King, to promote his book “Come On People” Cosby was asked by Larry King, “Your subtitle is "Victims to Victors" -- "The path from victims to Victors." Victims of what?”
Cosby answered, “ Self. Victims of bureaucracy, victims of politics, victims of people who are more powerful than you and you allow them to continue to do bad things to you without you responding like [if] you had a voice to represent and protect yourself. Cosby went on to say, “What I have said is that if we strengthen ourselves with the same tools that every successful group of people have used, then we will succeed.”
Right on Bill! Unless we have a voice to bring our issues, interests, and concerns to the public forum and counter forces like the mainstream newsmedia that would abuse and dismiss our concerns, those forces will prevail. Cosby explained what constitutes a voice when he described “tools that every successful groups use.”
U.S.A.ThisWeek is specifically designed to be that missing tool and convert into a force of power what has been sitting dormant for far too long, which is the effective use of our economic strength by putting in place a national weekly news magazine that will speak for the African American market which amounts to 40 million people spending over $750 billion a year.
“National” and “weekly” are key elements for this newsmedia vehicle to be effective , taking the unprecedented step of representing this African American market. Nationally, because it will represent an entire group of people. Weekly, with a daily Internet component because that gives it immediacy and timeliness, which means it will always be current and report on subjects when the issues are alive. The power of U.S.A.ThisWeek will be directly determined by the size and value of the market it represents, which in this case is big.
Having our own voice means we have a newsmedia media vehicle that can and will monitor/watch and report/tell on those entities, be they government or private institutions, individuals or organizations, politicians or mainstream news agencies etc., that have the power to impact our lives. The mere presence of U.S.A.ThisWeek will send a powerful message, particularly to the mainstream newsmedia, that they no longer have a monopoly on defining the news. These are the entities that have up until now enjoyed a free ride over black people and that have taken us for granted. That’s about to change.
Interestingly, marches and demonstrations which date back to the civil rights days remain the tool of choice by black leaders to draw attention to issues and impose accountability, an approach that has played out. It’s a new day. It’s time for a change. As we say on the video, rather than complain, U.S.A.ThisWeek will compete.
The importance of the “national” aspect can’t be overstated. One of the problems we ran into when seeking support from black venture capitalists was their fear that major advertisers would not support a “tell it like it is” newsmagazine representing black Americans. This imagined fear is the reason that this newsmedia void exists and for black people not having a voice up until now. That’s the unjustifiable fear that traditional black venture capitalists have that has kept anyone from stepping into this arena.
If there is any question regarding this fear factor prevailing in the black media industry, it was answered unequivocally by the CEO of a New York based black venture capital company among the many we approached. This particular company reportedly invested $5 million in the early 2000’s to launch SAVOY magazine, which they described as a black Vanity Fair, after discontinuing their earlier publication EMERGE.
In my conversation with him, the CEO was polite and considerate enough to delay going to watch his “son’s soccer practice” to allow me to tell him about the U.S.A.ThisWeek concept. In rejecting the idea, he offered the following helpful observation. “Even if you get a million subscribers you won’t get major advertising.”
His candor was refreshing, he was far more straightforward with us than his industry colleagues, but no less mistaken. We’re happy to say that despite his confident assessment of the advertising industry, the only thing the soccer dad proved was that he, like his colleagues, are totally out of touch and caught up in this imagined fear syndrome. Two major advertisers had already paid for two full page four color ads in the 44 page prototype we produced—Chrysler and Chevrolet, which is somewhat unusual for a sample of a new magazine. Thus the soccer dad was wrong twice. We obviously could attract advertisers and based on the demise of SAVOY which went belly-up, he’s batting zero for two.
That’s not to gloat but to emphasize the following point, despite having radio stations, cable TV networks and more than 450 African-American oriented publications, 200 of which are local newspapers. Noticeable by its absence is any national news gathering or disseminating vehicle that represents the interests and concerns of the most visible and vilified group of people in America. Up until now, no one has dared to launch a national news magazine to represent black people because of the ghost of the imagined fear the CEO described, which we have definitively refuted.
There is nothing more imprisoning than imagined fear. It has seen a whole industry reject an obvious business opportunity and more importantly avoid implementing the most effective vehicle of empowerment for African Americans since the civil rights movement. It’s analogous to the most powerful animal on land, a “big ole elephant” being restrained by a little peg in the ground tied to a rope around his leg, a graphic illustration of mind over reality. The restraint is all in the elephant’s mind just as the false perception currently embraced by our publishing industry is all mental.
The improbable ascent of Barack Obama to the presidency which defied the thinking of so many black people that white people would vote for a black candidate in sufficient numbers to elect him president is another example of the real world trumping entrenched thinking.
The U.S.A.ThisWeek concept is based on a simple understanding, which is that the only reason African Americans have never had a voice is because we have never been offered a choice. It seems obvious that if black people were given the choice of remaining subject to mainstream newsmedia domination versus given the opportunity to have their own national weekly newsmedia representation they would pick door number two.
This is all about exposure. The innovative aggressive marketing plan we have devised is designed to gain upwards of one million subscribers in the first twelve months after launch. (See Marketing Plan)
The video accompanying this article appropriately entitled “One More River to Cross,” is designed to convey the message in clear unequivocal terms of how empowerment comes with having our own voice. There are three major forces of power in the society-- money, politics and the newsmedia. It’s safe to say that African Americans are fully engaged in money and politics, two out of three. It remains for us to take control of our own newsmedia, and further empower ourselves, thus we have “One More River to Cross,”
The strategy is to use the Internet to circulate this investment opportunity to a select network of individuals capable of financially supporting the launch phase of U.S.A.ThisWeek and who are presumably of the same enlightened thinking as Bill Cosby. The contact information for potential investors is at the end of the video.
The election of Barack Obama as the first black American president was unprecedented, historic, and spectacular, but it’s largely a wonderful symbolic development. The launch of U.S.A.ThisWeek, while perhaps not as spectacular, represents an unprecedented level of real empowerment for black people. For those who participate in this pioneering effort, they will be at the forefront of contributing to the most important advancement for African Americans since the civil rights movement.
|
|
Publisher's Statement
U.S.A. ThisWeek is a national weekly news magazine, the print version will soon be launched that will provide national weekly news-media representation for African Americans and fill a long standing news-media void. It’s our{mosimage} position that, until African Americans have a national voice that presents a perspective representing our interests and concerns on a weekly basis, we are relegated to less than full participation in the society. With the establishment of U.S.A ThisWeek, no longer will the area of news be dominated by the mainstream news media nor will the proliferation of traditional pundits, politicians and news readers have a monopoly on the opinions and perspectives being posited to the public.
In addition, with the new threat to our existence of international terrorism which places us all at risk, we can no longer remain quiescent and allow information that would address that threat to go unreported. Right now we’re in a Russian roulette posture based on the assessment of the current administration that “they only have to be right once; we have to be right all the time.”
|
