THIS JUST IN
Source: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery
For the first time ever, we’re celebrating the media baddies who serve looks while securing scoops, exclusive interviews, and page views as mainstream movemakers in the entertainment industry.
With an eye-catching blend of beauty and style, these talented mavens keep us informed, engaged, and entertained while navigating an ultra-competitive industry that continues to struggle with diversity.
According to Pew Center For Research, less than 6% of reporting journalists are Black women without very much improvement over the past decade.
“Representation matters,” said Errin Haines, the Editor-At-Large at The 19th, in an interview with Forbes.
“People need to see themselves reflected in the stories that we tell ourselves about this country. Black women have always had a role in shaping this democracy and helping to perfect this union… we never just use our voice, our platform, on behalf of ourselves. It is always on behalf of whether it’s our household, whether it’s our community, whether it is our democracy.
We stand as one but we come as dozens, hundreds, thousands, or millions. That is powerful.”
To improve the media’s worst-kept secret, Haines stressed the importance of acknowledging and honoring the work of Black women who earned their seat at the table.
“We deserve to be in any room that we walk into and we deserve to not be questioned about how we got there,” she said. “If a Black woman is showing up somewhere, understand that she deserves to be there and that she most definitely earned it. We have to work twice as hard for anything that we get.”
Championing Black voices in media for over 40 years, iconic visionary Cathy Hughes dismantled many of the barriers faced by Black women in the industry as the Founder and Chairwoman of Urban One—the largest Black-owned and operated media comglomerate in the nation.
Through an unwavering commitment to empowering Black media professionals, Ms. Hughes made dreams into reality with a culture-shifting family of brands including Radio One, TV One, iOne Digital, Reach Media, CLEO TV, and more.
“We don’t need just an Oprah or Cathy Hughes,” she said in an interview with Inc. “We need multiple names in the same category.”
“When they read my eulogy, I hope they can positively say that I moved the needle,” she added. “I might not have moved it a lot, but I did move it some. Otherwise, my life would not have been fulfilling.”
Who are your favorite multimedia mavens to follow? Tell us down below and enjoy our gallery of media baddies, picture-purrrfect personalities, and more on the flip.
Source: IG: @LizTwoTimes
Liz Smith, Multimedia journalist/National Executive Producer of The Ed Lover Show
Source: IG: @therealchristaljordan
Christal Jordan, Multimedia journalist/Editor-In-Chief of Lenox & Parker
Source: IG: @thedanicastar
Danica Daniel, Managing Editor of MadameNoire
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