Race and equity in the news: Reporting in service of communities and with the URL (uplift, respect and love) lens

“Now is the time to radically reinvent the media industry by supporting Black and Brown owned/led organizations that serve communities that have been overlooked and undervalued for far too long”, says Sara Lomax-Reese, Co-Founder of URL Media. In collaboration with Mitra Kalita, Lomax-Reese created the decentralized, multi-platform network of high-performing Black and Brown media organizations that is URL Media. They aim to share content, distribution, and other resources to enhance reach, expand revenue, and build long term sustainability. The network’s goal is to uplift, respect and love the communities they serve.

Five journalists will explore the topic of race and equity in the news in a panel conversation at the 22nd International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ) on Friday April 30, 2021. The two founders of URL Media are joined by three exceptional journalists who represent some of the news outlets that contribute to the network.  

The panel will be on the final day of ISOJ Online, at 1 p.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time (-5:00 UTC). Use this or any other time zone converter to find out the equivalent time in your region. But first, visit ISOJ’s website for more details and register here for ISOJ.

Sara Lomax-Reese will lead the panel discussion as Co-Founder of URL Media, and President and CEO of WURD Radio, one of the few remaining Black-owned talk radio stations in the United States. Lomax-Reese has been a media entrepreneur for almost 30 years, building, shaping and growing organizations created by, for and about Black people. She is also the Program Lead for the Facebook BIPOC Sustainability Accelerator and a coach in the Major Metro Table Stakes Program.

Panelists come from various backgrounds, representing a diverse mix of culture, geography and experience:

• Mitra Kalita is Co-Founder of URL Media and Founder of EpicenterNYC, a newsletter created through the COVID-19 pandemic. Kalita has worked with CNN, Wall Street Journal, L.A. Times, Washington Post and launched brands like Mint and Quartz, but has always been on a mission to make news coverage more inclusive and accessible.
• Macollvie J. Neel is a writer and communications consultant. She serves as the Managing Editor of The Haitian Times and is the founder of Comms Maven LLC, through which she helps purpose-driven professionals, small businesses, and big brands tell their stories using compelling, credible content that spurs action. She is also a participant of URL Media.
• Cierra Hinton is the Executive-Director and Publisher of Scalawag, Co-Director of Strategy and Operations at Press On, and a participant of URL Media. She has found community across the South, including in Tennessee and Mississippi, but calls North Carolina home.
• Nancy San Martin joins the panel as an experienced freelance journalist, contributor at palabra., and recently Deputy Managing Editor for National Geographic. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and a participant in URL Media. San Martin has over 30 years of extensive experience covering stories in Latin America.

Don’t forget to register for the Knight Center’s International Symposium on Online Journalism and join the conversation. Register now: https://isoj2021.splashthat.com/w