Chicago Defender cease print publication, moves iconic news content to digital platform

The Chicago Defender, launched in 1905 by John Sengstacke Abbott, was originally a four-page, six column handbill. Producing news of interest to the black community, it became a vocal advocate for issues of the day, including the migration north, anti-lynching legislation, and for integrated sports.  And it was the first newspaper to have a section devoted to children, the Bud Billiken Page.  The Defender had its ups and downs, its slowdowns and rebirths across the century.

It was at one point the largest African American newspaper in the world and the first to achieve national distribution in the country. It went from a weekly publication to a daily, and back to a weekly. John Sengstacke, nephew of the founder, took over the paper.  He was a mover and shaker in the community:  he brought together the publishers of African American newspapers and organized them into the NNPA; he acted as a counsel to presidents, and was instrumental in advocating for integration in the armed forces. After his death in 1997, who the paper was bought by Real Times Media.

The Defender was always in the forefront of the struggle for racial equality in Chicago and beyond, and it continues that role today and will in the future.

The Chicago Defender is now embracing the next generation for media, moving toward a digital platform. Real Times Media, which acquired the Chicago Defender in 2003, announced that on July 11 the paper will evolve from a printed newspaper and relaunch as a digitally-focused content platform dedicated to online editorial, premiere events, custom publishing, and archival merchandising.

“It is no secret that the media and publishing landscape has shifted drastically and the pace of change continues at dizzying speeds,” said Hiram E. Jackson, chief executive officer of Real Times Media. “That is why, over the past few years, we’ve made significant investments in digital media. The Defender already has a digital daily edition, one that reaches hundreds of thousands of readers weekly.  We are just continuing that trajectory for the Defender.”

Real Times Media is an innovator in the African American news and entertainment space. “For more than 10 years we have developed new ways of reaching and touching our community, particularly through targeted events,” said Jackson.

Readers of the Chicago Defender will be able to get their news daily online, rather than waiting for the weekly paper to come out.  Research has shown that those who look to the Defender for news, entertainment and information want the flexibility of receiving that content when and how they want it and digital is the preferred format.

 “We understand that to some of our loyal readers, this rite of passage is a painful one. However, we are committed to preserving the legacy of the Chicago Defender and are excited to be making this bold step to ensure its vitality for the next 100 years,” said Jackson “We remain committed to being an iconic news organization, but we must double-down in the areas where we are seeing growth. Ceasing print operations allows us to do that. And readers of the Defender are now all over the city, reaching them online is a win-win for all of us.”

“The Chicago Defender will lead the way in reinvigorating news delivery for the African American press, one that makes business sense in this digital age,” said Jackson.  “This trailblazing move will allow the Defender to not only continue, but to thrive. All of us at Real Times Media are excited about this next act.”

Although the Chicago Defender will no longer print a weekly edition, it will continue to highlight pivotal moments via special print editions to create more capacity to actively engage with the community.  With this transition, the publication will retain its existing editorial and management staff and continue to offer its signature events — Men of Excellence, Women of Excellence, the relaunch of Who’s Who in Black Chicago, and activities surrounding the Bud Billiken Parade. Additionally, the money saved by not producing a print edition will go back into developing more content on a daily basis.

Currently the Defender prints 16,000 weekly papers, but it has almost half a million unique monthly visitors to its website.

 “There is so much opportunity for the Chicago Defender, on a digital platform, to grow nationally and become a premier player in the African American media space,” adds Jackson.

The Defender’s final weekly issue in print is scheduled to hit newsstands on July 10, 2019. The brand will seamlessly begin publishing daily content of interest to the Chicago community on July 11 at www.chicagodefender.com.

Maxine Waters, Jim Clyburn, and Al Green honored by National Newspaper Publishers Association

The National Newspaper Publishers Association’s (NNPA) 2018 National Leadership Awards reception provided what one might expect when California Democratic Representative Maxine Waters, Texas Democratic Representative Al Green, and South Carolina’s Representative Jim Clyburn make up one-third of the recipients.

“We are here to recognize our brothers and sisters who are truly national leaders and who stand for freedom, justice and equality not when its popular, but when it’s not so popular to be freedom fighters,” said NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.

In her typical fiery yet still eloquent way, Waters spoke passionately about her and other Democrats’ mission to impeach President Donald Trump – though, like all of the recipients, she never mentioned the president by name only referring to him as “Number 45.”

“My friend Jesse Jackson said if you fight, you can win. If you don’t fight, you will never know if you can win,” said Waters, who also took time to heap praise upon NNPA National Chairman Dorothy R. Leavell, the publisher of the Crusader newspapers in Gary, Indiana and Chicago.

For those who insist that Vice President Mike Pence might turn out as a worse Commander in Chief than Trump, Waters scoffed, “…I say knock off the first, and go after the second,” she said, as the sold-out crowd inside the grand ballroom of the Marriot Marquis roared its approval of her fiery award acceptance speech.

For those who insist that Vice President Mike Pence might turn out as a worse Commander in Chief than Trump, Waters scoffed, “…I say knock off the first, and go after the second,” she said, as the sold-out crowd inside the grand ballroom of the Marriot Marquis roared its approval of her fiery award acceptance speech.

Green, the veteran civil rights advocate who’s serving his seventh term in Congress, picked up where Waters left off. “I promise that I have not given up on impeachment,” Green said. “We have a president who is not only unfit for the presidency, but a man who is unfit for any office in the United States of America.”

Clyburn, who arrived in Congress in 1993 and is the third-ranking Democrat, followed his colleagues and helped to drive home their impeachment argument. “I learned early what it means to challenge the system. I learned from my dad what it means to have the power of the almighty vote,” Clyburn said. “If the [midterm] election goes the way it seems like it is, you will have the best years of your lives going forward.”

Waters, Green and Clyburn were among the nine national leaders and activists honored by the NNPA on Friday, Sept. 14. A trade organization representing America’s more than 220 African American-owned newspapers—with more than 22 million weekly subscribers, the NNPA began the Leadership Awards in 2014. The awards honor individuals who are national leaders in their specific fields and whose actions have helped to improve the quality of life for African Americans and others.

The producers of the NNPA Leadership Awards Reception decided that the best time to host such an awards reception would be during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference, a weeklong event that’s held each September.

The CBC ALC week is the largest annual gathering of its kind in the United States, featuring 15,000 to 20,000 African American leaders and influencers.

The underlying combined objective of the CBC ALC and the NNPA National Leadership Awards Reception is to network, collaborate and strategize collectively for the advancement and empowerment of Black America.

Counted among the sponsors and supporters of the NNPA Leadership Awards Reception were General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Pfizer Rare Disease, RAI Reynolds, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, AT&T, Southwest Airlines, Northrop Grumman, Volkswagen, Wells Fargo, AARP, Aetna, Koch Industries, Comcast, Ascension Health, Comcast, and Compassion & Choices.

Awardees included National Teacher of the Year Jahana Hayes, Capstone Development Founder Norman K. Jenkins, E-Commerce Leader Arsha Jones, Dr. Wally Smith, Television Personality Kellee Edwards and legendary poll worker Laura Wooten.

At 97, Wooten is the longest continuously serving poll worker in America. Immediately upon graduating from Princeton High School in 1939, Wooten was recruited to work the polls by her great uncle, Anderson Mitnaul, who was running for Justice of the Peace. More than seven decades later, Wooten is still working the polls and her 79-year streak remains intact.

“Voting is important,” Wooten told the audience who saluted her with a prolonged standing ovation. “We need to engage young people to get out to vote. I hope we can do better this year. On November 6, get out and vote,” she said.

James Clyburn: Democrats must advertise in the Black Press to win in November

During an interview with NNPA (National Newspaper Publishers Association) Newswire Rep. James Clyburn (Dem, South Carolina) made three suggestions he thinks Democrats should follow to increase black voter turnout so that they can win big in the 2018 mid-terms. One was to advertise in the Black Press

From the NNPA Newswire interview:

...Democrats shouldn’t rely on an anti-President Donald Trump wave to get out the vote. Finally, Clyburn said that candidates must advertise in the Black Press, if they want to win in November.

“We are also talking about districts where Barack Obama won twice and where Hillary Clinton also won, but these voters don’t turn out for the so-called ‘off-year elections,’” Clyburn said. “We can’t let these voters feel like we’re taking them for granted.”

Clyburn, 78, said he was recently taken aback by one candidate, who said that he could win the Black vote by running on an anti-Trump platform.

“Wait one second,” Clyburn said that he told the individual. “We can’t just go around being ‘Republican-light.’ We have to be out there putting forth an alternative message, for our base, and we have to reach out to Black voters and let them know we’re not taking them or any of our base for granted.”

To that end, Clyburn said advertising campaigns must largely include the Black Press.

“It’s very, very important…Chairman Richmond and I have had candidates in and we’ve been telling them that one of the best ways to demonstrate that you’re not taking the Black vote for granted is to advertise in the Black Press,” Clyburn said.

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) is the oldest and largest trade group representing the Black Press, comprised of more than 200 Black-owned newspapers operating in the United States.

“I’ve been in [the Black Press]. My daughter and I ran a newspaper down South, so I know that candidates tend to take Black media for granted,” Clyburn said. “They tend to judge Black media the same way they do other media and you just can’t do that, because the business model is totally different.”

Each Sunday after attending Morris Brown A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C., Clyburn said he and other churchgoers habitually pick up the local Black-owned newspaper.

“People tend to pay attention to the headlines, the stories and the ads in the Black Press so it’s vitally important that candidates know this,” Clyburn said.

New Howard University poll: Trump still at 2% of black vote

2016 NNPA-Howard University National Black Voter Poll

Results, Findings and Analysis

Despite his "outreach" to black voters and despite what Donald Trump and many conservative sites would have you believe, Trump's percentage of the black vote is not growing in any way. As a matter of fact according to a poll of over 21,000 black voters conducted by Howard University he is still stuck at 2% of the black vote.

The nation's largest and oldest trade association of Black-owned newspapers, the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), and the nation's leading academic and research Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Howard University, have announced the results of the National Black Voter Poll. Over 21,200 telephone calls across the United States were made by the NNPA-HU national polling center on the campus of HU to Black American telephone numbers throughout the United States from October 23-30, 2016.

Here are a few highlights:

• 94% of those polled plan to vote in the upcoming election
• Of those who plan to vote:
  • 89.8% will vote for Clinton
  • 2% will vote for Trump
  • 0% Johnson
  • 0% Stein
  • 7.2% for others
• The top issues that are influencing Black American voters include:
  • Economy and jobs
  • Income inequality
  • Race and race relations
  • College affordability
  • High Quality Education in Pre-K-12
• Party Affiliation
  • 82 % Identify as Democrat
  • 2% Identify as Republican
  • 9% Identify as Independent  (67% normally vote for Democrats, 5% normally vote Republican, 28% normally don't vote for either major party)
  • 7% Identify as Other

Other more detailed information about the poll will be released at the press conference.
SOURCE National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)