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By Atlantic City Focus on

Black NJ Publishers Collaborate on 2024 Elections Coverage

For the week beginning Sunday, October 27, 2024, through Sunday, November 3,2024, nine Black-owned outlets are reporting on this historic election and issues driving voters to the polls.

Election 2024 News
Black NJ Publishers Collaborate on 2024 Elections Coverage

By Cassandra Etienne

Published inCenter for Cooperative Media

From Newark to Atlantic City, a group of Black-led news and media organizations have come together to provide comprehensive reporting on this year’s elections, as part of a project called the “NJ Black Publishers Election 2024 Collaborative Coverage.”

The project is being spearheaded by Kaia Niambi Shivers of Newark-based Ark Republic, in partnership with the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University. The work is supported with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

For one week beginning Sunday, Oct. 27 through Sunday, Nov. 3, these outlets are reporting on this historic election and issues driving voters to the polls.

Stories range from the drastic decline of voter participation in Newark — New Jersey’s largest city — over the past 50 years, to “Souls to the Polls” and other outreach efforts in Trenton seeking to engage eligible voters in local and national elections.

Here’s the full list of participating outlets:

Together, participating newsrooms will also cover stories about long-standing quality of life issues on the minds of voters, such as residential segregation and high morbidity rates among Black New Jerseyans.

Other features look at the growing disconnect between progressive millennial and Gen Z voters and the Democratic Party — and how others who also feel disillusioned have instead joined the small but growing ranks of New Jersey’s Black Republicans.

“I think it was not only exciting working with Black publishers around the state but meaningful that we were able to put our heads together and provide coverage that’s meaningful to our communities," said Clyde Hughes, publisher of Front Runner New Jersey, which focuses on African Americans in South Jersey.

For this project, Hughes reported on the candidacy of Dr. Herb Conway and his bid to replace Democrat Rep. Andy Kim in New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District. If successful, Conway would become the first Black Congressional representative from South Jersey.

“In a world where others on social media and even some in the mainstream press are seeking to define what these communities want and deserve, we are making a difference by reporting on what we are hearing, seeing, and feeling in our circles and telling the world about it.” said Hughes. “This is important during an election season where the truth isn’t readily available. I look forward to this leading to more collaborations in the future as we continue to tell our stories.”

As part of our research, the Center has identified at least a dozen Black-owned community outlets in New Jersey. In 2023, the Center launched a peer group to support and foster collaboration between members of New Jersey’s growing Black press.

This reporting project is the first that members of the nascent collective have undertaken.

“A historic project capturing the breadth and insight of New Jersey’s Black newsmakers, the collaborators will cover stories and communities that are either misrepresented or underreported in mainstream news; especially when reporting on Black and other under-represented communities,” said Kaia Niambi Shivers, project lead and publisher of Ark Republic.

“Black NJ newsrooms are sorely overlooked and under-resourced, but we remain resolute in our work,” said Shivers, adding, “The elections presented the right time for us to work together and show our collective audiences and the larger media ecosystem that our reporting is powerful and essential.”

“New Jersey Urban News is committed to addressing issues that affect our communities, and this collaborative project on voting challenges in New Jersey’s urban areas is crucial to that mission,” said NJ Urban News publisher Penda Howell. “We believe that access to voting is a foundational right, and shedding light on the obstacles that prevent people from exercising this right is essential for promoting equity and informed civic engagement.”

“By joining forces we are amplifying diverse voices and stories,” Howell added, “striving to bring awareness to the unique challenges our communities face and inspire meaningful change.”

New Jersey’s Black Press has served communities across the state for the past 145 years, with publications adapting business models over time to promote sustainability and fill significant news coverage gaps for its readership.

These outlets play a key role in New Jersey’s local media landscape, a news ecosystem nestled between — and often overshadowed by — the major media markets of New York City and Philadelphia. This growing network of publications is dedicated to sharing information about the perspectives and experiences of the 1.1 million Black New Jerseyans who make up roughly 13 percent of the state’s population.

Logo by Kaia Niambi Shivers.

Here’s a sample of articles and multimedia features produced as part of the initiative:

Cassandra Etienne is the assistant director of membership and programming at the Center for Cooperative Media. Contact her at etiennec@montclair.edu.

About the Center for Cooperative Media: The Center is a grant-funded program of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. Its mission is to grow and strengthen local journalism, and in doing so serve New Jersey residents. The Center is supported with funding from Montclair State University, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Democracy Fund, the New Jersey Local News Lab (a partnership of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Democracy Fund, and Community Foundation of New Jersey), and the Abrams Foundation. For more information, visit centerforcooperativemedia.org.