In episode 6, we’re diving into an area that is both incredibly timely and critically important: the evolving landscape of journalism and its role in representing the diverse voices that make up the fabric of our society. Tia Oso, Principal at the ZEAL Cooperative, spoke to three publishers dedicated to disrupting the flat and authoritative (re: loud and wrong) voice of mainstream media.
 
Damaso Reyes is the Executive Editor of the NY Amsterdam News, a Black-owned newspaper founded in 1909 to provide a “counterweight to mainstream news,” offering “a more holistic perspective.” He joined the paper to reflect his experiences growing up in Brooklyn in the 1980s. “Were there drugs? Yes. Was there violence? Yes. But it was an exception, not the rule.” 

This is the core of mainstream media harm: selective storytelling that distorts reality. MaiDamasom outlets have historically portrayed Black and Brown communities as defined by their struggles, instead of reflecting the rich complexity of their lives. As Damaso points out, a lack of diverse, quality information often leads to a situation where people are “at the whim of whoever can do the best job of manipulating you.” 

This week, we’re excited to share Episode 5, where we delve into amplifying marginalized perspectives in journalism. As we approach the final episode of Season 1, now is the perfect time to catch up on all the insightful conversations from this season. You can find us on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform!

In this episode, we’re joined by two remarkable guests who are redefining the media landscape: Uyiosa Elegon, the Marketing and Development Director at Shift Press, and Giannina Ong, the Editor-in-Chief of Mochi Magazine. Both are passionate advocates for amplifying voices that are often silenced, and lead publications that are correcting narratives around youth and Asian American communities.

Uyiosa Elegon is a trailblazer in Houston’s media scene, set on creating a robust youth media ecosystem. “Things are not pulled into the mainstream of dialogue unless it really, really bothers adults,” he notes. Uyoisa points out a “starvation” among youth and organizers for more storytelling opportunities that platform and respect young voices, making them vulnerable to adult-centric narratives that detract from youth power-building.

For the fourth episode of Season 1 of Infinite Patterns, we have the privilege of speaking with DeAnna Tisdale Johnson, the publisher of the Jackson Advocate. This week, she and Ty White, principal at ZEAL Cooperative and host of the podcast, dove into one of local journalism’s primary charges - addressing social determinants of health.

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the wide range of conditions and environments in which people are born, live, work, and age that influence an individual's health outcomes. SDOHs include economic stability, education performance, community engagement, social support, healthcare availability, the physical environment, transportation and food accessibility, and more.

This week on Infinite Patterns: a Kaleidoscope podcast, our host, Ty White, invited media titans Cayden Mak of Convergence Magazine and Collette Watson of Black River Life to the show. In this episode, we explore The Future of Journalism: Navigating Ethical Challenges in a Digital Age. 

Put simply, how can journalists prioritize truth in a time ruled by algorithms? Can integrity keep the lights on? 

Both of this week’s guests provide a critical lens through which we can examine our current media landscape, urging us to consider the ethical ramifications of our digital habits and the structures that underpin them.

This week’s episode teases out the imposed value system of capitalism, the impact of resistance, and the audacity it takes to do better.   

Our host, Ty White (ZEAL Co-op) is joined by Ryan Sorrell, Founder of the Kansas City Defender, and James Salanga, Co-Executive Director of The Objective, to discuss media ownership and sustainability outside of the foreboding force of capitalism.   

We often talk about capitalism as this “big bad”. And, that’s certainly fair. Capitalism has commodified our personhood, labor, relationships, communities, skills, and histories. We are systematically reduced to products, dollars, and cents, harshly divided by how much we own. That’s definitely “big bad” material.   

What’s also true is that capitalism requires our participation in all sorts of ways. Ryan and James dig into how newsrooms have historically participated and how their newsrooms are changing that.  

Constant cycles of interruption, degradation, and gentrification have, in many cases, eroded common narratives about communities of color, impacting the way native residents see their city and themselves. The story that one must leave to “be something” is a footnote to every dream. Many of us found our way to journalism through the understanding that stories like that are often some cocktail of experience and intentional erasure, through the understanding that the media we consume is often designed to curtail hope and hinder compassion, through a desire to repair and heal. 

Infinite Patterns, a kaleidoscope podcast, aims to demystify the building of a sustainable, thriving newsroom. Like with most puzzles, when everyone takes a corner, the picture comes into focus a lot faster. So, the Racial Equity in Journalism (REJ) Fund at Borealis Philanthropy collaborated with partners at ZEAL, a worker-owned creative arts studio alliance, and dozens of our grantee partners, a diverse group of media makers, to share their newsroom’s questions, expertise, learnings, and dreams. 

Join us bi-weekly for Infinite Patterns: a kaleidoscope podcast.