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Philadelphia journalist Solomon Jones wants more diversity in newsrooms and within the industry to change the narrative around the Black community.
Speaking at WHYY’s annual “Black Men in Media” event Saturday, the 30-year veteran and host at WURD Radio, Pennsylvania’s only Black-owned radio talk station, said that better representation in the media starts with bringing more Black men and boys into the newsrooms that report on them.
“It’s important to make sure that there is a diversity of voices in media,” he said. “They bring their own education and I think that when you don’t have voices that are representative of the communities that you talked about, that’s when you get stereotypes, that’s when you get negative assumptions. That’s when you get people who don’t know the community trying to determine what the narrative is about that community.”
Jones gave the Keynote at Saturday’s event, which is now in its second year. The event is organized by the News and Information Community Exchange program to foster conversations about stereotypical narratives.
Black men are underrepresented in the media, Jones said. Those who have the platform feel a responsibility to tell the “true” stories of their community.
“I’m responsible for telling the stories of my people. I’m responsible for carrying the history of my people. I’m responsible for giving them my truth about my people because if I don’t, if my people don’t have knowledge, then they perish,” Solomon said.
Eric Marsh, manager of community and engagement for WHYY News, agrees with Jones. He highlighted how misleading media portrayals can misinform the audience and limit personal expression, crucial for holistic self-expression.
“Oftentimes narratives around Black men and boys can be created in harmful ways, both intentionally and unintentionally,” he said. “We want to be able to show people how working in various mediums as a form of self-expression is actually healthy for one’s well-being, you know, your self-identity and I want to say your mental and emotional well-being. This art is a type of therapy in a way.”
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