Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 6-13-17

Local
CDC Of Tampa To Host Homeowner Information Event
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
The CDC of Tampa, Inc., (Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, Inc.), will host “The Dea- Maker” event for home- owners and prospective homeowners. The event will take place on Saturday, June 17th, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Mrs. Chloe Coney,
founder of the CDC of Tampa, Inc., said, “This is National Homeownership
Month, and we are inviting those in the community who are already homeowners as well as those who would like to become a homeowner to attend the event. We have something for everyone.”
The event is free and open to the general public. It will feature Ms. Jackie Callaway and Ms. Lis- sette Campos.
Other highlights of the event will include up to $30,000 in down payment assistance available; foreclo- sure prevention programs
MRS. CHLOE CONEY ... Founder of the CDC of Tampa, Inc.
offering up to $42,000 in grants; and information about home repair programs in specific areas of town.
Those in attendance will also have an opportunity to meet housing counselors, builders, and realtors. There will be information available pertaining to home mainte- nance, and information from housing counselors and industry experts on op- tions, solutions, and guid- ance.
Those in attendance will also have an opportunity to
learn more about the 8-hour Homebuyer Education Class. The class is required by most lenders.
Anyone interested in at- tending the event must reg- ister with Ms. Debbi Jarrie, Director of the Housing Counseling Depart- ment, at (813) 231-4362, ex. 3600. The event will be held at King Forest Park, 8008 E. Chelsea Street, Tampa, 33610.
The event is part of the organization’s lead in to its 25th Anniversary.
Locally Owned Black Newspaper Owners And Representatives Attend Conference
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
ST. PETERSBURG – The media industry is facing serious challenges, but civil rights activist and CEO and president of the nation’s Black newspaper associa- tion, the National Newspa- per Publishers Association (NNPA), Dr. Benjamin Chavis believes Black- owned media is primed to thrive and survive during this turbulent time.
Chavis, said Black- owned media has more op- portunity available to it than ever before.
And while mainstream media is struggling to repo- sition itself to capture and retain audiences – espe- cially in an era when its credibility is under attack by President Donald Trump — Black-owned media does not have the same challenge, he said.
“The Black press is here to stay,” he said. “It’s still the trusted voice of Black America.”
Chavis offered his in- sight to a Sentinel reporter in an exclusive interview at the conclusion of last week’s Florida Ethnic Media Con- ference at the Poynter Insti- tute for Media Studies.
The conference was or- ganized and financed through funds secured by then State Representative for St. Petersburg, Darryl
Martin Reynolds, co-executive director of external affairs and funding of the Maynard In- stitute for Journalism Education, Janis Ware, publisher of the Atlanta Voice and Dr. Ben- jamin Chavis, CEO and president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, aka NNPA (Black newspaper association).
vendors.
The guidance from
Poynter and USF has been helpful, she said.
There have been chal- lenges, especially with the management of the paper’s archives.
Much of the paper’s old editions and other materials were kept in an office where they had grown moldy, Johnson said.
Staff at USFSP’s Nelson Poynter Memorial Library have worked to preserve salvageable information in a digitized format, she said.
Now, each issue of the paper is available in the dig- ital archives six months after publication. The proj- ect is financed through funding Sen. Darryl Rou- son secured during the 2016 legislative session.
“Now, we have a chance to preserve that history,” she said.
Collaborators broke down the project into phases and then tackled them one at a time, said Jessi Navarro, managing director of business and fi- nance at Poynter.
They examined the total- ity of how the paper func- tions and made adjustments where neces- sary, like renegotiating with vendors or switching them out, she said.
The process was done to help Johnson feel more capable of handling the business, Navarro said.
Rouson, attracted about a dozen representatives and owners from Florida and Georgia Black-owned media outlets. The attendees spent two days networking and attending workshops that addressed topics like sus- tainability, digital tools, and new revenue streams.
All three were central to the turnaround stories of St. Petersburg’s Weekly Chal- lenger and the Atlanta- based, Atlanta Voice.
Publishers of both news- papers offered insight into the strategies they’ve used to keep their family-owned outlets both profitable and relevant in the ever-chang- ing business module of community news.
Voice publisher Janis
Ware said her newspaper has been successful in growing its audience by en- gaging younger readers with a publication specifi- cally for them titled, “Next Phase.”
The same success was repeated when the paper began publishing NOW, a magazine just for seniors, she said.
Ware, who has led the newspaper since the death of her father in 1991, said the special publications have boosted both circula- tion and revenue.
“The numbers tell a story for me,” she said.
Closer to home, a part- nership the Weekly Chal- lenger has with Poynter, and the University of
Florida, St. Petersburg has proved fruitful for the 50- year-old newspaper.
The three entities have worked together to upgrade the paper’s archives as well as provide guidance to sta- bilize finances and uncover new income.
Like Ware, Lyn John- son took over the family newspaper. But unlike her Atlanta counterpart, John- son had never worked in the business and had lim- ited experience running a newspaper.
“I needed help with everything,” she said. “I was thrown into the business.”
Johnson said she “hit the ground running,” learn- ing quickly how to track ex- penses and work with
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