As part of the Black Out Day webinars on July 7th, one of the webinars was hosted by Guap and titled – Black Owned Media: Owning Our Narrative. This webinar featured Ibrahaim Kamara – Founder and Creative Director of Guap, Audrey Solva – Founder and CEO of Black Creators Matter, Ola Christian – CEO and Founder of Levile TV & Levile Production and Candace Oxley – Founding Creative Director of In Other News.
Much of the discussions were all centred around the importance of Black media, as we all understand why owning media is important for showcasing the unique experiences and voices in our community.
Each of the speakers on the panel each talked about why specifically they chose to create platforms around their selected area of the media. Guap is centred around culture and taking the blueprints of the SB TVs, GRM Daily and LinkUpTVs and providing their own unique twist on this by focusing on the creatives themselves, more so than strictly music. Black Creators Matter is about connecting Black content creators to support advice and opportunities. Levile TV focuses on Black talent in the Entertainment, TV and Film space. In Other News provides their focus on putting a spotlight on the positive contributions Black Brits make to society and culture using PR, events and content.
Looking at what each of the platforms are about, it is clear that they focus on different areas, yet are all still connected to each other. This shows the scope that is necessary to be covered when it comes to Black owned media as there are many different Black voices which need to be amplified and the more platforms which advocate to them, the better and more positive stories which can be shared.
One aspect which was agreed by all the speakers was how the traditional media tends toexaggerate or paint certain black stories in a negative light,thus fueling negative stereotypes and opinions towards black people. The way that was unanimously mentioned as a combat to this, is the Black owned platforms which are available and growing, to promote as many of the positive stories relating to the Black experience. Countering the negative news with positive news helps provide a better and more realistic balance of what many Black people are doing in the UK and worldwide.
When the question was asked if Black owned media could ever overtake white owned media, a very interesting point was made by Ibrahaim – many of the Black owned media related platforms are currently not even 10 years old. Some not even 5 years old. Much of the white media has been around for 20+ years and as a result, they have built their roots into the ground in terms of longevity, reach and influence. Much of the Black owned media can get to the heights of these long standing platforms, however it involves continuing consistency and a conscious effort to keep the efforts going to maintain and grow these platforms for the long term.
All of these platforms are doing good work to amplify the voices of Black people in our space and we hope that they all can continue to grow and provide opportunities for Black people to share their talents, positive news and achievements with the world for the purposes of changing the narrative around us. The media is a very powerful thing and the more control we have over we put out, the better.
You can find each of the platforms below:
GUAP – https://guap.co.uk/
Black Creators Matter – https://blackcreatorsmatter.com/
Levile TV – https://levile.co.uk/
In Other News – https://twitter.com/InOtherNewsUK
Written by Tonte Bo Douglas – (@TalkWithTonte)
