Capital Press Club Podcast
Capital Press Club Podcast
CPC Legacy Podcast #25 - Celebrating Black History and Examining Evolving Journalism
Unearth the vibrant tapestry of Black history and its ongoing influence on today's culture in our latest episode. I, Dr. Colin Campbell, alongside my co-host Derrick Kenney, promise an enlightening exploration as we commemorate Black History Month by revisiting the courageous act of the Greensboro Four and examining the trailblazing impact of Black Americans on music, including the rise of genres like Dembow and reggaeton. From celebrating Beyoncé's historic Grammy win in country music to appreciating the unique rhythms of Go-Go music, our conversation charts a course through cultural milestones that continue to inspire and redefine the American narrative.
Switching gears, we unravel the evolving dynamics of journalism at the White House, where new pathways have opened for independent journalists and digital content creators. Join us as we weigh the implications of this democratization of media access, and reflect on the legacy of seasoned journalists like April Ryan in shaping today's media landscape. With over 7,400 applicants vying for credentials, we scrutinize the new rules of engagement in the press briefing room, exploring how social media platforms like TikTok are reshaping personal brands and influencing journalism standards. This episode is a must-listen for anyone keen on understanding the intersection of media evolution and Black excellence in storytelling.
Welcome back and Happy New Year. This is episode number 25 of the Capital Press Club Legacy Podcast. I'm Dr Colin Campbell, welcoming you back for our first episode of 2025.
Speaker 1:There is a lot to talk about, particularly in the area of media and journalism, but I wanted to start out, like I normally do with this day, in McCain and Joseph McNeil, who sat at the Woolworths counter on February 1st back in 1960. So, approximately what? 65 years ago, these men were trying to get served food at the Woolworths counter. They were denied food because they were black individuals or they had too much melanin in their skin, or they were non-white or whatever, but they were discriminated against. They took a stand and that kicked off Black History Month.
Speaker 1:And, as we know, the rest is history when it came to civil rights legislation, when it came to inclusion, which is still very much a big part of our conversations in the United States today, when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion of our conversations in the United States today when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion. Well, with that being said, I wanted to introduce my co-host and my producer and the man behind and in front of the scenes, derrick Kenney, who is here. Happy New Year, my man, and welcome to Black History Month. Happy Black History Month to you.
Speaker 2:Happy New Year, colin, and happy Black History Month to you as well, and I'm happy and proud to recognize this wonderful month. It's important that we recognize and are proud of our heritage as African-Americans.
Speaker 1:Definitely. I mean, this is a time when we recognize the contributions that Black Americans, african-americans, have made to the country and, of course, the reason for it is because they were not often given that opportunity or it was ignored. And so Carter G Woodson had Negro History Week and then it expanded to Black History Month, and that's what we do all month. Now a lot of people say, well, you should celebrate Black history every day, and we do, but it's always important and nice to have that extra distinction where we focus on it and remind some of our lighter-complected compatriots that Black people, african Americans, however you describe us, were very integral to the development of the nation. To put it where it is today, and even though some people would say that it is, our status in the world is flagging, we can still say that it has the top economy in the world. It still is very powerful, very robust. Our GDP is high. Black influence, black American influence over the world has been steady and is increasing.
Speaker 1:You know what's one thing, derek, before we get into some of our more serious topics here, one of my students introduced this musical genre to me called Dembow E-M-B-O-W.
Speaker 1:Now I'm not sure if you are a big dance hall guy, reggae dance hall guy.
Speaker 1:But there was an actual song by an artist by the name of Shaba Ranks and I would say almost the height of the dance hall reggae dance hall era, and he named it Dembao, and so he actually started a whole new musical genre that younger people are listening to, particularly in the Dominican Republic and in Spanish-speaking countries. So, if you think about it, reggae that was popularized here in the US as well because of Black Americans and those across the diaspora starting even new musical genres and reggaeton of course falls into that category as well, something that was taken from dance hall reggae. We popularized it here as well because we come from across the diaspora and now we have these new musical genres popping up, and I thought that was fitting to talk about tonight because of our influence. Black history, of course, grammy awards around tonight, so of course music is on the top of everyone's minds. I know that beyonce won an album uh, she won uh for her country music album. I think she won that.
Speaker 2:So yeah, all those wins her first album of the year. She has 30 some other awards, I guess, in the same from the same industry or same industry recognition process, but it's our first album of the year. It happens to be country music, which of course we contributed to as African Americans. I didn't want to leave out Go-Go music, of course, as one of the musics that are popular in this region.
Speaker 1:So yeah, as well as, of course, I don't know if Go-Go won any awards tonight. Go-go won any awards tonight?
Speaker 2:though Go-Go may not have won any awards, but you know, it's won the award in my heart. It wins an award in your heart. It's always going to be the leading genre in your heart. And as it should be if you're from the DMV or you listen to music in the DMV, Go-Go, should be a part of that experience right, Right Indeed indeed.
Speaker 1:I'll never forget the first time I did go to a club here in DC and listen to Go-Go in a club for the first time. It was called Republic Gardens back in the day On U Street, yeah on. U.
Speaker 2:Street it was a very, very nice, very nice club Very popular. That was back when you stood in line for hours just to get into a club.
Speaker 1:Just to get into a club. Just to get into the club.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I was in uh, I think I might have been a.
Speaker 1:It was part of a journalism conference or something journalism convention that I was here for and I had to go into that club anyway. But before we get too derailed, I wanted to get into, uh, black black journalists and black excellence in journalism. And, uh, we wanted to talk about april ryan. I'd love to get her on the show eventually, but she's with Black Press.
Speaker 2:USA and this is a correspondent.
Speaker 1:White House correspondent who often fielded questions from who aimed questions at the president or the White House spokesperson. Very often and we know that sometimes the relationship between the now president, president Trump, and the Black press and particularly women in the Black press very contentious, whether that's April Ryan or Yamiche Alcindor or others. Even when we saw him being interviewed by I can't recall her name off the top of my head now, but an NABJ I know. If you look at our previous podcast, I did say her name without any effort and now I'm just drawing a blank, but anyway it's been somewhat contentious.
Speaker 1:So it's good to see that April Ryan is back in the White House with Black Press USA, because it was speculative whether or not she would return because she was leaving the griot. So it wasn't. Was her name Rachel Scott? Maybe her name might've been Rachel Scott, but anyway, the but yeah you had we have. Now we're going to see April Ryan back in the White House. I'm sure she'll be asking a lot of questions on behalf of black Americans, which I think is very needed, and it'll be interesting to see how she is treated in the White House.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, and I think it's interesting, since it's probably important that we look back not only at her covering this Trump administration, but she gained notoriety as an African-American journalist during the first Trump administration for her interactions with Trump, or his interactions with her, so to speak. And it goes back to how he interacts, I'll say interacts with women journalists, and yeah, it's pretty interesting, and you could say he's a bit of an antagonistic. Is that a word?
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's a bit antagonistic. Yeah, exactly Antagonistic impugnant, rude, brusque. A lot of characterizations can be made there with his relationship when it comes to Black women asking him questions. I don't know if he has that same kind of attitude for Black men, but I'm trying to think of black men who have directly asked him questions. I just can't think of any off top my head when it comes to any like argumentative types of responses or rebuttals to.
Speaker 2:To be fair, I I think he's pretty. Uh. I think he treats most media professionals that ask questions that he does not quite appreciate the same in the appreciate in the same manner. I don't know if he has a certain preference when it comes to who he calls fake news or accused someone of being with a fake news organization. I think it's based off of whether or not how favorable he finds and respectful you find the questions that you submit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's true. Yeah, I think so too. I think that if you ask him a question that he doesn't like, he does not tend to respond to you favorably, even if it's a good question and even if it's a question that people want to know. It just depends. If you make him look good asking the question, then it's okay. If you make him look bad asking him the question, then it becomes one of the dumbest questions that he's ever heard in his life. So it'll be interesting to see just how he responds to the barrage of questions that are coming his way, especially as the communications have been different and then that landscape has changed.
Speaker 1:Within the White House. You have one of the youngest I believe either one of the youngest or the youngest White House spokesperson in history coming in the White House. She's not yet 30, a young white woman there, very Christian, you can tell. She wears the cross prominently, the crucifix prominently on her, on her attire there, yeah, and so you know, I know that she was carefully selected, maybe for that reason, because she's kind of front facing Right.
Speaker 1:So you know, we do know that the president is a lot about image. I mean it's not foreign to being in the media and, of course, using it to his advantage, whether it's for a game show or reality show or being present in the United States. Let's face it, and we do have media personalities. We have the Department of Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, who was a former Fox News commentator, who's now our defense secretary, taking over for a multiple star general. Now you have a former Fox News commentator who's now our defense secretary, taking over for a multiple star general. Now you have a former Fox News commentator who is now the Department of Defense secretary.
Speaker 2:So that's going to be interesting let's talk about that though, because that has some bearing on the potential career journey for journalists. So you can now move from being a media professional to being a defense secretary, but you can also, you know, become media owners and things like that. So what other you know? Is that surprising that you can move or have a movement from being a commentator or media professional?
Speaker 1:I think, yeah, I think that's an interesting aspect that you bring up, because I think that some of the conventions that we've had when it comes to government, when it comes to the White House, are now being upended, and maybe that is a positive thing. You're very optimistic in that assessment, derek, because there are a lot of people who don't feel that way. If you have a multiple-star general, four or five there's a four-star general, I'm trying to think Austin.
Speaker 2:He has an extensive resume. Yeah, four-star general.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's put that. Yeah, he's a general.
Speaker 2:He's served. He's led troops directly in the Middle East and he's managed multiple campaigns throughout the most contentious regions of the world. He served under a few administrations of, I guess, obama in leadership positions, so his resume is quite extensive when it comes to military and defense-related career activities. So it's a stark juxtaposition.
Speaker 1:A stark contrast. He does have some military background, but it pales in comparison to Lloyd Austin.
Speaker 2:Was he a platoon leader for a National Guard or something?
Speaker 1:I can't remember, I just know by comparison it's kind of shallow. You know what I mean. I think he served longer at Fox than he did in the military, if I'm not mistaken. I don't want to put mistruths out there. So anyone who's watching, do your research. See what. How the resumes compare.
Speaker 1:Hegseth's resume would be much shallower than Lloyd Austin's, and so when we think about information coming from the Department of Defense and how that relates to journalism and communications, one has to wonder how much information we're going to get and if it's going to be accurate, right? Does the present secretary understand all the nuances that are coming out of the Defense Department and who is going to be sharing and disseminating that information? So I think, as journalists, we have to pay attention, because there are a lot of foreign policy issues that we have to deal with, and our national defense is also something that we have to contend with and has been a big deal. So a lot of those issues are things that journalists will ultimately have to be gatekeepers of when it comes to sharing this information and knowing the depths of the information that they should be sharing with us, right? Yeah, certainly.
Speaker 2:Now, before you jump on that, can you go back? I think you have a bit of experience and knowledge when it comes to the White House Correspondents Room and being able to get qualified for being in the White House Correspondents Room. What are some of the requirements that you found in the past that April may have had to meet to be able to be a reporter coming to the White House from that very prestigious location?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I wanted to get into that and the preface for this is that there are new requirements, loosened requirements to cover the White House and being in the Press Brady briefing room where you could be a content creator, essentially to cover the White House. Now you could be a blogger, you could be a content creator. You basically just need, I guess, a platform, but a nice phone or maybe just a nice platform with your own domain and email address, and you might be able to cover the White House as any other member of legacy media might have been able to. But when I did it, I definitely went through years of schooling to be a journalist. I worked at different news stations to build up my resume. Then I had to apply with Congress to be a White House. Well, first I had to go through Congress and be credentialed in Congress and then I had to get credentialed with background checks and all of that with the White House. So it was, if you think about it, for me it was like almost like a multi-year process and I had to work at several different news places.
Speaker 1:April Ryan, the same thing. I mean, she's an established journalist who's been in Washington for many years and has worked at many different news platforms and news sources, and she's been covering the White House for a while too. She's able to still stay and cover the White House, but she's been established for a while, but she's been cutting her teeth in Washington for many years asking the tough questions, and she will be bumping elbows with people who blog for a living, I guess right. So that'll be different in itself, and of course, there are positives and negatives to that too, where I guess, if you want access to cover the White House, you don't have to go through, jump through a lot of hoops and jump over a lot of hurdles to do it. At the same time, though, what is the quality of news and the quality of questioning and quality of information that you're getting if you don't have people who followed any protocol or went through any proper education or really understands the depths and nuances of journalism and how things should be reported in the best interests of the public?
Speaker 2:Well, let's talk about that. So April Ryan will be in the room and she's part of Black Press USA, which is the news arm of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, an association that represents well over 100 African-American media organizations or print publications. So well established, been around for many, many years. But the opportunity, I believe, I guess now for content creators which means anyone that have started their own media business, which I guess is the kind of creative you have can now have access to the White House if you meet the requirements that were stated, as, as long as you're creating news content of the day and are legitimate independent journalists, you're welcome to cover the White House. She cited a Gallup poll showing low trust in the media in the United States, particularly among young people.
Speaker 2:Levitt, who we mentioned earlier, the press secretary for the White House, said credentials will be given to those who meet the White House's criteria and pass a Secret Service background check. So it seems that the criteria has become a bit looser. So now independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers and content creators can apply for credentials to cover the White House, but it doesn't say you know how likely is it that those content creators independent creators can get access, but if you are a self-employed media professional, does this give you a bit of optimism to be able to share your voice and generate revenue, because now you have access to areas that before were only for major media organizations and fully employed journalists?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it does. I think if you're a person that wants to make a living covering the White House, I do think that this provides an opportunity for you. For sure, again from what they've listed as their credentials, if it's just that, that seems like a pretty low barrier to entry there. But of course, I do think there are probably different nuances that they may not be listing what kind of angle you might have in covering the news, what kind of news platform you represent. I think those things will also be factored in. I don't think it'll be like anyone with a decent platform or a bunch of followers will be able to cover the White House. I do think it depends on where your sensibilities lie, so to speak, with the news that you cover or how you cover it. But it does, again, offer new opportunities for people. You don't have to, like I said, go through all of these different hurdles in order to be a journalist to cover the White House. So, yeah, maybe this will be good for people who are up and coming. They'll decide they don't need to go to journalism school anymore If they can just set up a camera and get a domain page and just start covering the White House, so that could be interesting as well. We'll have to see where this goes, dk.
Speaker 1:I do think that it'll be interesting to see how news will be covered with a more some might even say democratized, standard. But now it's open to so many more people, as opposed to gatekeepers who said, well, this person should be allowed and this person doesn't. When I was covering the White House, there is a hierarchy. For example, a lot of legacy media sat in front and they were almost assigned seats. So you had AP in the front, you had CNN in the front, you had ABC, cbs, nbc in the front. If you were somebody lesser known, well then you might be in the back or you might not even be allowed in the briefing room, depending on how much room is in there.
Speaker 2:When I started the room was pretty small, though right Bush-Obama transition.
Speaker 1:there were a lot of people in there, so if you weren't part of that well-known media outlet, you might not have had space. You definitely didn't have sitting space. You would have had to stand in the aisle in the periphery of the room, because it isn't a big room either. It's a pretty small room.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what I thought. So the notion of allowing more people, or at least loosening the criteria, could make things a bit more chaotic or, I guess, crowded in the room. It'll be interesting to see bit more chaotic or, I guess, crowded in the room It'll be interesting to see. I'm looking forward to seeing what the press conferences might be when these non-traditional media professionals ask questions, and how will they formulate the questions and what types of questions they'll ask and how they introduce their organizations. You know, yeah, we're entering a new era. You know, a new era of professionals, media professionals, and hopefully not all of them are. You know, I don't think all of them will be grassroots people. Maybe they will be some traditional journalists that are.
Speaker 2:Oh, they're definitely platforms Like I would imagine someone like Roland Martin, who has his own media organization, that is a worldclass journalist and would maybe get access. I'm not sure if Trump his staff will necessarily welcome him, but I believe if he applied, then why not?
Speaker 1:I would argue that his show is grassroots too, though.
Speaker 1:It's just been established for a few years now. But we have to remember when it started it was a fledgling operation, like anything starting out. And then he and he's very consistent and he says, has talking points that are thought provocative, and so over time, now he might seem established, they may seem almost mainstream, but that's not how he started out. If you remember, he was ousted from CNN. He was looking for work, he was trying to gain access, and then he said, okay, I'm going to do this on my own. And that's indicative of somebody who is very determined, somebody who has a vision and dream and decided to go for it. So I think that he's definitely one of those people who can say that. And now, yeah, he probably I mean, based on what he's built, he should be able to get access. But, like I said before, because of his stance right, he is very critical of the Trump administration and Trump himself Would he gain the same kind of access as somebody who might have formerly worked at OAN and decided to set up their own blog, for example?
Speaker 1:That person from OAN might be given a preference over Roland Martin. You know what I mean. So there's that, we'll see. Like I said Now, you said it's the beginning of a new era. We will have to see if it is the beginning of a new era or the beginning of a new error, so we'll have to see which one it is. Applause I'm suspending judgment on that, oh man.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for that.
Speaker 1:I don't know if it deserved any applause, but I would rather applause than booing, let's put it that way. But yeah, we, you know we'll see what happens with that and I'm kind of looking forward to seeing how that works because maybe it could, if it does go the right way, could open up more opportunities to promote black journalism as well, or what they call the new black media. New black media has always been something kind of again very organic, definitely not prominent, definitely more behind the scenes, talking about stories that were not salient in the zeitgeist. But perhaps because of this new policy, that may change and that would be a positive development.
Speaker 2:That may change and that would be a positive development, right, but the past is prologue, based on past behaviors that might be a bit dubious. So we have to suspend judgment for now and see what direction this new policy takes in regard to content creators and those who are not considered part of legacy media. Wow, interesting era for communications professionals, but also, I guess, an encouraging thing for solo professionals, professionals that are building their own brands in similar fashion to mention Roland Watt earlier, but maybe there's others that are transitioning from, maybe, a career with a traditional media organization but still wants to further their journalism career or communications career. They can start their own blog or build their own online magazine or whatever, and become a strong source of information for people in a similar fashion to what they did before running their own independent media business. You know, that's essentially.
Speaker 2:You know, and you mentioned it earlier like, the barriers to entry aren't the same as they were before. You don't need to have access to a printing press or tons and tons of wood pulp to print out a paper. You know, all you need is a website, a WordPress account, url and then the time to spend the time and the know-how to produce good content and get it out there and build an audience. So it's an interesting time that we're in. It's an interesting time and I believe that this president will help encourage people to really want to be wary of what's happening in the news and increase the importance of news professionals that know what they're talking about and know how to get information and know how to vet information and ensure that we get good, honest, true information. You know, and that's the key. You know, and I hope we're not in a information desert in America. You know, and I hope we're not in a truth desert where we are lacking integrity and communications because of key factors that are governing the country.
Speaker 1:Yeah, now, they didn't say how many people they were limiting this coverage to, did they? There's not anything that says we're only going to offer these special credentials, because there are different tiers of credentials as well. At least traditionally, there have been where you could get a credential just for the day and you would have to renew your credential every time you went in, or you could get a hard pass. Hard pass is where you get a credential that expires, I think, after a year or something like that. Then you have to renew it, but you essentially can go into the briefing room almost whenever you want. I guess obviously there might be restrictions some days and things like that, but essentially it's a pass that allowed you access the press room whenever there was a news conference or if you just had to do work in there. Right, you were given a card, you give it to, you stop at the checkpoint, which is right there on the other side of Lafayette Square, and then you tap in and you're able to go in.
Speaker 1:Now, this is years ago for me, so I'm sure it's changed. I'm sure there's some AI scanning stuff, whatever, but it was almost like going into the airport. You know, when you go through TSA screening in the airport, where you have to take off, take out all the metal objects out of your coat and your jacket and your purse or whatever. I didn't have a purse, obviously, but you know, ladies had to take stuff out of the purse, they had to scan it through and then you tap in and they would allow you into the briefing room. I wonder if they changed those restrictions and if the bloggers, content creators, have to go through a different screening process, or will they have a hard pass where they will have access for a year or longer, right, and they don't always have to tap in? Well, I saw a number there. How many did it say at the top there?
Speaker 2:Seven thousand four hundred influencers have applied for White House press credentials. Yeah, Seven thousand four hundred and how many people can fit in the room.
Speaker 1:I guess it was like I mean that room room I don't know the the exact capacity, but I would say like 50 or something and that's packed. 50 is packed comfortable, maybe 30.
Speaker 2:Oh you, know what I mean yeah that's amazing, yeah, so it's gonna be interesting.
Speaker 1:I mean, they're gonna be some legitimate, uh journalists that I think that are gonna be left out just because they'll be, the White House will be inundated, and I think there'll be some. In my opinion, there might be some partiality there too. So we'll see what happens. And that's not to say that there wasn't partiality in the Biden administration or the Obama administration, and I just think that there is likely going to be partiality in this administration as well. So when you have more than 7,000 applicants, there has to be criteria other than you've got a nice blog space, you have more than 1,000 followers, a decent camera and you pass a background check. I think there's probably going to be some more judging aspect of who's going to be allowed in the White House or not.
Speaker 2:Now, what does this mean for journalists, working communicators? Does this mean that? Does this emphasize the importance of having a social media presence, even if you're a working journalist in traditional media? And how important? I guess, in light of the White House mentioning TikTok several times in this article in Fortune magazine, is it important to embrace TikTok, even though it's under scrutiny and the potential or the future is a little hazy.
Speaker 1:Well, that's another thing too. If you're about right now, we're in an era of personal branding as well, and the bigger your brand is, the more followers you have. Look at some of the biggest podcasters. That's why they got the space and the adulation and the attention that they got, because they had a lot of followers and they were very popular and proliferate in social media, like Joe Rogan or something like that. Right, you know, I don't know if he does TikTok specifically, but because he was so big in social media, he got a lot of followers and he became very prominent, and I don't think it would hurt if you had lots of followers on different platforms, whether that's Instagram, whether that's, you know, tiktok, whether that's YouTube or whatever. So I think that it would really depend. So, but we will have to see.
Speaker 1:But with that, I think that we will catch you next time on the next Capital Press Club Legacy Podcast. I want to thank everyone for watching. As we enter the new year, we'll have fresh topics to talk to you about as we watch developments in Washington and how that corresponds to Black media. I want to thank Derek for joining me tonight and we'll have him on next time and we'll have some guests lined up for you in upcoming episodes and again, we'll see you next time. Thanks for joining us. Take care.