AfroLA Fills News Gaps for L.A.’s Black and Underserved Communities

I wrote this release for the launch of AfroLA. I curated and compiled a list of media contacts to send the release to. It was picked up and shared by several online outlets, including Black Voice News and Yahoo News.
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AfroLA Fills News Gaps for L.A.’s Black and Underserved Communities

AfroLA is a new nonprofit newsroom reporting on Los Angeles through the lens of the Black community. AfroLA publishes content about and for all Angelenos, but with special attention to the disparate or disproportionate impacts news has for the Black community and marginalized groups. Today, the digital-only news product officially launched its new website.
Normalized narratives that highlight the “everydayness” of Black L.A. with “dignity, pride, and strength” aren’t prioritized in the reporting of mainstream media and the 24-hour news cycle, said AfroLA founder/executive director Dana Amihere. “Our stories are more than painful and tragic. We’re normalizing narratives of people living their everyday lives,” Amihere said.
AfroLA was conceptualized in November 2021, when Amihere had a lunchtime conversation with fellow journalist Steven Smith, former production coordinator for the Long Beach Post and AfroLA’s Director of Operations. Venting frustrations about L.A.’s local news scene and back of the napkin what-ifs blossomed into a fully baked plan of action to fill the gaps in local news coverage both had seen and experienced— to varying degrees—-in their own lives. The first iteration of AfroLA debuted online and on social media in April 2022.
Since last year, Amihere has written on Medium to detail AfroLA’s editorial strategy and data-driven, solutions-based approach to reporting that provides insights to existing problems and amplifies community voices beyond common stereotypes.
While the majority of coverage is through the lens and lived experiences of Black Angelenos, AfroLA’s niche is explanatory journalism that adds context and nuance about and for all Angelenos. Transparency, Amihere explained, is a critical step toward creating more equitable, community-centered local news. “We wanted to be really upfront and clear about not only what we're about, but why we're making certain decisions and what impact community feedback and opinions have had on the work that we're doing,” she said. “We're not just operating in a black box. We're trying really hard to listen first and act upon what we're hearing.”
As part of formulating strategic plans, AfroLA set out to gather feedback, in an online news needs survey and in person interviews, to determine what to cover and how. Those responses yielded clear data about preferences and priorities for news coverage and distribution.
AfroLA’s new site includes verticals on education, services and infrastructure, health care and justice.


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MEDIA CONTACT
Eliza Partika
(916) 640-9994
info@afrolanews.org