BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz This Giving Tuesday, We Say Thank You! Normally during Giving Tuesday, Black Public Media appeals to its community to make a financial contribution to our organization. However, 2021 is different. Instead of asking for your support, we’re taking this opportunity to express our deep appreciation for …
NOVEMBER 23, 1021 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Thankful for Storytellers As we prepare to celebrate with family and friends during the Thanksgiving holiday, I want to take a moment to thank our storytellers. Photo of storytellers who competed in PitchBLACK 2019. From the earliest paintings on cave walls, storytellers have …
NOVEMBER 16 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Celebrate Transgender Awareness Week and Thanksgiving with ‘Mama Gloria’ Happy Transgender Awareness Week! If you’re looking for ways to observe the occasion, I’m happy to recommend Mama Gloria, one of this season’s AfroPoP films, by Luchina Fisher. Mama Gloria kicked off AfroPoP Season 13 …
NOVEMBER 9, 2021 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Watch, Share and Vote for ‘Elena’ AfroPoP Film is Qualified for the 2022 Academy Awards Elena — a documentary short directed by Michèle Stephenson that is part of BPM’s AfroPoP Season 13 — has qualified for the 2022 Academy Awards and is currently …
NOVEMBER 2, 2021 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Preparing to Make the Moment Matter Maya Angelou once said: “If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going. I have great respect for the past, but I’m a person of the moment.” I can relate …
OCTOBER 26, 2021 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Tentative IATSE Agreement Includes a DEI Commitment Will it hold? Is it Enough? When International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) President Matt Loeb announced on Oct. 18, that a tentative agreement had been reached with Hollywood producers, averting the anticipated strike, …
OCTOBER 19, 2021 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Once Again, It’s Time to Protect Our Public Media I grew up watching public television. I’ve spent the balance of my professional career helping media makers create content for distribution on public media stations, And I am a public media donor. I cannot …
OCTOBER 12, 2021 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Photo Courtesy of IATSE, Burbank Fighting for Worker Respect in the Film Industry I’m sure many of you are aware of the contentious negotiations going on between the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and the film and television industry. IATSE is …
October 5, 2021 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz The Media Imperative of Making BIPOC Talent Visible Last month, I noted how people of color secured more nominations than ever at the 73rd Emmy Awards. The run up to awards night was promising, but in the end, none of the BIPOC performers nominated …
September 28, 2021 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Trauma Porn: A Media Obsession Worth Eradicating What Can Black Storytellers Do About It? Trauma porn is ubiquitous in today’s media. Footage of Haitian refugees living in squalid conditions beneath Texas’ Del Rio International Bridge. Images of desperate Afghan families risking everything …