MAY 30, 2023 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Delivering Black Media Stories for Kids And remembering our war dead on Memorial Day For a while now, my colleagues and I have been eager to support public media content featuring and designed for Black children and youth. This week, I’m pleased to …
MAY 23, 2023 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz PBS is Making Refreshing Changes Last week, two of my BPM colleagues and I, along with 1300+ other public media staffers, convened in San Diego for the PBS Annual Meeting. For those of you who don’t know, the PBS Annual Meeting screens trailers …
MAY 2, 2023 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz PitchBLACK Recap | Artist Chat this Thursday As you might imagine, after last week’s spectacular PitchBLACK Forum & Awards program, my staff and I are wrapping up and recovering this week. Which is why our May newsletter will publish next Tuesday (5/9), not …
APRIL 25, 2023 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz PitchPERFCT is the PitchBLACK Goal This year’s PitchBLACK Forum & Awards program marks the sixth time Black Public Media has hosted this now annual celebration of Black media story tellers. What started out as a biennial event just for the nonfiction storytellers who …
APRIL 11, 2023 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Celebrate Black Media Storytellers with Us The stories of African griots have sustained West Africans for thousands of years. The stories of Middle Passage survivors, whose progeny endured centuries of enslavement, emboldened those who fought the American Civil War. And their stories inspired …
April 4, 2023 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz April is BPM’s Season to Celebrate! It’s April and we have AfroPoP and PitchBLACK on our minds all month!! Afropop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange returns for its 15th season continuing to showcase the rich diversity of the African diaspora through art, music and culture. From the magnetic movements …
MARCH 28, 2023 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz PitchBLACK is Less Than a Month Away! AfroPoP Season XV starts next Monday, April 3 We recently confirmed that Brittany Luse, host of It’s Been a Minute, NPR’s show on culture and society, will join us at next month’s PitchBLACK Awards. She’ll conduct …
MARCH 14, 2023 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Elevating Black Her-Stories Year-Round It’s women’s history month! For Black and other women of color it’s an extra month, another 31 days, to further highlight our her-stories and accomplishments. For this edition of the Dispatch, BPM celebrates Black women makers who are releasing …
MARCH 8, 2023 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz When Only Those Who Can Afford to Pay Enter, What Are We REALLY Awarding? After reading Addie Moorfoot’s article in Variety, about the costs associated with running an awards season campaign, I have to ask myself and our filmmakers, is it worth it? Now, …
FEBRUARY 28, 2023 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Black E’RY Month This week marks the end of another wonderful Black History Month celebration. We hope you’ve had a chance to attend spirited events in your community and to view some of the enriching content that has aired on public media throughout …