African American News Media

African American news media have always focused on reporting the good, bad, and ugly in and affecting the African American community. In recent years, the rising cost of newsprint, reductions in advertising and paid circulation, downsizing of newsroom employees, the advancement of technology (radio, television, and the World Wide Web) for the presentation of news, and the closing of newspapers around the country have adversely affected the expansion and continuance of print media, especially African American print newspapers and magazines. This entry discusses the origins and development of the Black press in the United States, associations and news services involving African American news media, and contemporary African American news media.