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In light of Women’s History Month, it’s important we uplift and amplify women in media who are acting as today’s leaders of innovation and change. For Sirius XM radio host Sienna Garraway — better known as Swaggy Sie — she’s used her expertise as a media personality and content creator to propel herself into being a tastemaker for our culture. With the help of both technology and her skills in broadcasting, she’s been able to build a successful brand around herself. Swaggy Sie — a native of Brooklyn, NY — got her start in the media world as a college student interning at Sirius XM under entities such as Shade 45, Ed Lover, Sway Calloway and more. “Those entities really molded me into a person that could understand radio – the background of it, the programming side, and really gave me my foundation of media and broadcasting at such a young age,” she tells AfroTech. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Swaggy Sie (@swaggysie) “One of my first mentors DJ S Whit was very...
Mar 11, 2021
Before Michele Thornton Ghee was named CEO of 1145 Holdings, LLC in a press release — the parent company of the iconic Ebony and Jet Magazine — she had a career in the media industry that spanned three decades. She generated billions of dollars for companies like WME, CNN, A&E, The History Channel, and BET Networks. During her tenure at BET, she created, launched, and managed BETHer, which bills itself as “the first and only network for Black women.” Now, this titan of industry is taking her wealth of experience to the legendary Ebony and Jet Magazine, while promising to “revitalize” the classic brands to bring them into the 21st century. “Everything we say will come through the lens of Black journalists,” said Ghee, in a statement, according to Yahoo Finance. “We will ensure there is a safe space for Black journalism to thrive.” In the past, Ghee focused on strategy, revenue generation, and — perhaps most importantly — recognizing the importance of Black culture. Ebony and Jet...
Jan 19, 2021
The endless downtime thanks to the pandemic has given Kofi Siriboe time to realize a new business venture, We’re Not Kids Anymore. According to Shadow & Act, the “Queen Sugar” star will soon launch the media and lifestyle platform that will illuminate and reflect on the cultural resets that helped shaped Black culture and the world. “I was sitting home like we all were and all of the ideas and all of the things that crossed my heart and mind in the last five years came to the surface and We’re Not Kids Anymore really stood out,” he said. “We’re always looking ahead and creating new things as we move, but I just think it’s important to reflect and actually appreciate and find value in the experiences that shaped us to this moment.” Siriboe describes We’re Not Kids Anymore as a “network of nostalgia.” Alongside tech partner Julian Lane, he’s creating a space to celebrate time. More specifically, the time between being a kid and an adult. View this post on Instagram A post shared...
Dec 9, 2020
As more women of color step into leadership roles in the entertainment world, this media veteran finds herself climbing the ladder at another major company. Showtime’s head of communications, Johanna Fuentes is making a transition to Warner Bros. as their head of global communications. “It’s a transformative moment in our industry, and I couldn’t be prouder to join a legacy and storied company like Warner Bros.,” said Fuentes on her new role. “I believe in Ann’s vision for the future of the company and am excited to work with some of the top communications professionals and storytellers in our field as we map the strategy for the continued expansion of our iconic brands, films, games and television series.” Fuentes has led a rewarding career in entertainment since beginning her career at CBS corporation in 2001, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As a former director of entertainment communications, she worked on programs including “Survivor” and “Everybody Hates Chris.” Fuentes...
Apr 14, 2020
Tom Joyner, the host of the show that bears his name, put down his microphone Friday. After 25 years on-air, the veteran radio host of the “The Tom Joyner Morning Show” began his retirement from a job he never imagined leaving. In a recent CBS News interview conducted by Jericka Duncan , the Alabama native described his auspicious start at a local radio station. After protesting that the station failed to play Black music, despite being situated in an all-Black community, the station owner relented. Joyner took the mic, and he never looked back. In 1994, he began hosting “The Tom Joyner Morning Show” on ABC Radio Networks with a focus on empowerment. Setting that unique tone paved the way for transparency on the program, giving rise to discussions about real-life topics, such as voter advocacy and health awareness, peppered with humor and social commentary. His direct, down-to-earth approach is associated with galvanizing Blacks to vote . Ten years later, with a greater following,...
Dec 19, 2019
Charlamagne Tha God is as wide awake as most others won’t be for another two to three hours as he power walks into the lower Manhattan towers where Power 105.1 studios reside. “Peace, King,” he says in his greeting to me. “Good morning,” he says to my melanin-deficient associate. He guides us both, along with his assistant Paige, to the elevators and up several levels to the iHeartRadio floors. Before either of us realizes it, he’s already provided salutations to the planet of listeners who religiously tune in to “The Breakfast Club” morning show. It would be a long morning, much longer than I’d planned for, but I came with a self-imposed mission to get as clear a sense of who Charlamagne really is — as best as I could in the span of a sunrise. I planned to explore the ideas and philosophies of the businessman who resides behind the prickly character and to understand the weight of responsibility it must be to represent Black culture on one of the world’s largest stages. About an...
Nov 25, 2019
Emma Bowen, a Harlem-native and community activist, cared about the images of people of color in the news. So she came to Midtown, met with broadcast executives and struck a deal to create opportunity. “They said, ‘You know what? We want to put talented people of color in positions so they can become the future of media,’” says Rahsaan Harris, PHD, President & CEO of The Emma Bowen Foundation, a program that continues her legacy by providing internships for nearly 1,000 students of color and career opportunities for its graduates during its almost 30-year history. According to Harris, the partner companies are big broadcasters, cable operators, computer companies, PR companies and more. Today, the foundation prioritizes connecting leading media companies with promising students of color to create a pipeline of emerging leaders, which leads to diverse hiring, retention and advancement. Some of the current partners working with the foundation include Bloomberg Media, C-Span, CBS...
Oct 29, 2018