URL Media welcomes Black Girl Times to the network

URL Media is thrilled to welcome Black Girl Times as its twenty first media partner.

Black Girl Times (BGX) is the communications blog for the nongovernmental and nonprofit organization, The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects. BGX is a platform that provides thought-provoking stories and content for Black women, girls and the people who love them.

Founded by Natalie A. Collier, an inspirational speaker, writer and women and youth advocate, Black Girl Times is committed to empowering Black girls by providing them access to spaces, time and resources that will allow them to achieve autonomy and self-actualization.

The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects, the parent organization of BGX, encompasses a multifaceted approach to addressing the holistic well-being of Black girls and women. The organization includes a research institute, educational programming, advocacy and organizing initiatives, as well as a range of tools and resources.

Based in Jackson, Mississippi, The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects focuses on preserving and amplifying the identity, achievements, challenges, and beauty of Black girls and women in the Southeastern United States. BGX consistently publishes news and online commentary three times a week, sharing impactful stories and perspectives.

Collier writes this about her vision for The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects: “For nearly a decade, I’ve had a clear vision about the way I thought work with and on behalf of Black girls and women should look: addressing the whole person—physical, emotional, spiritual and social wellbeing–all supported by an affirming sociopolitical structure.”

Black Girl Times has a dedicated readership, primarily consisting of women (61%), with a broad geographic reach across the United States, including Mississippi, California, New York, and Georgia. The platform maintains an active presence on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram and has a combined audience of nearly 2,000 followers. BGX also distributes a monthly newsletter showcasing original artwork, such as graphic designs, cartoons, and photo essays through a fair and inclusive pitch process.

Sara M. Lomax, co-founder and President of URL Media, expressed her excitement about the partnership, emphasizing the importance of amplifying the voices and perspectives of Black women in the upcoming 2024 presidential election cycle.

“We are thrilled to welcome Black Girl Times into the URL Media network," she said. "Black girls and women have been the soil from which the great Black movements have grown and been nurtured over time. We will need to hear the voices and perspectives of Black women as we move into this pivotal 2024 presidential election cycle.”

“One of the most exciting things about joining the URL network is an opportunity to be in community—actual community—with publications who share some of the same delights and obstacles we do,” said Collier.

“So much of this work can be isolating, as capitalism wouldn’t have it any other way. Finding our people in this context is a joyful act of resistance and affirmation.”

Black Girl Times joins URL Media partners Black Voice News, Documented, Epicenter-NYC, Native News Online, Prism, Our Body Politic, Outlier Media, palabra., Immigrantly, The Oklahoma Eagle, Sahan Journal, PushBlack, Pulso, Scalawag, ScrollStack, TBN24, La Noticia, The Haitian Times, Watch The Yard, and WURD Radio.

URL Media hires Ariam Alula as Audience Manager

Ariam Alula (how to say it) brings a range of skills and interests to URL Media, including newsletter curation, audience strategy and research, and measuring and tracking impact. Most recently, she has consulted with several organizations in the journalism support space, including the Institute for Nonprofit News, the Public Square Team at Democracy Fund, Online News Association and Women Do News. She has also written for the American Press Institute’s Need to Know newsletter. Alula is also a proud graduate of the engagement journalism program at the Craig Newmark Journalism School at the City University of New York.

On my first mentor, Henry Fuhrmann

Senior Recruiter Sonali Kohli here. I want to talk to you this week about the joy of having and being a mentor, and the grief of losing a mentor. I want to talk to you in particular about Henry Fuhrmann, who was my first journalism mentor. Henry died earlier this month at the age of 65, a few years after entering semi-retirement. He had so much left. Henry and I met when I was an extremely eager (perhaps too eager) student at the University of California - Los Angeles [UCLA]. As an undergraduate, I went to the Los Angeles Times building downtown every chance I could — for everything from tours to events and panels. At one such panel, I met Henry, who was an assistant managing editor overseeing the copy desk. At our college newspaper, the Daily Bruin, we were grappling with a decision (remember that this was circa 2011): my editor and I wanted to honor a source's request to use they/them pronouns in a story, which we'd never done. Neither had the Los Angeles Times, yet. But Henry believed in respecting a person's identity and using language as a tool to do that. He told me that journalists must strive for accuracy, and it is reasonable to deduce that the name or pronouns a person uses for themselves are the most accurate. He supported our decision to respect the source's identity and then used the Bruin as an example when the LA Times had that conversation about pronouns not long after.

Meet Andaiye Taylor. She joins URL Media as our first-ever Editorial Director.

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