By Mike Green Where are black tech innovators in America? It's a good question that was raised in Silicon Valley two years ago when Angela Benton met legendary investor Mitch Kapor and founded NewMe, the first accelerator in Silicon Valley focused on black startup founders. Soledad O'Brien's "Black in America" series catalyzed a national debate when it spotlighted the NewMe Accelerator and the controversy o ...

By Tracie Powell House Republican leaders Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.) sat in front of a dry erase board with the hash-tag, #CommActUpdate, written in marker, to talk with former Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell (a GOP appointee) via Google Hangout about updating the 1996 Communications Act. If ever there was an oxymoron. It is also symbolic of what's wrong with Washingto ...

By Tracie Powell When it comes to blurring the lines between advertising and news content, some journalists are leading the way. In the past, news organizations worked extra hard to keep their news and advertising departments separate. But the digital age, and the increasing importance of native advertising to news gatherers' bottom line, is changing all of that. Mashable's Chief Strategy Officer, Adam Ostr ...

By Tracie Powell Katie Couric's brand has underwhelmed and under-performed ever since she left NBC's Today Show in 2006. Yet Yahoo now thinks she'll be a big eyeballs and revenue draw as its new global news anchor. She might bring some initial attention to the aging Internet company, but I write why it probably won't work in the long-term in this weekend's The Washington Post. Can Couric attract a younger, ...

By Afi Scruggs Although the furor is waning over the Flint Journal’s handling of Councilmember Wantwaz Davis’ criminal past – the newspaper did not report that he is an ex-felon until the day after the election – one question remains: How will the newspaper prevent a similar lapse? Editor Marjory Raymer apologized to readers, but she has not said what the paper will do to prevent similar episodes from happe ...

When traditional media falls short in its responsibility to inform the public, a ritual invariably follows: Acknowledgement, apology and promise to improve. The same old routines resume, however, after the rite– until the next breakdown. That's why I'm rolling my eyes at The Flint (Mich.) Journal. The paper failed to provide the most cursory of local election news coverage of a convicted murderer who ran an ...

The blurring of lines between news and commentary continues on CNN By Tracie Powell None of CNN’s journalists who anchor news desks, host documentaries, or report the the news—with the exception of Don Lemon—have the freedom to express their opinions on other platforms, and certainly not on air. It looks like he's making the move to full-time pundit in his new prime time gig, and that's probably a good thin ...

By Tracie Powell I am a gladiator. That simply means that I am a huge fan of the ABC series Scandal; I even belong to a Facebook fan group of Scandalholics comprised primarily of journalists who appreciate the show's great storytelling. Set in Washington, D.C. the show follows the travails of a fictional president (Tony Goldwyn's Fitzgerald Grant), his mistress (Kerry Washington's Olivia Pope) and a series ...

Government Monitoring Is A Way of Life for Communities of Color By Tracie Powell Immigrants, Hispanics, blacks and Muslim Americans are used to living under the watchful eye of the government. It's simply a way of life, which may explain why communities of color seem to be unfazed by news reports about government spying on citizens. Or maybe they've just forgotten their history. Advocacy organizations are s ...

By Tracie Powell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmZ91Bv8T38 When it comes to the news industry, clicks are increasingly the coin of the realm. This is especially true for local television news. Take, for example, Washington, D.C.’s CBS affiliate WUSA 9 News, which aired a segment last week that was light on news, but racked up plenty of clicks when it went viral. The segment features veteran broadcaster Bru ...