Black press missing from stimulus list, NNPA says
Hazel Trice-Edney/NNPA Editor-in-Chief
Issue date: 6/28/09 Section: Politics
A separate letter to Geithner, requests specific information on dollar amounts spent so far:
"Please advise me as to the total amounts your department and financial institutions receiving TARP and TALF funds have spent on African-American, Latino and Asian-American owned newspapers and radio stations," Lee wrote. "Also please advise me on the measures your department has taken to insure that the minority-owned media outlets participate equitably in your department's advertising, marketing and outreach activities."
TARP, which stands for Troubled Asset Relief Program; and TALF, which stands for Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, are financial relief programs for businesses and corporations needing help.
Palmer, CBC communications director, said the letter to Treasury Secretary Geithner was specifically a follow up to questions that Lee posed to him as he testified May 21 before the House Financial Services and General Government Operations Subcommittee of which she is a member.
"This is an issue that has great importance to the chairwoman of the CBC and its members," Palmer said in an interview. He stated the conversations are ongoing as the CBC presses for results.
In the April 27 story on Smith's letter, NNPA Foundation Chairwoman Dorothy Leavell said it was ''unclear in the Black community where to go and what is available to help Black families and Black businesses, the very communities that we serve." She added,
'The Black press has participated in teleconferences and have sought information locally, yet there are no clear answers to these two queries.'' Leavell vowed that the quest for information would continue.
Both of Lee's letters, also signed by CBC officers Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), pointed out the dual purposes of the Black Press.
"African-American owned newspapers and radio stations have historically captured and chronicled the hopes and history of the African-American community when no one else cared. They remain uniquely positioned to communicate directly with segments of the population that the federal government must reach to achieve its mission," they wrote Biden. "As implementation of the economic recovery package continues, I strongly encourage you to include a review of African-American-owned news outlets and their struggle to receive an equitable distribution of taxpayer funded advertising dollars."
"Please advise me as to the total amounts your department and financial institutions receiving TARP and TALF funds have spent on African-American, Latino and Asian-American owned newspapers and radio stations," Lee wrote. "Also please advise me on the measures your department has taken to insure that the minority-owned media outlets participate equitably in your department's advertising, marketing and outreach activities."
TARP, which stands for Troubled Asset Relief Program; and TALF, which stands for Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, are financial relief programs for businesses and corporations needing help.
Palmer, CBC communications director, said the letter to Treasury Secretary Geithner was specifically a follow up to questions that Lee posed to him as he testified May 21 before the House Financial Services and General Government Operations Subcommittee of which she is a member.
"This is an issue that has great importance to the chairwoman of the CBC and its members," Palmer said in an interview. He stated the conversations are ongoing as the CBC presses for results.
In the April 27 story on Smith's letter, NNPA Foundation Chairwoman Dorothy Leavell said it was ''unclear in the Black community where to go and what is available to help Black families and Black businesses, the very communities that we serve." She added,
'The Black press has participated in teleconferences and have sought information locally, yet there are no clear answers to these two queries.'' Leavell vowed that the quest for information would continue.
Both of Lee's letters, also signed by CBC officers Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), pointed out the dual purposes of the Black Press.
"African-American owned newspapers and radio stations have historically captured and chronicled the hopes and history of the African-American community when no one else cared. They remain uniquely positioned to communicate directly with segments of the population that the federal government must reach to achieve its mission," they wrote Biden. "As implementation of the economic recovery package continues, I strongly encourage you to include a review of African-American-owned news outlets and their struggle to receive an equitable distribution of taxpayer funded advertising dollars."
Be the first to comment on this story