South Jersey Information Equity Project Highlights Latest Fellows
BY CLYDE HUGHES | AC JosepH Media
WOODBURY – The South Jersey Information Equity Project (SJIEP) held its closing ceremonies last month, recognizing the work of eight fellows helping local news outlets fill the gap in the region’s news desert.
The closing ceremony at the Cultural Collective Café & BrickNKulture Event Space catered on a several dozen people but had a big impact on storytelling about people of color in South Jersey. The project, run by the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University, works to fill the news information gap in South Jersey.
The SJIEP gives its fellows generous grants to cover stories in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties involving people of color. That area was expanded this year to include Atlantic, Salem, and Cumberland counties.
“SJIEP continues to support Black journalists, media equity in South Jersey, and news/information by and for communities of color,” Cassandra Etienne, associate director of programming and membership with the Center of Cooperative Media, wrote in an email.
“This year, we experienced exponential growth, and we are excited to spotlight the achievements of our eight fellows. It’s also a time to show our appreciation for our mentors, instructors, and media and community partners and celebrate your partnership with SJIEP.”
Cassandra Etienne is the assistant director for membership and programming at the Center for Cooperative Media and the project lead for the South Jersey Information Equity Project.
Cassandra has a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and has worked as a documentary producer and freelance reporter in New Jersey and her native New York City.
Adrienne Bauldock is the coordinator of the South Jersey Information Equity Project and works with creatives across New Jersey. She studied television and digital media at Montclair State University.
She spent her time at Montclair enhancing the skills and techniques she learned in high school at the Burlington County Institute of Technology.
Velvet S. McNeil is the training coordinator for SJIEP. She is an award-winning photojournalist and educator who is preparing the next generation of journalists. She has worked as a visual journalist for The Detroit News and Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
McNeil holds an MFA in photography from Savannah College of Art and Design and an undergraduate degree in studio art and secondary art education from Marymount College in New York.
She currently teaches online photography courses at Bowie State University in Maryland and visual communications courses at Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
The 2024 reporting fellows:
Queena Bergen is an award-winning international performance artist and Creative Swiss Army Knife. Currently serving as a cultural ambassador to the United States Embassy, Queena’s impactful contributions extend to institutions like the U.S. Department of State, Centers for Disease Control, and CBS. Some of her accolades include the Governor’s Award in Arts Education, the Presidential and Congressional Service Awards, and recognition as an AT&T Black Future Maker.
Brandon Edwards is an author, musician, entrepreneur, and founder of a nonprofit organization that runs programs to serve the community. If you ask him, a sense of community love is what the world is missing, and the media has the power to restore it.
Erika Heinrich is a published photographer and intersectional feminist. Recently graduating from The College of New Jersey, she worked as a campus photographer, a writer for the Women in Learning & Leadership Newsletter, and volunteered at Trenton Freedom Skatepark. She is currently a freelance photographer with future plans to start a women’s health nonprofit.
Taja Johnson is a dedicated wife, mother, and graduate of Rowan University. She has five years of experience in journalism and excels in interviewing a diverse range of individuals, including business owners, celebrities, and politicians. Taja’s expertise extends to news writing, and she is excited to apply her skills at SJIEP, contributing to impactful storytelling.
Ahnyah Pinckney is a South Jersey native and a member of SJIEP’s first cohort in 2022. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Rowan University. Her journey continued with an internship at WHYY as a media arts education intern, leading to a full-time position as an associate digital producer. She is eager to rejoin SJIEP to amplify the narratives of Black communities in South Jersey.
Frank Santos is a motion graphics designer and multimedia producer born and raised in Camden, NJ. After studying Psychology at Stockton University, Frank decided to pursue freelance graphic design on a full-time basis. Since 2014, his work has focused on the intersection of social media, arts, and music in Philadelphia and New York. Frank hopes to build his writing and journalism skills as an SJIEP fellow.
Emmanuel Young is a recent Graduate of Hampton University, where he studied journalism and history. He is a second-time Fellow of the SJIEP, having participated in the 2022 fellowship. Emmanuel is a photographer, activist, and videographer from Woolwich. He hopes that the SJIEP fellowship will help build upon his writing and photography skills and provide a new opportunity to highlight important issues in his community.
Shaniele Brown is a freelance writer with a passion for storytelling. She believes that being able to give the voiceless a voice is very important. She holds a BA in Journalism from Rowan University.
The 2024 SJIEP Media Partners:
Black in Jersey is a social media storytelling and information hub specializing in restorative narratives about communities of color.
“We inform people about what’s happening around New Jersey; train citizen journalists; connect people to resources; produce entertaining multimedia content; and host events that grow New Jersey’s community news and arts ecosystem.”
In 2023, Black In Jersey won two awards from the New Jersey News Commons, including “Partner of the Year.”
Front Runner New Jersey is a property of AC JosepH Media, LLC. Award-winning journalist Clyde Hughes is the president and chief executive officer of AC JosepH Media and editor-in-chief of Front Runner New Jersey.
AC JosepH Media is a multimedia company founded by award-winning journalist Clyde Hughes. AC JosepH produces blogs, web content, news and sports articles, biographies, documentaries, etc. under its own umbrella and for other outlets. AC JosepH’s public relations arm produces news releases, annual reports, social media campaigns, ghostwriting services, etc. for clients.
Reach Clyde Hughes at chughes@acjosephmedia.com.
SCOOP U.S.A. published in 1960 as a weekly entertainment tabloid for Black consumers in the cities of Philadelphia and Chester, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. During this period, Philadelphia became one of the East Coast most popular entertainment cities, with nite clubs featuring top-name stars. Spearheaded by our Founding Publisher, Ricard “Sonny” Driver, Scoop was communications mechanism established to ensure equality in representation, publicity, and payment for the entertainers who came to Philly.
Community-oriented with a citywide circulation, SCOOP U.S.A. is the essential source of weekly entertainment and community news in Philadelphia. February 2023 will mark the 63rd anniversary of SCOOP U.S.A., Philadelphia’s oldest, FREE African American weekly newspaper. Sixty-three (1960-2023) years of dedicated community service, focusing on positive news and information for the people and businesses in Delaware Valley communities.
Atlantic City Focus provides a safe space where residents and natives can tell their own stories in their own way. We enlighten, inform, and entertain as we celebrate African American culture, history, and traditions. Everything we do is designed to encourage the community to share its voice with the world while providing news and information that can be used to address social issues that have historically plagued Atlantic City and other communities of color.
“At Atlantic City Focus, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So, in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors, reporters, and freelancers to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable.”
PROJECT SUPPORT: The South Jersey Information Equity Project is generously supported by the Independence Public Media Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and the NJ Civic Information Consortium.
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