Myrna Loy talks about Blackbright News
The UK’s ethic population is growing by 2.5 per cent year on, and around 8 percent of the population are of an ethnic minority origin, rising to 31 percent in London. The population of Luton is approximately 184, 000, 6% of such are Afro Caribbean translating to 10,980. Mainstream magazines are notably failing to effectively appeal to a significant section of the black market and do not satisfy their hierarchy of needs. As I am sure that you are aware ethnic media is a direct communication channel, where people are able to source information that is specifically relevant to them. Blackbright aims to recognise and acknowledge their readers’ aspirations more explicitly than possibly any mainstream publication. Content strives for an angle that is directly relevant to Luton’s black ethnic community.
Imports from the US of magazines designed to target African Americans are stacking up on UK shelves. While there continues to be few British publications that specifically target aspiring black British. We have an enormous amount of black talent in the UK who we are not utilising, and instead allowing American magazines to dominate our markets. What’s more, the UK’s talented and aspiring black role models are being overshadowed by their American counterparts. It is too often seen that the black British are encouraged to look to successful American as role models – why is this when we have so many of our own aspiring black role models in the UK? What Blackbright wants to say is that we have the opportunity to control the black British magazine market, as well as having all the talent and skills required in-house.
As the lack of ethnic diversity in the media continues to be a much discussed topic, Blackbright aims to directly tackle this issue. The importance of using a magazine to help empower the community remains central to this; we want Blackbright to be the voice of Luton’s black population. Through this publication their issues can be highlighted, provide information and flag successes of the community. Magazines remain the ideal medium to represent ethnic diversity, having the unique ability to engage the minds and interests of their audiences with their cultural content. Advertisers have an excellent opportunity to use such medium as a vehicle to target the black ethnic community. With an estimated disposable income of 32bn, any manufacturer or service provider ignoring the growing young educated urban consumer would be a mistake!
Blackbright News is designed to brighten the lives of ethnic minorities in Luton. Let’s celebrate its arrival and support it in whichever way we can, either by editorial contributions, monetary contributions (i.e. subscriptions) by purchasing future copies (£1.00) or volunteering professional skills. Everything is of value!
Email: blackbrightnews@aol.com or Tel: 01582 721 605