Black Talk Media Project's Page

The Black Talk Media Project is a North Carolina non profit created in December of 2008.

The Power Of Media

The late human rights advocate El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz fully understood the power of media and how it was being used during WWII to influence public opinion. He also believed media could be used to educate people to improve race relations and teach people how to empower themselves.

The late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr also understood that media could be an effective tool to advance the cause of civil rights and bring about change in the United States.

William Bernbach, considered a legendary figure in the history of American advertising, said that when you discuss media and its power to persuade, you must start with the advertising industry. It is the primary goal of the advertisement industry to persuade the viewer into buying whatever is being sold. Whether what is being sold is a product, a place, person or ideals, media is predominately the delivery system used. When you look at feature length film or listen to a song for entertainment, you are one way or another being sold something whether it is a product, a lifestyle or a point of view.

In fact, advertisement agencies pay filmmakers and songwriters to place their products in movies or the lyrics of a song. When you see a Hollywood actor taking a drink of a particular beverage or a rapper rapping about driving a particular automobile, you are being influenced to buy those products. Unfortunately, we are being influenced to not only make purchases through the entertainment industry; we are also being influenced to buy into lifestyles that have a corrupting effect on our values and morals.

William Bernbach said it best when he said, “"All of us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of society. We can vulgarize that society. We can brutalize it. Or we can help lift it onto a higher level."

If we look at the history of mass media, particularly the invention of radio and television, would you say that that society has been lifted to a higher level or has it devolved to a lower level?

The Black Talk Media Project seeks to facilitate a collective of individuals and groups acting in concert to lift society to higher level using media to inform and educate. In order to achieve this mission, we seek to build community media centers to teach youth about not only the effects of media and how propaganda is used to influence their thought, but to teach youth and others in the community how to produce and broadcast programming to their communities to influence it in a positive way.

Volunteer Opportunities

News Media Correspondents - Online Radio Hosts

All applicants for volunteer positions must have a passion for their communities and must commit to the highest ethical standards of journalism. Training and support will be provided.

We are searching for volunteers who are interested in learning new media technologies. We are looking for news writers to produce articles and/or audio reports of events and issues affecting their individual communities in the State of North Carolina.

Volunteers will be trained on how to use free software to create audio podcasts and upload them to our server. You will learn how to post articles and videos to our websites and upload videos to our YouTube channel.

Volunteers may be asked to give reports/interviews during live broadcasts by calling into our radio program while covering local events in their communities. Others may be asked to host or co-host a live talk show concerning their local area.

Required Skills:

* Must have good writing skills and know how to use Microsoft Word.
* Must have good speaking voice with good diction
* Must be friendly and outgoing
* Must be willing to provide sources of information
* Must be located near or live in communities of color
* Must be willing to learn how to use Audacity audio software
* Must be willing to learn how to transfer files via FTP software
* Must have equipment necessary to complete certain task they volunteer for (computer, Internet connection, cell phone, digital video camera, computer headset with microphone, etc;
* Students must maintain passing grades including good conduct marks
* Must provide two character references (parent, religious leader, teacher)

Minimum Age Requirement is 16 yrs old. Under 18 yrs old requires parental/guardian permission.

For more information, call 704-271-9925 or email me at scottyreid@blacktalkmediaproject.org