Photo Caption: Real Times Media CEO and Michigan Chronicle Publisher Hiram E. Jackson, New Pittsburgh Courier Publisher Rod Doss, and Michigan Chronicle Executive Editor Jeremy Allen accept awards at the 2024 NNPA Annual Convention.
Michigan Chronicle and New Pittsburgh Courier, two Real Times Media publications, won a combined total of eight awards during the National Newspaper Publishers Association Fund’s Messenger Awards, which took place on June 20, 2024, at the Four Seasons in Baltimore, Md. The awards were part of the NNPA’s national annual convention, which was hosted from June 19-22, 2024.
Michigan Chronicle took home five awards, including one first-place award in the category of Facebook Campaign; second place in the categories of A. Philip Randolph Website Excellence and the Armstrong Ellington Entertainment category; and two third-place awards in the categories of Education, the Frank L. Stanley Award, and Original Photography Use.
New Pittsburgh Courier won three awards, including third place in the Business category for excellence in storytelling, and two second-place awards in the categories of Newsletter Excellence and Broadsheet Layout & Design, the Robert L. Vann Award.
Hiram E. Jackson, CEO of Real Times Media and Publisher of Michigan Chronicle, applauded the hard work of the four Real Times Media newsrooms including the Atlanta Daily World and the Chicago Defender.
“These awards are truly a testament to the dedication of our teams to tell stories that are reflective of our communities,” said Jackson. “I want to congratulate the Real Times Media staff for constantly staying abreast of the most important issues and reporting on these issues through the lens of the Black press, which has served as our collective voice for the last 197 years.”
Rod Doss, Publisher of the New Pittsburgh Courier, added: “It’s a great honor to be recognized for excellence by your peers, and it’s the collective hard work of the Real Times Media team – constantly learning and adapting with the times – that makes these honors truly special.
“We are constantly searching for new ways to serve our communities, and it’s critically important, especially during such a tumultuous political climate, to continue to inform, educate, and entertain our readers with accurate and insightful journalism.”
During opening remarks at the ceremony, Robert “Bob” Bogle, president of the Philadelphia Tribune, said “I’ve never ever come to an NNPA Convention where I didn’t learn something. The NNPA Messenger Awards is not just a celebration. It’s an event. I don’t know any business that can do what we do. We tell the stories of our communities. We are the beginning and the end.”
NNPA is a trade association of the more than 200 African American-owned community newspapers from around the United States. Since its founding 79 years ago, NNPA has consistently been the voice of the black community and an incubator for news that makes history and impacts our country. As the largest and most influential Black-owned media resource in America, NNPA delivers news, information, and commentary to over 20 million people each week, all while celebrating the newsroom leaders that have led the Black press for the past 197 years.