Website: Center for Broadcast Journalism
Instagram:@BLCKpress

BLCK Press is a nonprofit dedicated to transforming media by empowering radical storytellers to authentically amplify what's happening in our communities. Through our annual training, we're making media accessible for early career journalists of color by removing barriers and equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in the journalism industry.

Georgia Fort, BLCK Press’s founder, is a two-time Emmy nominated journalist. She was one of two journalists in the courtroom for the sentencing of Derek Chauvin. Her reporting has been published on CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox, and CBS affiliates. Her mission as a storyteller is to change the narrative by amplifying truth, citing diverse sources, and contextualizing social justice issues. Since 2019 Georgia has actively produced and published digital content independently in efforts to activate her own platform, create opportunities for other creators, and be a pioneer of the future of news. Her work ethic and powerful approach to storytelling landed her a spot as an associate producer for PBS Frontline’s American Voices.

Marianne Combs is the News Director for the BLCK Press Center for Broadcast Journalism, where she works to train a new generation of BIPOC storytellers. Combs is best known for her work as a reporter, producer and occasional host on MPR News from 1993 to 2020. There she won multiple awards for both her feature writing and her investigative journalism; in 2020 she was named Journalist of the Year by the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. In 2021 Combs served as the Managing News Editor for “Racial Reckoning: The Arc of Justice;” the ten-month journalism project trained young journalists from diverse backgrounds as they reported on the trial of Derek Chauvin, the killing of Daunte Wright, and a host of other high profile stories involving racial justice and public safety.

They hope to impact first the city the organization is located in and eventually expand our curriculum regionally and nationally to promote equitable, healthy and safe work environments in the media industry for journalists of all ages and backgrounds.