Exchange’s new series highlights Black business leaders

The Exchange, an initiative launched by Deloitte and a consortium of local Black-owned publishers, has unveiled a new branded series specializing in Black business leaders.

The content of the article was written by journalists from publishers participating within the pilot program specially prepared for a various audience, stated within the press release. The aim of the exchange is to strengthen the financial position of local publishers with a diversified structure, provide audiences with specialized business information and create a new model of cooperation to ultimately increase equality within the media landscape.

They feature in-depth interviews with distinguished Black pioneers in business and finance, equivalent to LaTanya Flix, senior vp of DEI on the Greater Houston Partnership; Valerie Montgomery Rice, the primary female president to steer two HBCU medical schools; and Bruce Brooks, CEO of lending company Craft3. The profiles focus the eye of Deloitte leaders on driving change in underrepresented communities and canopy a spread of topics equivalent to community service, mentoring young professionals, health equity, Black physician training and small business lending capital.

Defender Network CEO Sunny Messiah Jiles stated, “Diverse voices matter and we believe it is important to amplify those voices and increase knowledge sharing through the series about successful Black business leaders.” The network supports Deloitte’s vision to “recognize the potential of this project to help highlight people from underserved communities while supporting local publishers with diverse ownership.” Jiles expects future campaigns to “support local news and generate audience engagement with valuable content across a variety of topics and industries.”

Article publishers include: , Houston Defender Network, AFRO-American Newspapers (Baltimore and DC) and .

According to content analytics platform Knotch, audience response was overwhelmingly positive. Readers who gave positive feedback said, “The content was inspiring.” The leadership series achieved a 62% increase in viewership in comparison with the previous series.

The exchange is financed by the American special purpose office Deloitte and managed by the Local Media Association and the Local Media Consortium. There are new series and publisher profiles available to viewers Now.