-
Interep Showcases Power Of Urban Radio
June 14, 2006 at 6:45 AM (PT)
What do you think? Add your comment below. -
INTEREP hosted its 8th “Power of Urban Radio” yesterday in CHICAGO, posing the question, “Can Mainstream Media Effectively Target the African American Market?” DARRYL BROWN, EVP/GM, ABC Radio Networks; CHESLEY MADDOX-DORSEY, President/COO, ACCESS.1 COMMUNICATINS and EJ “JAY” WILLIAMS, President, AMERICAN URBAN RADIO NETWORK (AURN) were co-chairs of the event.
ABC RADIO NETWORKS syndicated personalities DOUG BANKS and DEDE MCGUIRE served as co-hosts for the first half of the program. Later in the morning, JOHN MONDS and APRIL RYAN – on-air personalities with AURN – assumed the co-hosting responsibilities.
MC GHEE WILLIAMS-OSSE, Managing Partner and co-CEO of BURRELL COMMUNICATIONS, delivered the keynote address by asking, “Can mainstream media effectively target African Americans? I answer emphatically – yes…but yes, with marginal effectiveness. Mainstream media can not truly engage us.”
WILLIAMS-OSSE continued, “Urban radio is the dominate media form in the black community…nothing can compete with its ability to nestle in the minds and hearts of the African American community…our bond with Urban Radio is emotional and even spiritual at its core.”
She also stated that this relationship of trust represents a tremendous opportunity for Urban Radio since studies show that overall trust in marketing and advertising among African-Americans is declining. The overall ability of Urban Radio to connect with the “hearts and minds of African American consumers” was a recurring theme throughout the day.
Sponsors included ABC RADIO NETWORKS, ACCESS.1, AURN; BRE/BLACK RADIO EXCLUSIVE; JONES MEDIAAMERICA and THE MEDIA AUDIT. A podcast of the symposium will be available later this week at www.powerofurbanradio.com.

