Civil rights leader Dr. Benjamin Franklin Chavis Jr. sat down for an exclusive interview with Zenger News to discuss the future of the black press. <br /> <br />"Some people say that millennials don't read. And that's not true. They do read," said Dr. Chavis. "They're looking for in-depth analysis, in-depth information." <br /> <br />"And to the extent to which the black community, through the black press, can provide information, I welcome the return of millennials to the black press," he said. <br /> <br />Dr. Chavis was an assistant to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and now serves as the CEO and President of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a trade group for African American newspapers. <br /> <br />He spoke to Zenger on February 28 in National Harbor, Maryland. <br /> <br />"We come out of the print world, but now we're in the print world, the digital world and the social media world," Chavis explained. "And I think that these media platforms are not mutually exclusive." <br /> <br />"Today, in 2020, we have 230 African American-owned newspapers. We've upgraded all of our websites. We have the largest now black-owned digital network in the United States," he said. <br /> <br />"So the future looks bright and we're always looking for the right partners to help us further innovate, to distribute the content that we have." <br /> <br />Chavis said he's optimistic about the youngest generation of news consumers. <br /> <br />"We have 25% increase in black readership among millennials," he said, adding: "I'm optimistic because I see young people have a hunger and thirst for information that will improve their quality of life."
