erals, Ambassadors, and Prime Min-
isters to foreign dignitaries and busi-
ness leaders all over the globe, we get
to see the benefits of relationships
under the International Trade Devel-
opment Council and how diversity
and inclusion strengthen us.
truer lens into their lives. These influ-
encers (not celebrities) have opened
our world as we realize we do have
more choices in our media than ever
before. And more are coming. It just
took a few brave souls to show us!
So how do we get there? We get
there by remaining open and inclu-
sive to various narratives shared in
media — narratives that challenge
the norms created for us in the past
through the depiction of people,
places, and things that we ourselves
Choice matters. So, does our media have not personally experienced. In-
The same can be said for media in landscape output authentically match stead, as consumers and creators, we
its entirety. Media’s landscape is abso- our global spectrum of people, ideas, must take charge to both discover
lutely varied in type, yet we seem to cultures, backgrounds, and thoughts? and display with intentional accuracy
only highlight a small portion of the I would venture to say NOT as much the human spectrum in media.
world as it truly is. People exist both as it should! Can we do better? Yes,
dressed up or in plain clothes; I want WE can!
Charge forward! We know that right
my media to reflect this range. And
now, we’re all just scratching the
the humans I see in my media should Wouldn’t it be amazing to have all surface as we display on screen the
never all look the same — that’s not cultures represented in media the diversity encompassed within the
a true representation of the beautiful way they envision? By this I mean, world we inhabit. There is some hesi-
world we live in, nor has it ever been. without the bias that’s almost univer- tation — as humans, our exposure is
sally present when we water-down limited, and our lens blurred by the
Social media like Facebook, Insta- messages and present themes sim- images already clouding our vision of
gram, and YouTube have given us a plistically for the sake of being en- what everyone else should look like
peek into how important individual- tertained (instead of truly learning). and act like. It only takes one per-
ity, fresh perspectives, and new nar- It’s not just about being social with son to introduce the concept of truly
ratives are to the ways we connect our media. What better way to create original thought and content for it
and consume media. We now see the shows, films, commercials, and more to become what’s expected from all
emergence of “influencers” who have than to allow authentic expression to sorts of creatives as they share their
gained popularity on these platforms lead the way.
unique perspectives in film, televi-
simply for allowing their true selves
sion, and music. We are building it, and
to be seen; giving us all a newer and There’s no better place to start than they are coming!
right here in the Houston area, led
by our Mayor Sylvester Turner. Our It’s time for the next level in media
leadership must reflect the courage — it’s time to go global and reach
it takes to embrace the diversity in further.
people, thought, actions, and ideas in
order for observers to choose change. This has been a Media Moment
We make these choices by helping written by: Centrell Reed,
provide infrastructure and outlets Founder and Co-CEO of CReed
where those who are underrepre- Global Media & Production.
sented can thrive uncompromised —
including women, entrepreneurs, and
other content creators with lower
visibility than they deserve.
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38 iF Magazine | January 2019
Courage is a must. In an ever-growing
climate of diversity, inclusion, wellbe-
ing, and becoming better in what we
do daily, shouldn’t our media provide
content that helps us see the true, dis-
tinct, new, and different?