ABC Owned Television Stations Announce Race & Culture Content Team

ABC Owned Television Stations announce a race and culture content team of diverse storytellers dedicated to inclusive storytelling. The team's mission is to amplify the voices of the underrepresented and marginalized communities while celebrating their heritage and triumphs through multiplatform, high-impact content for daily news coverage and special projects across its markets of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno. They include executive producers Nzinga Blake, Mariel Myers, Porsha Grant, and multiskilled journalists Crystal Cranmore, Anabel Munoz, Will Jones, TaRhonda Thomas, Cory McGinnis, Julian Glover, Akilah Davis, Linda Ha.

Blake, Myers and Grant will work closely with the station group's newsrooms to identify culturally relevant topics to include in the more than 400 hours of live news programming produced each week. Cranmore, Munoz, Jones, Thomas, McGinnis, Glover, Davis and Ha will capture hyperlocal stories that accurately reflect the voices and experience of diverse communities. The multiskilled journalists are embedded at each of the eight owned stations and play a crucial role in developing community relationships for deeper reporting.

"Embedding a content team across our stations which ensure intentional inclusion of balanced coverage underscores our commitment to inform and reflect the communities and audiences we serve," said Wendy McMahon, president, ABC Owned Television Stations. "ABC is committed to featuring the stories and experiences of richly diverse communities that often go untold and yet bring an incredible perspective that must be heard."

"Furthermore, we are just as committed to having a culture where diverse representation matters and is prevalent amongst our storytellers and behind the camera," added Maxine Crooks, vice president of Talent Development.

Last year, ABC Owned Television Stations surveyed its viewers. The results REVEALED their audiences want to see more inclusive content. This led to the production of the first-of-its-kind docuseries, "Our America: Living While Black," which aired across the eight stations and its connected TV apps.

"We continue to have ongoing and necessary conversations about diverse programming and representation," said Jennifer Mitchell, senior vice president of Content Development, ABC Owned Television Stations. "Our viewers are responding positively. In fact, when we produced the first installment of the "Our America" series "Our America: Living While Black," several of our stations received letters from community members expressing deep gratitude for taking the time to shine a light on the lives of Black Americans."

The race and culture team has already produced various stories across the group including exclusive content for its connected TV apps. For Black History Month, they premiered "Our America: Hidden Stories," a new series that highlights hidden histories by exploring people, places and events of historically underrepresented and marginalized communities that have contributed significantly to society but are not usually taught in classrooms or mentioned in history textbooks. And most recently, for Women's History Month, they produced the second installment of the "Our America" series, "Our America: Women Forward," a documentary that celebrates women across the country, sharing their stories of perseverance, hope and triumph.

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