Washington Informer, Tri-State Defender winners in entrepreneurial award

(April 25, 2008) The Washington Informer and The (Memphis) Tri-State Defender were named winners of the 2008 Chrysler Financial/NNPA Foundation Entrepreneurial Award -- a unique award that recognizes the nation's black-owned newspapers for their entrepreneurial accomplishments and commitment to community service.

The Entrepreneurial Award seeks to encourage members of the Black Press of America to look beyond traditional streams of revenue, such as advertising, and to develop creative ways to thrive in today's competitive media industry.   

"These two publications exemplify the spirit of the Entrepreneurial Award in their ability to implement innovative ways to grow their businesses while staying true to their mission to inform and serve their communities," said William Jones, Chief Operating Officer for Chrysler Financial.

The Washington Informer won grand prize for The Birney Informer, a supplement produced entirely by third- and fourth-grade students at Birney Elementary School in Southeast Washington, D.C.  The Birney Informer is distributed as an insert in The Informer newspaper each month.  An additional 1,000 copies are distributed to the school for students, teachers and parents, which increased the overall circulation of the newspaper.  In addition, The Birney Informer is posted and archived on The Informer's Web site.

"The Informer's involvement with this project took it beyond a mere mentoring program," said Jones.  "This project not only contributes to the positive self-esteem of the students, but The Informer is using it as an opportunity to promote literacy in the community as a whole, while continuing to expand the newspaper's brand and increase its advertising and subscription base.

This is the second consecutive year The Washington Informer has won the Entrepreneurial Award.  As grand prize winner, publisher Denise Rolark Barnes received a $10,000 cash award, as well as the use of a Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge vehicle for one week.  In addition, the publisher was presented with an original sculpture, designed especially for the Entrepreneurial Award by Washington, D.C. artist Cheryl Foster.

The 2008 Entrepreneurial Award Honorable Mention prize went to executive editor Dr. Karanja A. Ajanaku and The (Memphis) Tri-State Defender for their campaign to educate the Memphis community about the importance of tipping—a very potent issue, since the restaurant industry is a major employer in the community.  The campaign not only helped to increase the newspaper's bottom line, but affected an entire segment of the Memphis economy.  For its efforts, the Tri-State Defender was awarded a $2,500 cash prize and a commemorative plaque.

The Entrepreneurial Award entries were judged on the basis of seven criteria: originality of idea; creativity; innovative use of resources; entrepreneurial spirit, strategic planning; plan execution and community benefit. 

The Washington Informer Newspaper Co. Inc. was founded in 1964, and continues to serve metropolitan Washington DC. They may be the fastest growing African American newspaper company in the country, as they are now reaching over 50,000 readers each week through their award winning newspaper print edition; a weekly average of 17,500 unique visitors through their award winning website; 7,500 weekly subscribers through their weekly email newsletter, and potentially 300,000 viewers through their Washington Informer TV Show.


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