Balanced news. It’s something most every news organization strives to achieve and that communities demand. Yet, despite advances in diversity in many news outlets, gaps still exist.

We believe that the news outlets that thrive now and in the future will be those that understand, serve and are representative of us all, including those who are too often overlooked and under-represented in news coverage.

It’s a matter and mission that the members of the newly-formed chapter of the The Flint/Saginaw Association of Black Journalists (FSABJ) hope to fulfill and we at TheHUB stand firmly behind.

We encourage our readers to support the organization’s inaugural fundraising mixer. Aptly coined The Dream, the FSABJ event takes place at Mo Pete’s Sports Bar & Grill (3341 S. Linden Road, Flint) on Saturday, January 18 from 5 – 9 p.m. The entry fee is a donation of $10 per person.

This meaningful event provides an opportunity for FSABJ members to network with residents living in the news market and showcase the association as a resource for current and aspiring minority journalists, broadcast, marketing, communications and public relations professionals.

The Flint/Saginaw chapter will uphold the same principles as its national chapter to advocate for diversity in newsrooms and in news content, according to Ebony Stith, the organization’s president, who would like to see more diversity in stories, content options and viewpoints in media outlets throughout Flint and Saginaw.

The chapter will serve as both a conscience and catalyst of broader, more diverse coverage that reflects the community and stories that matter, according to organizers who also hope to impact the composition of news organizations, which they advocate “can and should be more diverse.”

The group is seeking support for meeting space, start-up, operational and programming costs.

Membership opportunities are available to area professionals, associates and students. In fact, the latter group is of particular interest to the chapter which hopes to help develop and generate journalism and public relations interest among area youth.

“A win would be getting more youth interested in journalism and public relations and getting kids scholarships who are interested in the related fields,” says Stith.

Editor’s Note: To purchase tickets for The Dream: FSABJ Fundraising Mixer visit https://thedreamfsabj.eventbrite.com. $10 donations will also be accepted at the door.