Last week, the Seattle Medium Newspaper (seattlemedium.com) was recognized as the top Black newspaper website in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) – The Black Press of America – during their 2019 Merit Awards held in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Seattle Medium received the Miller Coors A. Phillip Randolph Messenger Award For Digital Excellence. The award recognizes the top Black newspaper websites from across the country based on overall digital design and functionality as well as effectiveness and reach in building community.
Recognized by many as a trailblazer among Black newspapers in the digital realm, The Seattle Medium was among the first Black newspapers to have a digital presence in the late 1990’s.
Updated daily, seattlemedium.com offers rich video content from CNN, newsfeeds from the Associated Press, local, regional and national news, and commentary from both local and national leaders.
According to Chris B. Bennett, Publisher/Editor of The Seattle Medium Newspaper Group, the website is an excellent source of information relevant to the Black community and a great tool for marketers looking to reach a loyal consumer base both locally and nationally.
“It’s great to be recognized by your peers for the work that we do here in the Pacific Northwest,” says Bennett. “We have a very strong and dedicated digital team that keeps pushing us to do more and to be more creative with the way we engage readers with our digital presence.”
“Our team is truly deserving of this award,” Bennett continued. “They recognize the importance of keeping our community informed and educated about a broad range of issues and it shows in the quality of their work. I couldn’t be more proud of what they’ve been able to accomplish.”
Bennett says that this award is significant because it takes into account a much broader perspective than other awards that are based on a single issue or story.
“It’s more than just an award for a single story,” said Bennett. “It’s a comprehensive look at your total body of work. We set out years ago to have one of the best websites in the country. We kept adding things and tweaking things to get to where we are today. It’s still a work in progress but we’re happy with the progress that we’ve made over the years.”
“In today’s environment your digital footprint is important because it’s usually the first point of contact that many people have to make a decision about the overall brand of you company, and I think we’ve been pretty successful with our presentation,” concluded Bennett.
