![\"A](\"https:\/\/blackamericaweb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/07\/17840393979045-rotated-e1784039457504.jpeg?w=1024&strip=all&quality=80\")
When ViewerCon\u00a0<\/strong>2026 opens its doors on Saturday,\u00a0<\/strong>July 18, at the New Jersey\u00a0<\/strong>Performing\u00a0<\/strong>Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark, thousands of fans, journalists, creators and entertainment insiders will gather for what organizers describe as the ultimate celebration of television, film, digital media and pop culture. Presented by STARZ, the inaugural event features celebrity conversations, exclusive panels, fan experiences and appearances by stars including\u00a0Joy Reid, Taye Diggs, Bevy Smith, Patina Miller, Mekai Curtis, London Brown,<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Sascha Penn<\/strong>, along with leading voices from across entertainment and media.<\/p>\n Among the organizations helping shape the experience is the Black Journalist Collective (BJC), which will host a dedicated media lounge, creating a space where Black journalists, photographers, content creators and storytellers can network, collaborate and cover one of the year\u2019s biggest entertainment gatherings.<\/p>\n For founder\u00a0Jajuan Malachi<\/strong>, the ViewerCon partnership marks another significant milestone in a movement that began not inside a newsroom, but with what he describes as a calling.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to be in collaboration with PopViewers this upcoming July. We have ViewerCon coming up, which is a huge festival that\u2019s going to be taking place in Jersey. We\u2019re going to have a media lounge,\u201d Malachi told Radio and TV personality\u00a0Jazmyn Summers<\/strong>. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have a ton of prominent guests in the building. We\u2019re really excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n He also credited PopViewers founder Chris Witherspoon for opening the door to the collaboration.<\/p>\n \u201cShout out to Chris Witherspoon, my big brother, my mentor, opening the door for us to work together on his huge flagship event for his entity, PopViewers.\u201d<\/p>\n For the rapidly growing Black Journalist Collective, ViewerCon isn\u2019t simply another event to cover. It\u2019s an opportunity to demonstrate exactly what the organization was created to do: bring Black storytellers together, foster collaboration and amplify voices across every platform where culture is being documented.<\/p>\n For founder\u00a0Jajuan Malachi<\/strong>, the ViewerCon partnership represents another milestone in a vision that began not inside a newsroom, but with what he describes as a calling.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2022, I was at home with my family in Augusta, Georgia,\u201d Malachi recalled. \u201cI just feel like a divine message came from God\u2026 God was telling me, \u2018Jajuan, start a community, start a collective, galvanize your people together.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n That vision became the\u00a0Black Journalist Collective (BJC)<\/strong>, an organization dedicated to creating an inclusive home for Black journalists, photographers, content creators, videographers and storytellers across every corner of media.<\/p>\n Radio and television personality\u00a0Jazmyn Summers<\/strong>\u00a0recently sat down with Malachi for Radio One to discuss the organization\u2019s rapid growth and why its mission has become increasingly urgent.<\/p>\n TRENDING STORY: Free Speech In \u2018America\u2019 Has Never Fully Belonged To Black People<\/a><\/p>\n TRENDING STORY: Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Welcomes 2026 Honorary Members<\/a><\/p>\n Malachi says the Collective grew out of a feeling many Black journalists quietly understand.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of it stemmed from this sense of isolation and seclusion that I felt as a Black man in media,\u201d he said. \u201cNot always finding community in the predominantly white media spaces that I was occupying\u2026 I just never wanted anybody to feel like how I felt.\u201d<\/p>\n Rather than simply accepting that reality, he decided to build something different.<\/p>\n \u201cI was going to create this space, this safe space, this inclusive, accessible space for fellow Black storytellers like myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, that community welcomes everyone from established national journalists to students still finding their footing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had people from Vogue show up, The New York Times\u2026 News12\u2026 OKAfrica,\u201d he explained. \u201cBut then we also value the young novice journalists trying to find their way\u2026 There\u2019s space for everybody here.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike many traditional journalism organizations, the Black Journalist Collective intentionally blurs the lines between legacy media and today\u2019s creator economy.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether you\u2019re a photographer, whether you\u2019re a content creator, whether you\u2019re a journalist, there\u2019s a home for you here.\u201d<\/p>\n That philosophy reflects the dramatic changes happening across the media landscape, where many of the biggest stories now gain traction long before television news ever arrives.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been so much banter about content creators versus journalists,\u201d Malachi said. \u201cI think that some content creators do follow journalistic integrity. And so we are trying to bridge that gap as well.\u201d<\/p>\n He believes independent media is no longer the future. It\u2019s the present.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been so much merging, consolidation in the media space\u2026 The middleman is being cut out.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead of competing with one another, members of the Collective are encouraged to collaborate.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you need a videographer or you need a content creator\u2026 you can find those people in this space.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the organization\u2019s biggest goals is dismantling the scarcity mindset that has long existed in many newsrooms.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like in the media space\u2026 we\u2019re kind of pitted against one another,\u201d Malachi said. \u201cThere can never be more than one Black person at a particular company.\u201d<\/p>\n The Collective aims to rewrite that narrative.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have to be divided. We can come together and we can love on one another. We could actually collaborate and work together, see how we could get to this next level, see how we could make some paper.\u201d<\/p>\n Networking isn\u2019t treated as an occasional conference event.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the foundation.<\/p>\n Recent BJC gatherings have brought together alumni from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism alongside professionals from major news organizations, allowing early-career journalists to build relationships with experienced reporters, editors and producers.<\/p>\n As newsrooms continue shrinking and diversity initiatives face increasing political and legal challenges, Malachi believes organizations like the Black Journalist Collective have become even more necessary.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the wiping away of DEI initiatives, I feel like I\u2019m fulfilling a void that\u2019s very palpable right now.\u201d<\/p>\n He also worries about growing public distrust toward journalism itself.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been a rise of anti-intellectualism,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople have very pejorative opinions about journalists nowadays.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite those challenges, he remains steadfast.<\/p>\n \u201cI still find utility and value in the work that I do.\u201d<\/p>\n Malachi sees journalism as more than a profession.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a responsibility.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think that that is means to demean the craft because the craft is ever so important, maybe even most important today with the rise of misinformation and so many different avenues to disseminate the wrong information nowadays.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s our duty to ensure that we\u2019re holding power accountable and that we\u2019re disseminating the right stories and giving the right narratives to everything.\u201d<\/p>\n That mission extends beyond headlines.<\/p>\n It\u2019s about preserving truth while creating opportunities for the next generation of storytellers.<\/p>\n ViewerCon may be one of the Black Journalist Collective\u2019s biggest public appearances yet, but Malachi says it\u2019s only the beginning.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel very honored\u2026 I just can\u2019t wait to see the collective continue to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy ultimate vision\u2026 I want it to be a national entity and then eventually become international.\u201d<\/p>\n The upcoming media lounge at ViewerCon offers a glimpse of what that future could look like: journalists, creators, photographers and digital storytellers working side by side, covering culture while building community.<\/p>\n As media continues evolving at breakneck speed, the Black Journalist Collective is making a simple but powerful argument.<\/p>\n There is still tremendous value in journalists coming together, sharing resources, opening doors for one another and ensuring that Black voices remain at the center of telling Black stories.<\/p>\n And if Jajuan Malachi has his way, that community is only getting started.<\/p>\n Watch the full conversation below<\/p>\n \n LIKE US ON\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>FACEBOOK<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. FOLLOW US ON<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>TWITTER<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>YOUTUBE<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n STAY INFORMED! CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \n Article by\u00a0Jazmyn Summers.\u00a0\u00a0Photos and video by\u00a0<\/em>7Spontaneous<\/em><\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0The Revenue Entertainment\u00a0You can hear\u00a0Jazmyn\u00a0every morning on \u201cJazmyn in the Morning \u201con Sirius XM Channel 362\u00a0<\/em>Grown Folk Jamz<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0Subscribe to\u00a0J<\/em>azmyn<\/em>\u00a0Summers\u2019 YouTube<\/em><\/a>. Follow\u00a0her\u00a0on\u00a0<\/em>Facebook<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>Instagram.<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n LIKE US ON\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>FACEBOOK<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. FOLLOW US ON<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>TWITTER<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>YOUTUBE<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n STAY INFORMED! CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nBorn From Isolation<\/h3>\n
More Than Journalists<\/h3>\n
Replacing Competition With Community<\/h3>\n
Filling a Growing Void<\/h3>\n
Journalism as Public Service<\/h3>\n
A National Vision<\/h3>\n
![\"Jazmyn](\"https:\/\/blackamericaweb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/03\/17091480501018.jpeg?w=1024&strip=all&quality=80\")