By Ronda Watson Barber
Publisher, OhioMBE
There has been a lot of talk lately about the First Amendment.
Freedom of speech.
Freedom of the press.
The importance of journalism.
The importance of leadership.
Those are wonderful principles to talk about.
But principles mean a whole lot more when you actually practice them.
And that brings me back to Columbus City Schools.
On August 12, Superintendent Dr. Angela Chapman told me that she had asked the district’s Communications Department to add me to its distribution list.
I waited.
On September 15, I followed up.
In that email, which was forwarded to Dr. Chapman, I wrote:
“Additionally, on August 12, you indicated that you would instruct the Communications Department to add my email address to its distribution list. To date, I have not received any district communications or press releases.
As the publisher of OhioMBE, a Black-owned business newspaper serving Ohio’s small business community, I want to ensure that our Black-owned media outlet has the same opportunity to receive and report information being distributed to other media outlets and members of the press.”
Today is September 27.
I am still waiting.
And I have a very simple question:
Why?
Why does the publisher of a Black-owned newspaper have to repeatedly ask a public school district to receive its press releases?
I’m not asking for special access.
I’m not asking Columbus City Schools to give OhioMBE preferential treatment.
I’m certainly not asking them to like what I write.
I’m asking for information.
The same public information routinely distributed to journalists so that we can do our jobs.
And Columbus City Schools should already understand exactly why Black media matters.
Look at Eastmoor
Earlier this year, I walked into Griffin Field at Eastmoor Academy as a track and field official and saw conditions that disturbed me.
So I started asking questions.
Then I kept asking questions.
I wrote columns.
I sent emails.
I filed public records requests.
I reviewed district documents.
When the answers didn’t make sense, I asked more questions.
When the district’s own records showed Eastmoor had serious facility needs while the school wasn’t included in its Summer 2027 planning, I wrote about that too.
Eventually, Columbus City Schools closed the home and visitor stands because of safety concerns. Then the Board approved an investment in Eastmoor, and the district announced a $2.5 million project to demolish and fully replace the aging home and visitor sections of the stadium.
That didn’t happen because Black media sat quietly.
OhioMBE reported.
OhioMBE questioned.
OhioMBE advocated.
OhioMBE kept the issue in front of the public.
Our reporting was part of the sustained public pressure and scrutiny surrounding Eastmoor. I cannot tell you what Columbus City Schools would have done had we remained silent. Nobody can.
But I can tell you what actually happened.
We spoke up.
We kept asking questions.
The district ultimately acknowledged safety concerns, closed the stands and committed public dollars to replacing them.
That is why Black media matters.
We Cover Stories Others May Not
Black media has always done more than repeat press releases.
We tell stories from the perspective of communities that have too often been overlooked.
We ask questions other people may not think to ask.
We notice things other people may walk past.
We keep asking questions after the official statement has been issued and everyone else has moved on.
Eastmoor is a perfect example.
Those students mattered.
Their families mattered.
Their safety mattered.
Their stadium mattered.
And when I saw something that wasn’t right, OhioMBE used its platform to say something about it.
That is journalism.
That is advocacy.
And yes, that is the power of a free press.
Freedom of the Press Includes Black Press
The First Amendment doesn’t say freedom of the press only applies to the biggest television station in town.
It doesn’t say freedom of the press is reserved for the newspaper with the largest newsroom.
And it certainly doesn’t say public institutions should decide which journalists matter based on the size, ownership or audience of their publication.
OhioMBE serves a specific community.
We cover Black businesses.
We cover minority businesses.
We cover contracting and procurement.
We cover economic development.
And increasingly, we cover public institutions when their decisions affect the communities we serve.
Sometimes that coverage will make public officials uncomfortable.
Good journalism occasionally does that.
Government doesn’t get to decide which journalists are worthy based on whether their coverage is convenient.
This Is Also About Leadership
Dr. Chapman told me on August 12 that she had asked Communications to add me to the distribution list.
I followed up on September 15.
Today is September 27.
Still nothing.
At some point, this stops being about an email address.
It becomes a leadership question.
When the superintendent of Ohio’s largest school district says something will be done, should the public reasonably expect it to be done?
And if it isn’t done, who is responsible for finding out why?
That is what accountability looks like.
The irony is difficult to ignore.
OhioMBE spent months reporting and advocating about conditions at Eastmoor Academy. That reporting helped bring attention to conditions affecting Black children.
Now the Black-owned newspaper that did that reporting apparently still cannot get onto the district’s media distribution list.
Think about that.
Add OhioMBE to the List
This really isn’t complicated.
Send us the press releases.
Send us the media advisories.
Send us the announcements.
Give Black media the same opportunity to determine what is newsworthy for our readers.
We may publish it.
We may investigate it.
We may ask questions about it.
We may disagree with the district’s explanation.
That’s not a problem.
That’s the First Amendment at work.
Eastmoor demonstrated what can happen when Black media refuses to stop asking questions.
Black media matters.
Black journalism matters.
Black audiences matter.
And we shouldn’t have to repeatedly ask public institutions to recognize that.
Dr. Chapman, I’m still waiting.
Just my thoughts.
Ronda Watson Barber is Publisher of OhioMBE, Ohio’s largest Black-owned business newspaper, and Founder of the Ohio Business Development Center. For more than 25 years, she has advocated for minority businesses, economic opportunity, public accountability and equitable investment in Ohio communities.
OhioMBE
Ohio’s Largest Black-Owned Business Newspaper
Cash • Contracts • Connections
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