New Online Source for News and Journalism from New Orleans Launched

Louisiana Justice Institute congratulates NOLABeez, a new online collaborative project that brings together six ethnic media, representing aspects of New Orleans' diverse population, to provide hyperlocal stories from African American, Latino, Asian, and other ethnic groups.

The NOLA Beez project, an online collaboration of ethnic media in New Orleans, was officially launched in a ceremony that took place at Dillard University on January 12.

"We're proud to present to you an online hive for hyperlocal news content covering the New Orleans metropolitan area," Sylvain said. "This is a site where we can learn about what's happening in our communities — white, black, Latinos and Asians — without any language barriers."

A project of New America Media (NAM) and funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, NOLA Beez culls daily and weekly articles and videos from New Orleans' ethnic media, translates them to English when necessary, and posts them online, creating and opening up new lines of communication among and between ethnic and immigrant communities.

An hour before the launching ceremony, Dr. Marvalene Hughes, president of Dillard University, welcomed the project in a private meeting with NAM and NOLA Beez representatives. "This is so timely and relevant, and it's a great honor for our university to host this event," she said.

For John Hoa Nguyen, publisher of Ngoc Lan Thoi Bao, a Vietnamese-language biweekly, the online collaboration is an important step to unite immigrant communities in New Orleans and help the city regain what had been lost and destroyed.

"How can we say that we are rebuilding New Orleans if we don't know what's happening in the Latino community, or if the Latino immigrants don't know what's happening in the black, white or Asian communities?" said Nguyen.

The NOLA Beez media members include New Orleans Agenda, Louisiana Data News Weekly, NOLA TV, Jambalaya News, El Tiempo New Orleans, Ngo Lan Thoi Bao and Louisiana Weekly.

"Our diversity makes the city more vibrant," Dr. Beverly Wright, president of the African American Women of Purpose and Power (AAWPP), said in an interview after the launching. "We're here because we love New Orleans and we want to see it rise again."

New America Media also sponsors similar ethnic media Web sites in San Jose, CA, and in Los Angeles, CA.

Content for this post is from the NOLABeez site, article by Anthony D. Advincula, co-editor of NOLA Beez and associate editor/national media outreach director for New America Media.