INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS: National Religious Broadcasters

As I was doing my research I discovered quite a few different associations within my industry. For example there is the NCTA-National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the NAB- National Association of Broadcasters, the ACB- Association of Christian Broadcasters, the NRB- National Religious Broadcasters, and so many more. I decided to focus in closely on an association that would specifically focus on my exact industry which is Christian Television. So I felt that the National Religious Broadcasters was a good choice because of their strong values and mission statement. The mission statement really allured me, it says their mission is: "to proclaim the Good News of eternal life through Jesus Christ; to transform culture through the application of sound biblical teaching; and to preserve religious freedom by keeping the doors of electronic media open for spreading the Gospel." Not only are they committed to great values but there is great benefits to being a part of this organization like, networking with others in radio, television, internet, church media, universities, and internationally. Some other benefits are free classified advertising on their website, training, special opportunities, government relations, attending national conventions & award shows, publications, resources and so much more. One of the current articles the NRB has is called,"NRB Decries Censorship: Will Monitor Apple, Facebook, and Feds." In this article the BRN discusses how they are taking a strong stand to defend their 1st amendment rights to free speech, as well as free religious speech. The John Milton Project will monitor all anti-Christian on all new media platforms. I was unaware such groups as the NRB even existed but now I am tuned in and will keep myself abreast with the latest trends within this industry. This article along with this entire organization has opened my eyes to opportunities and knowledge I was unaware of.This is yet another advancement for Christians as well as the Urban Christian media movement.

References:
http://nrb.org/

TED SPEAKER:Matt Weinstein: What Bernie Madoff couldn't steal from me | Video on TED.com

Matt Weinstein: What Bernie Madoff couldn't steal from me | Video on TED.com

After watching this video from the TED speakers series, Matt Weinstein gives me a perspective to glean from in what is seemingly some hard times in our day and age. Matt Weinstein is a professional speaker, author, and motivational coach who does workshops and seminars for companies, colleges, and employees. The speech talked about how he and his wife invested a large portion of their retirement and savings into funds manage by Bernie Madoff. Bernie Madoff is the multi-billionare who stole and manipulated funds up to 65 billion dollars. After this happened Mr. Weinstein stated that he and his wife were really devastated but, had to come to the realization that they could not allow Bernie Madoff steal their lives even though he stole their money. He quoted Epictetus a philosopher from 2000 years ago who said, "We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them". This statement really encouraged me because it shows me that the awful things that have happened to me in my life is not allowed to dictate my response towards them. If I choose to respond correctly and I can always win and have the ultimate victory in times that seemingly portrait defeat.

THE UNASHAMED TOUR

             I recently went to the Unashamed Tour and it was a phenominal site to see. The show featured Lecrae, Trip Lee, Tedashi,Sho Barraca, DJ Official, and Pro. According to the Christian News Wire this tour was expanded to over 20 cities throughout the United States and plays to tour the United Kingdom in 2011. A group of us from House of Slap Radio (an urban Christian Hip Hop Radio station) attended this event to find the church building filled to capacity. The show was electrifying and lasted from around 7pm to 12am of nonstop display of rapping, drumming, ministering, djaying, and dancing. I thought to myself the planning for this event must be intense because there needed to be someone to cue these videos which went along with the performances. In addition there had to be cues for the lighting and audio. The planning for this process must have included drawn out detail as well as strenuous preparation. The execution of this event was absolutely amazing! The only glitch that happened was the sound went out when Lecrae was ministering his song called the "Background" but because he is very experienced in this he kept going and it looked like it was part of the song because he never stopped rapping. The video, audio, & lighting cues were all timed exceptionally well and they kept a high level of professional showmanship. Everyone I talked to after the event was well pleased with the event and actually some people said that they received way more than they paid for, which is due to the fact the show lasted around 5 hours. This performance which i like to call ministry was well put together with proper planning, execution, and a satisfied audience. This concert gets 5 out of 5 stars from me and once again this is another advancement for Urban Christian Media! Please check out the photos of some of the team from House of Slap Radio(Download free podcast at www.houseofslapradio.com or download on itunes podcast section):

SOURCES: http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/5999915300.html

Teamwork Tips from a Major Movie

I read an excerpt from bnet.com which was titled "5 Teamwork Takeaways from the Harry Potter Film Crew." As I read through the article it was about Margaret Heffernan, who is a CEO of several media companies, and she was taking a tour on the set of Harry Potters set with her family. There are several laws which apply to this world we live in and one of them is that you cannot succeed on your own it takes teamwork to make the dream work. She noted these 5 traits on the set. 1. Everyone loves their job- everyone had chosen to work in a field they loved. It makes it easier to work in teams that everyone enjoys what they are doing. 2. Everyone has the opportunity,even encouragement, to do their best work. People on the set were doing their best to operate in excellence. 3. A certain degree of rivalry doesn't hurt. She found different departments competing with one another to see who did the best work and this competition didn't hurt because it helped the end result.4. Industry loyalty runs deep.-People have a love for  the industry and work close nit so there is a strong level of politeness. 5. Success breeds success. Having a great track record leaves the expectations high so the team has a high goal to achieve to be better than last film. So we can see how beneficial this tips can be to all teams in media.

Source: http://www.bnet.com/blog/business-strategy/5-teamwork-takeaways-from-the-harry-potter-film-crew/161
Author: Margaret Heffernan

Video Commentary on Jesus the Ganster?

In this video I watched with Pastor Marvin Miles and Tiny"DeeBo"Lister they are being intervied by the host of Good News Talk Show. This show went on to discuss about the play they developed. It started from an incident in which a Detroit youth was shot point blank and died. The motivation behind the play was looking at what good can they get out of this situation. They realized something had to be done so Pastor Marivn Miles flew in "Deebo" and they worked on developing a play which would touch the lives of a city that is known for its high crime and murder rates. "Deebo" speaks of his various roles in TV & movies and says that none of the roles he plays matches the biggest "gangster", Jesus. He goes on to talk about who else do you know that rose from the dead after 3 days, who else could feed 5,000 from a biscuit and a piece of fish.




I personally know of Tiny Lister's involvement in Christian media because he also came to my church in Sacramento, Calvary Christian Center. He did a play at my church called "Gotta Get Out" In this play it is very graphic and has the goal of reaching out to the youth to minister the gospel to them in a very realistic setting of rape, murder, suicide, drugs, etc. This is another yet successful venture for urban Christian media.In this article I have included the commercial from "Gotta get Out":

HIP HOP GOSPEL BEING ENDORSED IN THE CORPORATE WORLD

I read a press article from one of my actual mentors in the media industry. My mentors name is Mr. Timothy "Bliss" Jones. He is definitely a strong force in the Christian media/business arena with over 15 successful websites and counting. For example he has datinggodsway.com,  mixtapeministry.com, djplayme.com, blissgraphicstudio.com, ardyssbliss.com, blissmusicauction.com and much more. In the article Mr. Jones discusses the ever increasing trends that the Hip Hop Gospel is alluring. Hip Hop Gospel is the fusion of 2 unseemly genres merging together to promote Christ through music. This genre is even getting the attention of billionaire Donald Trump who personally picked "Rawservant" a Hip Hop Gospel rapper to be on his show "Donald J. Trump Presents The Ultimate Merger."Bliss explains in the article that this will attract others that have money to notice the genre like Oprah Winfrey. Also Hip Hop Gospel artist like Trip Lee continue to get airplay on secular shows as BET's 106 & park. This is yet another accomplishment in urban Christian media. Lets get it! Article referenced from http://www.dasouth.com/news/24-news/4249-christian-hip-hop-embraced-by-donald-trump-seeks-orpah-winfrey-endorsement#disqus_thread

The Christian Youtube.

GodTube.com is a website that has swept Christian media since its beginning in 2007. This site was founded by Christopher Wyatt, Jason Martell, Llyod Chartrand, and the current owners are the Salem Web Network. GodTube is just as it sounds a Christian YouTube which uses video sharing, online communities, and rating systems. This website has went through a few transitions by using the name GodTube and then switching to tangle.com and now they are two different online communities under the same umbrella. GodTube boast over 2.7 million users since 2009 and it continues to expand. Also GodTube was recently recognized as "Hottest Texas Companies" by Lead411. This is another great victory for Christian media which conversely benefits urban Christian media.

Who is that guy in the top 3 of the Itunes charts?

Some are wondering who is the guy in the # 3 position on the Itunes charts only preceded by 2 others. The # 2 position  was held by Kenny Chesney and # 1 by Lil Wayne. People all over the world are wondering who is this guy and where did he come from. His name is Lecrae he is a Christian rapper from Houston, Texas and this is actually his third Solo album. He is part owner of the record label Reach Records and he has other artists who have also made great debuts on the Itunes charts (i.e. Trip Lee & Sho Barracka). Lecrae is not your average rap artist, on the day that he released his album he was actually in Sudan catering to the people there who are in constant warfare. He stated, "Therefore, at the height of my new album REHAB, I plan to be in Southern Sudan. Sudan has been obliterated by war for so long, resulting in over two million casualties."Yeah this is definitely not like your average rapper who would be constantly checking the sound scan, twitter, facebook, and Itunes to see what the stats are. Along with a great fan base, word of mouth, a rehab logo, radio ads, and viral marketing Lecrae has made quite a debut with the project titled "REHAB". This is a great milestone for urban Christian media and will continue to break barriers for other artists.

HELLO ALL!

Hello this is my first blog ever! I just want to let you know I will be posting info, photos, video, audio bites, and much more concerning the urban Christian media realm. Expect to hear from me soon. Thanks!