The conversation revealed numerous concerns from the established journalists. It is vital to the media community in Atlanta that the structure is solidified. Jerry White of WhyCauseICan.com noted that there is a lack of organization and that the media outlets “have to come together as a union” in order to hold the control that the media truly has. Kelby Cannick went on to say, “We need interdependence,” instead of being overly independent which is what is preventing the growth and stability of the media here.
Garland posed a series of questions for the ten panelists; one of the most what makes Atlanta unique in media markets opposed to L.A. or New York is that the bloggers and journalists do the footwork, according to White. More work is said to going in to finding out who these artists are, building them up and breaking them in to the industries.
One of the biggest questions of the session asked panelists, “how does the quality music make it?” The discussion that many people have is that there is so much “trash” out compared to “good stuff” and how to weed out the two. A majority of the panel simply stated to cover and promote the quality. But, what it came back to was the lack of organization and cohesiveness within the media. If media outlets worked closer together and shared the work of breaking artists it would assist outlets in taking ownership of the content and make what’s dope popular.
The primary concern for the future of Atlanta media is creating a union and an improved sense of organization among media outlets in hip-hop’s music Mecca.
