Movers & Shakers: Desiree Rogers Discusses Her New Role at Johnson Publishing

Unless you live under a rock, you probably know of Chicago power-broker, socialite  and personal friend of the Obamas, Desiree Rogers.  Before she filled the role as White House Social Secretary, Rogers was already a very accomplished woman with a more-than-impressive resume.  Now she can add her new role as  CEO of Johnson Publishing Co. to the list. 

Michelle Obama on Colbert Report

The future 1st Lady was on the hilariaous "Colbert Report" last night and was fabulous. This sista from Chi-Town is no joke! I love the statement she made about "4 spoons" in this clip. She's incredibly elegant, intelligent and gorgeous. Michelle Obama represented black women flawlessly!

Movers & Shakers: Nerjyzed's Jacqueline Beauchamp

Instead of complaining about the depiction of negative stereotypes in Black culture, some Black-owned companies have decided to take action and provide positive cultural alternatives.

Jacqueline Beauchamp, President and CEO of Nerjyzed Entertainment Inc. is leading efforts in providing positive cultural images in digital media. Louisiana-based Nerjyzed is a privately held videogame, 3-D animation and publishing firm founded in 2003 by Ms. Beauchamp and three partners.

Nerjyzed’s founding members are all graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), in fact Ms. Beauchamp is a graduate of Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA where Nerjyzed is located. So, it’s not ironic that Nerjyzed’s flagship videogame is the Black College Football Experience (BCFX).

BCFX was released this past November and features teams from historically black colleges. It even features an interactive half-time battle of the bands and combines original recordings with fight songs played by the actual school bands. Players can hear and download music from BCFX’s constantly updated track list.

Jacqueline Beauchamp and Nerjyzed Entertainment are also set this month to release Historically Black, a documentary on the evolution of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The documentary explores the politics, challenges, organizations, environment and the future of HBCUs. Historically Black also features interviews from some respected and prominent HBCU personalities including Debbie Allen, David Banner, Ed Bradley, Tom Joyner, Doug Williams, Jacqueline Beauchamp and Lt. Gen Russel Honore.

Other Important Notes:
• Jacqueline Beauchamp moved Nerjyzed from Dallas to Baton Rouge because Louisiana offers a digital-media tax credit of up to 20% against expenditures.
• Ms. Beauchamp currently employs 45 people and plans to hire another 35-40 employees.
• Nerjyzed’s music and content division, NERSOUND, is creating public/private partnerships with HBCU’s to provide business development opportunities for aspiring artists and audio professionals.

Kerry Washington in February's Allure

Actress Kerry Washington is featured in Allure Magazine's Fashion Stakeout for February. Kerry's always on the scene and always looks smokin. In the article it mentions that the natural beauty told her make-up artist, Tyron Machhausen that she doesn't want to look made-up, but I think there's room for improvement on lip-color. None the less, she's got great style. I'm loving the blush Armani Prive dress with the mermaid silhouette.

Naomi Graces Cover of French Vogue

Glamazon supermodel, Naomi Campbell and her super-model friend Kate Moss worked the camera for Vogue Magazine Paris' February 2008 cover. As usual, Naomi looks flawless and much younger than her 38 years. It's great to see Naomi still getting plenty of work in Europe.

Oprah gets her "OWN" Channel

Well, Ms. Oprah has done it again you guys! The billionaire media mogul announced the creation of her cable network with Discovery. Oprah's channel is called "OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network" and will be owned jointly by Winfrey's Harpo Productions and Discovery and committed to inspiring viewers to "live their best lives," the two companies said.

"OWN" debuts in 2009 in over 70 million American homes. Unlike Winfrey's other media venture Oxygen Channel, she will have full editorial control over OWN's programming and branding and serve as OWN's chairman. Harpo will produce shows for the network and other outlets as well.

"Fifteen years ago, I wrote in my journal that one day I would create a television network, as I always felt my show was just the beginning of what the future could hold," Winfrey said.

Wow, that's what I'm talking about... you know, people like to brag about what organizations they belong to and what titles they have, don't get me wrong- that's nice and all, it's something to be proud of... but, having a network with your name on it and ownership, now that's IMPRESSIVE!

Essence Hosting its 1st Annual Literary Awards

Author, Terry McMillan


ESSENCE magazine will host its first-ever ESSENCE Literary Awards on February 7,2008. The event will commemorate emerging and established African-American authors, it will also kick-off ESSENCE magazine's "Save Our Libraries Campaign." The ESSENCE Literary Awards will be hosted by Hoda Kotb (TODAY show co-anchor) and Dr. Ian Smith, creator of The 50 Million Pound Challenge.

ESSENCE Literary Awards will honor critically-acclaimed author Terry McMillan with the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Countee Cullen Branch of the New York Public Library in Harlem will also be the first recipient of ESSENCE's "Save Our Libraries Campaign." "Save Our Libraries" is designed to honor its contributions and to solicit support in order for it to maintain its services to the community.

"ESSENCE has had an extraordinary literary legacy since its first issue," said Patrik Henry Bass, ESSENCE Senior Editor, Books and Arts. "Terry McMillan, Bebe Moore Campbell, Gloria Naylor and so many other authors first came to the attention of readers through ESSENCE's pages. At the ESSENCE Literary Awards we want to honor writers in their tradition,
while acknowledging future generations of African-American authors. We also hope that through our Save Our Libraries campaign, entities such as the historic Countee Cullen Branch will have the crucial resources needed to provide the services our communities so desperately need."
For more information click here.

Naomi Campbell on Vogue's List of Most Glamorous Women

Queen of the Catwalk, Naomi Campbell made it on the Vogue UK's list of the 21st Century's Most Glamorous Women in the world. Their full list will be available in their December issue. What's Vogue's idea of glamorous... "easy to to recognise, harder to define, impossible to emulate" That's Naomi!

The Africa Channel Wants to Dispel Stereotypes

Unfortunately, when the average American thinks of Africa, visions of poverty, famished children, AIDS and violence pops into their minds. Well, The Africa Channel aspires to dispel all of these negative African stereotypes. A native from Zimbabwe, James Makawa is the CEO and co-founder of the African Channel. "The whole idea is that it comes to you from an African perspective, which has been missing from so much news coverage and, yes, entertainment related to Africa," Makawa told Reuters.

The Africa Channel's target audience are those unfamiliar with African culture, but getting support from American cable providers has become a serious challenge for The Africa Channel. Located in North Hollywood California, they made it on air in Atlanta, New Orleans, Ireland and the UK but currently only reach an estimated 2 million homes in the USA through Comcast and Cox cable providers. Nearly 80% of the channel is entertainment dedicated with an African viewpoint( soap operas, reality shows, music, events, travel/lifestyle series etc). All of it family-friendly and in English.

Please contact your local cable provider and request The Africa Channel. It's about time the world sees Africa in a different light.
Visit www.theafricachannel.com