Indian Country Today Media Network
| Type | Website and online newsletter |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Oneida Nation of New York |
| Founder(s) | Tim Giago |
| Publisher | Arthur Raymond Halbritter |
| Editor | Ray Cook |
| Associate editor | Kristin Butler |
| Opinion editor | Ray Cook |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | 2013 (print) |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| City | New York City |
| Country | USA |
| Website |
www |
| Free online archives | Yes |
Indian Country Today Media Network (ICTMN) is a website and weekly online newsletter that is a national news source for Native people in North America. In January 2011, the ICT Media Network revealed their new online multimedia news platform; it is a daily, hourly, or "as news breaks" internationally recognized news service owned by the Oneida Nation of New York. In July 2014, ICTMN announced that it had registered 1,009,761 unique monthly visitors for the month of June 2014, according to Google Analytics.[1] ICTMN has created its own popular social networking page on Facebook, which has exceeded 300,000 "likes".
History
ICTMN carries original news reporting on issues of interest to Native American readers.
Founded as a newsprint weekly Indian Country Today in 1981, the paper described itself as "The Nations' Leading American Indian News Source". The newspaper was located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation but remained independent of tribal government. In 1998, Indian Country Today's founder Tim Giago sold the paper to Four Directions Media, Inc., owned and operated by the Oneida Nation of New York. The newspaper's headquarters then moved to Canastota, New York; in 2011, its operations moved to New York City[2] and the regional newspaper Indian Country Today became Indian Country Today Media Network.[3] In 2013, the paper went online-only.[4]
Indian Country Today Media Network has a smaller—yet significant—Canadian and worldwide readership, which is increasing as regional journalists are recruited to cover Canadian First Nations, Latin American Indigenous Peoples, Pacific Islanders, Australian Aboriginals, and Indigenous Peoples throughout the world.
Notable stories
In 2005, an Indian Country Today editorial "Hurricane Katrina Uncovers a Tale of Two Americas" was quoted by South African President Thabo Mbeki in a letter to the ANC Today, published by the African National Congress.[5]
Indian Country Today had extensive coverage of the Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl or the 2013 Supreme Court of the United States "Baby Veronica" case in which an Oklahoma father who was an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation sought custody of his daughter Veronica. The coverage included a guest editorial by the president of the Charleston Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.[6]
On June 5, 2014, President Barack Obama wrote a column for Indian Country Today titled, "On My Upcoming Trip to Indian Country" describing how he and his wife Michelle Obama plan to visit the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota later in June.[7]
In December 2014, Indian Country Today ran a series of articles covering the controversial 2015 National Defense Authorization Act "land swap" provision that would give land sacred to the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona to Resolution Copper Mine [RCM], a joint venture owned by Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. Over 104,000 had signed a petition to President Obama, "We the People|Stop Apache Land Grab" in which the White House gave an official response.[8]
Indian Country Today has on-going coverage of the Native American mascot controversy, or the use of Indian images in names and sports. The publication has featured numerous stories and editorials on the Washington Redskins name controversy and its team owner Dan Snyder.
Awards
Indian Country Today has won numerous awards at the Native American Journalists Association. In 2014, ICTMN earned 17 awards including Best Digital Publication for its 12-page digital newsletter and first place for General Excellence.[9] In 2013, ICTMN took 11 awards at the conference.
Writers, editors, and contributors
Indian Country Today has included staff writers Rob Capriccioso, Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief; Mark Fogarty; Terri Crawford Hansen (Environment and Science); and Larry Spotted Crow Mann. Mark Trahant is the 2014 Atwood Chair of Journalism and former president of the Native American Journalists Association and a former executive news editor of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Regular columnists include Steve Russell of Oklahoma's Cherokee tribe and associate professor emeritus of criminal justice at Indiana University Bloomington as well as Steven Newcomb (Shawnee, Lenape), co-founder and co-director of the Indigenous Law Institute in California.
Suzette Brewer of the Cherokee Nation is the former public affairs officer for the National Museum of the American Indian and has received recognition for her in-depth coverage of the "Baby Veronica" case and other stories about the Indian Child Welfare Act.
In 2013, Marty Two Bulls, an Oglala Lakota cartoonist and satirist for ICTMN, was profiled by the Associated Press.[10]
References
- ↑ Indian Country Today, July 9, 2014
- ↑ "About". Indian Country Today Media Network.
- ↑ "Indian Country Today Media Network to Launch January 14, 2011". RNewswire. January 6, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
- ↑ Eaton, Kristi. "National Native American Magazine Going Digital". The Big Story. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- ↑ "The Shared Pain of New Orleans", ANC Today, (September 9–15, 2005)
- ↑ Scott, Dot (October 13, 2013). "Baby Veronica & Baby Deseray: Don't Let Them Sell Our Babies!". Indian Country Today Media Network. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
- ↑ Obama, President Barack (June 5, 2014). "On My Upcoming Trip to Indian Country". Indian Country Today Media Network. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
- ↑ ICTMN Staff (January 13, 2015). "White House Responds to 'Stop Apache Land Grab' Petition". Indian Country Today Media Network. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
- ↑ "NAJA Announces 2014 Awards; ICTMN Earns 17". June 28, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
- ↑ Indian Country Today, June 13, 2013