Comcast NBCUniversal Award KOO Media Academy

KOO Media Academy offers Media Broadcast Training to Black males 14-21

[Oakland, CA. – July 26, 2022] – – NBC Bay Area, Telemundo 48 and the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to Kingmakers of Oakland (KOO). KOO is one of ten Bay Area non-profit organizations to receive the Project Innovations 2022 grant award; which was announced on July 13, 2022. 

“We are honored and humbled to be selected as one of the ten organizations receiving the NBC Bay Area Project Innovation Award,” says Chris Chatmon, KOO Founder and CEO. “This investment will allow us to involve, inspire and enable the next generation to speak for themselves through narrative change, media platforms and event production through our KOO Media Academy.”

The KOO Media Academy will instruct Black males ages 14-21 with lessons taught by seasoned media industry professionals. Participants will gain experience in storytelling, media production, journalism, broad/podcasting, marketing and distribution over the school year. 

“Over time our interns will acquire skills to become a valued asset to any media team,” KOO Managing Director Brenden Anderson confirms. “These young men will create and facilitate Narrative Change workshops that teach Oakland students to be storytellers.”

Check out our media productions on our YouTube and Vimeo platforms; including our Breaking Bread and Crossroads youth-led podcasts that highlight the leaders and social capital in our communities. We also delve into the intersectionality within diverse Black communities. 

KOO unapologetically focuses on Black boys, while impacting all students by being rooted in a Targeted Universalism approach. Our work has consequently proven to ENGAGE, ENCOURAGE and EMPOWER children and families of all backgrounds. We facilitate building will, strategic planning and transforming practices with inter-generation cross-functional equity teams in schools, districts and communities.

PRESS RELEASE (pdf)

Contact Information:
James C. Earl-Rockefeller, III
Public Relations
media@kingmakersofoakland.org

 

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