Very proud of my community journalism students Joaquin Garcia and Gian Giron for participating in the 3rd annual Black Cowboys and Cowgirls at the Cotton Club Museum. Joaquin’s presentation on underrepresented narratives about Florida Black ranchers in media was excellent.

There’s beauty in FL. You just have to know where to look. (Belle Glade shore of Lake Okeechobee)

A good time crate digging at Bananas in St. Pete

Check out my new Media Burn blog post. Media activist and community journalist Michael Zinzun’s legacy is a prime example of public access television’s Black history, which is quite profound and largely under-appreciated. Stay tuned! Much more of this to come soon. mediaburn.org/celebrating-...

I’ve experienced so many full-circle moments since returning to my home state to teach brilliant students at the University of Florida. Today, my students learned about the Florida Photo News, which was the local press produced by and for our African American community in Palm Beach County.

Media is more than endurance. It’s resistance, creativity, and transformation. Join artists, journalists, and scholars (including me!) at Beyond Endurance to explore how hope becomes praxis @ascmediarisk @asc.upenn.edu | Dec 4–5 Register: bit.ly/beyondendurance

Looking forward to joining this group of brilliant folks to discuss why merging research and practice is much needed during this critical juncture.

I’m looking forward to visiting Philly this week to speak at the Kiyoshi Day Symposium. Kiyoshi was a pathfinder, steward, and liberator of information that marginalized communities used to empower themselves. His legacy is remarkably aligned with #communitymedia

New publication alert⚡️So proud to finally see and hold a copy of this local television anthology 📺📚 BIG thanks to editors Lauren Herold and Annie Sullivan for inviting me to contribute a chapter about the growth of public access television in Philadelphia #communitymedia

It was great to have @acadianjprof.bsky.social visit us a few weeks ago at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. Our students gained a lot from your insights ✨

Looking forward to it!

We are excited to reconvene Center alums: @hannamorris.bsky.social, @muira.bsky.social, @richardstupart.com @drjennhenrichsen.bsky.social @cratebeats.bsky.social @azsaneet.bsky.social @sristovska.bsky.social @rouxpz.bsky.social & more! We hope you can join us! Register here: bit.ly/42NTpii

This was peak time travel back in the day, and I was 110% there for it!

Been working on something special: a collaboration with brilliant folks thinking hard about how to make local media equitable, sustainable, and community-centered. “It’s Time for Civic Media” drops soon - grab your copy! objectivejournalism.org/civic-media-...

And so it begins. Happy start of the Fall 2025 semester (with some local wisdom)! 🐊Highlight of the day: Discovering the UF Pan-Hellenic Council circle and reflecting on my family’s Divine 9 legacy. Also saw few other views that captured my attention during my post-lunch walk.

I really enjoyed #ICA2025 this year. Catching up with my academic peers and mentors 🤗, presenting my research 👨🏾‍🏫, winning an Outstanding Dissertation award 🌟, connecting with my UF College of Journalism and Communications colleagues 🐊, and catching glimpses of Denver. Very fulfilling 😊

Psyched to see @cratebeats.bsky.social present his solid work on the media history of Black public-access TV @icahdq @ICA_History #ICA25

🚨Publication Alert! Check out my review of the Community Media Archive! This impressive digital collection of 2.7 million programs shows how residents, organized civic groups, and local governments use community television to keep their communities informed www.tandfonline.com/eprint/ERFFR...

Reposting so I can backtrack to this later 🔥

Participatory Journalism Interest Group invites submissions for research papers for the upcoming 2025 #AEJMC Conference, scheduled for Thurs, Aug 7 – Sun, Aug 10, in San Francisco. Questions? Contact PJIG Research Co­Chairs, Dr. Poepsel at [email protected] and me, Dr. Haywood at [email protected]

Thank you to the Alliance for Community Media Western Region conference for inviting me to moderate productive conversations about the vital role #communitymedia centers play in local news and information landscapes.

Today, I finding joy in preparing a lit review and writing some solid paragraphs for my new journal article manuscript 😊☀️✍🏾

Deep gratitude to @choosetobecurious.bsky.social for inviting me to talk about my practitioner and research experience in the field of community media. Now is the time for us to ramp up strategies for building community-centered media projects that foster productive, healthy democratic communication

Super delighted to be on board with team Media Burn! 🔥 This is a great organization committed to advancing archival work that preserves and tells the story of independent and alternative media.

#AKA1908 Gators representin on the yard! #SetItOff

This is where we are.

I caught myself explaining something real thoughtful to a grad student today. I couldn’t believe I was saying something so smart with such confidence. It was damn near an out-of-body experience. I was witnessing myself explain something using logic I learned in grad school 😂🤓

Act II, Scene 1. Happy Spring Semester 2025!

I spent last night editing the obit for a dear family member who taught me how edit. Talk about full-circle generational care 🫶🏾🙏🏾🥺

When a student writes you that email expressing their gratitude for taking your class 🥹

Pretty much

My dearest Internet, I’m trying to grade papers. Please, and thank you.

More examples of this please! And add a touch of participatory community media 👌🏾

It feels good to be done teaching for the semester just as much as it feels good to be in front of the room orchestrating a rich classroom discussion ☺️🤓

This is birthday #46! Riding the (free) bus to my dream job, listening to the bus driver and an old head chop it up about Florida football. #joy

My center officially has a Bluesky account! If you want to learn more about the intersections between media, democracy, technology, policy, and social justice - or are into community engaged research you can follow us at: @mic-center.bsky.social

This is why I look forward to teaching a writing course next semester. Can’t wait to share and practice.

Every time I walk across campus, I think about this gem. “What is…higher…learning?!” lol “Mr. Williams!”

Congratulations to Laura Helton (@lehelton.bsky.social), whose book SCATTERED & FUGITIVE THINGS, published in the Black Lives in the Diaspora series, is the winner of the 2024 Arline Custer Memorial Award. bit.ly/4g3gqlM @columbiaup.bsky.social

The tambourine part on “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” That’s what brought me joy today.

Gorgeous day in the Swamp ☀️🐊🧡💙

Wonderful evening introducing the documentary, Burlington This Is You. Thank you to the entire CCTV & Town Meeting TV crew for having me. I look forward to supporting more projects that tell the story of community media centers.

Catching up with colleagues and friends at Media Factory brought me much joy today. Very inspiring to see their work and amazing community media center. Burlington is fortunate to have vibrant special #communitymedia orgs and spaces like CCTV and Media Factory.

Spent most of the day hanging out and fellowshiping with the good folks at CCTV & Town Meeting TV in Burlington, VT. Some of the finest #communitymedia has to offer in our country.

Good times connecting with the CCTV #communitymedia crew in Burlington, VT. Getting ready for tomorrow’s first screening of the Burlington This Is You! documentary

A very good question.

Doing little things that bring me daily joy. It’s fish and grits today

For those teaching writing