iHeartMedia’s Black Information Network has partnered with Real Times Media to utilize content from RTM’s publications on BINnews.com, BINnews.com/Atlanta and BINnews.com/Detroit. The deal will also allow BIN to utilize RTM stories as audio on the network.
BIN: Black Information Network, the 24/7 comprehensive national audio news network dedicated to providing an objective, accurate and trusted source of continual news coverage with a Black voice and perspective, and Real Times Media (RTM), a Detroit-based multimedia holding company focused on media, marketing, and content expressly for urban audiences, announced today a strategic partnership to share and distribute news that is most important to the Black community.
This new partnership expands upon the recent announcement that beginning in January 2022, BIN will expand their local news coverage in all 32 affiliate markets. Under the deal, iHeartMedia will source and distribute news stories from RTM publications across BIN radio stations and sites, and RTM will source and distribute BIN news, entertainment and sports stories and place BIN’s audio widget, a source of 24/7 audio coverage, on their digital properties. iHeartMedia will distribute RTM news on BINnews.com, BINnews.com/Atlanta and BINnews.com/Detroit. The deal also includes opportunities for iHeartMedia to convert RTM stories into audio reporting.
BIN: The Black Information Network launched in June 2020 as the first-of-its-kind 24/7 national and local all-news audio network. BIN is focused on service to the Black community and providing an information window for those outside the community to help foster communication, accountability and a deeper understanding. Since its launch, BIN has quickly expanded to 32 affiliate markets and can currently be heard in Atlanta, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and many more. BIN is also distributed nationally through the iHeartRadio app, available across more than 250 platforms and 2,000 devices.
Real Times Media is a dynamic media company consisting of eight news, custom content and activation properties focused on amplifying Black voices. As the parent company to five of the country’s most respected Black-owned news organizations: The Atlanta Daily World, Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine, The Chicago Defender, The Michigan Chronicle, and The New Pittsburgh Courier, RTM remains committed to delivering quality news, events, and entertainment for African American audiences.
“From the start, our goal at BIN has been to celebrate and invest in the Black community and shine a light on our most important stories,” said Tony Coles, President of BIN: Black Information Network. “This exciting new partnership allows us to extend our commitment to expanding local journalism, benefitting Black communities all across the country.”
“Our RTM brands have decades-long reputations within the community as trusted, valued resources for local Black news and perspective,” said Hiram E. Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of Real Times Media. “However, we also know that we cannot rest on our legacies to remain successful in an industry that changes every day. Being nimble, creative, and diverse about how we distribute our content is what has allowed us to overcome changes in the industry and remain competitive. Partnering with a progressive, undeniable force like BIN gives us the momentum and reach we need to continue to aggressively chase the future.”
