Business Journal Launches Minority Business Directory as Part of DEI Platform

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – As part of The Business Journal’s ongoing commitment to supporting businesses of all stripes, we have launched the Minority Business Directory, a free resource highlighting entrepreneurs of color in the area.

The directory, open to all minority businesspeople, is free to sign up for and will be free to access when it launches later this year. No matter your field of business – whether retail, professional services, construction, the trades or any other sector – we want to help you highlight what you have to offer the Mahoning and Shenango valleys. 

Registration can be completed at BusinessJournalDaily.com/minority-business-directory in just a few minutes. After signing up, a Business Journal employee will be in touch to verify your information. And beyond just offering entrepreneurs a place to get the word out about their company, we’re also providing all who sign up a free, one-year digital subscription to The Business Journal. Signing up is free and there is no obligation to buy advertisements.

The directory is part of our diversity, equity and inclusion platform, or DEI, aimed at diversifying the range of voices featured in the stories and videos we create. As more business leaders sign up, our reporters will also have a resource that widens the field of potential sources for stories. The registration page also features a form asking respondents about stories and companies they’d like to see covered by The Business Journal.

“We can’t tell stories that we don’t know about,” says special projects editor Josh Medore, who has led the effort to create our DEI program. “Good journalism grows from good relationships and to better cover the Valley’s business community, we’re working to foster relationships that will help us better cover the area’s minority business community.”

Over the past several months, Business Journal staff have been working to develop a diversity, equity and inclusion platform to guide the effort of living up to our mission of supporting the growth of business, industry and quality of life in northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. That mission cannot be accomplished without serving all sectors of the community equally and equitably.

Part of our work has been the creation of a diversity, equity and inclusion statement – which can be read HERE – with guidance from other news organizations and community stakeholders. And going forward, Business Journal staff will take part in training that will help us better recognize the challenges faced by people of color, better address those issues in our coverage and enable us to update and improve our DEI policy.

With these efforts, the Youngstown Publishing Co. is committed to fostering an inclusive, successful business community that reflects the diversity of our region. It’s work that needs to be done and it’s work that can’t be accomplished alone.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.