Elinor Ruth Tatum, publisher and editor-in-chief of the New York Amsterdam News (AmNews), had just finished giving E&P’s newsroom team a tour of the news organization’s historic headquarters on Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem when she learned she’d been awarded E&P’s most distinguished honor — Publisher of the Year for 2024. The building — which the paper has called home for nearly 100 years and houses a treasure trove of artifacts — is in the throes of renovation. The staff spent months selecting items for preservation and archival at Cornell University.
Tatum explained that Artist Steve ESPO Powers plans to restore the neon blade sign that hangs over the front door. She pointed to a glass-surrounded alcove just inside the lobby, where she’s considering adding a podcast studio. The building was once crowded and bustling with staff. Today, much of the space sits silent, by virtue of a smaller team, many of whom work remotely. But that’s presented Tatum with an opportunity. She envisions a museum honoring the Black press and communal meeting space. It will be a place “where plans are made, or plots are hatched to make change,” she explained.
That mission is already underway. On the first floor, there’s an oval conference table where they’ve welcomed public officials, like U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, for a discussion series called “Around the Oval.”
Navigating three flights of stairs, Tatum pointed to leather-bound back issues, filing cabinets of photos, stacks of books that could fill a community library, cartoon plates dating back to the 1940s and bygone tools of analog newspaper production.
This year, Tatum celebrates 30 years as AmNews’ publisher. Asked to reflect on some of the paper’s most poignant events during those three decades, she recalled the Million Man March, the deaths of Nelson Mandela and Michael Jackson, and 9/11.
It is not lost on Tatum that this newspaper is so much more than one of the oldest and most influential Black-press newspapers in the country. This is living history, the very story of Harlem, New York City and Black America. And it’s her family’s legacy.
Watch the surprise as Tatum learns she’s been named E&P’s Publisher of the Year
A future steeped in the past
The New York Amsterdam News was founded in 1909 by James Henry Anderson, who started the paper in his New York City apartment with just $10, a pencil and a dressmaker’s table for a desk.
Wilbert “Bill” Tatum acquired the AmNews in 1971, the same year he and his wife, Susan Kohn Tatum, welcomed their daughter and only child, Elinor Ruth Tatum. He bought the paper with seven other investors, whose shares he bought out over time — making him the sole owner.
Though she grew up by her father’s side at the paper, it wasn’t certain his daughter, Elinor, would follow in his publishing footsteps. Her father encouraged her to chart her own course and explore her professional options before deciding whether to dedicate her career to the AmNews.
She graduated from St. Lawrence University with a B.S. in government studies and traveled to Stockholm University to study international relations and government. She later earned a Master’s degree in journalism and mass communications from New York University.
While living abroad, Tatum was on a bus one day when her father called and declared it was “now or never” if she wanted to return to New York City and the AmNews. He was at a crossroads, facing a dilemma about whether to sell or retain the paper with his daughter’s help. She chose the paper.
Tatum didn’t immediately slide into her father’s big shoes. She recalled starting as an intern, spending her days making coffee and copies and sending faxes. Over time, she worked her way up through the paper’s ranks, including working on classified layouts and doing paste-ups. “I was a whiz with an Exacto knife,” she recalled. By 1994, she’d become assistant to the publisher. Two years later, she was promoted to COO and associate publisher. In 1997, she was named publisher and editor-in-chief.
Tatum appointed Siobhan “Sam” Bennett as president and chief revenue officer in July 2021. Together, they created a five-year strategic plan to transform operations, build its digital footprint and grow readership.
“We competed for every single industry accelerator out there and got accepted into every single one,” Bennett said.
They started by improving the newspaper’s website and launching e-newsletters, including a daily, “Editorially Black,” and the weekly “Art + Soul.” Distribution began with an initial email list of 900; today, the newsletters boast 27,000 subscribers. In recent years, they’ve tripled print subscriptions.
Leveraging grants and organizations like Report for America, Tatum has been able to more than double the size of the newsroom and grow the bullpen of freelance contributors. She intentionally promoted staff from within, empowered them to lead, and encouraged them to collaborate creatively.
Damaso Reyes, who began working for AmNews nearly three decades ago at the tender age of 16, was promoted to executive editor and tapped to lead the Blacklight investigative team. That team has produced impactful reporting on gun violence, COVID and climate change as they expressly relate to communities of color.
“We promoted Damaso from within, and look what happened — just an avalanche of industry awards have come our way under his leadership,” Bennett said.
“Elinor gave me my first paid opportunity in journalism at 16 years old,” Reyes recalled. “I became a freelance photographer and eventually a freelance writer and then an intern, and then a bunch of other things. And as I said at [the National Association of Black Journalists] earlier this year, the Amsterdam News has been the place that has given me the opportunities to do work that’s important to me, about my community, when nobody else would — and Elinor Tatum is 100% responsible for that.
“[She] gave me that opportunity because she saw something in me that other people didn’t recognize, and for that, I’m always going to be deeply grateful. It’s been a real privilege to have her trust and to take on this role of both investigative and now executive editor, to help us better serve our community and reach a larger audience,” Reyes said.
Making the Word In Black
Tatum’s influence is felt far beyond AmNews’ newsroom and audience.
As CEO of the Local Media Association (LMA), Nancy Lane had the opportunity to work side-by-side with Publisher Tatum on several strategic initiatives. The first was LMA’s Digital Transformation Lab, which formed a cohort of five Black press leaders for a six-month digital reinvention initiative.
It laid the foundation for “Word In Black," a first-of-its-kind coalition of 10 Black press titles collaborating on a website and newsletter. The group comprises AmNews, AFRO News, The Atlanta Voice, Dallas Weekly, The Houston Defender, Michigan Chronicle, Sacramento Observer, The Seattle Medium, The St. Louis American and Washington Informer.
Lane recounted its origin, “Word In Black would not exist if it weren’t for Elinor Tatum. It was the weekend after the murder of George Floyd. She called me on a Saturday and said, ‘We have to do something. There’s going to be a huge movement to support social justice issues. We need to put something together right now.’ And by now, she meant over the weekend.”
That conversation sparked the launch of LMA’s Fund for Black Journalism, and donations started pouring in, including from large donors, like the Walton Family Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Google News Initiative and others, Lane recalled. In January 2024, Word In Black incorporated as a public benefit company.
“Word In Black has been one of the most successful things I’ve ever been part of in my career,” Lane said. “And it wouldn’t exist if Elinor didn’t make that call that Saturday. Nobody thought to do it. The vision wasn’t there. That phone call changed everything.”
Working with Tatum over the years has allowed Lane insight into Tatum’s leadership style.
“She is a smart businesswoman and a visionary,” Lane observed. “That is absolutely the right word. She knows how to build a good team, and she trusts that team to deliver. She surrounds herself — like any good leader would — with strong people who are passionate about the mission. The Amsterdam News is her passion. It’s her legacy and everything that paper has meant to the community all these years; she carries that with her every day. It drives her to innovate and transform the business. She has been so successful at getting funding because she’s well-connected to a wide range of people in our country, whether political leaders or people in entertainment. She has one hell of a rolodex … and she uses it. When Elinor Tatum calls you, you answer the phone. She has great influence, and it’s because she’s so well-respected.”
Well-deserved awards
As E&P’s Publisher of the Year, Tatum makes history for the 140-year-old magazine. She is the first Black woman to receive the honor. It is but one award she’s personally received, which includes a Doctor of Humane Letters Honoris Causae from Metropolitan College, the Manhattan Borough Presidents’ Women’s History Month Award, the Outstanding Business Empowerment Award from the New York chapter of Black Business and Professional Women, and the Good Scout Award. The day after being named E&P Publisher of the Year, she was among the “35 Women News Leaders” awarded by the International Women’s Media Foundation.
Under her leadership, the New York Amsterdam News has received awards from The Deadline Club, The New York Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the Solutions Journalism Network, to name a few.
“We’ve gotten 30 awards just in the past two years,” Tatum said.
There is evidence of those accolades on every floor of the building — printed certificates, engraved plaques, statues and sculptures displayed in testament to the remarkable journalism made there. Tatum is cognizant that they represent a team effort.
In the lobby hangs a 17-year-old photograph of the staff assembled on the sidewalk in front of the building. Tatum solemnly considered the image, pointing to members of the staff who still work for the paper and those who have sadly passed away, including her beloved father.
“I couldn’t do this without the great staff I have. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them and, of course, without my fantastic parents, who taught me everything I know,” Tatum said.
Speaking with Tatum, one gets the sense that family and community are running themes through her life. She still lives in the same East Village brownstone she grew up in, with her daughter, Willa, and mother, Susan.
Kristin Fayne-Mulroy is AmNews’ managing editor and arts-and-entertainment editor. She came by the role after a distinguished career in book and digital publishing, but she’s known Tatum and the Tatum family since elementary school. She joined the AmNews staff 20 years ago.
“I was a native New Yorker, and this native New York publication spoke to me as a Black woman growing up in the city. It was just part of our fabric. I loved the idea of a publication carrying on a tradition of speaking for folks who didn’t have a voice traditionally represented in mainstream media,” Fayne-Mulroy told E&P.
When asked about Tatum’s achievements over two decades, she said there are “millions.” However, one that stands out is how Tatum steered the newspaper through the pandemic, pivoting on a dime to allow the staff to work remotely and yet collaboratively.
“We didn’t miss a single issue,” she marveled.
“She gives us the tools that enable us to create a work environment where there’s a lot of camaraderie and fun, even while we have a lot of serious work to do,” Fayne-Mulroy added.
Asked what it means to see her long-time friend and colleague be named Publisher of the Year, Fayne-Mulroy said, “I’m thrilled. We all want those people in our lives who we know are good and deserving of recognition to get it. And it’s not just because she’s amazing, but also what she represents. She’s a Black woman in this day and age running a newspaper, and running it well — running it in a way that we can roll with the tides and evolve in the way journalism can and should.”
E&P Publisher Mike Blinder surprised Tatum with the Publisher of the Year award during a Zoom attended by more than 30 current and former staff members, freelance contributors, community leaders, friends and industry peers.
“I’m absolutely 100% so proud of you, Elinor — the way you’ve helmed this massive undertaking, this legacy, and are bringing it forward with grace and power,” Fayne-Mulroy said.
AmNews Advertising Manager Ali Milliner compared Tatum to fertile soil, nurturing her staff and watching them flourish. “From you, so many bright careers are sprouting,” he said.
Science Reporter Helina Selemon thanked Tatum for supporting the team “in a way that’s so warm and inclusive.” She described her leadership style as “intimate, involved and caring.”
One by one, members of the team and external partners representing industry associations and labor unions chimed in to express similar sentiments. Collectively, they told the story of the New York Amsterdam News as it was and is today — a formidable news agency, but also a family. This is not lost on Tatum, who acknowledged their contributions in return. “We’ve got phenomenal people. … We actually truly like each other,” she said.
Still, Tatum is pragmatic about the path ahead. She’s keenly focused on diversifying revenue, long-term sustainability, and the building’s transformation.
“It’s been an uphill battle,” Tatum said. “Many days, we show people that for-profit news is really a not-for-profit passion.”
“It’s been a wild ride. Thank you for sticking with us,” Tatum said. “We’ve got a lot more work to do, but we’re poised to move mountains.”
Gretchen A. Peck is a contributing editor to Editor & Publisher. She's reported for E&P since 2010 and welcomes comments at gretchenapeck@gmail.com.
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richnhil
I'm so happy to be the first to comment on Ellie Tatum's much-deserved Publisher-of-the-Year award. The Tatum family will always have a special place in my heart.
I, too, (along with my Pulitzer-Prizewinning brother) took the helm of a family-run community newspaper, the Riverdale Press. I retired in 2008, but The Press still covers the northwest corner of the Bronx. The Amsterdam News was, and is, the community paper of Harlem but, of course, has a much broader reach.
Bill Tatum and my dad were great friends, often meeting or calling one another for advice. Ellie can correct me if I'm wrong, but I have a distant memory that they even lived in the same Bronx apartment building for a time. Bill was of my father's generation and I didn't know him well, but I recall him being as irrascible as Ellie is gentle, though anyone who knows her knows she has the same steely resolve. I learned that when we served together on the board of the New York Press Association.
I will be forever grateful to the Tatums for their generosity when The Press was firebombed during my tenure in 1989. Publishers from around the state and around the country called with encouragement, but the very first call I received was from Bill Tatum offering much more: office space and pre-press equipment so we could continue to publish. We did have an alternate space in Riverdale, but I was deeply touched by the offer.
Ellie, mazel tov, and may you have many more years as a leader for Harlem, for black America and for our nation.
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