Introduction Bland says she was always a curious kid. She had a journalism teacher in high school that recognized her writing skills.
She is a first generation student. When deciding on college, her mother told her she needed to have a job after getting her degree.
She decided on Arkansas State University. She was a reporter and editor at her school's paper.
The stories she covered in college were different from the stories she covered in Rockford, Illinois.
She was introduced to Gannett in Rockford.
Through the Dow Jones News Fund, she was granted internships.
She says a lesson she learned is to be kind to administrative assistants because they have access.
After an internship with The Commercial Appeal, she went back home to work at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
After she graduated from college, she had completed three internships that she says prepared her for Rockford.
She moved from Arkansas to Rockford in a snowstorm, and went right to work. She enjoyed her time at Rockford and was able to cover a variety of topics.
She became an assistant city editor at Rockford. She got amazing opportunities by working hard on nights and weekends.
She remembers being called a "culturally deprived colored girl from the south" because she wore sandals most of the year.
She also remembers being called the wrong name by an editor; the name belonged to another African American reporter.
After Rockford, she went to USA Today.
She had previously done freelance work for USA Today.
USA Today was still starting up and they selected Bland as a "loaner" to join the team in D.C. She was there for seven years.
While working at USA Today, she got engaged with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). She also got her MBA.
Her master's is from George Washington University with a concentration in marketing.
She tells how she got into publishing. After getting her master's degree, she ultimately became the managing editor of USA Today's library.
She was able to make USA Today's library a profit center.
She went to a meeting in Chicago and was asked to be the assistant to the regional president. She says it was an incredible experience.
"It's incredibly important that students have real world experiences."
Bland says as a publisher you have the opportunity to meet all kinds of people. She loved engagement with readers in the community.
She has very fond memories of working in Fort Collins.
At Fort Collins, she says they had one of the most diverse executive committees.
She describes the time she was made publisher. It was a big deal because she was a female.
She talks about a few of her colleagues and where they are now.
She talks about two mentors she had.
The tagline for Gannett was "a world of different voices." She said that you saw people of color and women in leadership roles. "Those were things to aspire to."
She talks about the time she met Bob and Nancy Maynard.
She went back to Little Rock for an anniversary. She met Daisy Bates. "She was the most gracious woman."
She talks about her transition to academia. "I really enjoyed engaging with young people and college students."
She met Susanne Shaw at her first AEJMC conference in San Francisco.
She was offered a journalism director position at Florida A&M University. She saw so much potential in the program. "It was an opportunity to do mission work as well."
Service learning is essential. She says resources are different at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Many of the students were first generation college students.
"Diversity is incredibly important to the future of higher education." She says diversity needs to be infused in curriculum, faculty, staff, and mindset. Students need exposure.
One of the things she took from Gannett was that, when you have a variety of voices in the room, you make better decisions.
At the University of North Texas, the board of advisors is very diverse. They started a mentor program where they pair alums with students.
"There are opportunities students need to have." A the Mayborn School of Journalism, it's a requirement that students have an internship.
"It's incredibly important that we embrace all people." She says conversations are richer because of this.
She's still active in NABJ and other organizations. "The more you know about your community, the better you can serve your community." She's excited for the future of journalism.
She's doing research on diversity in media. She says there isn't the same commitment to diversity as before. "If you want to secure the future, diversity is a good investment."
Bland says sometimes speaking truth to power isn't always comfortable. Challenging authority is important.
America isn't a melting pot, but a salad. We need to embrace differences.
What she liked about being a journalist was that she was able to travel. She says she's richer in terms of experiences.
She keeps in mind that people fought and died for the opportunities we have today. It's important that our youth understands there's still more work to do.
She talks about the potential of social media and the digital space.
Everyone has a story, and she encourages young reporters to tell them on a variety of platforms.