Karen Carter Richards To Serve As the 1st Vice Chair for the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA).

Karen Carter Richards To Serve As the 1st Vice Chair for the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA).

CEO and Publisher of Houston Forward Times, Karen Carter Richards announces her public relations will now be handled by local Houston PR firm ThinkZILLA after her brand expands to a Chair position with the NNPA.

(October 21,2015- Houston, TX) Karen Carter Richards is the CEO of Forward Times Publishing Company, Inc (aka) the Houston Forward Times. The Houston Forward Times Newspaper was founded in 1960, Karen started as publisher in 2010 and served in the capacity as Associate Publisher from 1981-2010. Forward Times is branded as the South's Largest and Independently owned and published newspaper. Additionally, Karen is the President of Julius and Lenora Carter Scholarship and Youth Foundation. Recently, she has been elected as the 1^st Vice Chair for the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), consisting of over 200 African American newspapers across the country. She has also served as a Board Member at Large for NNPA as well as NNPA Region 4 Treasurer from 2011-2015.

In July, she was featured in the book "Getting The Word Out" via, African American Women Publishers, where she was featured and a special tribute was given to her loving mother  Lenora Carter. She is eager to utilize her new position with the NNPA to continue to make a difference and to act as a media advocate, bringing attention to issues at hand," said Velma Trayham of ThinkZILLA.

The two largest minority groups in the United States — African Americans and Hispanics — are in many ways using digital technology for news at similar rates as the American population overall, According to the American Press Institute. Karen Carter Richards believes this data also reflects an interest in the pursuit of a career within the new media landscape.

"With the NNPA, the goal is to accurately reflect the news within the Black community. We want to be as objective as possible without softening facts and stories that are specific to our professional and personal landscape.  Social media allows us to be more visual and expressive with our copy, and the digital media community is seeing this trend. I'm hopeful this trend transitions kids who are interested in social media over to a supportive career in the mainstream media," said Karen Carter Richards.

Members of the media are invited to speak with Karen Carter Richards about her involvement with the NNPA, her 30+ year background working as a publishing member of the press, and trends she expects to solidify within the digital landscape over the next five years. ThinkZILLA PR & Consulting Group will qualify all story requests.

ThinkZILLA PR & Consulting Group/ 888-509-1145/ Press@itsthinkzilla.com

ABOUT: Karen Carter Richards studied at the University of St. Thomas and University of Houston - Downtown (Texas). She is the CEO and Publisher of the Houston Forward Times, www.forwardtimesonline.com. She is also the President of the Julius and Lenora Carter Scholarship and Youth Foundation, a 501(c) (3) organization, which awards scholarships and internship opportunities to students in the areas of Journalism, Digital Communications and Broadcast Media. 

About ThinkZILLA PR & Consulting Group : ThinkZILLA PR Group helps business owners find new markets, new customers and increase revenue. Most small business owners face challenges connecting with customers & getting the word out to the right audience. www.itsthinkzilla.com