BIN & RTM Forge Partnership

• iHeartMedia’s BIN: Black Information Network and Real Times Media (RTM), a Detroit-based multimedia holding company focused on media, marketing, and content expressly for urban audiences, announced 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 its local news coverage in all 32 affiliate markets. Under the terms of 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 install BIN’s audio widget 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.

Since its launch in June 2020, BIN has quickly expanded to 32 affiliate markets and is also distributed nationally through the iHeartRadio app. Real Times Media is a dynamic media company consisting of eight news, custom content and activation properties focused on amplifying Black voices and 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.

“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.”

Hiram E. Jackson, CEO of Real Times Media, commented, “Our RTM brands have decades-long reputations within the community as trusted, valued resources for local Black news and perspective. 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.”