Welcome to Mimi’s Musings, a commentary column from WI Managing Editor Micha Green, that goes beyond her work as a journalist and editor, and dives into the storyteller’s thoughts and worldview.
Seasons greetings, Washington Informer readers!
It’s that time of the year, yet again. The end of a calendar year, right smack dab in the middle of the holiday season, when life coaches, teachers, preachers, bosses and friends alike emphasize the need to set goals or create vision boards or statements in order to manifest the things we want in the new year.
So here I am, the newly appointed millennial managing editor of this legacy newspaper, considering my vision for 2023.
Twenty-three is a fun number for me, so that’s where I’m taking my inspiration for the year.
First, I was born on the 23rd of August. I’d like to leave it there, but for the purposes of emphasizing how amazing of a birthday August 23 is, I’ll just share that the late, great basketball player Kobe Bryant was also born that day.
Second, and most important, 23 is often associated with basketball legend Michael Jordan, who famously rocked the number on his jersey and the double-digit is often featured on his shoes and paraphernalia.
With the help of a now long-standing social media trend, the age 23 has often become coined one’s “Jordan Year,” in acknowledgment of the ballplayer, who is known to be one of the greatest of all time (GOAT). Jordan often gets GOAT status from statistics that include: 15 NBA seasons (13 with the Chicago Bulls and two with the Washington Wizards), 14 All-Star games, five Most Valuable Player awards, six Finals MVP awards, six NBA championships, a Rookie of the Year award, a Defensive Player of the award, and was inducted into the 2009 Hall of Fame, according to StatMuse.
A Jordan Year, similarly, is supposed to be the GOAT, manifesting one’s best year yet– a year lending itself to happy memories and great achievements.
So here we are, in 2023, and I can’t help but manifest it as the Jordan Year of the 2020s, and by extension, the Washington Informer. Of course, like Jordan, I hope the paper has a long, great legacy beyond this year, but I want 2023 to be a year of highlights— a year to remember.
Having just gotten my feet wet in this new position, I am excited by the work of the Washington Informer’s storytellers and look forward to continuing and elevating that work in 2023. In just over a month, I’ve been able to implement some internal changes and editorial guidelines that have already and will continue to reflect in the frequency of our coverage on our website washingtoninformer.com, WIN-TV and social media. Such changes have also been reflected in the stories that appear in the weekly legacy paper.
As we continue to move with the ways of the world, the Informer is working to ensure we provide more regular and timely digital coverage, offering thought-provoking and engaging perspectives from leaders and members of the Black community and beyond. We’ll be working from a “digital first” approach, regularly posting to our website, while taking incredible care in crafting and updating stories that are engaging for our loyal hardcopy readers. We hope to relay timely information important to our readers’ lives and values and seek to be a trusted source of news both online and in the traditional paper edition.
In order to be the GOAT, we have to do things people aren’t doing and set outstanding records, fearlessly. My hope is the same for Informer stories in 2023 and beyond. We want to share the captivating news no one else is relaying– those important stories about community leaders, church volunteers and street singers and sweepers who are making a difference. The Informer seeks to keep you all up-to-date about the challenges affecting our community and the achievements that continue to prove the nation’s capital as a hub for Black history and excellence.
Our wonderful team of fearless storytellers certainly have a constant pulse on DMV
happenings, but as a community paper we look to you– our readers, the community— to reach out to us and tell us the stories you’d like us to cover. Good news or not– we’re here to tell it and keep you all educated, engaged, entertained and most importantly, informed.
Twenty-twenty-three is the Informer’s Jordan Year, and I encourage you all to make it your greatest year yet, as well.
Watch out 2022; make room for the GOAT coming to town!