On March 8, students of the School of Global Journalism and Communication had the unique opportunity to Zoom with Kevin Merida, ESPN senior vice president and editor-in-chief of The Undefeated, a sports blog focused on sports, race, and culture.
The 44 students and faculty also had the opportunity to learn more about Merida, his life growing up as a journalist, his many different jobs, and how he landed at ESPN working with The Undefeated.
When asked by students and faculty about his lofty credentials, Merida shared how he landed in these fields of work because of preparation and opportunities. From working at The Washington Post for 22 years, to creating an intentional media outlet for people of color, Merida has been prepared for the opportunities he has been offered.
“All these things, they were not the product of just total luck. I was in the position, I had done things to put myself in position to get the opportunities, but I hadn’t consciously sought out these opportunities,” said Merida. “The education I’ve got as a journalist, couldn’t have paid for that education. It’s things you learn.”
Now as senior VP of The Undefeated, Merida continues to use his platform to elevate Black and Brown voices, as a space for African Americans to consume news centered around sports, race, and culture. The Undefeated was created in May of 2016 and is coming up on its 5-year anniversary.
“We always thought of ourselves as kind of a content organization, and I think we’ve lived that, we’ve tried to be very experimental,” said Merida. “We’ve evolved to the point where we are working on a book imprint at Disney publishing. We’ve had two New York Times bestselling children’s books, we’ve done every genre like comedy, poetry, a number of music videos, and documentaries.”
Merida and his team at The Undefeated upload content daily for African American readers and consumers.
You can find more information and content at theundefeated.com as well as @theundefeatedespn on Instagram and @theundefeated on Twitter.
The writer, a student-athlete in the Morgan State School of Global Journalism and Communication, this month was named as a William C. Rhoden sports journalism fellow
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