NEWARK, NJ (SBN) – The City of Newark’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Director, fayemi shakur, is leading the 19-member board of directors at Newark Symphony Hall (NSH), New Jersey’s largest Black-led arts and entertainment venue. board of directors. At NSH, shakur will provide strategic fundraising and programming counsel on community programs, virtual events and ongoing racial justice initiatives. This includes NSH staff-led programs designed to bring more diverse populations to arts careers, both onstage and behind the scenes.
“I just think women like to get things done,” shakur said in an interview with SBN news director Steve Lubetkin on SBN Newsmakers, the news service’s TV program featuring conversations with newsmakers around New Jersey. Joining shakur in the discussion is Taneshia Nash Laird, president and CEO of the symphony hall.
In December 2020, NSH began Phase 1 of a planned three-phase, five-year, $50 million renovation, (a price tag that increased after the interview was recorded). The project will create 500 jobs and assist 50 local businesses. shakur and the NSH board will provide counsel on the venue’s various fundraising goals for the renovation – a major initiative for its Lincoln Park neighborhood and the Greater Newark region. The election of shakur, also a champion of new and innovative programming, is part of an overall plan to revitalize the hall both structurally and with its many offerings.
You can watch the complete interview in the player below.
Steve Lubetkin is the news director for StateBroadcastNews.com. Steve’s journalism background includes print and broadcast reporting for NJ news organizations. He refocused on multimedia journalism and podcast production after a long career in corporate branded journalism and public relations.
He has won numerous awards for his audio and video news reporting from the Garden State Journalists Association, and he has also been recognized for video by the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has produced a wide range of audio and video podcasts in his other role as managing partner of State Broadcast News’s parent, The Lubetkin Media Companies.
Steve is co-author, with Toronto-based podcasting pioneer Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional.
In March 2021, he was elected to the board of directors of the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and in July 2021 he was named secretary of the chapter. In August 2021, he was honored by SPJ with one of the organization’s 2021 Howard S. Dubin Outstanding Pro Member Awards, given to regular members of an SPJ chapter who go above and beyond in serving their chapter.
Steve has been the computer columnist for the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey, since 1996.
Steve also has reported on-camera and produces virtual conferences for NJSpotlightNews.org, a public policy news coverage website focused on New Jersey government and industry; and for clients of StateBroadcastNews.com, a division of The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC.
From May-November 2019, he produced and reported a weekly podcast, The CRE News Hour, a news and features program focusing on the commercial real estate industry.
From 2014 to 2019 he was New Jersey and Philadelphia editor for GlobeSt.com and filled in covering Chicago/Midwest and Atlanta.
Steve has also served (from August 2017 to March 2018) as national broadcast news correspondent for CEOReport.com, a news website focused on practical advice for senior executives in small- and medium-sized companies.
Earlier in his career, Steve reported on rock music at the Jersey Shore for the Asbury Park Press, and was a broadcast news anchor and production engineer for WJLK-AM & FM, then owned by the Press. He also worked as a general assignment reporter for the Red Bank Register, Shrewsbury, NJ.
You can email Steve at steve@statebroadcastnews.com.
