Writing has a played a big role in Natalie Byfield's life and she believes it can play a big role in many other people's life.

"Writing has supported me emotionally, financially and has also helped me get through many tough barriers. I feel that the Black Media Foundation is great exposure for young talented writers and journalists to get the feel of what it's like to have the responsibility of writing and correcting stories for a real newspaper."

The Black Media Foundation was founded in 1993 by Natalie Byfield and Clarence Shepherd. The foundation started out as a print publication, a newspaper about journalism. "The Black Media Foundation is mainly about developing journalism," said Natalie Byfeild.

The media is for anyone with aninterest in journalism. The group is mainly composed of high school students which used to meet every Saturday above a church on 108 Street and Lexington Avenue. The media does not receive funds or sponsors. People in the community, students' parents, as well as friends of Natalie Byfeild, donate time and money to the media.

Natalie Byfeild, the coordinator of the media, is a college graduate out of Princeton, after which she attended graduate school. In 1984, she worked for the Jessie Jackson presidential campaign. Through that, she was exposed to journalism. Her interest in that field led her to receiving a job as a free lance copy editor for a magazine called New Woman and she also worked for the American Lawyer, a company owned by the people who started Court TV. Natalie then move on, working for the New York Daily News for six years. She then started teaching and later became the director of a journalism program at Queens College.

Natalie's hope for the media foundation is that "young people see themselves in the paper and that older people see it as a reflection of their potential." In 1996, the media started to put many of their stories up on the web. It was a cheeper way of gaining publicity, due to the fact that this was a non-funded program.

Kerly and Matthew interviewing Natalie Byfield