Meta J. Mereday is an award winning, independent writer and editor who has always been open to the creative possibilities which exist beyond the conventional journalism career trajectory. A self-styled, entrepreneurial dissident, she has long established herself as a leading expert and advocate for diversity within the media, marketing and advertising business communities.
A native of Roosevelt, New York, a Long Island suburb of New York City, Meta earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose State University in Journalism and Mass Communications. She later earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Hofstra University, with a concentration in International Marketing and emphasis on Minority Entrepreneurship. She also served as Marketing Instructor for Hofstra University's Center for Entrepreneurship for Minorities and Women, and as a mentor for Hofstra's Graduate Women in Business.
Her articles have appeared in numerous publications, such as Savoy Professional Magazine, Minority Business News-USA, Black Professionals Magazine and Emerging Markets Magazine, as well as several online publications including BlackCollegian.com, BlackTechMagazine.com. and Multicultural Law Magazine.
In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Black Journalists (also known as NABJ), the world’s largest organization of media professionals, Mereday is also a co-founder of the National Black Public Relations Society (also known as NBPRS) and Empowered Health Partnerships, Inc., a non-profit organization focused on addressing health and healthcare disparities in racial and ethnic minority communities.
In her spare time, she loves to travel, especially with her mother, Emma Waters Mereday. She also enjoys writing poetry, working with young people, and listening to the stories of, and consulting the lesson taught by her elders.
She counts among her elders and mentors her mother,Emma Waters Mereday, her maternal grandmother, Isabel Dory Waters, and the numerous influences as she was growing up, such as her caregivers, teachers, school principals and other adults whose example of grace under ethnic and discriminatory fire helped shape her character and strong work ethic. Her career was also heavily influenced by the special encouragement of African American media trailblazers such as the late Vernon Jarrett, the late Pat Tobin and the late Greg Freeman, as well as Roy Johnson and Sheila Brooks.
Encouraged by others, Mereday has begun exploring the area of playwriting, in tandem with her well established entrepreneurial pursuits.
Plays tell stories; the subtext in them revealing the thoughts, dreams, nightmares, goals, adventures and intentions of the characters. These traits are not unlike those of a good feature story, or even a well positioned public relations campaign.
Mereday has not waivered when it comes to risk taking, frank dialogue, thought provoking stories and hardcore advocacy. It is reasonable to that she will bring all of this and more to her artistic projects, and, as usual, surprise and intrigue even her harshest critics.
Interview with Meta J. Mereday by Amy V. Simmons
AVS: When did you realize your special talents, and how did you initially explore them?
MJM: Personally, my mother is my role model (and my maternal grandmother Isabel Dory Waters a guiding spirit always). My mentors are/were numerous from the older women who took care of me when my parents worked, the parents of friends whose work ethic and courage under the fire of discrimination encouraged me to believe in myself and work hard.
I always enjoyed writing poetry and short stories. When I was a child, I wrote my own cards to give to people. As a teenager, I started putting my poems on paper and journals. I moved to a compilation almost twenty years ago.
My gift for story telling prompted someone to suggest to me that I should write a script to capture those stories and to highlight the memories of the women in my life who helped to shape who I am.
AVS: Re your career evolution over the years, what is the largest obstacle you face as a free agent, especially as you contemplate branching out into the arts?
MJM: Having the time to keep the creative process fresh and to package it in all the modern formats for distribution and trusting the elements out there again after going the self publish route and getting burned by the experience. Also, dealing with the limited opportunities and stonewalling to get to the right people to have your draft read, when you know your material surpasses most of the stuff out there.
AVS: How powerful is the collective influence of your professional experience as a journalist, such as the stories you've covered and the people you've met on your current direction as playwright?
MJM: The wealth of information and insights gained from the journalism arena is immeasurable.
The contacts and resources have helped me to not only define myself in my own unique way as a freelance journalist, but also to spread my creative wings and incorporate the stories into various literary formats to extend their shelf life and benefit to society.
The business has helping me to grow as a person, a writer, an advocate, and a social poet.
Whether I am researching the issues impacting black farmers or highlighting the returning veterans, I have been able to incorporate my writing and editing skills to look beyond what is the hot topic of the day and look at the “Story Behind The Story”. So there is the article that satisfies the publisher, and the material to build a script.
AVS: What projects are you currently working on now?
MJM: Updating my hip-hop musical and working on the music to go with the lyrics, and working on another teleplay about non-traditional families.
For more information about Meta J. Mereday and her writing, see the links below:
Associated Content site:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/14281/meta_mereday.html
Black Tech Magazine:
mmereday@blacktechmagazine.com
Empowered Health Partnership, Inc.:
http://empoweredhealthpartnerships.org/
Summit Global Strategies and Solutions:
http://classyplus.com/CMO.aspx
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