INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY MEDIA NETWORK CONNECTS WITH HOLLYWOOD



First Native American News Website and Media Network Aims To Be Entertainment Community's Go-to Destination

For News and Information About Indigenous Peoples



Launch Celebrated With Poly-Bag Insert in Variety's Golden Globe Issue



(New York, January 14, 2011) – Ray Halbritter, Nation Representative and CEO of the Oneida Indian Nation, announced today that the just-launched Indian Country Today Media Network, the country's first-ever website and media network for news and information about Native American and indigenous peoples, will introduce itself to the entertainment community with a poly-bag insert in Variety's Friday Golden Globe issue.



“With Indian Country Today Media Network we have created a full service media platform that is current, timely, sophisticated, inclusive and widely available," said Halbritter. "As the only national, daily source of essential news and information from Indian country," Halbritter explained, "our goal is to establish Indian Country Today Media Network as the thought leader in the national dialogue on Native American issues.



"Indian Country Today Media Network is a one-stop shopping destination for producers, studios, production companies, writers and actors. We can introduce the entertainment community to a deep pool of potential content, to above and below the line talent, help with casting and locations, and even assist in vetting scripts for historical and culture accuracy. We are the source for connecting the dots between the entertainment industry and Native Americans."



Indian Country Today Media Network evolved from Indian Country Today, the Oneida Indian Nation's award-winning national Native American newspaper.



Indian Country Today Media Network is designed to be the premier portal for Indian Country and the go-to destination for all things indigenous. The various platforms will include www.Indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com and a weekly magazine, This Week From Indian Country Today, which is being distributed to Variety readers in their Golden Globes issue today. Future plans call for the production of syndicated and online radio shows, and a content and advertising network, another first for Native Americans.



The website and magazine will provide essential news and information from Indian Country, featuring new artists and cultural highlights, and give life to the most forceful voices in the national community. The network will also offer online services in the areas of education, business and events ... everything from listings of tribal colleges to the latest pow wows to the array of entertainment projects with Native themes.



Not only is Indian Country Today Media Network a compelling platform for Native Americans, it’s also an opportunity for advertisers to reach one of the fastest growing populations in the US with a projected buying power of over $67 billion in 2010 (The Multicultural Economy 2010, Jeffrey M. Humphreys, University of Georgia, Selig Center for Economic Growth).



An advisory board of leading and prominent members of the Nations—including tribal leaders, educators, entrepreneurs and government officials—will help guide the policy of Indian Country Today Media Network under Op Ed Editor Ray Cook and Washington D.C. Bureau Chief Rob Capriccioso. Already accepting places on the Indian Country Today Media Network board are Dr. Jose Barreiro, director of the Office for Latin America at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian; Mark Trahant, former editor of the editorial page of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and past President of the Native American Journalists Association; Dr. Duane Champagne, professor of sociology and Native American studies at Harvard University, and Professor Carole Goldberg of UCLA Law School, a specialist in Federal Indian Law, Tribal Legal Systems, and an advisor to the Tribal Legal Development Clinic and the Tribal Appellate Court Clinic.