Black SIUE students start inclusive media production company

A group of black mass communication majors at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville have founded an all-inclusive audio, video and sound production company that they call Paragon Dynasty Media.

Co-founder LaShaunda Jordan said she is grateful to have met a group of like-minded individuals who have allowed her to make a longtime dream of hers come true. Paragon Dynasty Media is a small production company that specializes in videography, photography, audio production and graphic design. Jordan said that the goal of the group is to capture and tell the stories of everyday people.

“We believe that everyone has a story that can be documented,” Jordan said. “It is important for us to open up the doors to those who don’t have access, or who haven’t had access in the past, to production companies and to be their voice.”

As veterans of the United States Air Force, co-founders LaShaunda Jordan and Mike W. Jordan began their production journey at the Legacy Flight Academy summer camp. The Legacy Flight Academy, a non-profit organization based in Oak Park, Illinois, conducts character-based youth aviation programs that draw on the legacy of the Tuskegee Airman.

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Paragon Dynasty Media videographer and SIUE student Ciara Bazile said the ability to be part of the foundational stages within a business has been life-changing for her. Bazile said that she enjoys working with people who have similar in giving back to the black community.

“Our goal is to capture the community around us,” Jordan said. “We want to ensure that our people’s story is constantly being told and never forgotten.”

A release date for the Legacy Flight Academy Documentary has not been officially set at this time, but is expected to be released around Veterans Day 2016, which is November 11.

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The Official Blog of the SIUE Mass Communications Department