Local Media CEO Spends 20 Years Serving the Los Angeles Community
By: Marion Apio
For 20 years, Charles Jackson Jr. has educated, informed, and provided a vital resource to his community. Through his local publications, City Pride Magazine and Hub City Reporter, he has inspired and instilled pride among residents in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire.
When you meet Jackson, it’s clear his life is devoted to serving and giving back to his community. He watched his hometown being portrayed in the news through the lens of crime and poverty, a narrative far from the resilient neighbors who embodied a unique culture and pride.
When Jackson retired from the Merced County Workforce Investment Board in 2001 after over 30 years in the workforce development field, he sought a new purpose. He came back home to Southern California and began working with Hub City News, an independent publication in Compton, where he photographed parades, schools, churches, and community events.
Jackson is the founder, editor, and publisher of City Pride Magazine and the Hub City Reporter, located in Compton. These two publications have attempted to highlight stories of resilience and hope often overlooked by the national media.
A New Purpose in Retirement
Jackson’s earlier career focused on training and preparing the next generation for the workforce. He led workforce development programs across California, managed grants, opened pathways to education and jobs, taught in public schools, counseled students, and even served as a firefighter.
It was in retirement that Jackson found his true calling as he photographed and wrote about events in Compton for Hub City News. In a city where mainstream media looked for bad news, Jackson found good news about people who worked hard to improve their environment.
In 2006, with the help of his church leaders at City of Truth Ministries, Pastor Kirk and Michelle Lewis Jackson founded City Pride Magazine, establishing a platform that has also countered negative media portrayals. The name, inspired by the many positive events he covered in the Los Angeles communities, reflects the optimism he wanted to showcase.
Unlike traditional newspapers fixated on crime and scandal in cities, his magazine spotlights small-business owners, educators, youth leaders, and cultural innovators.
Most of what the world sees about communities like ours is negative,” Jackson said. “We wanted to change that perception by covering the stories that truly reflect who we are, full of life, resilience, and hope.*
Readers of Jackson’s magazine find inspiration to improve themselves and their communities for young people in Los Angeles, Carson, Inglewood, Compton, and other cities. The stories affirm they can rise above stereotypes and pursue meaningful goals.
After 20 years, his work now serves as a resource for youth aspiring to be exceptional community members. It counters national media portrayals of gangs, glamour, and violence, while also highlighting the good that is too often overlooked.
Though often associated with Compton, the magazine’s scope has always been broader, documenting stories from Long Beach to Hollywood, Pomona to Perris, spotlighting community servants, and amplifying the voices of everyday people who are making a difference.
Over the years, the magazine has chronicled a wide array of stories and profiled figures such as Don Buford, former Major League Baseball player and coach, pilot Robin Petgrave, whose Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum trains young pilots in Compton, and wrestler Joey “Black Ice” Davis, a California Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee. Beyond human-interest stories, it also offers guides to scholarships, housing, and workforce programs.
Mentoring the Next Generation
The seventh of 12 children, Jackson was raised by a loving mother, Ruby Mae Wisner, and a strong and stern stepfather, Robert Wisner, who helped raise the large family. He grew up with faith, discipline, and education at the heart of family life.
He says his schooling and early career interests laid the foundation for his media work. “My family owned Rib’s Real Barbecue Restaurant, and I worked after school and on the weekends. I also worked with a program called the Neighborhood Youth Corps that provided jobs and training for teenagers in the 60s and 70s.” This provided a foundation for a strong work ethic, a desire to attend college, and a desire to become a business owner.
After graduating from Centennial High School, Jackson was accepted at San Jose State College through the Educational Opportunity Program. He served on the ASB Student Council, led the Black Student Union, and collaborated with renowned editors Wallace Allen and Chauncey Bailey on SJS’s first Black student newspapers.
Jackson needed financial independence and saw college as a way to escape an overcrowded household. He chose San Jose State University for the chance to study, engage with the Black civil rights movement on campus, and experience life far from home.
As a journalist in the LA area today, Jackson has collaborated with numerous organizations and participated in community events that have shaped Southern California. He has been a community partner with the Educational Sport Institute, Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame, City of Truth Ministries, Cease Fire Collaborative, Exchange Club of America, Concerned Citizens for the Development of North Fontana, Tomorrows Aeronautical Museum, Omega Educational Foundation – Leadership Conference, Genesis Enterprise Project, Young Black Contractors Association, Justice for Murdered Children, Compton Lives Matter and many more. As part of these organizations, he has reported and attended events on their behalf.
In 2022, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., honored Jackson as Citizen of the Year at the Doubletree Hotel in Torrance, marking a full-circle moment. Jackson became a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in 1971, while an undergrad at San Jose State University. It is a national fraternal organization and one of the most influential and powerful groups of African American men in the country. He is very proud to represent this organization while operating his media business in the community.
Selected by the Phi Beta Beta Chapter in Inglewood for his work as Publisher and Editor of City Pride Magazine, the award recognizes outstanding citizens whose contributions benefit humanity locally, regionally, and nationally.
“It is always nice to be honored by your peers and recognized for the work you do,” Jackson reflected. “This is both inspiring and motivating for what’s in store.”
Jackson says he is devoted to training the next generation of media professionals. He has mentored dozens of aspiring journalists, photographers, and writers, turning City Pride Magazine into a training ground. He recently opened the Inner-City Media Center, a place where photographers, writers, digital designers, and advertising and marketing professionals can come together to produce media projects. It is also a training center where people interested in multimedia can acquire skills.
As a publisher and editor, Jackson still oversees a team of writers, photographers, designers, sales reps, and distributors. He attends parades, concerts, and civic meetings with his camera always ready, and he continues to mentor young reporters and photographers.
(City Pride staff at the Black College Expo, Feb. 2025)
Jackson navigates the hurdles of running a Black-owned publication—limited ad revenue and tight resources—while remaining dedicated to uplifting local voices. Most of the magazine’s income comes from advertisements, though he also invests personal resources to make an impact.
“For two decades, the community has believed in us,” he said. “That’s what keeps us going.”
He plans to broaden City Pride Magazine’s coverage to include Northern California neighborhoods and to provide guidance to upcoming community reporters nationwide. He is partnering with organizations to cover the 2028 U.S. Olympics, the 2026 World Cup Soccer, and the LA Super Bowl, aiming to make City Pride Magazine the official publication for these and other significant events in Los Angeles.
Jackson is a dedicated journalist and publisher in Southern California, actively collaborating with numerous community organizations and mentoring aspiring media professionals. Los Angeles has a rich history and a bright future,” he said. “We will keep telling those stories, one issue at a time.”
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