How the founder of Atlantic City Focus spends his weekend
Mark Tyler devotes his weekend to presiding over a Sabbath Day service, spending time with kids in a marching band, traveling with family, and pondering how to serve his community
Editor’s note: This article is part of bimonthly series, titled “Finally, it’s the weekend,” which chronicles community and ethnic media journalists in New Jersey and how they spend their weekends. Click here to read the previous edition.
Mark Tyler has had Atlantic City Focus on his mind since his sophomore year at Washington Adventist University in Tacoma, MD. “I always knew that I need to provide the right platform for my community, and I need to own my content.” African American residents have long contributed so much to the life of Atlantic City, and yet, a news and information portal that serves the Black community was nonexistent.
In 1994, Mr. Tyler interned at the Press of Atlantic City, the sixth-largest newspaper in New Jersey. His internship was extended for six months, during which he was hired as a staff reporter and assigned to the Obituary Section. From there, Tyler began covering town hall and board of education meetings in the Galloway and Egg Harbor Townships. “That was how I learned to cut my teeth on journalism,” said Tyler, who worked at the Press of Atlantic City for nearly a decade.
These days, Tyler, 50, says his purpose goes back to what he first wanted to do in college: help magnify the voice of his community and celebrate African American culture, history, and traditions. He envisions Atlantic City Focus as an important tool that can be used to address and discuss social issues that have historically plagued Atlantic City and other communities of color.
SATURDAY BEST
“I observe the Sabbath Day on Saturday,” said Tyler. As an elder of the Boardwalk Community Fellowship, a Seventh-day Adventist Church based in Atlantic City, he presides over an online fellowship service of Bible study and worship that starts at noon. The service attracts people from across New Jersey and the U.S. who share their testimonies. “That’s always been exciting and empowering to listen to their stories,” said Tyler.
MARCHING BAND
“My Saturday isn’t complete without spending some time with the youth in Atlantic City,” said Tyler who trains a dozen youth members of the Boardwalk Seahawks Pathfinder and Adventurer Club and Drum Corps. He typically meets with the marching band members on Saturdays via Zoom between 3 and 5 p.m. “We share and learn about marching band songs and marching movements. Currently, we are preparing for a marching band competition in June 2023,” said Tyler. And sometimes, since COVID-19 restrictions have eased, the group meets in person at the Atlantic City Police Athletic League.
“When I was growing up, my brother Raymond and I would always go to the Athletic League, and it was a safe haven for us,” said Tyler, who could think of no better place than the PAL for the marching band meetings. As it happens, both brothers have pursued journalism, with Raymond producing his own radio show at WTTH 96.1 FM and WLFR 91.6 FM stations.
“Our training, by the way, goes beyond marching and music; we do a lot of fun stuff. Last summer, for example, we took these kids to West Virginia, where we all did zip lining, ax throwing, and leadership training,” said Tyler, who also helped teach the youth camping skills, including how to pitch a tent.
FAMILY TIME
“On Saturday night, I mostly spend my time with my wife, Deanna, and our 14-year-old daughter, Lillian, a freshman in high school,” said Tyler. “We cook, have dinner, watch television, and just hang out together. When I spend long hours editing and reading stories for my news publication — and there are times that I do stages of editing for 30 hours — I try my best to block off this evening for my family.”
“On Sundays, for at least six hours, I make sure that my family travels together,” said Tyler. “I have a motorhome, and it’s wonderful that we can get away when we need to or when we just want to be somewhere. We have been to a number of places, including national parks and places outside the state of New Jersey. Our daughter loves it.” he said.
The family usually tries to get back home by 4:00 pm, allowing their daughter to prep for school and Tyler to plan for the week ahead.
EVENING MEDITATION
“Right now, I am the only one working to sustain the operations of the Atlantic City Focus. I want to look for a freelancer to help me, and I also want to look for funding to pay my freelancers,” he said. “In a perfect world, I want to have an advertising manager and community reader revenue specialists, and so I have been writing some job descriptions.”
These plans for growing his publication and the story ideas all go into his planning notebook as part of Tyler’s end-of-the-week routine.
“It’s really powerful how our minds work, he says. “When we lay out our focus in the evening, our minds are helping us solve our tasks, even when we are asleep.”
Anthony “Oni” Advincula is the ethnic and community media coordinator at the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University. Contact him at advinculaa@montclair.edu.
About the Center for Cooperative Media: The Center is a grant-funded program of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. Its mission is to grow and strengthen local journalism, and in doing so serve New Jersey residents. The Center is supported with funding from Montclair State University, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Democracy Fund, the New Jersey Local News Lab (a partnership of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Democracy Fund, and Community Foundation of New Jersey), and the Abrams Foundation. For more information, visit CenterforCooperativeMedia.org.
