The Hip Hop Summit held June 12-13 in New York attracted a broad array of artists, industry leaders, academics, civil rights activists and political figures.

Led by hip hop mogul Russell Simmons, industry giants that attended were Jermaine Dupri, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Weyclef Jean, Chuck D, Redman, Luther Campbell, Sistah Souljah, University Records exec Haqq Islam, Naughty By Nature, Ruff Riders, Davey D, David Mills of Source magazine, Deejay Red Alert, the legendary Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaata and the Zulu Nation, Grandmaster Flash, Eric B and Kurtis Blow, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, Hillary Rosen of the Recoding Industry of America Association, academics Cornell West and Michael Eric Dyson, civil rights leaders NAACP head Kweisi Mfume and Hugh Price of the Urban League, congressmen Earl Hilliard (D-Ala.), Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), and Stephanie Mills, among others.

It seems as if everyone was there except the "mainstream" media. While MTV, VH1 and BET News provided coverage and a couple newspapers printed articles, the Big Apple�s media corps coverage of the conference was woefully inadequate.

With constant discussion of violence, hip hop and its impact on society, especially since white youth buy the majority of rap records, this was a chance for the media to explore an art form and culture that has risen from the streets to corporate suites and global acceptance.

Beyond lyrics and images, the summit participants talked about politics, economic development and fostering enlightenment among artists to challenge the injustices of a society rife with individualism, materialism, sexism and racism.

The broad array of participants was a chance for the media to explore hip hop, not simply pander to stereotypes of thugged-out rappers and gun-play.

It was an opportunity to examine a budding relationship between powerful artists and Black political and civil rights groups. But the white-owned media largely blew it, playing the conference off as simply an average music gathering.

It is also telling that more news space was devoted to a "prot�g�" of Sean Combs accused of a gun violation than to a press conference where hip hop�s new activist social and political agenda�including plans for a political action committee and greater use of parental advisory labeling�was announced.

In the end, Black-owned media outlets, like The Final Call, the New York-based Daily Challenge, The Black World Today (www.tbwt.com) and the daily Chicago Defender covered the gathering from beginning to end�seeking answers, context and clarity. That is the duty and value of the Black Press, who commitment must continue to be finding and telling the truth and advocating the uplift of the community.

It is also a reality that artists and record labels should remember. Don�t overlook the Black-owned media; it has a commitment to truth and only needs proper access to do its job.