Mayor Mamdani Appoints Mazin Sidahmed as Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Ethnic and Community Media

Sidahmed brings nearly fifteen years of experience in journalism and community media to the administration 

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani today announced the appointment of Mazin Sidahmed as Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Ethnic and Community Media. 

Sidahmed, co-founder and executive director of Documented, the nonprofit newsroom serving New York's immigrant communities, brings a wealth of experience in journalism and community media. He will lead paid media placement and marketing efforts across City agencies, advancing the administration's commitment to ensuring every New Yorker knows about the services and programs available to them – regardless of the language they speak or the community they call home.

The Mayor’s Office of Ethnic and Community Media promotes City services and programs through partnerships with ethnic and community media outlets and community-based organizations and nonprofits serving New Yorkers across the five boroughs. Established by Local Law 83 of 2021, the office is the first mayoral office of its kind in the United States. The law requires each mayoral agency to seek to direct at least 50% of its total advertising spending to ethnic and community media outlets.

"City services only matter if they reach the people who need them. Too often, the people who most need to hear from their government are the least likely to hear from it," said Mayor Mamdani. "Mazin Sidahmed has spent his career building trusted news for immigrant New Yorkers, in the languages they speak and on the platforms they actually use. He understands that how you reach people matters as much as what you say. I’m proud to welcome him to this administration as we build a government that reaches every New Yorker.”

For many immigrant, multilingual and working-class New Yorkers, a neighborhood paper, radio show or local WhatsApp group is how they learn what is happening in their city. Sidahmed will ensure the City's advertising reaches New Yorkers where they already are, strengthen partnerships with ethnic and community media outlets, and advance the requirement that City agencies direct at least half of their advertising to community and ethnic media.

“I created Documented to be the connective tissue between immigrant New Yorkers and the often lifesaving services that many are unaware of,” said Sidahmed. “I’m excited to continue this work citywide, while also helping the city’s diverse array of community and ethnic media thrive. I am grateful to Mayor Mamdani for the opportunity to serve the city and can't wait to get started.”

About Mazin Sidahmed

Mazin Sidahmed is a journalist, media entrepreneur and advocate for local news, immigrant communities and journalism's role in democracy. He is the co-founder and executive director of Documented, a multilingual nonprofit newsroom serving immigrant New Yorkers in English, Spanish, Chinese and Haitian Creole.

Documented's community-driven journalism model has made it a nationally recognized standard-bearer for how newsrooms can serve immigrant communities. Through its Building Bridges program, Documented trains newsrooms across the country to adopt that model.

Sidahmed co-chairs the News Futures Gardening Club and co-founded the Immigrant News Coalition, a national collaboration of newsrooms serving immigrant communities across the United States. His work has been recognized by the Edward R. Murrow, Deadline Club, Online Journalism and LION awards. He is the 2024 recipient of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Local Champion Award.

Before founding Documented, Sidahmed was a reporter at The Guardian and The Daily Star in Lebanon.