Growing up, Cassie Owens always had an interest in interviewing people and learning new things.

Naturally, that interest led to an eventual career in journalism.

After earning her bachelor’s degree from Brown University, she earned a Fulbright scholarship that allowed her to spend a year studying in Brazil.

While there, she did extensive research on authors from favelas and how those environments impacted their lives.

“It really was such a beautiful experience interviewing people that I wanted to know, how do I interview people everyday,” Owens said in a recent interview with PHILADELPHIA.Today.

Upon returning to the states, Owens pursued and completed her master’s degree at the Columbia School of Journalism. 

From that point on, Owens began her career in journalism, which has seen her produce content for a number of different local publications, including the now-defunct City Paper, Billy Penn, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

While with those publications, she established herself as a passionate advocate for amplifying Black voices and providing an avenue for shifting the status quo within the field by reporting more about the experiences of Black communities within the city. 

In June 2025, Owens began the newest venture in her media and journalism career as the first-ever executive director and editor-in-chief at The Philly Download.

Launched in 2022, the Philly Download is a local culture-driven digital news platform centered around young Black readers, creators, and storytellers. 

“The Download has a very powerful and very beautiful model to empower community voices, to tell their own stories, and that’s something that can’t be taken for granted because of how much Black folk are still not always getting that opportunity,” Owens said.

She has a multi-faceted vision for continuing to build and expand on the reputation that platform has already created.

For starters, she wants to increase visibility on the stories that have already been covered and go more in-depth on future stories covering a larger range of Black experiences in the city. 

As a Mount Airy native, born and raised, the latter is especially important to her.

“Blackness is not a monolith, and there’s so many communities within our community,” Owens said. 

With more news outlets like The Philly Download, The TriiBe in Chicago, and Black By God based in West Virginia, “you have more of an opportunity for Black folks to be able to access the public good that comes through journalism,” she added. 

Through outlets like these, there are more chances to increase the circulation of information and also combat misinformation in these communities. 

“Our goal is to make space for different people in the city to have … full freedom to name everything that they’re thinking about, for us to reframe who’s considered an expert, and to connect with people who have been working on these issues for years,” said Owens. 

In addition, this approach can help address some of the reporting gaps that exist when it comes to how Black communities are reported on and about.

When Owens thinks about why journalism is so important on a larger scale, she harkens back to what a professor used to say.

“Journalism is often that first draft to history, and there’s a natural relationship between the stories that we tell and what we’re going to remember in the future.” 

In this newest role, Owens envision a future where Black storytellers are given more of a stake in how Black culture is defined, shared, and spread beyond these circles.

To learn more about Cassie Owens and her journey, visit her website, and to check out the work being done by her team, visit The Philly Download.