Initial Reports Say Individual Mandate Struck Down

"The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a key provision of the health care law championed by President Barack Obama, the so-called individual mandate that requires people to have health insurance," CNN reported on Thursday, correcting its initial report that the individual mandate had been struck down.

" . . . The importance of the decision cannot be overstated: It will have an immediate and long-term impact on all Americans, both in how they get medicine and health care, and also in vast, yet-unknown areas of 'commerce.' "

The initial failure of some networks to get it right, as seen in this screen grab of the CNN report captured by Daily Kos, led to this comment from Newsday writer Lane Filler: "Finally, with today's Supreme Court decision, a decades-long battle is over: 'Dewey Beats Truman,' is no longer the biggest major screw-up in American media history."

Even President Obama, who was watching the cable reports, thought at first that the individual mandate was struck down, according to Jake Tapper of ABC News. "Senior administration officials say the president was calm," Tapper wrote.

The mistake was due to the complexity of the ruling. Unlike many institutions, the Supreme Court does not issue embargoed copies of its pronouncements so that reporters can digest them before going public. A similar situation occurred in the Bush v. Gore ruling in 2000, declaring Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the Republican, winner of the disputed election over Vice President Al Gore, the Democrat.

As David G. Savage reported for the Los Angeles Times, "The decision came on a 5-4 vote, with the court's four liberal justices joining with the chief justice.

"On one hand, [Chief Justice John G.] Roberts [Jr.] agreed with the law's conservative critics who said Congress does not have the power to mandate the purchase of a private product such as health insurance.

"But the Affordable Care Act does not impose a true legal mandate on Americans, he said. It simply requires those who do not have health insurance by 2014 to pay a tax penalty.

"And that is constitutional, Roberts said. 'The federal government does not have the power to order people to buy health insurance,' he wrote in the majority opinion. 'The federal government does have the power to impose a tax on those without health insurance,' he added."

CNN issued this statement after its initial report: "Correction: The Supreme Court backs all parts of President Obama's signature health care law, including the individual mandate that requires all to have health insurance." It followed with a more complete statement that said, " . . . CNN regrets that it didn't wait to report out the full and complete opinion regarding the mandate.  We made a correction within a few minutes and apologize for the error."

Dylan Byers reported for Politico:

" . . . On television, on its website, and in breaking news alerts, CNN announced that the individual mandate had been struck down. CNN political reporter John King described it as "a dramatic blow to the policy and to the President, politically." Fox News, too, announced that the Court had found the individual mandate 'unconstitutional.' "

"Moments later, SCOTUSblog, the wires, and other television networks were reporting just the opposite.

" 'The mandate is constitutional. Chief Justice Roberts joins the left of the Court,' SCOTUSblog announced even as CNN and Fox were still announcing defeat for President Obama's signature bill. Since realizing its mistake, CNN and Fox have issued corrections across their formats. On television, anchors on both networks cited the confusion of the ruling as they changed their reports."

The initial reports were repeated by other broadcasters who depended on the networks. In Washington, Diane Rehm, host of a talk show that originates at the NPR affiliate, WAMU-FM, apologized to listeners for the misinformation and read this message from one: "I was in tears when I read that the law was overturned. Then I was in tears when I heard you say otherwise."

It was a busy morning for Jesse J. Holland of the Associated Press, the only black journalist regularly assigned to the high court.

"Let's see:" Holland said by email. "Today I handled the opinions that were not health care (the stolen valor case), I was the liaison between the two of us here at the court and the main bureau where the story was filed (I was the one on the phone who told them which news alert to file in conjunction with the person who wrote the main story, Mark Sherman,) I wrote the tweets on our official AP_Courtside twitter site (which I always do), I read the dissent and pulled the relevant quotes for the story, and I'm writing the scene story from the notes from the reporters inside the courtroom and outside the building. (And I'm doing the Google hangout session at 4 p.m. to take questions from the public."

And all of this on my birthday!

NAACP Chairman Roslyn M. Brock issued this statement on the health care decision:

"The Supreme Court made a crucial decision today to uphold the core provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The NAACP has long supported the full and complete implementation of this law. Access to quality, affordable health care is a civil and human right that should not be reserved for the wealthy or the few. The 32 million American men, women and children covered under this law can now breathe easier.

"Many serious health issues are preventable. But far too often, patients who lack health insurance -- especially patients of color -- enter medical facilities late in the progression of their diagnosis. This sad reality is costing lives and costing American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary health care bills. States can now move forward in implementing health care reform with the knowledge that the Affordable Care Act is not going anywhere anytime soon."

Impact of Court's Ruling on Immigrant Women Overlooked

"Underreported in the Supreme Court's recent ruling on Arizona's immigration law SB 1070 and a pending decision on President Obama's health care reform due Thursday is the impact these decisions will have on the lives of immigrant women," Jessica González-Rojas and Miriam Yeung wrote Wednesday for New America Media.

" . . . this week brings with it a measured victory, as anti-immigrant extremism in the states seems to have finally 'jumped the shark.' In a 5-3 decision, the Supreme Court rejected the overreach of Arizona's anti-immigrant law, affirming such legislation violates our Constitution, as well as our national values and national interests. The court joins millions of Americans in rejecting these divisive and unworkable policies.

"That's the good news.

"The bad news is that the most dangerous provision of SB 1070 remains intact -- at least for now. The 'Papers, Please' provision requires police to ask proof of legal status for anyone they believe to be in the country illegally.

"This policy will undoubtedly contribute to racial profiling and harassment in Arizona, leave immigrant women more vulnerable to crimes like intimate partner violence and less likely to seek needed services like prenatal care, and contribute to an overall environment of stigma and bias against immigrant woman and all women of color living in Arizona.

"The impact on Native American communities is particularly disturbing: people who have lived in Arizona for thousands of years are now having their legal presence questioned because of this ill-conceived policy."

Melissa Bynes Brooks, politic365.com: What Happens to the Poor If SCOTUS Repeals 'Obamacare?'

Jonah Most and Hannah Palmer, New America Media: Arizona Ruling Will Be Felt Nationwide

Ruben Navarrette Jr., Washington Post Writers Group: Last word yet to be heard

Eugene Robinson, Washington Post: A big win for the Obama administration

Mark Trahant blog: Supreme Court's affirmation of 'ObamaCare' means a fundamentally different debate; Indian Health Care Improvement Act is permanent

Mark Trahant, indianz.com: Day before tomorrow -- thoughts on Supreme Court

Alex Weprin, TVNewser: Jorge Ramos Appears on 'ABC World News'

Ann Curry Delivers Teary Goodbye

"Sorry I Couldn't Carry the Ball Over the Finish Line"

Ann Curry bid a teary farewell to her "Today" co-hosting job Thursday morning, saying, "For all of you who saw me as a groundbreaker, I'm sorry I couldn't carry the ball over the finish line, but man, I did try."

Last week, Tom Huang described Curry as "biracial (Japanese-American)" in an essay for the Poynter Institute headlined, "How race factors into the conversation about Ann Curry's possible ouster from 'Today' Show."

" . . . as the son of Asian immigrants, I've felt an instinctive pride as I've watched Curry's slow and steady climb up to one of network news' most high-profile jobs," wrote Huang, an editor at the Dallas Morning News.

Doris Truong, national president of the Asian American Journalists Association, said in statement, " . . . We hope that NBC News keeps diversity at top of mind as it makes on-air assignments for 'Today,' especially considering that Asian Americans are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population."

In a story breaking the news that Thursday would bring Curry's farewell, Susan Page wrote in USA Today, "Curry's new multiyear contract with NBC has her leading a seven-person unit with a ticket to cover the world's biggest stories, from the civil uprising in Syria to the plight of the poor in America. She'll produce network specials and pieces for NBC Nightly News, Dateline, Rock Center -- and Today -- and she'll occasionally fill in as anchor on Nightly News and elsewhere."

On the air, Curry said, "They're giving me some fancy new title . . . We're going to go all over the world and all over this country. We're being given a chance to do all of the stories all of us got into journalism to do."

As Curry fought back tears, her "Today" colleagues Matt Lauer, Al Roker and Natalie Morales recalled some of Curry's stories. But Lauer noted that Curry would be at the Summer Olympics and praised her as having "the biggest heart in the business."

NBC News president Steve Capus told Page, "We had a many-year run in first place in total viewers, and it got snapped, but since then, every week in the past month we've started a new streak. This isn't about streaks; it's about consistent performance, and we want to continue to build the Today Show."

Page, who interviewed Curry on Wednesday, added, "Still, there's no question a decline over the past year in ratings for Today -- a huge profit center for the network -- put in motion the changes that Curry is set to announce on the air this morning.

" 'There's nobody complacent around here,' Capus says. 'We're aggressive and we're going to continue to evolve the broadcast, and this is one of the moves, but it's not the only move in response to all of that.' He declined to describe what other changes are ahead, including who will take Curry's place and when."

Brian Stelter reported Tuesday in the New York Times, "NBC News officials are in negotiations to have Savannah Guthrie, a relatively new face at the 'Today' show, replace Ann Curry as the show's co-host."

Merrill Knox, TVSpy: NBC's Natalie Morales Handles 'Today' Affiliate Teases

Michael Malone, Broadcasting & Cable: Many NBC Affiliates Would Prefer Curry in New Role

Regina R. Robertson, Essence: Hey, 'Today' Show: I Vote for Tamron Hall

"Today" Show: Ann Curry announces new role at NBC News

Suspended Reporter Sees Right-Wing Smear Campaign

"The reporter suspended from Politico for comments about Mitt Romney said on Wednesday that he had been the target of a deliberate right-wing smear campaign," Jack Mirkinson reported for the Huffington Post.

"Speaking to radio and Current TV host Bill Press, Joe Williams, who was punished for saying on MSNBC that Mitt Romney is more comfortable around 'white folks,' said that there had been a 'selective prosecution' against him by conservative websites like The Daily Caller and the late Andrew Breitbart's Big Media.

"Williams told Press that he is still 'in limbo' with Politico, and is in negotiations about his future there.

"Speaking about the comments that got him suspended, Williams said that he 'probably should have selected my words more carefully.' But he defended the broader point he had been making, and said that he thought people had understood what he meant. Asked by Press if he should apologize to Mitt Romney for saying he felt more at home with white people, Williams said, 'If I apologize for that there are going to be many other people who will have to as well.'

" . . . Press also asked Williams, who is African American, about a comment he made on Twitter saying that racism is 'the secret sauce in the Politico s--tburger.' Williams said that the tweet, which he made weeks before his Romney comments, had been mistakenly posted to his public feed, rather than in a direct message.

" 'Twitter is a medium that rewards ... lack of thought,' he said. 'I was in a very irritated place. I vented in a public place and that was a huge mistake.' He later said, though, that Politico has 'a lot of questions' to deal with in terms of its staff diversity."

Betsy Rothstein of FishbowlDC reported that Tucker Carlson, editor-in-chief of the Daily Caller, called Williams a nut.

Writing Wednesday about responses to Williams' remarks from editors at Breitbart.com and the Daily Caller, Rothstein said that Carlson, "who has sparred with reporters at Politico for years and repeatedly tied Politico to MSNBC to brand the publication as left wing, remarked, 'Supposedly objective White House correspondent accuses GOP candidate of racism on the basic of no evidence? Seemed like a pretty obvious story to us,' he wrote by email. 'By the way, Williams made those comments in public, on Twitter, so I'd hate to think it took our piece to get his bosses to notice he's a nut, though that's what he claims.' "

NBC Stations' Rules: Don't Post What You Wouldn't Air

"While people typically delineate their personal and professional digital lives, there is little distinction between the two -- at least as far as social media is concerned -- for the news staffs at the 10 NBC-owned stations," Diana Marszalek reported Tuesday for mediaite.com.

"For the last year or so, the NBC Owned Television Stations have required individuals who work in their newsrooms -- from interns and production assistants to reporters and anchors -- to follow the company rules governing social media use, regardless of whether they are using the platform to promote news or their personal lives.

"That means news staff is prohibited from tweeting, posting or distributing via other social networking means 'anything that compromises the integrity and objectivity of you or NBCUniversal,' even using a personal account, says Kevin Keeshan, ombudsman for the station group.

" 'We ask them to think and use common sense,' he says. 'Don't post anything we're not prepared to broadcast.' "

Tommy Christopher, mediaite.com: Joe Williams' 1st Interview Since Politico Suspension: 'I Gave (Breitbart.com) The Rope, They Did The Hanging'

Betsy Rothstein, FishbowlDC: Did Politico's Joe Williams Just Bury Himself?

Another Female Journalist Attacked in Tahrir Square

"The story sounds hideously like another -- one of a chaotic, predatory attack on a woman journalist in Cairo's Tahrir Square," Lauren Wolfe wrote Tuesday for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

"Clothes torn from her body, hundreds of men surging to grab her breasts and claw at her. A woman wondering, 'Maybe this is how I go, how I die.' It has been almost a year and a half since CBS correspondent and CPJ board member Lara Logan endured an attack like this. Now, an independent journalist and student named Natasha Smith reports that it has happened to her.

"Smith reported the attack on her blog today, describing how a horde of men descended on her Sunday night, pulling her limbs and throwing her around as she tried to protect her camera. She said she soon lost her camera, her backpack, and began to pray: 'make it stop.'

" 'They were scratching and clenching my breasts and forcing their fingers inside me in every possible way,' Smith wrote. 'So many men. All I could see was leering faces, more and more faces sneering and jeering as I was tossed around like fresh meat among starving lions.'

"In Cairo to film an independent documentary on women's rights and abuses against women in Egypt since the revolution, according to her website, Smith shared an account of her attack that is eerily parallel to Logan's. . . "

Another Female Journalist Attacked in Tahrir Square

"The story sounds hideously like another -- one of a chaotic, predatory attack on a woman journalist in Cairo's Tahrir Square," Lauren Wolfe wrote Tuesday for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

"Clothes torn from her body, hundreds of men surging to grab her breasts and claw at her. A woman wondering, 'Maybe this is how I go, how I die.' It has been almost a year and a half since CBS correspondent and CPJ board member Lara Logan endured an attack like this. Now, an independent journalist and student named Natasha Smith reports that it has happened to her.

"Smith reported the attack on her blog today, describing how a horde of men descended on her Sunday night, pulling her limbs and throwing her around as she tried to protect her camera. She said she soon lost her camera, her backpack, and began to pray: 'make it stop.'

" 'They were scratching and clenching my breasts and forcing their fingers inside me in every possible way,' Smith wrote. 'So many men. All I could see was leering faces, more and more faces sneering and jeering as I was tossed around like fresh meat among starving lions.'

"In Cairo to film an independent documentary on women's rights and abuses against women in Egypt since the revolution, according to her website, Smith shared an account of her attack that is eerily parallel to Logan's. . . "

"Like a Reunion of People Who Love Bill (Raspberry)"

Retired Washington Post columnist William Raspberry received tributes from more than 200 journalists and other community people Tuesday at a roast and benefit for his BabySteps foundation, which nurtures parents and preschoolers in Raspberry's hometown of Okolona, Miss.

The gathering, which took place at the Washington Post, raised more than $35,000, according to Walt Swanston, veteran journalist, diversity consultant and one of the organizers. Attendees paid $100 if they were members of a journalism organization, $250 if not. Many who could not attend contributed nonetheless.

Raspberry, 76, a 1994 Pulitzer Prize winner, is suffering from a recurring prostate cancer, his wife, Sondra Raspberry, said. Juan Williams, Fox News commentator and master of ceremonies for the event, said of the occasion, "It's like a reunion of people who love Bill and love the Washington Post." Local columnist Courtland Milloy Jr. filed a column from Okolona about the Baby Steps program that appeared in Wednesday's print edition. Donald Graham, Washington Post Co. CEO, was honorary co-chair of the event.

K.C. Star Looks for Six Traits to Describe Suspects

The Kansas City Star's stylebook says to be "especially cautious about identifying criminal suspects by race or ethnicity when the overall description of the person is vague," public editor Derek Donovan wrote on Sunday.

"It clarifies that skin color should be included when the description also includes height, weight, hair color, approximate age and one other distinguishing element such as a noticeable physical attribute (but not eye color -- a strange rule, in my opinion), clothing or a vehicle.

"It allows for two exceptions:

"When the person has one particularly distinctive physical characteristic, fewer details are acceptable, but race should be included: 'an Asian man about 5 feet 8 inches tall with a wooden left leg.'

"Stories about serial or most-wanted criminals may give much less detail because 'a reader will want even superficial information to help him or her decide how to respond to potential threats.'

"Vague descriptions such as 'a black man in his mid-20s' describe thousands of people in the Kansas City area. I hope that people who don't belong to a minority will appreciate that pointing out unhelpful aspects of one's appearance are as offensive as noting the person's religion, political views or alma mater.

"I understand the reasoning behind The Star's guidelines," Donovan wrote, pointing out that the Star doesn't always follow its guidelines, "but I also think readers who find them too restrictive have a point as well. Some descriptions can still be useful with fewer than six attributes."

Short Takes

"The Africa Channel recently announced that it would enter a stock car in NASCAR's 2013 racing series, and Randy Fenley, a partner in the endeavor, said the announcement signals that the cable television channel is launching a driver-and racing crew-development training program for African Americans to enter the popular sport," Frederick H. Lowe reported Wednesday for NorthStar News & Analysis. Lowe received the Ray Taliaferro NABJ Spirit Award for entrepreneurship last week during the National Association of Black Journalists convention in New Orleans.

"Bill Dedman of MSNBC.com writes that Bloomberg Television has pulled an advertisement for anchor Betty Liu because it says she was a nominated for a Pulitzer when the Pulitzer committee does not list her as a nominee for any year," Talking Biz News reported Tuesday. "It turns out that Liu is another example of a Pulitzer entrant -- not a finalist or nominee -- who routinely lists the word 'Pulitzer' in her bio anyway."

"ESPN THE MAGAZINE'S The Body Issue, its fourth annual celebration of the athletic form, will feature 27 world-class athletes, including New England Patriots' tight end Rob Gronkowski, Toronto Blue Jays' slugger Jose Bautista, U.S. Women's National Soccer Team forward Abby Wambach and New York Knicks' center Tyson Chandler," ESPN reported on Wednesday, listing the 27. " . . . All 27 athletes posed nude for the issue's signature Bodies We Want photo portfolio."

If the Unity Journalists coalition truly wants the National Association of Black Journalists "to be part of the alliance, it will have to be much more proactive moving forward," Mallary Jean Tenore wrote Wednesday for the Poynter Institute after examining the estrangement between the two groups. "NABJ has made its decision, it's now up to Unity to respond."

JCamp, the six-day, multicultural high-school journalism training camp sponsored by the Asian American Journalists Association, has compiled its participants' work online. The students spent June 19-24 based at Loyola University in New Orleans, joining the National Association of Black Journalists convention, which was meeting in New Orleans. Adele Taylor covered an NABJ panel on the Trayvon Martin case.

"Any freelancer worth his or her salt will tell you that earning an editor's trust is half the battle," Donya Blaze wrote last week for FishbowlLA in mediabistro's series on how to pitch stories. "So, the best way to get your hands on a meaty feature could be to start off small with an FOB piece here, or in the case of Ebony.com, a sticky, tweetable Web story there. 'We want everything,' said editorial director Keirna Mayo. 'We want great ideas. We want people to be thinking about black lifestyle in a very nuanced way. We're looking for the unique take, the unique angle, and the strong writer.' "

Zachary Rinkins and the African-American Public Radio Consortium are producing "It's Pay Day," 90-second modules from experts about managing money. The series launches June 29 with a new segment weekly. Contributors include Julianne Malveaux [audio], Mellody Hobson [audio] and television judge Lynn Toler [audio].

On June 27, Earvin "Magic" Johnson's Aspire cable channel "will begin airing in markets served by cable giant Comcast, which gave spectrum to four minority-owned channels to win federal approval of its 2011 acquisition of NBC Universal," Ronald Grover reported Tuesday for Reuters. "He says he's chasing the successful career of Robert Johnson, the legendary founder of Black Entertainment Television and one-time owner of the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Bobcats."

"CNN's Tokyo-based correspondent Kyung Lah is moving to CNN's Los Angeles bureau to join correspondents Miguel Marquez, Thelma Guiterrez and Casey Wian," Chris Ariens reported Tuesday for TVNewser.

Marcus Mabry, editor at large at the International Herald Tribune, the global edition of the New York Times, discussed his essay "The Gift of Being Gay and a Dad" June 17 in the Times, and again Tuesday on NPR's "Tell Me More."

"The New York Times is introducing a Chinese-language Web site, part of a continuing effort to expand its reach to international readers," Christine Haughney reported Wednesday for the Times. "The site, which is called cn.nytimes.com and will go live Thursday morning, is intended to draw readers from the country's growing middle class, what The Times in its news release called 'educated, affluent, global citizens.' "

"Sudan security forces have arrested scores of protesters, opposition members, and journalists, beat people in detention, and used rubber bullets and even live ammunition to break up protests that began on June 16," Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday. " . . . On June 19, plain-clothes security agents arrested the Agence France-Press correspondent, Simon Martelli, and detained him for 14 hours in an office in northern Khartoum. Security officials arrested Salma al-Wardany, an Egyptian journalist for Bloomberg, and a Sudanese colleague on June 21, releasing them after five hours. On June 26, authorities ordered al-Wardany deported, alleging that she had links to activists."

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Journal-isms is published on the site of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education (www.mije.org). Reprinted on The Root by permission.