Ohio Anchor Leaves Show to Meet DeJesus
When Lydia Esparra got the interview call, she seized the opportunity.
Cleveland Anchor Leaves Show to Meet Freed Victim
"I Told Them on the Air . . . Got to Go"
Lydia Esparra, a weekend anchor at Cleveland's WOIO-TV, became the only journalist to talk with freed kidnapping victim Gina DeJesus Thursday when DeJesus' family interrupted Esparra on the air and said DeJesus wanted to see her.
Meanwhile, news outlets differed over the propriety of reporting on prior convictions of Charles Ramsey, the Internet sensation credited with helping to free DeJesus, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight, who were imprisoned for a decade.
WEWS-TV apologized for its report on Ramsey's domestic violence convictions, and Mark Naymik, writing in the Plain Dealer, said his newspaper "learned Tuesday night about some aspects of Ramsey's troubled past. The paper left it out of its news stories.
"Why?
"Ramsey's action to help Berry stood alone. His past, even if it contained bad deeds, had nothing to do with his act of heroism Monday."
Esparra described her meeting with DeJesus, a fellow Puerto Rican, on her own station [video] and with CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin Thursday on that network.
From the CNN transcript:
BALDWIN: And I talked with a family friend and a journalist here in the Cleveland area. She's a weekend anchor at WOIO. Her name is Lydia Esparra. She visited Gina today and she told me about that visit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LYDIA ESPARRA, WOIO ANCHOR: They have waited nine long years. And, of course, I have been covering the story.
BALDWIN: From the beginning.
ESPARRA: From the beginning, from the very beginning.
And Nancy and her husband, Felix, never gave up hope, never gave up hope. They said, my daughter's alive. Even when I doubted her, she said, Lydia, my daughter's alive. So...
BALDWIN: You were on the air, and they said get off the air.
ESPARRA: I was on the air.
Yes, once they came through — and that was Gina's sister in orange. That was her sister Mayra protecting her.
BALDWIN: With her arm.
ESPARRA: Right. They are very protective of her because they haven't had her for nine years.
So, yes, so I'm live on the air, and then one of her relatives comes over and says, Nancy wants you to come to the house.
BALDWIN: Wow.
ESPARRA: So, I said, OK, and I told them on the air, said, got to go, Nancy's calling.
So, I go inside the house and I have my moment with Nancy and we're crying and — with Felix and we're crying, because I haven't spent any time with them, and I'm friends besides being a journalist. It's just such a tough line trying to be a friend and do your job.
BALDWIN: Right.
ESPARRA: But first I'm a human being, so that's the attitude I took.
BALDWIN: Yes.
ESPARRA: So, I went and I cried with them, because that's what I do, and I cried.
And then I was like, am I going to be able to see Gina? And she — the niece says, yes. And Gina wants to see you.
BALDWIN: What?
ESPARRA: And I said, really? And she — yes, mom asked her. And she goes, Lydia's out there. Do you want to see Lydia?
BALDWIN: And you never met Gina before?
ESPARRA: I have never met — never.
BALDWIN: You got to know her through missing posters and talking to the family.
ESPARRA: Everything, missing posters, talking to the family.
I used to keep her pictures on my desk. Any time I covered a vigil, I would keep everything on my desk of her to remind me that she was missing. I would talk to Nancy. She would tell me stories. She was shy. She'd never get in a car with anybody, a stranger.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: How is she? How was Gina?
ESPARRA: She's doing fabulous. It was unbelievable.
My hands were sweating because here's someone I never imagined would come back to us. And so when I went inside, I embraced her and she embraced me reluctantly, because she's, obviously, been locked in a basement for nine years, and we talked.
And the first thing I said is, you look nothing like your composite. She's a tiny little thing. She's very small, short hair. She had longer hair when she disappeared. And her skin's a little pale from the lack of vitamin D from being outside. But she was just so kind and so happy.
And a relative came up to her and said — was talking in Spanish and she looks at her mom and says, mom, I don't remember my Spanish anymore.
BALDWIN: Really?
ESPARRA: Yes.
BALDWIN: She can't speak Spanish anymore?
ESPARRA: No. And then we had a couple of other words. I asked her about the house, and then I left. The family told me to stay, have food. We're Hispanic. We're very open with one another. Lydia, stay and have food. But I did not want to make her feel uncomfortable. I left. . . .
In other developments, Angel Cordero, who speaks only Spanish, told ABC affiliate WEWS-TV that he arrived at the scene first and he was the one to kick the door down, freeing Berry, who had been trapped inside for nearly 10 years. Also, the Call & Post, Cleveland's black weekly owned and published by boxing promoter Don King, had no coverage of the rescue events on its Web page, but reported on the saga in its print edition, a staffer told Journal-isms.
David Bauder, Associated Press: Charles Ramsey's turbulent 15 minutes of fame
James Carr, the Shadow League: Charles Ramsey Is The Gregory Brothers' Latest Muse For Psuedo-Blaxploitation
Henry J. Gomez, Plain Dealer, Cleveland: The rescue of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight: 30 minutes that ended a decade of nightmares (video, slideshow)
Latino Rebels: The Other Cleveland Kidnapping Hero: Ángel Cordero
Mary Mitchell, Chicago Sun-Times: Heinous crimes could happen next door and most people wouldn't have a clue
Plain Dealer, Cleveland: Michelle Knight released from hospital; thanks community but asks for privacy
Ruben Rosario, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.: Some understanding for the Cleveland kidnapping victims
Jay Smooth, Ill Doctrine: T-Paining Too Much: The meme-ification of Charles Ramsey (video)
WEWS-TV: NewsChannel5 apologizes for incorrect reporting on citizenship of Castro brothers
Columnist Clem Richardson Laid Off at N.Y. Daily News
Daily News columnist Clem Richardson was among the dozen or so journalists laid off from the New York tabloid, Richardson disclosed, telling Journal-isms that Friday was his last day.
Richardson, 58, has worked at the News since 1993. His disclosure came as the New York Post offered voluntary buyouts to newsroom employees, the top two editors at the New York-based Village Voice said they were leaving the weekly newspaper over staff cuts, and the editor of Columbia Journalism Review, Cyndi Stivers, also based in New York, left to become editor-in-chief of AOL.com. CJR's longtime executive editor, Mike Hoyt, was in the process of being laid off, according to Joe Pompeo of capitalnewyork.com.
Richardson explained Friday by email, "I have been a columnist since shortly after returning from a six month International Center for Journalists fellowship teaching newspaper writing for the Independent Newspaper group in South Africa. When I officially left the company today I was writing the weekly Great People, City Beat, and Uptown Talks columns, the titles of each explain what they covered.
"What's next? Several friends in the business have graciously offered writing opportunities, and college teaching is a possibility should a position come up. All this time will allow me to finish the rewrite on my first novel, a Brooklyn-based fantasy, sometime this month, which a brilliant Brooklyn artist, Leokadia Cermakova has graciously consented to create the cover art and illustrate several scenes inside.
"Other than that I'm sitting here screaming at the ridiculous and unending one-on-one play that passes for the NBA playoffs nowadays and reflecting on how wonderful a life I have been blessed to live. I have heard from friends, colleagues and dozens of people I profiled, so I guess I got a few names right. . . ."
[On Saturday, reporter Tanyanika Samuels, who is expecting a baby, told her Facebook followers that she, too, was laid off:
"As some of you may know, I was among those laid off from the Daily News on Friday. I consider myself in good company. Thank you to those who reached out. Looking forward to the future, most notably on the imminent arrival of baby #2. Just three weeks to go...eeek!" Samuels previously worked at the Kansas City Star and the Philadelphia Inquirer, according to her LinkedIn profile.]
Joe Pompeo, capitalnewyork.com: Daily News chief Colin Myler tells staff layoffs were inevitable; announces new digitial initiative in boroughs
Joe Pompeo, capitalnewyork.com: 'New York Post' offers buyouts; seeks 10-percent staff reduction in attempt to avoid layoffs
Cleveland Story: Where Will the Focus Be Next?
The media circus will turn next to Gina DeJesus, who returns home this week.
"The Cleveland kidnapping case has all the elements of an unforgettable news story, including a bizarre crime, innocent victims, heroes and a happy, at least for the most part, ending," Michael Malone wrote Wednesday for Broadcasting & Cable.
"As such, it's nothing short of a circus on site in Cleveland, as the local TV reporters trade elbows with news crews from as far away as Australia, Japan and Argentina to follow the story of the three women, Gina DeJesus, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight, who were freed earlier in the week.
" 'It's a sea of reporters at the scene of both homes,' says Dan Salamone, news director at Raycom's WOIO. 'It presents a challenge for the police, and also for us as we continue to try and bring the story home for local viewers. It's a mad scene.'
"The next big get will be with the victims. One victim's relative attempted to speak to the media Wednesday, but gave up when she was not able to be heard. 'It's going to take some time,' says Brooke Spectorsky, president and general manager of Gannett's WKYC. 'They've been locked up for ten years, and it's a circus out there.' . . . "
Meanwhile, Charles Ramsey, who was lauded as a folk hero this week, remained in the spotlight -- but not always in a good way.
Some debated whether viewers were laughing with him or at him, and the Smoking Gun reported, "The Cleveland man credited with helping free female captives from a house of horrors is a convicted felon whose rap sheet includes three separate domestic violence convictions that resulted in prison terms, court records show.
"Charles Ramsey, whose 911 call and subsequent TV interviews have made him a microcelebrity, was once a repeat spousal abuser whose marriage ended in divorce following a 2003 felony conviction for battering his wife. . . ."
Ramsey himself rejected the "hero" label. "I don't even want it," Ramsey told Russ Mitchell and Erin Kennedy of WKYC-TV in Cleveland in one of several media appearances. "They keep saying I'm a hero. Let me tell you something, I’m an American, and I'm a human being. I'm just like you. I work for a living. There was a woman in distress, so why turn your back on that? My father would have whupped the hell out of me if he found out that I had coward-ed out."
Cleveland police announced Wednesday that they had charged Ariel Castro with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape in connection with holding Berry, DeJesus and Knight captive for the last decade, the Plain Dealer reported, conveniently listing the day's developments on its website under the headline, "8 things we learned today about the Decade of Captivity for Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight."
The Plain Dealer editorialized, "tomorrow and the next day and on into the discernable future, the community must do more to impede the cold-blooded predators who walk among us.
"And we must continue to collaborate, educate and hold law enforcement officials accountable to better protect young people from sexual exploitation. That means re-evaluating, again, how Cleveland police handle missing-persons cases. They need to keep looking and working every lead until the missing are found. . . ."
Rebecca Aguilar, News Treadmill blog: Cleveland case sheds light on 800,000 children reported missing in the U.S.
Jenice Armstrong, Philadelphia Daily News: Kidnap hero's colorful interview leads to 2013 kind of tribute
Wayne Bennett, the Field Negro: ""Bro, I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms."
Margaret Bernstein, Plain Dealer: Freed women give missing-persons activist Judy Martin a reason to be joyful
Michael H. Cottman, Black America Web: Charles Ramsey: American Hero or Racial Healer?
Mark Dawidziak, Plain Dealer: For missing-women story, national news outlets quickly shift focus to Cleveland
Kevin Eck, TVSpy: Kidnap Hero's Interview Gets Taiwan Animation Treatment
Pat Galbincea, Plain Dealer: Cleveland will investigate 9-1-1 call from Amanda Berry
Arturo R. García, Racialicious: Open Thread 2: The Rush To Memeify Charles Ramsey
Doug Gross, CNN: Why the Web loves Cleveland hero Charles Ramsey
Aisha Harris, Slate: The Troubling Viral Trend of the "Hilarious" Black Neighbor
Demetria Irwin, the Grio: Charles Ramsey is an American hero, not a 'hilarious' meme
David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times: McDonald's shamelessly exploits Cleveland rescue
Tara McKelvey, BBC News Magazine: Cleveland abductions: Do white victims get more attention? (May 9)
Phillip Morris, Plain Dealer, Cleveland: Cleveland must do a better job of protecting and finding its missing women
Sara Morrison, Columbia Journalism Review: The Plain Dealer columnist who knew Amanda Berry’s mother
Erin McClam and Jeff Black, NBC News: Who's who in the Cleveland kidnapping case?
Mark Naymik, Plain Dealer: Charles Ramsey breaks stereotypes by helping Amanda Berry escape but will the Internet notice? (video)
Michael O'Malley, Plain Dealer: Castro family among first Hispanics to settle in Cleveland, coming from Puerto Rico just after World War II
Cliff Pinckard, Plain Dealer: Discovery of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight a worldwide phenomenon (video)
Connor Simpson, the Atlantic: Charles Ramsey Is an Internet Hero for All the Wrong Reasons
Debbi Snook, Plain Dealer: Charles Ramsey is hero for rescuing Amanda Berry, chef employer says
Alex Weprin, TVNewser: Anderson Cooper Chats With Cleveland Hero Charles Ramsey
N.Y. Daily News Lays Off Albor Ruiz, Tim Smith
The Daily News in New York Wednesday laid off columnist Tim Smith, the last African American in its sports department, and Albor Ruiz, a columnist who often wrote about Hispanic issues. Joe Pompeo, reporter for capitalnewyork.com, wrote, "Several sources put the total number of pink slips at around 15."
The news of Joanna Molloy's termination was particularly shocking," Pompeo wrote. "She's arguably the most famous writer still at the paper, having helmed its gossip pages for 15 years with her husband, George Rush, who took a buyout in 2010. . . ."
Smith, 53, known primarily as a boxing writer, told Journal-isms by telephone that he'd covered a range of sports events over 30 years and that "I would like to do anything that comes my way. I'm open to any and everything."
Smith said he was told that he was selected for the layoff because the News had identified categories of employees who would be eliminated and one of the three sports columnists' positions was on the list. There are 33 writers in the News sports department, he said.
Smith wrote about boxing while at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after Evander Holyfield, later a five-time heavyweight champion, left the Olympics in 1984. Smith also wrote about boxing for the Cincinnati Enquirer and the New York Times, where he was also an NFL writer. In Cincinnati, he covered the Bengals NFL team, and at the Times, the New York Jets.
Smith won the Nat Fleischer Memorial Award from the Boxing Writers' Association of New York for excellence in boxing journalism in 2005.
Ruiz, 71, has been a columnist since July 1993, according to his LinkedIn profile. In 2003, he was inducted into the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Hall of Fame. "Next? I am not really sure, but I have no plans to disappear from the face of the Earth," Ruiz messaged Journal-isms. "I'll be around."
Ruiz, a Cuban-American, came to the United States in 1961. When he returned from a trip to Cuba in 2006, Ruiz told Journal-isms he had a Cuban passport, "as all Cubans do." Cuban immigration authorities held him for two hours at the airport in Havana, but they allowed him to enter "because I have family in Cuba. I would not be granted a permit to work as a journalist," he said. Nevertheless, Ruiz said he went to work anyway and interviewed a dissident.
Ruiz's most recent columns carry such headlines as "New York City’s public libraries need their patrons to stand up against mayoral budget cuts," "The Gang of Eight's proposed immigration reform bill must be inclusive and not punitive," "Childcare workers' union leaders blast Bloomberg administration's EarlyLearn NYC program," "Once again, May Day is a time for workers to stand up and speak out in defense of their rights," and "The city’s hunger crisis stands to worsen as funding cuts to the food stamp program loom".
Cleveland Rescuer a Viral Sensation
Is Charles Ramsey, who helped kidnapping victims escape, "the Internet hero we've been waiting for"?
Interviews Produce "Internet Hero We've Been Waiting For"
"He likes to grill out, eat McDonald's and listen to salsa music. Charles Ramsey has also just become famous not only for his actions Monday in helping three Cleveland women escape from years of being held captive in a Cleveland house, but also for his interview he gave in detailing the events of the day," Mark Heim reported early Tuesday for al.com, an affiliate of Cleveland.com.
An Australian columnist called Ramsey "America's newest hero." Lacey Mason of Washington's WTOP-AM said, "Charles Ramsey just might be the Internet hero we've been waiting for."
Ramsey actually was interviewed by more than one reporter, including John Kosich of WEWS-TV, the Cleveland ABC affiliate, and Kevin Freeman of WJW-TV, the Fox affiliate.
Heim offered this account: "Michelle Knight, 32, Amanda Berry, 27, and Gina DeJesus, 23, were found at a house in Cleveland Monday after going missing between 2002 and 2004.
"Three brothers were arrested, including 52-year-old Ariel Castro.
" 'I heard screaming,' Ramsey told Cleveland's ABC affiliate. 'I'm eating my McDonald's. I come outside. I see this girl going nuts, trying to get out of a house. So I go on the porch, and she says 'help me get out. I've been here a long time.' So you know, I figured it was a domestic dispute. So I opened the door, and we couldn't get in. ... So we kicked the bottom. And she comes out with a little girl and she says "call 911. My name is Amanda Berry." '
"Ramsey said he had no idea what was going on at his neighbor's house. 'My neighbor, you got some big testicles to pull this off, bro,' he said. 'Because we see this dude every day. Every day. I mean every day. I barbecue with this dude. We eat ribs and what not and listen to salsa music. You see where I'm coming from? Bro, not a clue that girl was in that house.'
"The reporter then asked him what the reaction was on the girls' faces. 'Bro, I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man's arms," Ramsey said. Something's wrong here. Dead giveaway. Dead giveaway. Dead giveaway. Either she's homeless or she's got problems. That's the only reason she run to a black man.' . . ."
* Kevin Freeman, WMJI-TV, Cleveland: Charles Ramsey Tells About Finding Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus And Michelle Knight (video)
* Ryan Haidet, WKYC-TV, Cleveland: Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus & Michele Knight trending on Twitter globally
* Thomas J. Sheeran and John Coyne, Associated Press: Frantic 911 call leads to 3 missing women in Ohio
*Scott Shaw, Plain Dealer: Video: Charles Ramsey on how he helped Amanda Berry escape
*Jen Steer, newsnet5.com: VIDEO: Cleveland man who found missing woman Amanda Berry: 'I thought that girl was dead'
TJ Holmes: I'm a Free Agent
The ex-CNN anchor says he learned from his failed BET show, Don't Sleep.
T.J. Holmes Says He's Officially a Free Agent
Black Entertainment Television finally acknowledged Thursday that it will not bring back T.J. Holmes' "Don't Sleep!" [video] late night news/talk show, eight months after its initial launch. Holmes told Journal-isms on Friday, "I'm a completely free agent."
Holmes left his job as a CNN weekend anchor in December 2011 for BET, which developed a half-hour late-night show for him that targeted African American viewers but was intended to have more in common with Jon Stewart than with traditional journalism.
"But the show, which aired Monday through Thursday, failed to draw a significant audience," R. Thomas Umstead wrote Thursday for Multichannel News. "After generating a series-high 1 million viewers for its Oct. 9 episode, the series averaged less than 400,000 viewers before being revamped into a weekly, one-hour format on Nov. 14. The last new episode of the series aired Dec. 19."
However, BET refused to say it was canceling the show, even as it turned its attention toward the reality show "The Real Husbands of Hollywood."
Holmes told Journal-isms by telephone, "I will never, ever regret thinking that my heart was in the right place," a young black man taking his skills "to do something that was not being done for our community," that is, providing a daily news show geared toward African Americans. "You learn from the mistakes, there are questions I should have asked, things that should have been cleared up," but reaching the black community in that way was "an opportunity I would love to have" again, Holmes said.
Umstead wrote, "In a statement, BET said Don't Sleep 'delivered smart social commentary on significant issues important to African Americans with the nation's most prominent thought leaders. BET remains committed to being a resource for our audience on issues that directly affect the African American community.'"
Boston Suspects Darkened for Magazine Cover
"This is how brofiling actually works in real life," Hari Stephen Kumar wrote Thursday for his "brofiling" blog. "The Week Magazine ran with this image as their cover sketch.
"Just so it is said, clearly and unambiguously: the Tsarnaev brothers are white guys. They are white. The FBI's own wanted poster for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev lists his race as 'white', but you would never know it from the cover image on The Week.
"Hold up the cover to someone else, and ask them how many white people they can see on the cover. Chances are they will identify Gabby Giffords on the top left and the image of the Boston policemen (all white men) on the top right, but how about those two guys in the center? Nope, not a chance that anyone would say these caricatures look white.
"Why? Because in addition to being white they are also 'Muslim', which is the current dehumanizing 'Other' label that whiteness has constructed as a sanctioned target for violence in US popular culture.
"This is how white privilege works in media representations and everyday life: when the criminal suspects are demonstrably white men, seize upon any aspect of difference and magnify it such that they become Othered, non-white, and menacing. If it is too hard to do so, simply dismiss them as aberrations and isolated cases of insanity. This is also how white culture, specifically the process of whiteness in conjunction with white privilege, portrays several non-white identities, including those that are now considered white but at one time were decidedly not so. . . ."
The Week magazine did not respond to a request for comment.
The episode is reminiscent of Time magazine's darkening of O.J. Simpson's face during his 1994 murder trial to make him appear more menacing.
The well-respected weekly calls itself "A comprehensive, balanced distillation of national and international news, opinions and ideas." Its subscriber base is just a fraction of Time's 3.2 million: It had a total paid and verified circulation of 561,459 for the six month s ending Dec. 21, according to the Alliance for Audited Media.
Up to 5 Senior Blacks Leaving USA Today, Gannett
As many as five senior black journalists at USA Today and Gannett
News Service are taking a buyout, depleting the top ranks of
journalists of color at "the nation's newspaper."
Three of the five confirmed their departure: Geri Coleman Tucker, deputy managing editor; Robert Robinson, deputy managing editor/copy editors; and reporter Larry Bivins of Gannett News Service.
"Early retirements were offered to USA TODAY employees who were at least 55 years old and had 15 years of service. They were offered two weeks pay for each year of service — with a cap of one year of pay," USA Today spokeswoman Heidi Zimmerman told Journal-isms by email Friday. She would not disclose the number taking the buyout.
"Yes, it's true," Bivins messaged Journal-isms. "After 36 years in the business, starting at The Cleveland Call & Post, a black weekly, I'm hanging it up. At least for a while. The timing is good for me . . . I'll be 64 in November, giving me just two more years before full Social Security eligibility. I'll get a paycheck for almost a year. I'm not quite sure what I want to do. I imagine I'll be open to freelance possibilities. But for a couple of months, at least, I plan on doing nothing but playing tennis every day. And clear my head!
"May 15 would have been my 20th anniversary with Gannett, all in Washington. I started in 1993 as an urban affairs/race relations reporter for The Detroit News, then moved over to Gannett News Service in 1998. I was a regional reporter, spent time as a regional editor, then went back to reporting when the bureau downsized in 2009 — I had just returned to work after a six-week disability for a hip replacement. . . ."
Tucker said she was "embarking on a great faith journey." She said she had spent 23 years at USA Today, "30 at Gannett all total because I was also a regional managing editor at Gannett News Service." Tucker has been deputy managing editor/Money at USA Today and managing editor/Midwest for Gannett News Service from 1986 to 1993.
She added, "I'm looking for exciting, new opportunities."
Robinson, deputy managing editor/Sports before a reorganization, messaged, "After 39 years at Gannett, the last 30½ with USA TODAY, I decided to take the early retirement package. I have had 39 wonderful years in the business, including being a founding member of the USA TODAY staff, and felt the timing was right to take a step back. . . . As for what's next, I have no immediate plans other than to take a month or so to just enjoy the family, visit my aging mother in Florida and then look for my next employment opportunity — or whatever God has in store for me."
Could Fact-Checkers Have Saved Howard Kurtz?
The saga of media writer Howard Kurtz, who "parted ways" with Newsweek and the Daily Beast after an embarrassing error this week, was part of the buzz Thursday night at the American Magazine Awards in New York. Jim Nelson, editor-in-chief of GQ, accepted one of the honors.
"Howard Kurtz, who wrongly accused NBA player Jason Collins of not mentioning his earlier engagement to a woman when he came out this week, could have been saved from his mistake by magazine factcheckers, GQ Editor-in-Chief suggested when his magazine won in the reporting category," Nat Ives reported for Ad Age.
For the most part, reconstructions of Kurtz's fall have not addressed the role of the website in failing to catch his errors.
Dylan Byers and Katie Glueck wrote Thursday night for Politico, "At the height of his influence, Howard Kurtz was widely regarded as the most influential media reporter and critic in the country. But in recent years, erroneous reporting and careless errors reduced him to fodder for the media reporters and critics who followed in his footsteps.
"No single event has dealt such a crushing blow to Kurtz's reputation as Thursday's decision to 'part ways' — after a serious mistake in a story about gay basketball player Jason Collins — with The Daily Beast, where he has served as columnist and Washington bureau chief since leaving a long, illustrious career with The Washington Post in 2010. . . ."
They added, "sources at the Daily Beast and CNN, who spoke to POLITICO on the condition of anonymity, said there were several reasons for the breakup: For one thing, Kurtz had a string of high-profile mistakes on his record and that had become a source of embarrassment for The Daily Beast. For another, he commanded a hefty paycheck, despite turning out fewer scoops than in the past. . . ."
"But perhaps the main factor that led Kurtz out the door, several sources said, was the same quality that had fueled his rise in the first place decades ago: a hyperactive work ethic that ended up dividing his attentions and ultimately proved unsustainable. . . ."
Andrew Kirk, a spokesman for the Daily Beast, did not respond to a question about whether Kurtz's work went through copy editors. The fateful entry about Collins was described as a "blog post," which at many publications means it is posted without editing.
Meanwhile, CNN has decided not to remove Kurtz as host of his Sunday morning media show. "There has been no status change with Howard Kurtz, he remains the host of 'Reliable Sources'. He will address this issue on the program this weekend," a CNN spokeswoman told inquiring journalists.
Daily Beast Editor-in-Chief Tina Brown tweeted Thursday that Kurtz and the Daily Beast had "parted company ... we wish him well."
"A statement from Brown highlighted moves the website is taking to bolster its coverage of Washington, including with new columnists such as Jon Favreau, Joshua [DuBois] and Stuart Stevens," Ryan Nakashima reported for the Associated Press.
DuBois, an African American, left his position as faith adviser for President Obama in February.
Michael Calderone, Huffington Post: Howard Kurtz Had Larger Daily Download Role Than Other Advisory Board Members
Matt K. Lewis, the Week: Let's all stop taking swings at Howard Kurtz
Media Were Silent on Gay Player Who Came Out in '70s
"A few months back, the Baltimore Ravens' Brendon Ayanbadejo, an outspoken advocate for LGBT rights, told USA Today that he thought the first player in the three major sports to out himself would be a baseball player: 'The religious roots are a lot deeper in basketball and football. With that being said, I think baseball players are more open-minded,' " Allen Barra reported Friday for the Atlantic.
"What Ayanbadejo didn't know was that one baseball player already had. This week's coming out by NBA player Jason Collins is momentous, but the Jackie Robinson of gay rights was Glenn Burke, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland A's from 1976 to 1979. He tried to change sports culture three decades ago — but back then, unlike now, sports culture wasn't ready for a change.
"Burke made no secret of his sexual orientation to the Dodgers front office, his teammates, or friends in either league. He also talked freely with sportswriters, though all of them ended up shaking their heads and telling him they couldn't write that in their papers. Burke was so open about his sexuality that the Dodgers tried to talk him into participating in a sham marriage. (He wrote in his autobiography that the team offered him $75,000 to go along with the ruse.) He refused. In a bit of irony that would seem farcical if it wasn't so tragic, one of the Dodgers who tried to talk Burke into getting 'married,' was his manager, Tommy Lasorda, whose son Tom Jr. died from AIDS complications in 1991. To this day, Lasorda Sr. refuses to acknowledge his son's homosexuality.
"Burke, who also died of AIDS-related causes in 1995, came out to the world outside baseball in a 1982 article for Inside Sports and even followed it up shortly after with an appearance on The Today Show with Bryant Gumbel. But his story was greeted by the rest of the news media and the baseball establishment, including Burke's former teammates and baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, with silence. Even his superb autobiography, Out at Home, which published the year he died, failed to stir open conversation about homosexuality in sports. Practically no one in the sports-writing community would acknowledge that Burke was gay or report stories that followed up on his admission. . . ."
"Out: the Glenn Burke Story," a documentary featuring Burke, debuted in November 2010 in a San Francisco theater, accompanied by a television broadcast the same night on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.
Perry Bacon Jr., the Grio: Silence of opponents illustrates growing acceptance of LGBT rights
Leonardo Blair, Christian Post: ESPN's Chris Broussard: 'Though I'm Getting a Lot of Hate, God Is Being Glorified'
Donna Brazile, CNN: But can the dude play?
Mary C. Curtis, Washington Post: Is Jason Collins the Jackie Robinson of 2013?
Mike Fleming Jr., Deadline Hollywood: Will Gay Hoopster Revelation Drive Home Jamie Lee Curtis-Produced Pic About First Openly Gay Baseball Player?
Justice B. Hill, BET: Why We Should Respect Chris Broussard's Opinion
Reginald Johnson, Metuchen Edison Area Branch NAACP, letter, MyCentralJersey.com | Courier News | Home News Tribune: Tough being gay in sports? Ask Glenn Burke
Saeed Jones, BuzzFeed: Yes, It Matters That Jason Collins Is Black And Gay
John Koblin, Deadspin: Why ESPN's Chris Broussard Came Out As A Bigot
Ron Kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle: Film examines struggle of gay athlete Glenn Burke (2010)
Chris Murray blog: I''s Time to End Homophobia and Anti-Gay Bigotry in the African-American Community
Jeff Poor, Daily Caller: MoveOn petition urges ESPN to suspend Chris Broussard
Armstrong Williams, the Shadow League: Jason Collins And The Plague Of Identity Politics
Phillip B. Wilson, Indianapolis Star: Colts notes: Players would accept a gay teammate
Denver Post Joins Papers Dropping "Illegal Immigrant"
"During the past decade I have had several conversations with groups and individuals that eventually landed on use of the term illegal immigrant to describe those who have unlawfully come to the United States," Greg Moore, editor of the Denver Post, told readers Thursday.
"I have heard all kinds of arguments. I always tensed up when someone argued illegal immigrant was the same as racial epithets used to describe blacks and Jews. I still believe those comparisons are wrongheaded. But other examples stayed with me. I remember once being told that a young girl cried upon seeing a relative described as an illegal immigrant.
"Yesterday, I decided The Denver Post will no longer use the term 'illegal immigrant' when describing a person in the country unlawfully. If we know the actual circumstances we will describe them. The word 'illegal' will not be applied to a person, only an action. . . ."
The Denver Post entry on "illegal immigration" now reads:
"Entering or residing in a country in violation of civil or criminal law. Except in direct quotes essential to the story, use illegal only to refer to an action, not a person: illegal immigration, but not illegal immigrant. Acceptable variations include living in or entering a country illegally or without legal permission.
"Except in direct quotations, do not use the terms illegal alien, an illegal, illegals, undocumented aliens or undocumented workers. Use the unmodified word immigrant only for people who have entered the U.S. lawfully.
"Do not describe people as violating immigration laws without attribution.
"If possible, specify how someone entered the country illegally and from where. Crossed the border? Overstayed a visa? What nationality?
"People who were brought into the country as children should not be described as having immigrated illegally. For people granted a temporary right to remain in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, use temporary resident status, with details on the program lower in the story."
Hugo Balta, National Association of Hispanic Journalists: NAHJ Applauds the Denver Post for Its Decision to Drop the I Word
Kevin Bogardus and Russell Berman, African Globe: Caribbean and African Immigrants Getting Blocked in New Immigration Bill
Joel Campbell, Columbia Journalism Review: Four Corners coverage: immigration reform (April 29)
Charles D. Ellison, Uptown: How Black Folks Are Shut Out of the Immigration Debate (April 29)
María Hinojosa with former Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan, "Latino USA," NPR: Where Is Mexico on U.S. Immigration Reform? (podcast)
Maria Hinojosa, "Latino USA," NPR: Lost Women (podcast)
Beyoncé Bans Concert Press Photographers
The pop diva is serving canned concert images to the press instead of allowing live shots.
News Outlets Urged to Counter Ban on Photographers
The general counsel of the National Press Photographers Association is urging the news media to refuse to run the official publicity photos of Beyoncé's latest concert tour that the entertainer is posting in lieu of allowing photographers at the events.
"That's only going to encourage bad behavior," Mickey H. Osterreicher told Journal-isms Friday by telephone.
"Let's say she's exhausted and passed out on stage. Do you think we'd see those photos? I don't think so," Osterreicher said. "They'll realize they can't have it both ways." They become celebrities because of the publicity, then, when they become stars, "they try to control."
Sean Michaels reported Wednesday in Britain's Guardian newspaper, "The move to prohibit press photographers is seen by most observers as a reaction to this year's Super Bowl kerfuffle, when sites such as Gawker and [BuzzFeed] compiled 'unflattering' images of Beyoncé's jubilant exertions. After publishing these shots by Getty Images, [BuzzFeed] received an email from Beyoncé's US publicist Yvette Noel-Schure, 'respectfully asking' the site to 'change' their article. 'I am certain you will be able to find some better photos,' Noel-Schure wrote.
"As the blog Fstoppers points out, barring professionals means that newspapers and magazines will have to rely on amateurs: '[The media] will do anything possible to get images that other publications don't have,' explained Noam Galai. 'If they can't send a photographer to give them original photos, the next best thing they can do is buy photos from fans in the front rows in the arena … Now, not only is the mainstream media showing unflattering photos of her, they are showing bad-quality unflattering photos of her.' "
As Osterreicher pointed out, the move by Beyoncé is the latest attempt by public figures to control coverage of them, but not the most offensive.
Just last week, Osterreicher said, a legislator met with some of the families victimized by the Boston Marathon bombers, but banned the press, instead having a staffer make photos available.
In 2011, Lady Gaga was even more audacious. Andrew Beaujon and Jay Westcott wrote then for the now-defunct TBD.com, based in Washington, "At her Verizon Center concert last week, photographers were given a 'Photo Release Form' to sign." It included this language: "Photographer hereby acknowledges and agrees that all right, title and interest (including copyright) in and to the Photograph(s) shall be owned by Lady Gaga and Photographer hereby transfers and assigns any such rights to Lady Gaga."
In January, the staff of House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi digitally altered an image of female members of Congress to include four legislators who did not show up for the photo session — and some news organizations that used the image realized the fraud too late.
Still, Pelosi defended the image.
"It was an accurate historical record of who the Democratic women of Congress are," Pelosi said at a news conference, according to the Huffington Post. "It also is an accurate record that it was freezing cold and our members had been waiting a long time for everyone to arrive and ... had to get back into the building to greet constituents, family members, to get ready to go to the floor. It wasn't like they had the rest of the day to stand there."
Replied Osterreicher, "They could save time and just Photoshop everyone." He said there were a couple of instances where legislators were moved around because they weren't seen clearly enough. Another's hair was "fixed," he said.
Even journalists have been guilty. In December, the Washington, D.C., chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, pleading lack of space, announced that "there will not be any media availability for our special guests: San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro and Telemundo Anchor José Díaz-Balart." It added, "The Chapter will release pictures, video, and a write-up on our website as we usually do with our events. . . ." A national NAHJ board member apologized privately.
The Beyoncé tour began April 15 in Serbia and continues until Aug. 5 in Brooklyn, N.Y. It could not be determined whether news media in Europe were using the authorized photos or those taken by concertgoers or photographers who simply bought tickets and sat in the audience.
Writing Thursday in Slate, Alyssa Rosenberg agreed with Osterreicher.
"Knowles-Carter is used to getting her way with these things, it seems," Rosenberg wrote. "Her commercial draw is such that HBO even aired an entire documentary about her that she produced herself, rather than an independently directed examination that might have produced actual insights. But while Knowles-Carter may have the right to log her life all she likes, no news outlet should feel required to oblige her directives. If Knowles-Carter is going to stick to this demand on her tour, news outlets should pay for fans' crowd-sourced photos instead — or just not cover the tour at all."
The South Africa National Editors' Forum said in 2011, when Lady Gaga imposed a similar ban on free news media photography in that country, "The only way in which the public can trust media coverage of such events is when journalists and photographers can operate freely and independently and the public is aware of this.
"A ban on photographers or interference with journalists would immediately raise public suspicions about the integrity of reports of such events. Should this occur not only will the newspaper be harmed but so will the attraction of the event."
Meanwhile, the Radio Television Digital News Association joined NPPA and other journalism organizations to oppose California proposals to restrict newsgathering.
"Two bills making their way through the California legislature, AB-1256 and AB-1356 would broadly redefine personal privacy with the intent of keeping paparazzi away from celebrities, but with the added consequences of severely curtailing legitimate newsgathering, while exposing journalists to criminal prosecution and civil liability," RTDNA reported.
NPPA reported Tuesday, however, "In the wake of opposition from NPPA and other groups the CA Assembly Judiciary Committee made both AB-1256 and AB-1356 '2 year bills.' A 2 year bill is one which will not move out of the policy committee this year. It is eligible to be taken up again at the beginning of the 2nd year of the biennial session thus the term '2 year bill.' . . . "
Rakhi Kumar, Urban Intellectuals: An Open Letter to Michelle Obama: Beyonce is Not a Role Model
Vibe Magazine Sold, to Become Digital Only
"Online publisher SpinMedia has acquired Vibe magazine with plans to operate it as a digital property and without the print edition, the company said today," Nat Ives reported Thursday for Ad Age. "Terms were not disclosed.
"The deal, first reported by All Things D, brings Vibe and Spin back together, in website form at least. Spin magazine and Vibe magazine both once belonged to Vibe/Spin Media until a series of ownership changes that delivered Spin to BuzzMedia last year. BuzzMedia, which owns or sells ads for sites including Stereogum and Idolator, shuttered Spin's print edition and later changed the company's name to SpinMedia.
"Vibe was founded in 1992 by Time Warner and Quincy Jones. Time Inc. sold Vibe in 1996; the buyers sold Vibe again 10 years later. It went out of print in 2009, but returned within months under yet another set of owners, investors led by InterMedia Partners. Last summer the magazine said it would embrace electronic dance music along with its usual hip-hop and pop culture coverage.
"Vibe's website will do better as part of a larger portfolio of websites, according to Ari Horowitz, CEO of Vibe Media. 'It's about scale, it's about really good brands and it's about being able to leverage infrastructure,' he said. 'That's the way you win in the digital media business.' . . . "
Boston Carjacking "Unfolds Like Tarantino Movie"
"The 26-year-old Chinese entrepreneur had just pulled his new Mercedes to the curb on Brighton Avenue to answer a text when an old sedan swerved behind him, slamming on the brakes. A man in dark clothes got out and approached the passenger window," Eric Moskowitz reported Friday for the Boston Globe. "It was nearly 11 p.m. last Thursday.
"The man rapped on the glass, speaking quickly. Danny, unable to hear him, lowered the window — and the man reached an arm through, unlocked the door, and climbed in, brandishing a silver handgun.
" 'Don't be stupid,' he told Danny. He asked if he had followed the news about Monday's Boston Marathon bombings. Danny had, down to the release of the grainy suspect photos less than six hours earlier.
" 'I did that,' said the man, who would later be identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev. 'And I just killed a policeman in Cambridge.'
"He ordered Danny to drive — right on Fordham Road, right again on Commonwealth Avenue — the beginning of an achingly slow odyssey last Thursday night and Friday morning in which Danny felt the possibility of death pressing on him like a vise.
"In an exclusive interview with the Globe on Thursday, Danny — the victim of the Tsarnaev brothers' much-discussed but previously little-understood carjacking — filled in some of the last missing pieces in the timeline between the murder of MIT police officer Sean Collier, just before 10:30 p.m. on April 18, and the Watertown shootout that ended just before 1 a.m. Danny asked that he be identified only by his American nickname.
"The story of that night unfolds like a Tarantino movie, bursts of harrowing action laced with dark humor and dialogue absurd for its ordinariness, reminders of just how young the men in the car were. . . . "
John Cassidy, New Yorker: What If the Tsarnaevs Had Been the "Boston Shooters"?
Jon Friedman, Media Matrix: Did U.S. Media Shortchange the Texas Tragedy?
Emil Guillermo blog, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund: A few things I learned about us after Boston
Dan Kennedy with María Hinojosa, "Latino USA," NPR: The Boston Marathon Bombing, "News or Noise?" (audio)
Julianne Malveaux, syndicated: Blame a Dark-Skinned Man
Eric Moskowitz with Robert Siegel on "All Things Considered," NPR: Carjacking Victim Of Boston Suspects Recalls Harrowing Night
Askia Muhammad, Washington Informer: Our Curious National 'Celebrations'
Qasim Rashid, Huffington Post: Do You Even Hear Muslims When We Condemn Violence?
Akiba Solomon, Colorlines: Decoding the Invisible Whiteness In Boston Bombing Coverage
Emily Swanson, Huffington Post: Boston Bombing Media Poll Finds Good Ratings Overall, Lower Believability For CNN
Meenal Vamburkar, Mediaite: Howard Kurtz: Media Had 'Maybe Too Much Sensitivity' On 'Question Of Islamic Jihad' After Bombing
Actuary Beats Newspaper Reporter? Get Me Rewrite
The CareerCast survey this week that ranked "newspaper reporter" as this year's worst job rubbed some reporters the wrong way, especially since "actuary" was ranked the best.
The CareerCast survey considered the newspaper reporter job literally; journalists who work in other media were not included. Still, it rankled.
"When was last time you went to see a movie with an actuary as the lead protagonist or one in a leading role?" Ruben Rosario wrote Thursday in the Pioneer Press of St. Paul, Minn.
"Among newspaper reporters, we have, among many others: 'All the President's Men,' 'The Front Page,' 'His Girl Friday,' 'The Killing Fields,' 'State of Play,' 'The Soloist' and 'The Paper,' loosely based on my former employer, a New York City-based tabloid.
"Superman, arguably the most popular comic-book superhero of all time, did not choose actuary as his civilian job cover. He chose 'mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper.'
"Actuaries? Let's see. No superhero I know of. There was a 1948 movie titled "[Are You With It?]," a musical comedy starring the late Donald O'Connor as an actuary forced to join a carnival after he misplaced a decimal point on a statistical table. Riveting stuff. Must have been a box-office blockbuster.
"I asked folks to connect me with an actuary with a sense of humor for this piece. I was told that would be a nearly impossible task. I heard there's a whole nest of them over at Securian, two blocks from the newsroom. Then I heard back they needed permission from corporate as well as from their mothers and then they had to devise a spreadsheet to assess whether there would be a probability of favorable outcome in publicly talking to me on the record.
"A photographer volunteered a neighbor who is an actuary but added, "he's not necessarily a funny guy, kind of quiet. . . ."
Others have likewise commented on writing, editing and the state of newspapers in the Internet age.
Jeff Bercovici, Forbes: Forget That Survey. Here's Why Journalism Is The Best Job Ever.
Nicholas Diakopoulos, Poynter Institute: What data & algorithms teach us about the language news orgs use (April 12)
John Diaz, San Francisco Chronicle: Worst job in America? No way
Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Future of journalism needs a rewrite
Rem Rieder, USA Today: Extra, extra: Newspapers aren't dead yet (April 10)
Rochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press: Grammar and cursive may be out, but the writing is on the wall (April 7)
Barry Saunders, News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.: Mandatory cursive? You've got to be kidding
Lauren Simonds, Time: Good Writing Can Help You Succeed
S. Africa Increases Curbs on Press Freedom
"Despite pleas from press freedom groups and stalwarts of the struggle against apartheid, South Africa's Parliament on Thursday passed a much-criticized secrecy bill that will increase the government's power to restrict access to information and impose hefty fines and jail terms on reporters who publish information the government classifies as secret," Lydia Polgreen reported Thursday for the New York Times.
"The bill was first passed in 2011, but the government modified it because of complaints that it would unduly restrict freedom of the press. But journalism advocates said that the revised bill remained too restrictive, and vowed to challenge it in the constitutional court if President Jacob Zuma signs it into law, as is expected. . . ."
Emsie Ferreira, South African Press Association: South Africa: Assembly Adopts Info Bill
CNN, NBC, ABC Have Used "Undocumented," Not "Illegal"
CNN and NBC News told Journal-isms this week that their networks were using the term "undocumented immigrant" before the Associated Press announced this month that its stylebook "no longer sanctions the term 'illegal immigrant' or the use of 'illegal' to describe a person. Instead, it tells users that 'illegal' should describe only an action, such as living in or immigrating to a country illegally."
Meghan Pianta, an NBC News spokeswoman said by email, "For some time, the NBC News policy has been to use the term 'undocumented immigrants or workers.' "
Bridget Leininger of CNN said, "Our style is 'undocumented immigrant' or 'undocumented worker.' " ABC News spokesman Jeffrey W. Schneider said earlier in the week that ABC has used the terms "undocumented worker" and "undocumented immigrant."
CBS News and Fox News Channel did not respond to an inquiry.
"On Tuesday, The New York Times updated its policies on how it uses the phrase 'illegal immigrant' in its coverage," Christine Haughney reported that day for the Times. "The newspaper did not go as far as The Associated Press, and it will continue to allow the phrase to be used for 'someone who enters, lives in or works in the United States without proper legal authorization.' But it encourages reporters and editors to 'consider alternatives when appropriate to explain the specific circumstances of the person in question, or to focus on actions.' "
Philip B. Corbett, the Times' associate managing editor for standards, responded Thursday to the Asian American Journalists Association, one of many organizations critical of the Times position:
"You write: 'We agree with AP that "illegal" should not be used to describe people but be used to describe the actions people take,' " Corbett wrote.
"It's hardly the most important element of the discussion, and I understand the overall sensitivity of the language, but it's simply wrong to suggest that "illegal immigrant" is a unique case of using "illegal" to modify a noun referring to a person.
"A very cursory search of nytimes.com turns up hundreds of uses of other such phrases – illegal tenants, illegal renters, illegal loggers, illegal miners, illegal parkers, illegal drivers, and no doubt others I haven’t thought of.
"I realize that none of those carry the same political freight as 'illegal immigrant.' I just wanted to point out that this construction is a perfectly ordinary one, in which a reader understands that it is the specific action that is being characterized as 'illegal.' An 'illegal tenant' is not an illegal person who rents an apartment, but rather a person who is renting illegally. Similarly, 'illegal immigrant' does not describe an 'illegal person,' but rather a person who has immigrated illegally."
Lauren Victoria Burke, Politic365: Immigration: Black Caucus to Fight for Diversity Visas and African, Caribbean Immigrants
Dave Montez, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation: New York Times missed the mark by not dropping the term "illegal"
ADL Loses Bid to Stop Honor for Arab-American Publisher
Osama Siblani, publisher of the Arab American News, joined four others who were inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame Sunday, despite the objections of the Anti-Defamation League.
"The ADL called on Michigan State University to reconsider the induction of Osama Siblani, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Arab American News, to the university-run Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame due to 'his newspaper's repeated publication of anti-Semitic diatribes and rhetoric,' " Sam Sokol reported April 17 for the Jerusalem Post.
"Siblani is also the chairman of the Congress of Arab American Organizations, a major voice in the Arab-American community.
"According to its website: 'The Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame recognizes reporters, editors, publishers, owners, photographers, broadcasters, educators, and others who have made outstanding contributions to the profession.'
"The Anti-Defamation League accused Siblani's newspaper, published in both English and Arabic, of being a 'forum for hate' in an April 12 letter to Lucinda Davenport, the head of MSU's journalism hall of fame. . . ." Siblani's newspaper quoted a statement from MSU spokesman Kent Cassella in its Thursday edition: "After reviewing the concerns raised by the Anti-Defamation League, members of the selection committee support their earlier decision.
"The Hall of Fame selection committee believes in the freedom of the press and the right to freely express one's views, although it may not always agree with all the views expressed by its inductees, or those printed in publications with which the inductees are affiliated."
The Arab-American News also named the members on the committee: "Tim Boudreau, from Central Michigan University, Sue Carter from Michigan State University, Lucinda Davenport from Michigan State University, Janet Geissler from Mid-Michigan Chapter, Jayne Hodak from Michigan Association of Broadcasters, Tina Lonski from Michigan Press Women, Maureen McDonald from Association of Women in Communications of Detroit, Walter Middlebrook from the Detroit Chapter of Society of Professional Journalists, Gloria Olman from Michigan Interscholastic Press Association, Rochelle Riley from the Detroit Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, Jam Sardar from the Michigan Chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association, Kendall Wingrove from Michigan State University, and at-large Members Bob Giles and Janet Mendler."
Nominate a J-Educator Who Has Helped Diversity
The Association of Opinion Journalists, formerly the National Conference of Editorial Writers, annually grants a Barry Bingham Sr. Fellowship — actually an award — "in recognition of an educator's outstanding efforts to encourage minority students in the field of journalism." The educator should be at the college level.
Nominations, now being accepted for the 2013 award, should consist of a statement about why you believe your nominee is deserving.
The final selection will be made by the AOJ Foundation board and announced in time for the Oct. 13-15 convention in Newport, R.I., where the presentation will be made.
Since 2000, the recipient has been awarded an honorarium of $1,000 to be used to "further work in progress or begin a new project."
Past winners include James Hawkins, Florida A&M University (1990); Larry Kaggwa, Howard University (1992); Ben Holman, University of Maryland (1996); Linda Jones, Roosevelt University, Chicago (1998); Ramon Chavez, University of Colorado, Boulder (1999); Erna Smith, San Francisco State (2000); Joseph Selden, Penn State (2001); Cheryl Smith, Paul Quinn College (2002); Rose Richard, Marquette University (2003); Leara D. Rhodes, University of Georgia (2004); Denny McAuliffe, University of Montana (2005); Pearl Stewart, Black College Wire (2006); Valerie White, Florida A&M University (2007); Phillip Dixon, Howard University (2008); Bruce DePyssler, North Carolina Central University (2009); Sree Sreenivasan, Columbia University (2010); Yvonne Latty, New York University (2011); and Michelle Johnson, Boston University (2012).
Nominations may be emailed to Richard Prince, AOJ Diversity Committee chair, richardprince (at) hotmail.com. The deadline is May 24.
"This photo was posted yesterday to Rupert Murdoch's excellent new Tumblr, Murdoch Here," John Cook wrote Thursday for Gawker. "It's captioned, 'Hanging with the Dow Jones team today.' Cool hang. I think I might be able to see a couple people who aren't white?"
"Last Sunday, I wrote a column saying too much money flows out of the black community and that black-owned stores need the support of the community to survive," James Causey wrote Thursday for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "As a result, some people called me a racist on JSOnline." He then listed some of the comments. In his syndicated Miami Herald column, Leonard Pitts Jr. also wrote about civility. "We can't even agree on who we are anymore, so swamped are we by the rage red holds for blue," Pitts wrote.
"Conversations with Ed Gordon," a quarterly, one-hour special with the journalist best known for his work at BET, begins syndication Sunday, Gordon's company announced this week. Gordon is host and executive producer. The specials are being aired nationally, including on the 10 NBC owned-and-operated affiliates. The first show features comedians Kevin Hart and Whoopi Goldberg and the singer Kem. Airdates, times and markets are at http://www.edgordon.net/conversations.htm.
The Ford Foundation is seeking a program officer to lead its Media and Justice initiative, part of the Foundation's Freedom of Expression unit. Calvin Sims, who succeeded Jon Funabiki in the job, is ending his six-year, term-limited tenure at the end of the year. "The Program Officer will manage a diverse portfolio of grants, including public broadcasters, traditional news organizations, innovative new models of reporting and newsgathering, and other groups who advance media in the public interest. . . " according to a portion of the job description.
John Stemberger, "a scoutmaster and anti-gay activist, went head-to-head with openly-gay CNN anchor Don Lemon and pro-gay activist and viral video hero Zach Wahls," Alana Horowitz wrote Friday for the Huffington Post. Stemberger warned that the repeal of the Scouts' ban on gay members "would 'destroy scouting as we know it.' 'What do you mean it's going to destroy scouting? I'm openly gay and I was a Boy Scout,' shot back Lemon. . . ."
"In El Paso, the former school superintendent is now in prison, the Justice Department is investigating, and more school officials are being fired — all the fallout of a widespread cheating scandal in which top educators tried to game standardized test scores so they could collect undeserved bonuses," Richard Parker wrote Friday for Columbia Journalism Review. "That scandal came to light thanks to years of dogged reporting by Zahira Torres and the support of her former editor at the El Paso Times. The work of Torres and the Times has triggered investigations, sparked legislative measures that might help children whose education was harmed, and garnered a passel of journalistic honors — including this laurel from CJR, for proving that even in times of shrinking newsrooms, hard-hitting investigations remain not just possible, but vital. . . ."
A memorial service celebrating the life of Lynne Duke, a former Washington Post editor and reporter who died at 56 on April 19, has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the Washington Post.
The Washington Post is "creating what we’ll call the Hub Rotation, an opportunity for staffers across the newsroom to spend some time — a couple of days, a week, maybe longer — participating in the decisions made in the hub and bringing their sensibilities to the work we're producing, Managing Editor Kevin Merida and Deputy Managing Editor Scott Vance told staffers Friday in a memo. "Participants could help identify and evaluate contenders for A1, for example, and work with editors and reporters to help elevate stories when needed. They could take part in the daily debate over the mix of stories and photo selection for the next day's print front page. They could help organize breaking news coverage online, and join real-time discussions about homepage play and programming. . . . "
"Was it simply a 'cold business decision' or a callous act of censorship?" veteran journalist Linn Washington Jr. asked Tuesday on his website This Can't Be Happening! Washington said legendary pro-basketball player Shaquille O'Neal "put a power move on Stephen Vittoria blocking this respected filmmaker's showing of his latest documentary at the movie complex O’Neal co-owns in downtown Newark, NJ, the city where both of these men were born." The movie, in which Washington appears, is "Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary," about Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted of the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia policeman. It was to have opened in the city on Friday. Dave Zirin weighed in for the Nation.
"María Elena Fernández, who in January of this year took a buyout from The Daily Beast, has been hired as a Los Angeles-based entertainment correspondent for NBCNews.com and Today.com. She starts the new job on May 6," Veronica Villafañe reported Friday for her Media Moves site.
"Long-time broadcast anchor Amanda Davis Thursday night announced her retirement from WAGA-TV after more than 26 years at the station," Rodney Ho reported for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He added, "Davis was arrested by Atlanta police Nov. 11 after she crashed her car going northbound in a southbound lane on Piedmont Ave. off 14th Street in Midtown, hitting and injuring another driver. She was charged with reckless driving, failure to maintain lane and DUI. She was taken off the air and has been awaiting trial at Fulton County state court. . . ."
Janet Kwak has joined KGTV-TV in San Diego, Calif., as a general assignment reporter. "She joins 10News from Los Angeles, where she worked as a general assignment reporter for KNBC. Prior to that, she served as a reporter and fill-in anchor at WOAI in San Antonio . . .," her bio says.
"Shannon Sims is joining Milwaukee NBC affiliate WTMJ as a weekend anchor," Merrill Knox reported Wednesday for TVSpy. "Sims comes from Cincinnati, where she has been freelancing as a morning reporter and fill-in anchor at WXIX. She was released from her contract at WKEF-WRGT in Dayton after a year as the station's main anchor in January."
Mychal Denzel Smith, a blogger at TheNation.com and a Knobler Fellow at the Nation Institute, has been hired full-time at the Nation, Chris O'Shea reported Friday for FishbowlNY. He will focus on focus on "racial and criminal justice, and the politics of respectability."
The International Press Institute Thursday "condemned the attempted assassination of journalist Mansour Nour in Yemen and urged authorities to take adequate steps in combating the persisting violence reporters face in the country," Konstantin Balev reported for the institute.
"Over the past few days, following the rape of a five-year-old girl, the Indian government has been rocked once again by the alliance of the news media and Delhi's street protesters," Manu Joseph wrote Wednesday for the International Herald Tribune. "In my latest Letter From India I argue that Delhi's new breed of demonstrators are getting better at street protests and sustaining the interest of journalists, while the government has yet to learn how to create a smart and dignified self-defense. . . ."
"A British journalist trying to cover the Delhi gang rape trial was asked to leave the courtroom on Tuesday after the prosecution objected to the presence of the international press," Sumit Galhotra reported Thursday for the Committee to Protect Journalists. "Andrew Buncombe, a correspondent for The Independent of London, was ejected from a court in the Indian capital even though a wide-ranging order restricting press coverage had been lifted last month. . . . "
"The hacked-up bodies of a photojournalist and another young man have been found in the northern Mexico city of Saltillo, authorities said Thursday," E. Eduardo Castillo reported for the Associated Press. "Photographer Daniel Martinez Bazaldua, 22, had recently been hired to cover social events for Vanguardia, the paper said in a story in its online edition. Officials identified the other man as Julian Zamora, 23. . . ."
"The national leadership the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has decried what appears as an emerging repressive media environment in Nigeria, citing the recent arrest of four journalists of the LEADERSHIP Newspaper, saying that 'the union viewed their arrest as a siege on the media,' " Matthias Nwogu reported Friday for the newspaper.
"Egypt Independent, the country’s premier independent English language news source, ceased publication on Thursday after four years during which its staff chronicled the waning days of the Mubarak regime, the outbreak of revolution in their own country and across the Arab world, military rule and most recently the administration of the first democratically elected Islamist leader of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi," Liam Stack reported Thursday for the New York Times.
"An Istanbul court convicted a Turkish editor of 'publicly insulting the president' and sentenced him to a conditional term of 14 months in prison, according to news reports, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on Thursday. "Ali Örnek would be jailed if he repeats the perceived offense sometime in the next five years under amendments to Turkey's criminal code introduced in 2012."
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Journal-isms is published on the site of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education (mije.org). Reprinted on The Root by permission.
