Pundits Display Personal, Ideological Filters

The coincidence of the nation's first black president being inaugurated for the second time on the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday Monday did not go unnoticed by pundits. Neither did President Obama's delivery of what some called the most inclusive inaugural speech ever.

How they interpreted that speech depended on the lens through which they viewed it.

CNN pundit David Gergen called it "one of the most important Barack Obama has given as president," calling it a "declaration of conscience."

On MSNBC, Chuck Todd said the president was attempting to mainstream "the liberal-progressive" agenda the way Ronald Reagan did the conservative one.

Chris Wallace of Fox News Channel did not hear mainstreaming. Wallace said Obama's plan "appears to be, 'Let's jam it down their throats.' "

Given Fox's political orientation, the criticism was not so surprising. In fact, satirist Andy Borowitz wrote a piece for the New Yorker over the weekend saying that Fox News Channel planned to shut down for what it called "routine maintenance" Monday morning at 11:30 ET, broadcasting "a continuous photomontage of white people" during the 12-hour shutdown. Some on social media and at least one website, Loop21, reported the joke as straight news.

African American-oriented cable networks BET and TV One covered the inaugural speech live and emphasized the event's significance for African Americans.

Many of them no doubt felt the way Eugene Robinson did at the Washington Post. "Reaction to the address took remarkably little notice of the fact that Obama is an African American," Robinson wrote. "That seems to be old news.

"Not for me, though. Not for a black man who grew up in the segregated South, who attended a rally (my mother tells me) at which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke, who lived through the defeat of Jim Crow and the triumph of the civil rights movement."

Michael Steele, the African American former Republican National Committee chairman, agreed in his comments on MSNBC. "As an African American who grew up in Petworth," a District of Columbia neighborhood, "this is a very powerful moment," Steele said. "We're not just in the room but at the table."

Steele was critical of "some of those Republicans who had to leave town and wouldn't be a part of it today," saying Obama's speech carried with it a "great tone, and I think the president should be applauded for that."

Obama used his address "to cast modern-day priorities -- fighting climate change, welcoming immigrants, and ensuring gay rights -- as the extension of a long struggle to live up to the Founders' ideals," David A. Fahrenthold and Debbi Wilgoren reported for the Washington Post under the online headline, "Obama calls for greater equality for all."

Matt Smith and Tom Cohen of CNN noted, "The loudest cheer of Obama's address came when he said the nation's journey remained incomplete 'until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts,' and 'until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.' "

Obama became the first president to ever mention homosexuality and gay rights in such a speech, Andrew Kirell reported for mediaite.

The president referred to key locations in the struggle for women's, African American and gay rights. He said, "We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths -- that all of us are created equal -- is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth."

"It feels like a very fresh, modern" approach to an inauguration, Rachel Maddow said on MSNBC. In mentioning constituencies whose gains came through protest, she said, Obama's message was that "the country gets better because people fight to make it better," and he telegraphed "how he sees that change happens in the future."

With the choice of Beyoncé to render the Star Spangled Banner, and the presence of singers Kelly Clarkson and James Taylor, Maddow said the event seemed "a combination of pop culture and patriotism."

USA Today columnist DeWayne Wickham, a panelist during BET's coverage, called the address "very much a victory lap" with "specific messages to those who backed him."

Ed Gordon, who anchored BET's coverage, embraced Beyoncé with a familiarity appropriate for BET's audience. "Looking at that little girl from Houston, Texas, speaks to what America is all about," Gordon said, calling her "arguably the top entertainer of the country."

On Fox News, Obama's implied criticism of Republican ideologues did not sit well.

"The people who are Obama supporters believe the Republicans have been obstructionist," commentator Brit Hume said. But the Republicans say, "We'd love to do business with this guy, but he never offers us anything." Hume said that it is normal for passages in second inaugural addresses to note areas of commonality with the other party. But "this is completely bereft of an outreach to the opposition."

Surprisingly, Hume's colleague Chris Wallace challenged Hume. Wallace pointed out Republican filibusters during Obama's first term and recalled the pledge early on by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Senate minority leader, to make Obama a one-term president. "I don't think you can lay it all on the side of the White House," Wallace said.

Still, Fox correspondent Jim Angle cited Obama's statement that, "We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate" to say, "I think there are a lot of Republicans who would say you could say that about the president himself."

The inaugural symbolism extended to the selections of Richard Blanco, who is gay and Latino, to deliver the inaugural poem, and Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of slain civil rights figure Medgar Evers and a civil rights leader in her own right, to deliver the invocation. The Bibles chosen were those used by Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, administered the oath to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

No Asian Americans or Native Americans seemed to have a part in the ceremony.

Roland Martin, who anchored TV One's coverage, called attention to an African American presence that went back to 1972, saying that the Rev. Jesse Jackson's presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988 "made this possible." He also mentioned the 1972 campaign of Rep. Shirley Chisholm, D-N.Y., for the Democratic nomination.

Jackson's campaigns led to the elimination of winner-take-all and "bonus" primaries from Democratic Party elections after the 1988 race.

Martin invited Arnaldo Torres, who was broadcasting in a nearby Telemundo booth, to join him to discuss closer cooperation between African Americans and Latinos. Torres said that when he was national executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) from 1980 to 1984, he joined with the Martin Luther King Center in Atlanta to propose funding for such a coalition.

"Not one liberal foundation wanted to fund us," Torres said. "A lot of people are very afraid to see people of color coming together in a serious way."

Pacifica Radio's "Democracy Now!" took the African American connection much farther back.

Clarence Lusane, author of "The Black History of the White House," pointed out that both the Capitol and White House were built with slave labor, that 25 percent of all U.S. presidents were slaveholders and that black people were held in bondage in the White House itself.

Joyner, Smiley Clash Again Over Obama

The differences between syndicated radio host Tom Joyner and media figure Tavis Smiley, once a regular commentator on the Joyner show, show no signs of mending. Joyner wrote on his blog Monday, "What do many Republicans, the spokesmen, for NRA and Tavis Smiley have in common? Once they start down a road, no matter how dangerous or ridiculously wrong it is, they won't turn back."

Joyner added, "I believe that Tavis is the one fascinated with Dr. [Martin Luther] King's legacy, but more importantly Tavis is fascinated with his own legacy, and that's not good. He wants more than anything to be remembered the way Dr. King was, and to some how make that kind of mark on the world. . . . "

Smiley said on CBS' "Sunday Morning," "I've heard people exclaim that President Obama is the fulfillment of Dr. King's dream. Well, not exactly. . . . The interrelated triple threat of poverty, militarism and racism that King talked about still looms large in a yet-deeply-divided America."

Joyner wrote, ". . . Dr. King knew good things would be said about him in death and he was humbled at the idea of it. Tavis is afraid of what will be said about him and it's driving him crazy. He points out on the day of President Obama's swearing in that the President is not the fulfillment of Dr. King's dream, but maybe a good down payment. I wonder what that makes Tavis, and sadly, does he. . . ."

Meanwhile, Cornel West, Smiley's partner on the "Smiley and West" radio show, "says he is outraged that Mr. Obama would use Dr. King's personal Bible at the inauguration without endorsing Dr. King's 'black freedom struggle,' " Susan Saulny reported Sunday in the New York Times.

" 'Martin went to jail talking about carpet bombing in Vietnam and trying to organize poor people, fighting for civil liberties,' Mr. West said. The president, he said, 'has a compromising kind of temperament.' "

Chris Ariens, TV Newser: Al Roker Gets Parade-Side Interview with Pres. Obama and Handshake from VP Biden

Sandy Banks, Los Angeles Times: Obama's second inauguration a mark of progress in its own right

Ta-Nehisi Coates blog, the Atlantic: Obama's Second Inaugural

Editorial, Al Día, Philadelphia: As Salazar and Solís Leave, Obama's Cabinet Left Without Latinos

Editorial, Philadelphia Inquirer: King Day again time to reflect

Hazel Trice Edney, TriceEdneyWire.com: On MLK Day, Blacks Concerned About Obama's Agenda

James Fallows blog, the Atlantic: Obama's Startling Second Inaugural

Robin Givhan, Washington Post: First lady Michelle Obama serves as fashion icon (Jan. 22)

LZ Granderson, CNN: How Obama made opportunity real in America

Emil Guillermo blog: The President's Inaugural Address lays out a poetic hint of an agenda, with a touch of reality

Emil Guillermo blog, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund: Dream Day: The Martin Luther King Day and Inauguration Day Coincidence

Kristen Hoerl, Communication Currents: Forgetting Racial Injustice in Press Coverage of President Obama's Inauguration

Clyde Hughes, Journal & Courier, Lafayette, Ind.: Beyond a dream and on to today

Tom Joyner, Black America Web: Who Cares About the Color of Obama's Cabinet? (Jan. 17)

Jodi Kantor, New York Times: Chang e Comes: After 4 Years, Friends See Shifts in the Obamas

Merrill Knox, TVSpy: WTTG's Wisdom Martin Interviews President Obama Look Alike on National Mall

Sandra Lilley, NBCLatino: Latinos have an agenda for the President's first 100 days

Julie Moos, Poynter Institute: Inauguration front pages combine Obama's second term, Martin Luther King Jr. legacy

Kevin Powell, cnn.com: Martin Luther King's dream is alive

Mark Preston, CNN: First on CNN: Attracting minority voters a key GOP goal as Obama begins second term (Jan. 17)

Geraldo Rivera, Fox News Latino: I Have Another Dream

Susan Saulny, New York Times: Among Blacks, Pride Is Mixed With Expectations for Obama

Robert Siegel with Roger Wilkins, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., Shelby Steele and Sherrilyn Ifill, "All Things Considered," NPR: How Large Does President Obama Stand In Black History?

Vanessa Williams, Washington Post: After the first black president, who will be second?

Asian American Voters Relied on Ethnic Media

"Around half of Asian Americans relied on ethnic media for news during the last election in which the growing community voted overwhelmingly for President Barack Obama, a study said Thursday," Shaun Tandon reported for Agence France-Presse.

"Massive support by minorities played a vital role in Obama's re-election on November 6. Asian Americans made up 3.4 percent of the electorate and could play a greater future role as they form the fastest expanding racial group.

"The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, releasing detailed findings from its exit polls, found that 48 percent of Asian Americans considered ethnic media, led by television, to be their prime news source.

"Asian Americans of Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese heritage are most likely to consider vernacular-language ethnic media their main news source. The figure dwindles for Indian and Filipino Americans for whom fluent English is the norm."

The AALDEF's nonpartisan multilingual exit poll reached 9,096 Asian American voters in 14 states, the largest survey of its kind in the nation, the group said.

Seventy-seven percent voted for Obama.

Thirty-seven percent were limited English proficient, defined as speaking English "less than very well."

Voters were asked if they encountered any voting problems. The organization said 249 responded that they were required to prove their U.S. citizenship, 307 said their names were missing or there were errors in the list of voters at poll sites, 215 had to vote by provisional ballot, 165 said poll workers did not know what to do, 136 voters said poll workers were rude or hostile, 183 voters said no interpreters or translations were available when they needed their help and 105 were directed to the wrong poll site or voting machine/table within a site.

Google Drops "Make Me Asian" Smartphone App

" 'Make Me Asian,' a smartphone app that drew the ire of Asian-American activists for what they say are stereotypical depictions, is no longer available on the Google Play Store," Gene Demby reported Thursday for NPR.

"The 'Make Me Asian' app let users alter photos to turn faces into stereotypical Asian caricatures -- think Fu Manchu-style mustaches and rice paddy hats. Its creator, 'KimberyDeiss,' developed similar apps, like Make Me Indian, Make Me Russian, Make Me Frankenstein and Make Me Fat. Those apps are no longer available, either, and KimberyDeiss's Google Play profile has been deleted.

". . . In a recent conversation with NPR's Allison Keyes, columnist Jeff Yang of The Wall Street Journal said he wasn't surprised that the app didn't raise the sort of objections that apps about other ethnic groups might have.

" 'There is less inherent social and political power associated with these groups,' he said, so the consequences often aren't as serious 'if you parody, satire or mock or offend these communities.' "

Cristina Azocar Named Interim J-Chair at S.F. State

Cristina Azocar, director of the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism at San Francisco State University for more than 10 years, has resigned to become the interim chair of the Department of Journalism, the school announced on its website.

Azocar, a member of the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, is a past president of the Native American Journalists Association and serves on the board of the Women's Media Center.

"Associate Professor Rachele Kanigel will become the acting director of CIIJ while a new direction is planned for the 23-year-old organization," a separate announcement said.

Founded at San Francisco State University in 1990 by Betty Medsger, the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism says it "believes that accurate and responsible journalism reflects the changing demographics of the society it serves. We develop programs and conduct research aimed at recruiting, retaining and revitalizing journalists and journalism educators. We seek to make journalism more inclusive from the classroom to the newsroom."

Azocar is to serve while Chair Venise Wagner is on leave during the spring semester.

Hans Massaquoi of Ebony Dies, Grew Up Among Nazis

"Hans Massaquoi, a former managing editor of Ebony magazine who wrote a distinctive memoir about his unusual childhood growing up black in Nazi Germany, has died. He was 87," Freida Frisaro reported Monday for the Associated Press.

"His son said Massaquoi died Saturday, on his 87th birthday, in Jacksonville[, Fla.] He had been hospitalized over the Christmas holidays.

" 'He had quite a journey in life,' said Hans J. Massaquoi, Jr. of Detroit. 'Many have read his books and know what he endured. But most don't know that he was a good, kind, loving, fun-loving, fair, honest, generous, hard-working and open-minded man. He respected others and commanded respect himself. He was dignified and trustworthy. We will miss him forever and try to live by his example.'

"In an interview in 2000, the elder Massaquoi told The Associated Press that he credited the late Alex Haley, author of 'Roots,' with convincing him to share his experience of being 'both an insider in Nazi Germany and, paradoxically, an endangered outsider.' His autobiography, 'Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany,' was published in the U.S. in 1999 and a German translation was also published.

"Massaquoi's mother was a German nurse and his father was the son of a Liberian diplomat. He grew up in working class neighborhoods of the port city of Hamburg.

". . . . He worked first for Jet Magazine before moving to Chicago-based Ebony, where he rose to managing editor before retiring in the late 1990s."

Jessica Lum, Multimedia Journalist, Dies at 25

Jessica Lum, a journalist who combined multimedia skills with enthusiasm for telling stories to report news and share her personal struggle with cancer on Facebook, died Jan. 13 of cancer, her family said. She was 25, Robert D. Dávila reported Thursday in the Sacramento Bee.

"Ms. Lum, who graduated from McClatchy High School, was a senior at UCLA when she was diagnosed in 2008 with metastatic pheochromocytoma, a rare cancer. Having documented much of her college life in comments and photos on Facebook, she instinctively turned to social media to announce that she had cancer and to seek support.

"She posted updates about her health for more than 1,000 Facebook friends. She voiced private feelings in a public forum with 'an online style of honesty mixed with humor and sarcasm,' according to a Bee story in 2009.

". . . For her master's thesis, Ms. Lum spent weeks in the Colorado Desert in Southern California interviewing, photographing and writing about residents of Slab City, a squatters haven in Imperial County. Her multimedia project, 'Slab City Stories,' won the 2012 Online News Association award for best feature by a student. (The project is online at slabcitystories.com.)"

Short Takes

Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state and national security adviser in the Bush administration and a professor at Stanford University, has joined CBS News as a contributor, the network announced on Sunday. Bill Carter noted in the New York Times, "Other figures from the Bush administration have been hired as television commentators, including Karl Rove, the former deputy chief of staff, and the former United Nations ambassador, John Bolton, both at Fox News."

While continuing as host of "NewsNation" weekday afternoons on MSNBC, Tamron Hall has signed to host "Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall," a 13-part series for Investigative Discovery, Robert Feder reported Saturday for Time Out Chicago. "The 2004 murder of Hall's sister Renate, who was a victim of domestic violence, makes Hall uniquely qualified to host the series, according to a statement by the network."

Tom Rosenstiel, executive director of the American Press Institute, challenged Alan Mutter's analysis of last week that roughly three-quarters of newspaper readers are now over age 45. Rosenstiel wrote for the Poynter Institute, "He based his analysis on data from the Pew Research Center that I was involved in producing from summer 2010 and summer 2012. (I left the Pew Research Center in December to take the helm of the American Press Institute). The problem is, the analysis doesn't reflect reality."

Al Sharpton told NPR's Corey Dade that the idea for his "PoliticsNation" on MSNBC "came from Paula Madison, then the executive vice president and chief diversity officer for NBCUniversal. She envisioned Sharpton hosting a weekly program similar to the CNN show hosted by civil rights leader Jesse Jackson in the 1990s. Sharpton says he pitched the idea to MSNBC President Phil Griffin, who rejected it before eventually deciding to hire him as a daily host." Dade's "The Rev. Al Sharpton, In Six True-False Statements" appeared on the NPR site on Saturday.

On Saturday, the Bronx Documentary Center in New York opened "Seis del Sur: Dispatches from Home by Six Nuyorican Photographers," an exhibition of photographs, video and ephemera by Joe Conzo Jr., Ricky Flores, Ángel Franco, David Gonzalez, Edwin Pagán and Francisco Molina Reyes II, all photographers of Puerto Rican descent. Gonzalez and Franco work at the New York Times; Flores at the suburban Journal News. "The exhibition depicts the South Bronx in the 1970s, 80s and 90s as captured by those who lived through the famous devastation. This groundbreaking exhibition, a combination of street photography, portraiture, crime scene photos, and snapshots from the birth of hip hop, has been 'thirty years in the making,' " an announcement says. The exhibition runs until March 8. Review by Charlie Vázquez of Latino Rebels.

In Hawaii, "News anchor Teri Okita will leave Hawaii News Now at the end of the February Nielsen ratings period and former anchor Grace Lee, who left the stations in November of 2010, will be returning, the Star-Advertiser has learned," the Honolulu newspaper reported Friday.

In New York, "WABC reporter Marci Gonzalez is joining ABC News as a New York-based correspondent for NewsOne," Merrill Knox reported Friday for TVSpy. "Gonzalez joined the New York City ABC O&O as a reporter in 2011. She has also worked at WPTV in West Palm Beach and News 12 The Bronx."

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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.

Author Says Southerners Wanted to Keep Slave Patrols

As Hollywood puts slavery back in the American consciousness and the reaction to the Newtown, Conn., shootings has the Second Amendment on the front burner, an author and talk-show host links the two in an intriguing way.

"The Second Amendment was Ratified to Preserve Slavery," reads the headline over a piece by Thom Hartmann posted Tuesday on Truthout, a site that "works to spark action by revealing systemic injustice and providing a platform for transformative ideas, through in-depth investigative reporting and critical analysis."

It begins, "The real reason the Second Amendment was ratified, and why it says 'State' instead of 'Country' (the Framers knew the difference -- see the 10th Amendment), was to preserve the slave patrol militias in the southern states, which was necessary to get Virginia's vote. Founders Patrick Henry, George Mason, and James Madison were totally clear on that . . . and we all should be too.

"In the beginning, there were the militias. In the South, they were also called the 'slave patrols,' and they were regulated by the states.

"In Georgia, for example, a generation before the American Revolution, laws were passed in 1755 and 1757 that required all plantation owners or their male white employees to be members of the Georgia Militia, and for those armed militia members to make monthly inspections of the quarters of all slaves in the state. The law defined which counties had which armed militias and even required armed militia members to keep a keen eye out for slaves who may be planning uprisings.

". . . So Madison, who had (at [Thomas] Jefferson's insistence) already begun to prepare proposed amendments to the Constitution, changed his first draft of one that addressed the militia issue to make sure it was unambiguous that the southern states could maintain their slave patrol militias.

"His first draft for what became the Second Amendment had said: 'The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed, and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country [emphasis mine]: but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms, shall be compelled to render military service in person.'

"But Henry, Mason and others wanted southern states to preserve their slave-patrol militias independent of the federal government. So Madison changed the word 'country' to the word 'state,' and redrafted the Second Amendment into today's form:

" 'A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State [emphasis mine], the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.' . . . "

Journalist Charles E. Cobb Jr., former field secretary of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists, is writing a book that argues that "without the armed protection given to civil rights workers by farmers and others, there would have been a lot more deaths" during the civil rights movement, he told Journal-isms by telephone Wednesday. Still, Cobb favors gun control, saying, "What I think is essential is registration."

Asked about the coverage of today's gun debate, Cobb said, "I wish there were more discussion about the culture of guns in the United States, in this kind of society. Guns are romanticized, and you don't hear anything about black resistance, like slave rebellions. . . . This is a frontier society, [and] in that it can't be compared to France or England or Germany," as is often done when gun violence is discussed.

Cobb said that when the Constitution was written, there were two major strands of concern: African slave rebellions and Indian attacks. "The larger question is who gets away with killing people," he added. "Blacks never get away with it. Minorities never get away with it." Cobb's book, "This Nonviolent Stuff Will Get You Killed," is due from Basic Books next year.

A USA Today/Gallup Poll released Monday showed that the number of whites wanting stricter gun laws increased from 23 percent a year ago to 34 percent this month, but rose more sharply -- from 32 percent to 49 percent -- among nonwhites.

Violent Media Just Footnote in Obama Announcement

"Hollywood and the video game industry received scant attention Wednesday when President Barack Obama unveiled sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence [video] in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting," Jake Coyle reported Wednesday for the Associated Press.

"The White House pressed most forcefully for a reluctant Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

"No connection was suggested between bloody entertainment fictions and real-life violence. Instead, the White House is calling on research on the effect of media and video games on gun violence.

"Among the 23 executive measures signed Wednesday by Obama is a directive to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and scientific agencies to conduct research into the causes and prevention of gun violence. The order specifically cited 'investigating the relationship between video games, media images and violence.'

"The measure meant that media would not be exempt from conversations about violence, but it also suggested the White House would not make Hollywood, television networks and video game makers a central part of the discussion. It's a relative footnote in the White House's broad, multi-point plan, and Obama did not mention violence in media in his remarks Wednesday. . . . "

N.Y. Law Aims to Curb Disclosure of Permit Holders

"The Radio-Television Digital News Association is calling on New York lawmakers and Governor Andrew Cuomo to restore automatic public access to the state's gun permit records," the association said on Wednesday.

Portions of New York's new gun control law (Senate Bill 2230/Assembly Bill 2388), adopted by the legislature and signed by Cuomo this week, will require journalists and other citizens to seek special permission from either local public officials or the courts in order to access the records, which until now had been available without such restrictions.

"The provisions were included in the legislation after a suburban New York City newspaper and its website, as part of its coverage in the aftermath of the December 14 school shooting in nearby Newtown, Connecticut, published the names and addresses of gun permit holders in two Lower Hudson Valley counties. The publication of the names and addresses provoked the ire of some New York state lawmakers who believed it violated gun permit owners¹ rights to privacy and security.

" 'This is clearly a wild overreaction to the decision to publish the names,' said Mike Cavender, RTDNA Executive Director. 'Closing off public records is an excessive and inappropriate response, and we respectfully urge Governor Cuomo and New York legislators to restore the public¹s access to this information.'

"That stated, RTDNA believes the controversy could be used as a catalyst for dialog to determine ways to balance the rights of people to access important public information and the obligation of journalists to report on stories of vital interest in a responsible way. . . ."

The Journal News, the newspaper that published the names and addresses of the permit holders, quoted Janet Hasson, president and publisher of the Journal News Media Group. "We are disappointed with the broad nature of several exemptions in the law and lack of opportunity for any reasonable period for public comment or discussion," she said, referring to the provisions that would shield information about gun-permit holders. "We are reviewing the law and the impact it might have on publication of permit data in the future."

Peter Baker, New York Times: In Gun Debate, Even Language Can Be Loaded

David Bauder, Associated Press: A Disconnect Between Violence And TV

Charles M. Blow, New York Times: Revolutionary Language

Dylan Byers, Politico: In defense of the 'Journal News' gun map

Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post: Three strikes for the NRA

David Carr, New York Times: Guns, Maps and Data That Disturb

Lewis W. Diuguid, Kansas City Star: We should oppose efforts to liberalize gun laws

Chip Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle: Oakland leaders have lost grip on violence

John McWhorter, Daily News, New York: Call it gun murder, not 'gun violence'

Courtland Milloy, Washington Post: On MLK holiday, walking for civil rights and the Second Amendment

Phillip Morris, Plain Dealer, Cleveland: Guns on teachers is not the best solution to securing our schools

Ana Veciana Suarez, Miami Herald: In the wake of Sandy Hook, can we really keep kids safe?

Laura Washington, Chicago Sun-Times: Gunshots, not flu, the real epidemic

Star-Ledger Eliminates Nearly 10% of Newsroom

"The jobs of 34 Star-Ledger employees -- including nearly 10 percent of the newsroom -- are being eliminated in the first large-scale layoffs in the history of the state's largest daily newspaper, publisher Richard Vezza said this morning," Ted Sherman and Kelly Heyboer reported Wednesday for the Star-Ledger in Newark.

"Eighteen part- and full-time staffers in The Star-Ledger's newsroom of 195 employees are expected to be laid off today, along with 16 positions in other departments. The totals include 19 full-time employees and 15 part-time positions. . . ." It could not be confirmed that journalists of color were among those laid off.

Meanwhile, "A slow economic recovery coupled with industry challenges led to the elimination of 11 jobs at South Jersey Times," like the Star-Ledger owned by Advance Publications, the Times announced Wednesday. The newspaper serves readers in Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland and parts of Camden counties.

In New York, "Digital First Media, which operates MediaNews Group, Journal Register Company and Digital First Ventures, today announced The Oneida Daily Dispatch is launching a new digitally focused publishing schedule that includes expanded online, mobile and electronic offerings and a change to a three-day print schedule," the Oneida paper reported.

Network Confirms Pulling "All My Babies' Mamas"

Oxygen Media confirmed that it has pulled the plug on "All My Babies' Mamas," a reality special the network was developing about a musician who has fathered 11 children with 10 different mothers, Frazier Moore reported Tuesday for the Associated Press.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Oxygen said that, "as part of our development process, we have reviewed casting and decided not to move forward with the special." Allison Samuels of the Daily Beast reported the cancellation on Monday, citing "my sources."

"The program was initially slated for release this spring as a one hour reality special on Oxygen TV," Courtney Garcia and Chris Witherspoon reported Tuesday for the Grio. "The show would follow Shawty Lo and his 11 children by ten different mothers. According to Oxygen, 'Shawty Lo and his family were considered for the show, but other families were being considered as well.' "

MTV News reported Wednesday, "Now the 'Dey Know' rapper is saying that he understands the public concern, but the people have it all wrong.

" 'Yeah I really understand. They have the right to think that, but at least give the show a chance, to see what's goin' on,' L-O pleaded when he spoke with Emperor Searcy and Mz Shyneka from Hot 107.9 in Atlanta on Wednesday (January 16). 'They makin' their assumptions off a 13-minute trailer and this like the biggest news around the world right now and it's unbelievable. ' "

The rapper told MTV News earlier, "You can hate all you want to, I didn't ask for it. It just happened. Now that it happened, I'm supposed to turn my back against it," he said. "If I wasn't taking care of my kids then you would really dog me out, but I'm taking care of my kids, providing for my family. I don't know what else to say."

"I take care of all my kids. ... Outta all the 10 baby mamas, I just have problems outta one. That's it," he continued. "She has two kids by me, and she feel like I'm supposed to do more for her kids, and she don't wanna work. She just want me to straight take care of them, but it's all love. I handle it ... It's a lot of fathers don't take care of one; I gotta deal with 11."

Annette John-Hall, Philadelphia Inquirer: Series is trifling with life's final dignity

Rochester Paper Launches Community Race Project

The Gannett-owned Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, N.Y., unveiled "Unite Rochester," a new initiative "designed to promote awareness about racial issues and to find new, more inclusive ways to work together to solve community problems," in a column Sunday by Editor Karen Magnuson.

". . . There is no better time to conduct a communitywide conversation," Magnuson wrote. The Rochester Museum & Science Center is hosting a national touring exhibit [PDF] on the topic, and several local organizations are conducting community events to extend the dialogue.

"The Democrat and Chronicle will publish a series of special reports about race and racism during and after the exhibit. The first installment, to be published Jan. 20, will reveal the results of a poll about racial attitudes and race-related topics in Monroe County. We worked in collaboration with Act Rochester and the Rochester Area Community Foundation to commission the poll by Siena College Research Institute and thank them for their contributions.

"Our Editorial Board also will weigh in regularly with editorials and publish letters and essays from citizens and community leaders.

"The most important contributor, however, is you. If we are going to be successful in conducting a community conversation, we all need to step outside of our comfort zones to share our experiences, ask good questions and provide respectful responses."

Magnuson co-chairs the Diversity Committee of the American Society of News Editors. She told Journal-isms by email that the Unite Rochester Facebook page has already notched more than 200 "likes" and is "building more momentum every day. We were invited by a competing TV news organization to talk about the project for a weekly program that focuses on the diversity of our community. It was taped earlier today and will air Sunday. . . .

"We launched with a simple splash page but [are] rolling out a full web section this weekend along with the results of a scientific poll about racial attitudes in Monroe County. . . ."

Magnuson said she was consulting with other editors of color and with community members.

Ad Sales Go Fast for Oprah's Armstrong Interview

"Oprah Winfrey's cable network OWN is close to selling out advertising time at premium prices for the highly anticipated televised doping confession by former cycling champion Lance Armstrong, a senior network executive said," Lisa Richwine and Liana B. Baker reported Tuesday for Reuters.

"The network, a joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc, expects to sell all of the remaining commercial time for the two-part version of 'Oprah's Next Chapter,' OWN President Erik Logan said in an interview late on Tuesday.

"Both current and new sponsors have been calling to secure ad time during the telecast, which airs in primetime on Thursday and Friday, Logan said. . . . "

Jenice Armstrong, Philadelphia Daily News: Armstrong slinks into Oprah's welcome arms for confession

Andrea Morabito, Broadcasting & Cable: Lance Armstrong is OWN's Latest Grab for Ratings

African Media Quiet on French Intervention in Mali

"African media commentators have been generally muted about the French military intervention in Mali, where however, one paper hailed President Francois Hollande as a saviour," the BBC reported on Monday.

"In the wider world, support for France's actions is mixed, with some Chinese and Middle Eastern writers expressing suspicion about France's motives.

"And in France, some commentators warn that the involvement of troops from a former colonial power is fraught with dire consequences.

"The Russian press appears supportive of the offensive, intended to help the Malian government to free northern Mali from Islamist control, but Chinese pundits suspect the French president of using military action abroad to prop up his popularity at home. . . ."

J. Peter Pham, Gregory Mann, Anouar Boukhars, Mark Schroeder, Robert R. Fowler, New York Times "Room for Debate": A New Line in the Sand Against Terror?

Bruce Whitehouse, Bridges from Bamako blog: Behind Mali's conflict: myths, realities & unknowns

Short Takes

It's becoming less rare for a journalism organization to ban working fellow journalists from its events, but the D.C. chapter of National Association of Hispanic Journalists is doing so for its membership drive and mixer Sunday. The attractions are San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro and Telemundo Anchor José Díaz-Balart. "The NAHJ D.C. Chapter Board declared the Chapter Mixer and Membership Drive a private event. So there will not be any media availability for our special guests," Brandon Benavides, chapter president, wrote on the group's web page. "We reached capacity," he wrote.

Dr. Everett C. Parker, who in 1955 founded the modern media reform movement as founding director of the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, turns 100 on Thursday. In the 1960s, Parker played a key role in having the license of WLBT-TV in Jackson, Miss., revoked, the only time the government has yanked a station's license for failing to serve the public interest. WLBT attempted to squelch the voices of the civil rights movement of the time. A consortium of groups that included African Americans won the license.

"Native Angeleno and Emmy Award winner Elizabeth Espinosa will host Sin Límites, a new program with CNN Latino that will broadcast on KBEH-DT Channel 63 in Los Angeles," CNN announced Wednesday. CNN Latino is a new Spanish-language programming service tailored for broadcast TV stations that launches Jan. 28.

"Some Latino civil rights groups are questioning the U.S. Census consideration of designating Hispanics a race of their own, fearing the loss of national original designations," Tony Castro reported Jan. 8 for voxxi.com. "The change, making 'Hispanic' a racial instead of an ethnic category, would eliminate the check-off boxes for national origins such as Mexican, Cuban and Puerto Rican."

In New York, McDonalds is honoring Black History Month with its Black Media Legends and Trailblazers ceremony on Feb. 1, Jerry Barmash reported Tuesday for FishbowlNY. Among the 18 honorees are recently retired WNBC-TV anchor Sue Simmons; WPIX-TV reporter Jay Dow; Errol Louis, host of NY1's "Inside City Hall"; John Noel of WNBC-TV; Deon Levingston of WBLS-FM and WLIB-AM; Fatiyn Muhammad of WBLS-FM; DJ Clue of WWPR-FM and Robert F. Moore, a managing editor of the Daily News.

"The population of people reading newspapers has aged dramatically in the last three years to the point that nearly three-quarters of the audience is aged 45 or older, according to my analysis of survey and census data," Alan D. Mutter wrote Tuesday on his Reflections of a Newsosaur site.

March 15 is the deadline for high school students of any ethnicity to apply for JCamp 2013, sponsored by the Asian American Journalists Association. The camp takes place June 21 to 26 at George Washington University in the nation's capital. High school freshmen, sophomores and juniors are encouraged to apply to the program. All expenses are paid.

"Israeli soldiers prevented journalists from covering the eviction of a Palestinian campsite in the West Bank on Sunday, according to news reports and local press freedom organizations," the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on Tuesday. "The journalists worked for international news outlets including The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, CNN, and Al-Jazeera, as well as local media including Raya FM radio station and Palestine TV, according to the same sources."

"Police in Somalia have arrested a journalist who wrote a story about a woman who said she was raped by government security forces, prompting an outcry from human and media rights groups," the Associated Press reported. "Human Rights Watch is demanding the immediate release of Somali journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, a freelance journalist who was arrested by police on Thursday after interviewing the woman. . . . "

"A new report from Microsoft Research highlights the role Twitter users in Mexico play in reporting violence from organized crime as an alternative to the censorship criminal groups exercise against traditional media," Tania Lara reported for the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. ". . . The authors hypothesize that curators and Twitter users have moved in to fill the information gap left by many traditional media organizations. . . ."

In Panama, "Journalist Guillermo Antonio 'Niño' Adames, host [of] RPC TV's program Debate Abierto, claimed that two suspects wearing police uniforms stopped him while he was driving his car in a residential zone in Panama City, the capital," Tania Lara reported for the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. "The suspects forced their way into his car and the journalist escaped by jumping out of the vehicle while it was still in motion, according to La Estrella. . . . "

In Nigeria, "Unidentified men shot dead Ikechukwu Udendu, editor of Anambra News, a monthly newspaper in southeastern Anambra state, while he was returning home at night from a commercial printing house in the city of Onitsha, news reports said," the Committee to Protect Journalists reported Tuesday.

Steve Harvey "will give Clear Channel at least another five years," Radio Ink reported Tuesday. "His morning show, which has been syndicated by Clear Channel-owned Premiere since 2005, is on just under 70 stations. Harvey will also work with Clear Channel on joint ventures including the international expansion of his radio show, development and creation of new programming and promotions, community and charitable events, as well as multimedia projects and events. He will also serve as a spokesperson for the company."

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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.