A Pittsburgh anchor who posted a racially inflammatory Facebook message after a shooting that left five black people dead has been fired, the station announced on Wednesday. Wendy Bell, who is white, had been at WTAE-TV for 18 years and won 21 Emmy Awards. On March 23, she posted a lengthy Facebook message that read,…

MSNBC is cutting ties with host Melissa Harris-Perry, an MSNBC spokesman confirmed on Sunday, after she refused to appear on her program Saturday morning, complaining that her show had effectively been taken away from her. Spokesman Mark Kornblau replied with a simple “yes” when asked whether the network was severing ties. Harris-Perry tweeted Sunday morning,…

Journal-isms will be on hiatus until further notice. Gwen Ifill, co-moderator of Thursday’s Democratic presidential candidates debate on PBS, said, “Let me turn this on its head, because when we talk about race in this country, we always talk about African-Americans, people of color. I want to talk about white people, OK?” Sen. Bernie Sanders,…

Michael Feeney, Mentor With a Purpose Service in Harlem Sanctuary Has Feel of NABJ Meeting Deon J. Hampton, a reporter at Newsday and fraternity brother of Michael J. Feeney, will never forget driving from Oklahoma to New York on faith. Hampton had been laid off from the Tulsa World in March 2011 and was not…

The most popular African American website for 2015 wasn’t known for its discussions of Black Lives Matter, Donald Trump or killer snowstorms, according to a compilation from the ComScore, Inc., research company. That distinction goes to Madame Noire, which calls itself “a sophisticated lifestyle publication that gives African-American women the latest in fashion trends, black…

Daily News Cover: “He Said-She Said” 55 Times Over “A media throng” followed Bill Cosby on Wednesday as he reported for his arraignment outside Philadelphia on a charge of felony indecent assault, reviving a decade-old allegation that he drugged and sexually attacked a former Temple University employee. No cameras were allowed in the courtroom, but…

A year in the quest for news media that look like America: 1. Police Violence The expanded use of body cameras and dashboard videos gave the public access to footage of police interactions with civilians who in too many instances ended up dead. The footage often contradicted police reports and prompted news organizations to conduct…

Our latest list of nonfiction books by journalists of color or those of special interest to them — the second of two — features journalists following their passions, whether delving further into their beats, pursuing an avocation, expanding on an interest kindled at work, seeking more information about why they grew up as they did…

With Mistrial, Opportunity to Repeat Prior Mistakes A mistrial declared Wednesday in the trial of Baltimore Police Officer William G. Porter provided an opportunity for the news media to recycle images of the unrest that followed the April 12 death of Freddie Gray in police custody.  But how true a representation will those images be? …

Richard Prince’s Book Notes™: Holiday Offerings Our latest list of nonfiction books by journalists of color or those of special interest to them — the first of two — gives us a chance to praise journalists who rocked the world they found, paving the way for journalists who continue the struggle today. Four of these…