Media

The world will not soon forget the scene in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square on Friday, the day that President Hosni Mubarak announced he was stepping down from his 30-year rule after 18 days of protests. “This is what freedom looks like,” NBC’s Ron Allen shouted from the square, surrounded by celebrants. “This is the moment…

NBA Hall of Famer Says, “We Will Redefine Vibe Holdings as the Center of Influence for the Coveted Urban Audience” “Magic Johnson Enterprises and Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos. have agreed to invest in Vibe Holdings LLC, the parent company of Vibe magazine and the music-and-dance TV show ‘Soul Train,’ in a deal that will install…

Huffington Takes Control of Black Voices, AOL Latino, Patch “In one of the biggest digital publishing deals in recent memory, AOL has agreed to pay $315 million for the Huffington Post, the pioneering web-only newspaper co-founded by Arianna Huffington,” as Edmund Lee reported early Monday for AdAge.com. “The deal is AOL CEO Tim Armstrong’s latest…

Angela Burt-Murray Out at HuffPost’s Black Project Former Essence magazine editor Angela Burt-Murray, who was point person for the Huffington Post’s new project targeting African Americans, has left the project, Derek J. Murphy, chief operating officer of the venture, told Journal-isms on Thursday. “I’m currently managing staff recruiting and site development with our partnership team.…

Mark Whitaker has jumped ship from NBC News, where as vice president he was the highest-ranking person of color, to CNN, where he will hold that same distinction. Whitaker was named to the newly created position of executive vice president and managing editor, reporting directly to Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide, CNN announced on…

Al-Jazeera’s “Palestine Papers” Embarrass All Sides “Earlier this month, Al Jazeera launched a new feature on its Web site called the Transparency Unit — the network’s in-house version of WikiLeaks,” Raffi Khatchadourian blogged Monday for the New Yorker magazine. “When the unit first went online, there was not much coverage about it in English, but…

Samuel F. Yette, a reporter, teacher, author and photojournalist whose publication of the 1971 book “The Choice: The Issue of Black Survival in America” coincided with his dismissal as the first black Washington correspondent for Newsweek magazine, died Friday at an assisted living facility in Laurel, Md. He was 81 and had Alzheimer’s disease, a…

Ex-Knight-Ridder, Johnson Publishing Exec Moves to D.C. Bryan Monroe, former news executive at the defunct Knight Ridder and at Johnson Publishing Co., has joined CNN as editor of CNNPolitics.com, CNN announced on Monday. Monroe told Journal-isms he considered it his “dream job” and had started on Monday. “In this newly created role, Monroe will lead…

Critics who suggest that Oprah Winfrey’s new OWN network could use a little more racial diversity found a gentle supporter in Sheila Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television. Johnson, who counts herself as Winfrey admirer, said Thursday on NPR’s “Tell Me More”: “The only advice that I say, let’s open up your circle a little…

“Discovery Communications expects Oprah Winfrey’s cable channel to achieve profitability in its first year,” Brian Stelter reported Tuesday night for the New York Times. “Discovery and Ms. Winfrey flipped the switch on OWN, short for the Oprah Winfrey Network, on New Year’s Day. The new channel enjoyed heavy sampling among viewers over the weekend, though…