Culture

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…

“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…

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…

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!”  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…

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,”…

After activists picketed the New York Times building Tuesday and delivered petitions with more than 70,000 signatures urging the newspaper to drop the term “illegal immigrant,” the Times announced a change in policy. But the National Association of Hispanic Journalists called the change “unacceptable” and cowardly. Unity: Journalists for Diversity, which includes NAHJ, followed NAHJ…

“Since the identification and apprehension (both dead and alive) of Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan Tsarnaev (reportedly shot and run over with explosives strapped to him, amid unconfirmed reports he was clutching an ‘ACME Co.’ receipt) and [Dzhokhar] Tsarnaev (apprehended as a result of history’s first heroic nicotine fit), there has been a rush to…

Allen H. Neuharth, who led the newspaper industry in championing diversity and made it possible for Robert C. Maynard to become the first African American publisher of a mainstream newspaper, died Friday at his home in Cocoa Beach, Fla. He was 89. An obituary by Herbert Buchsbaum of the New York Times described Neuharth as…

Some Use Experts of Color to Comment on Boston Bombing On a day highlighted by false reports that a suspect had been arrested in the Boston Marathon bombing, CNN’s John King was singled out for reporting that law enforcement officials had identified “a dark-skinned male” as the suspect, and at least three news organizations demonstrated…

Two years ago, a headline writer wrote this over a story by Lynette Holloway for The Root: “Abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell has been charged with eight counts of murder. Both sides of the abortion debate are having a field day with this case. But what happens to poor women of color facing unwanted pregnancies?” Holloway…