Media

Commentator and entrepreneur Armstrong Williams said Monday that there is “no doubt” that he plans to buy WMMP-TV in Charleston, S.C., his home state, from Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. Allbritton Communications announced Monday it has agreed to sell its seven television stations to Sinclair for $985 million. Williams’ good relations with Sinclair are paying off.…

The National Association of Black Journalists Tuesday provided more details of its plans to discuss the George Zimmerman trial at its convention next week in Kissimmee, Fla., near Orlando, as talk of a boycott of the state over the not-guilty verdict seemed overshadowed by conflicting reports. “The conference will open with a dynamic plenary session,…

The fallout from the George Zimmerman trial was in the air Friday, as President Obama made a surprise speech about the verdict in the White House press briefing room. But at the National Native Media Conference in Tempe, Ariz., where the Native American Journalists Association was meeting, other topics ruled the day. The words “George…

President Obama’s surprise remarks Friday on the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman case, in which Obama declared, “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago,” came after public prodding by some of his supporters, sometimes on op-ed pages. Mark Landler and Michael D. Shear reported Friday for the New York Times that the speech followed “anguished…

Association Wants Martin, Zimmerman Families in Orlando Even though some members of the National Association of Black Journalists are so upset by the not-guilty verdict delivered George Zimmerman that they urged NABJ to pull out of Florida for the convention scheduled in two weeks, such a pullout would cost the association more than $1 million,…

Journalists reacted with cautious approval Friday to an announcement by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. that he was revising Justice Department procedures that enraged reporters this year as the department pursued leak investigations. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Hugo Balta, president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the only leader of a journalist-of-color organization…

A day after TV One announced that Roland Martin would host a new daily morning show on its network, Journal-isms asked Martin, “What have the stories about your new show failed to mention?” Martin replied by email: “That no other Black network has taken on such an ambitious project to launch a show in the…

Internet Is Second Choice for All Groups, Gallup Says “Television is the main place Americans say they turn to for news about current events (55%), leading the Internet, at 21%,” the Gallup Organization reported Monday, with people of color turning to television more than whites and less to the Internet, print and radio. The organization…

“A woman who could be considered Africa’s Oprah Winfrey is launching an entertainment network that will be beamed into nearly every country on the continent with programs showcasing its burgeoning middle class,” Michelle Faul reported from Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday for the Associated Press. “Mosunmola ‘Mo’ Abudu wants EbonyLife TV to inspire Africans and the rest…

Few Blacks in White Media, but They Reported It Elsewhere On Monday, PBS announced that a documentary marking the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington would air Aug. 27, on the eve of the historic date when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. While this documentary and other commemorations…