Media

No Difference in Taste or Sensibility, Jill Abramson Says Jill Abramson, who last week became the first female editor of the New York Times in its 160-year history, said Sunday, “The idea that women journalists bring a different taste in stories or sensibility isn’t true.” The statement was challenged by women who have studied the…

Time magazine this week published “Beyond 9/11: Portraits of Resilience,” a photo-rich commemorative edition dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. No identifiable African Americans are pictured in its 64 pages. Asked about the omission, Time spokesman Kerri Chyka said by email: “TIME is declining to comment at this time.”…

The Dallas Morning News laid off a reported 38 newsroom employees on Tuesday, including two black journalists, in still another cutback attributed to declining advertising revenues. Newsroom sources identified the two as Arnessa M. Garrett, a suburban editor, and Jason Roberson, a reporter who covered the business of health care.  In a blog on the…

Labor Day brought unexpected news for friends and colleagues who found their names added to a new Facebook page, “Friends of Elmer Smith“: The longtime editorial writer and columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News is retiring. “Yo, Elmer!! Sorry to hear that the coolest cat, and one of the smartest voices at the DN, is…

Washington Monthly’s Ratings Reward Social Mobility “Washington Monthly released its annual college rankings this week, and black and women’s colleges are ranked next to Ivy Leagues,” NPR’s “Tell Me More” reported on Wednesday. “That’s because on this list, colleges score more points for promoting volunteer work and admitting more students with Pell Grants.” Jackson State…

An essay on the Forbes magazine website about the role of law enforcement and order during a natural disaster was imported to the Yahoo News site Monday. But the headline, “Crime in the Wake of Hurricane Irene,” was used as a caption under a photo of a black man navigating a flooded street, heading toward…

Unity: Journalists of Color, Inc. has invited the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association to join the coalition, reversing its position that the alliance would include only the “journalists of color” groups. The invitation was taken in the absence of the National Association of Black Journalists, which withdrew from the coalition in March, and raises…

Activist Compares Show With Limbaugh’s, Hannity’s The Rev. Al Sharpton, newly awarded the “permanent” 6 p.m. host slot on MSNBC, says he views his position as new turf on the civil rights “battlefield,” engaging the right wing. Sharpton told theLoop21.com on Tuesday: “When you look at the last 15 years, there was a rise of…

CNN’s Sara Sidner Out Front on Downfall of Gaddafi “Women led the way in the coverage of the rebel advance into the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Sunday night,” Jack Mirkinson wrote Monday for the Huffington Post, and among them was CNN’s Sara Sidner, one of the rare African American women to report from a…

“When I read ‘The Help’ two years ago (I couldn’t put it down) and watched the film last Saturday (which made me laugh and cry), I could feel the pain of another white 40-something Mississippian who wants to make it all better.   “She’s pining for a happier ending for our state, and she’s using her…