Updated March 7

Network Won’t Talk if Roland Martin Is Involved

. . . NAACP Backs NABJ in Dispute With CNN

. . . Did Fox Give Trump Questions in Advance?

R. Kelly Tells Gayle King His Accusers Are Lying

. . . King Praised for Composure; Special Airs Friday

ABC Includes 3 Black Journalists in 2020 ‘Embeds’

Whites Receive More Federal Money After Disasters

Newest FCC Member to Focus on Ownership

Sacramento Bee Decries Police Attack on Press

. . . Natives Protest Police-Inflicted Death

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Although the 2016 presidential election has been settled, the debate over the questioning at CNN's March 2016 "town hall" continues. Moderator Roland Martin is at center.

Although the 2016 presidential election has been settled, the debate over the questioning at CNN’s March 2016 “town hall” continues. Shown are moderators Jake Tapper, at left, and Roland Martin, and Democratic presidential primary candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

Network Won’t Talk if Roland Martin Is Involved

The National Association of Black Journalists Tuesday called out CNN for a lack of black news executives, but CNN responded that it will not discuss the issue as long as Roland Martin, NABJ’s vice president-digital and a former CNN commentator, is involved.

NABJ “is concerned about the lack of black representation within the ranks of CNN’s executive news managers and direct reports to CNN President Jeff Zucker. This concern, coupled with Zucker’s refusal to meet with a four-person NABJ delegation, has prompted NABJ to place CNN on a special media monitoring list,” an NABJ announcement said.

It added:

  • “CNN President Jeff Zucker has no black direct reports.
  • “There are no black Executive Producers at CNN.
  • “There are no black Vice Presidents on the news side at CNN.
  • “There are no black Senior Vice Presidents on the news side at CNN.”

In response, a CNN spokesperson pointed to Martin’s role in a CNN “town hall” on March 13, 2016, which became part of a controversy over whether Donna Brazile, veteran political strategist who was then also a CNN commentator, had passed along to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton questions Clinton might be asked.

“For months, we have been working with NABJ to schedule a meeting because the relationship between CNN and NABJ is very important to us,” Tuesday’s CNN statement said.

“As we have told them many times, we look forward to a thoughtful discussion about how both of our organizations can continue to work together. Unfortunately, the significant and reckless damage that Roland Martin did to CNN while partnering with us during a 2016 Democratic Town Hall has made any meeting that includes him untenable.

Donna Brazile discusses hacked emails with Washington journalists in February 2018 . (Credit: Sharon Farmer)

Donna Brazile (Credit: Sharon Farmer)

“Mr. Martin displayed an unprecedented and egregious lack of journalistic ethics and integrity by leaking questions prior to the town hall. As a result, we have told NABJ that CNN will not participate in any meeting that includes him.

“We have made it abundantly clear that we would be more than happy to sit down with the rest of their leadership team as soon as possible, and that offer still stands.”

Martin was an on-air commentator for six years at CNN, ending in 2013 when CNN declined to renew his contract. The same year, Martin was named NABJ’s “Journalist of the Year” for his work on TV One’s “Washington Watch” and the syndicated “Tom Joyner Morning Show” on the radio. He now hosts a daily digital news show.

NABJ said in Tuesday’s statement, “Zucker’s refusal to meet with the full delegation is based on a personal issue between CNN and NABJ’s Vice President-Digital Roland Martin. The issue stems from Martin’s participation in a 2016 town hall meeting with Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Previously, former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile admitted, according to a Time essay, she inadvertently disclosed a town hall topic to the Clinton campaign that was part of Martin’s research inquiry for the town hall.”

However, Brazile told Journal-isms in March 2017 that despite interpretations of her essay by several mainstream publications, she “admitted” no such thing.

“At no time did I receive or participate in the drafting or dissemination of questions provided by CNN,” Brazile told Journal-isms by email.

In a follow-up telephone conversation, Brazile said, “I’m not going to allow the lies to stand.”

She said she needed no prompting to advise Clinton to discuss the contaminated water crisis in Flint, Mich. “I as a black woman wanted Flint to be front and center in our conversation about who should be the next president,” she said.

The issue of leaking questions came after WikiLeaks released hacked emails from the account of John Podesta, chairman of the 2016 Clinton presidential campaign.

“Martin initially denied sharing his questions with anyone, but later said his executive producer and team at TV One had the questions in order to pass them on to the CNN team,” Hadas Gold wrote on Oct. 31, 2016, for Politico. “Once POLITICO obtained further emails, Martin said he didn’t believe he consulted with Brazile about the questions. . . .”

NABJ said of CNN, “A special team will perform further research and an analysis of CNN’s diversity, inclusion and equity practices, per the NABJ Board’s directive. The special team will also publicly report on identified deficiencies in hiring a diverse workforce in news decision-making capacities at CNN. NABJ is also calling for a civil rights audit that examines the company’s hiring, promotion and compensation practices involving black employees.”

The statement also said, “NABJ received a communication from CNN disputing only one of our research points, saying the assertion that there are not any black vice presidents on the news side is inaccurate. However, when asked to provide the name and position of the individual or individuals involved on the editorial side of news, CNN has yet to provide specifics.

“In addition to special media monitoring activities and the civil rights audit, NABJ’s next steps involve further engaging with CNN’s parent company, AT&T, which has responded positively to outreach efforts and previously agreed to meet with NABJ.

“NABJ’s delegates are already engaged in very positive outreach with several other media companies and have met or have scheduled meetings with Fox, CBS, NBC and ABC. NABJ believes those companies see the value in such meetings and appreciates the respect those companies are showing for the positive intent of our efforts. . . .”

. . . NAACP Backs NABJ in Dispute With CNN

The NAACP, the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization, is lining up behind the National Association of Black Journalists in its quest to add African Americans to CNN’s news management ranks.

“NAACP finds it offensive that CNN President Jeff Zucker refuses to address this issue,” the NAACP said in a statement on Thursday. “We are far beyond the point of accepting simple visibility as an instance of true diversity. For major corporations like CNN and its parent company, WarnerMedia, diversifying the media landscape must become a part of a company’s corporate responsibility rather than always as a response to intolerance and implicit bias.

“Until concrete steps are taken by CNN, the NAACP stands firmly with NABJ and asks that WarnerMedia conduct a diversity and inclusion audit of all its news divisions. We will continue to hold the media industry accountable for their insufficient response and actions toward diversity.”

The NAACP previously scolded CBS over what it perceived to be CBS’ failure to include black journalists in its 2020 campaign coverage.

. . . Did Fox Give Trump Questions in Advance?

In her opus in the New Yorker concluding that Fox News Channel has in effect become “state TV” under the Trump administration, reporter Jane Mayer suggests that then-candidate Donald Trump might have been given potential questions to be asked at the August 2015 Republican candidates debate in Cleveland.

Megyn Kelly

Megyn Kelly

Referring to then-Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, Mayer wrote, “Kelly asked Trump a famously tough question. ‘You’ve called women you don’t like “fat pigs,” “dogs,” “slobs,” and “disgusting animals,” ‘ she said. Trump interrupted her with a snide quip: ‘Only Rosie O’Donnell!’ The hall burst into laughter and applause. . . .

“Fox, however, may have given Trump a little help. A pair of Fox insiders and a source close to Trump believe that [the late Fox News mogul Roger] Ailes informed the Trump campaign about Kelly’s question. Two of those sources say that they know of the tipoff from a purported eyewitness.

“In addition, a former Trump campaign aide says that a Fox contact gave him advance notice of a different debate question, which asked the candidates whether they would support the Republican nominee, regardless of who won. The former aide says that the heads-up was passed on to Trump, who was the only candidate who said that he wouldn’t automatically support the Party’s nominee — a position that burnished his image as an outsider.

“These claims are hard to evaluate: Ailes is dead, and they conflict with substantial reporting suggesting that the rift between Trump and Fox was bitter. A former campaign aide is adamant that Trump was genuinely surprised and infuriated by Kelly’s question. A Fox spokesperson strongly denied the allegations, and declined requests for interviews with employees involved in the debate.

“Kelly also declined to comment, but she broached the subject in her 2016 memoir, ‘Settle for More.’ She wrote that the day before the debate Trump called Fox executives to complain, saying he’d heard that Kelly planned to ask ‘a very pointed question directed at him.’ She noted, ‘Folks were starting to worry about Trump — his level of agitation did not match the circumstances.’

“When this passage stirred controversy, Kelly tweeted that her book ‘does not suggest Trump had any debate Qs in advance, nor do I believe that he did.’ Yet her account does suggest that Trump had enough forewarning to be upset, and that he contacted Fox before the debate. . . .”

R. Kelly breaks down in Interview with Gayle King on "CBS This Morning." (Screen shot)

R. Kelly breaks down in interview with Gayle King on “CBS This Morning.” (Screen shot)

R. Kelly Tells Gayle King His Accusers Are Lying

“In an explosive interview on Tuesday, R. Kelly broke his silence about the sexual abuse charges that landed him in jail last month,” CBS News reported Wednesday. “The embattled R&B singer spoke with ‘CBS This Morning’ co-host Gayle King for nearly 80 minutes Tuesday, saying all the women now accusing him of physical and sexual abuse are lying.

” ‘I am surprised that you agreed to do it. Why are you sitting down with us today?’ King asked the singer.

” ‘I’m very tired of all of the lies. I’ve been hearing things, and you know, and seeing things on the blogs, and you know, you know, I’m just tired,’ Kelly said.

” ‘What are the lies that you’re hearing that disturb you most?’ King asked.

” ‘Oh my God. Um — all of them, got little girls trapped in the basement … helicopters over my house trying to rescue someone that doesn’t need rescuing because they’re not in my house,’ he said, adding, ‘Handcuffing people, starving people. I have a harem, what you call it — a cult. I don’t even really know what a cult is. But I know I don’t have one.’

“Chicago prosecutors have charged Kelly with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Three of the four alleged victims were underage when the suspected crimes happened. Kelly pleaded not guilty. But sources tell CBS News federal and state authorities in at least two states, New York and Illinois, are now investigating a variety of allegations. . . .”

Referring to King, Brian Stelter added for his “Reliable Sources” newsletter, “Amid ongoing speculation about whether she will renew her contract with CBS, it’s remarkable to see how many news-making interviews she has scored lately.

“Last week she had exclusives with the director of ‘Leaving Neverland,’ the accusers, and members of the Jackson family… A few weeks ago, she had an exclusive with Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam…”

. . . King Praised for Composure; Special Airs Friday

“Gayle King kept her composure when she sat down with a fired-up R. Kelly during his first interview since being arrested and charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against four alleged victims,” Nicole Sands wrote Wednesday for People magazine.

“The R&B singer became agitated as he opened up to the CBS This Morning host in the emotionally charged interview. . . .

“Kelly, 52, grew increasingly upset throughout the interview, eventually looking directly into the camera, yelling and standing up out of his chair, but King, on the other hand, sat cool, calm and collected as Kelly lashed out and repeatedly denied all claims against him. . . .

“Though Kelly blamed social media for the allegations against him, celebrities and fans on Twitter instead focused on the positives as they applauded King, 64, for her journalistic skills and praised her professionalism. . . .

Meanwhile, “CBS News will broadcast THE GAYLE KING INTERVIEW WITH R. KELLY, a one-hour primetime special featuring exclusive interviews with the embattled R&B singer and two women who live with him, Friday, March 8 (8:00 PM, ET/PT),” the network announced Wednesday.

“The special will include never-before-seen parts of King’s 80-minute sitdown with Kelly and an interview with the two young women living with him conducted earlier this week in Chicago. In the interview, Kelly’s first since he was arrested on 10 sexual abuse charges, the singer is at times emotional and at others explosive. King also sat down with two young women currently living with Kelly, Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage. . . .”

“A team of CBS News journalists will explore the allegations of abuse against Kelly, his denials and more. . . .”

ABC Includes 3 Black Journalists in 2020 ‘Embeds’

ABC News announced Tuesday the 18 “embeds” who will cover the 2020 presidential candidates, including three black journalists in addition to other people of color.

Beatrice-Elizabeth Peterson

Beatrice Peterson

The list contrasts with CBS’ announcement of 12 digital journalists in January, which caused an uproar when a tweeted photo of the 12 showed none to be black.

CBS responded by saying that the 12 shown were not the only reporters who would cover the campaign, but the cascade of criticism exposed that as an inadequate defense.

Last month, CBS promoted Kimberly Godwin to executive vice president of news and Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews executive vice president of strategic professional development.

Godwin is African American and Ciprian-Matthews is Latina.

ABC’s election team includes black journalists Beatrice Peterson, a producer/reporter; Rachel Scott, a Washington-based reporter, and Briana Stewart, a news producer and lifestyle writer.

The list also includes Armando Garcia, Justin Gomez, Lissette Rodriguez and Zohreen Shah.

“As the election continues to heat up, these reporters will track the candidates’ every move at campaign stops, rallies, meet and greets,” ABC News President James Goldston said in the announcement.

“Everywhere the candidates are our team will be right there alongside them, reporting on the latest news, developments and color on the ground. An equally essential responsibility will be to take the pulse of the country and to spend time with voters exploring the most important issues and understanding what gets people to the polls.

“The requirements of the role have changed significantly since the last cycle. We will look to our embeds to push the envelope and use the latest in technology to report, write, shoot, edit, produce and book pieces, as well as break news across every one of our platforms. . . .”

Residents of the Arbor Court apartments in Houston evacuate their flooded complex in The Woodlands, Texas, in April 2016. (Credit: Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle)

Residents of the Arbor Court apartments in Houston evacuate their flooded complex in The Woodlands in April 2016. (Credit: Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle)

Whites Receive More Federal Money After Disasters

An “NPR investigation has found that across the country, white Americans and those with more wealth often receive more federal dollars after a disaster than do minorities and those with less wealth,” Rebecca Hersher and Robert Benincasa reported Tuesday for NPR. “Federal aid isn’t necessarily allocated to those who need it most; it’s allocated according to cost-benefit calculations meant to minimize taxpayer risk.

“Put another way, after a disaster, rich people get richer and poor people get poorer. And federal disaster spending appears to exacerbate that wealth inequality.

“Nowhere are the economic and racial inequities of disaster aid more apparent than in communities that have experienced one of the most costly and widespread disasters: urban flooding. . . .”

Hersher and Benincasa also wrote, ” ‘Recovery for vulnerable families [looks] a lot different than it does for more affluent neighborhoods,’ says Kathy Payton, the director of the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corp., a neighborhood nonprofit. . . .

“Payton grew up in Houston and has spent decades supporting the basic needs of her neighbors, many of whom live on fixed incomes or do not have a cushion of savings to fall back on after a disaster.

” ‘We had loss of income because people lost their jobs. We had increased health issues as a result of them living in bad situations,’ she says, ticking off the cascade of challenges lower-income families have contended with since the flood. Many families struggle to successfully apply for money because they do not have access to a computer, she says, or do not have all the paperwork they need, or can’t take time off from work to meet with a FEMA representative. . . . ”

Chart of school district demographics shows that 20 percent of students are enrolled in districts that are both poor and nonwhite, but just 5 percent of students live in white districts that are equally financially challenged. (Credit: edbuild.org)

Chart of U.S. school district demographics shows that 20 percent of students are enrolled in districts that are both poor and nonwhite, but just 5 percent live in white districts that are equally financially challenged. (Credit: edbuild.org)

The investigation results follow by a week a report that “Overwhelmingly white school districts received $23 billion more than predominantly nonwhite school districts in state and local funding in 2016, despite serving roughly the same number of children, a new report finds,” as Laura Meckler wrote Feb. 26 for the Washington Post. The report was released by EdBuild, a New Jersey-based research and advocacy group that focuses on school funding.

“The funding gap is largely the result of the reliance on property taxes as a primary source of funding for schools,” Meckler continued. Communities in overwhelmingly white areas tend to be wealthier, and school districts’ ability to raise money depends on the value of local property and the ability of residents to pay higher taxes.

“And while state budgets gave heavily nonwhite districts slightly more money per student than they gave overwhelmingly white districts, in many states it was not enough to erase the local gaps. . . .”

Newest FCC Member to Focus on Ownership

The newest commissioner of the five-member Federal Communications Commission, and its only African American, read from these FCC figures [PDF] Wednesday at a Washington meeting of diversity advocates in the communications technology field:

  • “Women collectively or individually held a majority of the voting interest in 1,024 broadcast stations, consisting of 102 full power commercial television stations (7.4 percent) of 1,385.
  • “Racial minorities owned 36 full power commercial television stations (2.6 percent) in 2015 and 41 full power television stations (3.0 percent) in 2013.
  • “Hispanic/Latino persons owned 62 full power commercial television stations (4.5 percent) in 2015 and 42 full power commercial television stations (3.0 percent) in 2013.
  • “American Indian or Alaska Natives owned 12 stations (0.9 percent) in 2015 and 11 stations (0.8 percent) in 2013.
  • “Asians owned 10 stations (0.7 percent) in 2015 and 19 stations (1.4 percent) in 2013.
  • “Black or African Americans owned 12 stations (0.9 percent) in 2015 and 9 stations (0.6 percent) in 2013.
  • “Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders owned 1 station in 2015 and in 2013.
  • “Persons of two or more races owned 1 station in 2015 and in 2013.
  • “Whites owned 1,030 stations (74.4 percent) in 2015 and 1,070 stations (77.2 percent) in 2013.
  • “Stations with no majority interest by race accounted for 319 stations (23.0 percent) in 2015 and 275 stations (19.8 percent) in 2013.

“The numbers are not acceptable,” Geoffrey Starks said at the 10th Annual Broadband and Social Justice Summit of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council. A Democrat succeeding Mignon Clyburn, Starks was making one of his first public appearances since taking his oath on Jan. 30.

He confirmed that “access to capital” remains the biggest barrier to people of color and women owning broadcast outlets.

Starks also said he would “look at” restoring minority tax certificates, an FCC policy in effect from 1978 to 1995, when Congress repealed it.

“The policy produced 364 tax certificates and 200 media transactions totaling more than $1 billion in value,” Michael D. Berg, a communications lawyer, argued in TVNewsCheck in 2010. “That represented about two-thirds of all minority-owned stations. When the policy began, minorities owned about 40 of 8,500 broadcast stations.

“Over its lifetime, the policy helped raise that number to 333 — 290 radio stations and 43 TV stations. It also yielded 31 cable systems.

“The policy encouraged the sale of broadcast and cable properties to minority-owned buyers by deferring sellers’ capital gains taxes. Providers of capital to new minority companies also received tax incentives.”

Starks, who returned to his Kansas City hometown for a visit shortly after his swearing-in, also listed closing loopholes and waivers and enforcing ownership rules among proposed solutions.

But it was his return to Kansas City that brought home the need for greater internet access. Sparks was part of a sports discussion in a black barbershop that ended with Starks saying that everyone should go home and look up the disputed issue on their home computers. The shop got quiet. He was the only one in the group who had a home computer equipped with internet access.

“The digital divide is real,” Starks told the MMTC audience.

Starks and fellow FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said separately that curbing robocalls was also a priority. “It’s the number one source of consumer complaints,” Rosenworcel said. Bigger fines and longer statues of limitations for offenders are options, she added.

In a very brief profile of Starks last June, Nancy Scola of Politico wrote, “Forget LinkedIn: Here’s your 10-second bio on Starks. He grew up in Kansas City, attended both Harvard and Yale Law School, and worked in private practice at Williams & Connolly. He also served as staff to the Illinois state Democrats — including a then-little-known state senator by the name of Barack Obama.”

(Credit: Sacramento Bee)

Sacramento Bee Decries Police Attack on Press

“Shoving journalists to the ground,” the Sacramento Bee editorialized Tuesday. “Detaining members of the clergy and the press— hands cuffed behind their backs— without cause. Arresting citizens for exercising their right to peaceful protest.

“We expect such things in authoritarian countries, but not here in our hometown. Not in Sacramento.

“This was the scene of violation perpetrated by the Sacramento Police Department against citizens, clergy members and journalists during a protest march on Monday night. We watched on live feeds as 85 people were detained during the march through one of Sacramento’s wealthiest neighborhoods. Last year’s protests resulted in only five arrests.

“Of course, last year’s protests didn’t march through East Sacramento. On Monday police pursued a very different strategy. They launched a shocking attack on the First Amendment.

“After they ‘kettled’ marchers on a highway overpass where they could no longer leave, police began arresting them for failure to disperse. They detained Pastor Shane Harris and Pastor Les Simmons, restraining their hands behind their backs in plastic zip ties.

“They did the same to Sacramento Bee reporter Dale Kasler, who was handcuffed and led away as Bee reporter Sam Stanton shouted that Kasler was on assignment.

“A police officer with a baton shoved Bee photographer Hector Amezcua to the ground, damaging the equipment he was using to do a live broadcast of the march. All of this took place as news cameras rolled and livestreams broadcast the march to the world.

“If anyone needed a reminder of the unjust aggression and poor judgment that some allege have resulted in tragedies like the killing of Stephon Clark, Sacramento police put their ugly side on full display Monday night. They announced to marchers that ‘those who remain could suffer serious injury,’ according to Ezra David Romero of Capital Public Radio. . . .”

Rudi Mitchell, a citizen and former chairman of the Omaha Tribe, offers a prayer outside the convenience store where Zachary Bear Heels died after being shocked and beaten by police in Omaha, Neb., on June 5, 2017. (Credit: Kevin Abourezk)

Rudi Mitchell, a citizen and former chairman of the Omaha Tribe, offers a prayer outside the convenience store where Zachary Bear Heels died after being shocked and beaten by police in Omaha, Neb., on June 5, 2017. (Credit: Kevin Abourezk)

. . . Natives Protest Police-Inflicted Death

“A county prosecutor on Monday defended his decision last week to drop an assault charge against a fired police officer who was accused of punching a mentally ill Native American man 13 times before he died in June 2017,” Kevin Abourezk reported from Omaha, Neb., Tuesday for indianz.com.

“Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine met with two Native American activists — Frank LaMere, a Winnebago tribal citizen, and Rudi Mitchell, former chairman of the Omaha Tribe — and Indianz.Com in the morning in his office to discuss his decision to not move forward with his case against former officer Ryan McClarty.

“The meeting became contentious quickly after Kleine said he had no plans to file any new charges against McClarty or Scotty Payne, who was acquitted by a jury in December for shocking Zachary Bear Heels 12 times during the same encounter with him on June 5, 2017.

“Kleine said he consulted with several experts in police use of force before making his decision.

“ ‘I can’t ethically move forward when all the people say that he was justified in doing what he did,’ Kleine said of McClarty.

“He said McClarty was the last of the four officers who encountered Bear Heels and didn’t know that the Rosebud Lakota man was suffering from a mental health condition. When he saw Bear Heels free one of his hands from a cuff, McClarty began punching him in the head in order to try to control him.

“Kleine said McClarty’s punching of Bear Heels was justified because the mentally ill man had freed his hand from a handcuff, thus turning the handcuff into a weapon. . . .”

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2014)

 

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