Huffington Post, Sheila Johnson to Launch Black Section
FCC, Justice Department OK NBCU-Comcast Deal
Son, Daughter Testify in Beheading Trial
CNN Names Suzanne Malveaux a Dayside Anchor
Alternative Paper Calls Plain Dealer Editor “an Enigma”
Jean to Perform at D.C. Benefit for Haitian Journalists
Huffington Post, Sheila Johnson to Launch Black Section
“The Huffington Post and BET co-founder Sheila Johnson are launching a HuffPost section devoted to African-Americans,” Jake Coyle reported Wednesday for the Associated Press.
“The section, ‘HuffPost GlobalBlack,’ is expected to debut in early March. The Huffington Post is set to make an official announcement about the new platform Thursday.
“ ‘Our goal is to cover more stories of importance to the black community,’ says Arianna Huffington, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the New York-based Huffington Post.
“ ‘We have the supreme irony of having the first African-American president, which is such a historic event and a milestone, while at the same time, conditions for African-Americans are deteriorating, in terms of unemployment, in terms of high school graduation, in terms of the number of African-American males in prisons,’ Huffington says.
“GlobalBlack is the 27th section for the Huffington Post, but its first racially based one. It plans to soon launch a Latino section.” The Huffington Post was used to illustrate a piece by this columnist this month about online organizations that refuse to disclose how many people of color work there, raising suspicions that few do.
The AP story continued, “. . . ‘In all of this digital space, the African-American voice is really falling off the radar screen,’ says Johnson, who sold the Washington D.C.-based Black Entertainment Television to Viacom in 2000. ‘We’re on other radar screens, with other digital sites, which is wonderful. But I really wanted to bring the real news, the storytelling — to really bring back the voice of the black community on some relevant news and views.’ ”
FCC, Justice Department OK NBCU-Comcast Deal
“Comcast Corp.’s proposed $30 billion deal for NBC Universal Inc. received the thumbs-up from the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, but it came with a long list of provisions that are expected to protect consumers and online competitors from the Comcast juggernaut,” Bob Fernandez wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“For Comcast, it provides the nation’s largest cable network with a dizzying array of entertainment and content providers.
“For opponents, it gives Comcast incredible — and dangerous — competitive leverage.”
As noted in this column’s 2010 summary, the merger divided organizations of color. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists opposed it in April, saying that “this massive media consolidation will lead to fewer journalism jobs, less coverage of the Latino community, less diversity of voices, and excessive control for one company over the country’s media.”
Other organizations of color endorsed the deal after hearing some of the promises.
- Comcast Corp. will add four cable networks owned, or partly owned, by African Americans over the next eight years, as well as a new English-language channel aimed at Asian Americans.
- An NBCU commitment to increase news and information choices for Hispanic viewers, including a plan to work with an independent producer on a weekly business news program.
- “Comcast will add a Hispanic to its corporate board within two years.”
- Comcast promised to add at least three independent cable networks with ‘substantial [minority] ownership interest’ over the next three years; to establish four external advisory councils, one each for representatives of the African American, Latino, Asian Pacific Islander communities, and another for ‘other diverse communities,’ and to spend at least $7 million more on advertising in minority-owned media next year.
- NBC promised in February that “ ‘Meet the Press’ is committed to having a more diverse group of voices on the show whose opinions and expertise reflect, not just the news of the day, but the cultural, economical and political landscape of our country.”
- Jonathan Berr, dailyfinance.com: Watch Out, ESPN: Comcast Forms Big Rival with NBC Universal
- Bill Cromwell, medialifemagazine.com: Doubters abound over Comcast-NBC deal
- John Eggerton, Multichannel News: Former Comcast/NBCU Deal Critics Praise Deal Conditions
- Steve Myers, Poynter Institute: Nonprofit news orgs see validation, new funding in Comcast-NBC merger
- Brian Stelter, New York Times: In Comcast-NBC Conditions, a Victory for Bloomberg
Son, Daughter Testify in Beheading Trial
“A lineup of prosecution witnesses testified during the second day of the murder trial of Muzzammil ‘Mo’ Hassan,” the Buffalo News reported Wednesday.
“Hassan, 46, a former television executive of Bridges TV, is accused of the stabbing and beheading death of his 37-year-old wife, Aasiya Zubair Hassan.”
WIVB reported, “Muzzammil Hassan came face-to-face with his son and daughter, who took the stand for the prosecution on Wednesday.
“. . . Michael testified that he was freaked out upon learning that Aasiya was killed. He and his two younger siblings were outside Bridges TV studios in a minivan waiting for her as she met her death. He told jurors, ‘I was nervous. It was my understanding my dad would not be at the office” when he and Aasiya stopped by to drop off clean clothes for Hassan. Aasiya had filed for divorce just six days earlier.
“Sonia became emotional a number of times while testifying. She claims Hassan tried to contact her through letters since the slaying, telling her he would give up all of his possessions to her if she wouldn’t speak ill of him. She never responded.”
Early coverage of the crime was fraught with sensitivities.
In the Toronto Star, public editor Kathy English wrote in 2009 that reporter John Goddard was wrong to relate the beheading to Islamic sharia law and divorce. Conservative Los Angeles Times columnist Jonah Goldberg and Marcia Pappas, New York state president of the National Organization for Women, accused the media of playing down links between the crime and Islamic teaching.
CNN Names Suzanne Malveaux a Dayside Anchor
“CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has been named a dayside anchor for the network, effective January 31,” Mark Joyella reported Wednesday for mediaite. “Ken Jautz, executive vice president of CNN/U.S., made the announcement this morning. Malveaux replaces Tony Harris, who quit the network.
“CNN says Malveaux will CNN Newsroom from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays, joining a dayside lineup that includes Kyra Phillips, Ali Velshi and Brooke Baldwin.”
“. . . Malveaux, who will relocate from Washington–where she’s been on the White House beat for nearly a decade–to CNN headquarters in Atlanta. . . . CNN has not named a replacement for Malveaux at the White House.
The Plain Dealer ran this graphic last week with the story, “Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s 20 Cabinet appointments so far lack diversity.”
Alternative Paper Calls Plain Dealer Editor “an Enigma”
“When cleveland.com revealed in October that Debra Adams Simmons would be the new editor of The Plain Dealer, the news was greeted by readers with a round of compliments, advice, and conspiracy theories,” Afi-Odelia E. Scruggs wrote for the alternative Cleveland Scene.
“One commenter handed out congratulations and best wishes to the new editor’s predecessor, Susan Goldberg. Another welcomed the resident of Copley Township, near Akron, while wondering whether ‘anyone at The PD lives in Cleveland.’ Still another wanted to know the ‘real reason’ that Goldberg was heading to Bloomberg News.
“In the newsroom, there were no sighs of relief or moans of disappointment. The sound was the hmm of the curious. Despite having spent three years at the paper as managing editor, Adams Simmons was still an enigma to the folks she would supervise.”
Asked to comment, Adams Simmons told Journal-isms:
“I don’t have much reaction to the Scene piece. I think Afi worked hard to reflect the perspectives that were shared with her. I’ve never thought of myself as an enigma. I suppose there are worse labels.
“I don’t get the headline nor do I buy the premise of an uphill battle. One of the humbling things about being a newspaper editor is that there’s always someone seeking to put you in your place. I’m clear about my place and my role. The piece looks backward (which is sometimes important to do). I am looking forward. I expect great things from the Plain Dealer newsroom in 2011.
“There are highs and lows in this business. Departures notwithstanding, I’m still responsible for the largest news-gathering operation in the state of Ohio. With all due respect to some of the voices in the story, we have more than enough people to make an impact. In fact, much smaller newsrooms have had an impact in the communities they serve. Yesterday I named a fantastic managing editor. We are poised for greatness!“
Jean to Perform at D.C. Benefit for Haitian Journalists
“Wyclef Jean will be among several Haitian musicians who will perform at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. on Wednesday January 26, at an event to raise funds for journalists in Haiti,” the Trice Edney News Wire, headed by Hazel Trice Edney, former editor of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service, announced.
“At least 30 journalists were among around 300,000 people who were killed in the earthquake that struck on January 12, 2010. Proceeds from a Night of Solidarity will be used to provide social and professional assistance to Haitian journalists and financial assistance to families of journalists killed in the disaster.
“Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive will be among the speakers at the Night of Solidarity for Haitian Journalists, which is also meant to raise awareness of the need for a strong, vibrant and free press as Haiti rebuilds from last year’s earthquake.
“Michel Martelly, also known as ‘Sweet Micky’ is a pioneer of Haiti’s unique Konpa (or kompas) style of dance music. He was also a candidate in last year’s presidential elections.
“AZOR is a leading drummer and Voodoo singer, while King Kino is a leading Konpa and R&B singer.
“The night will end with a performance from Wyclef Jean, the grammy-award winning Hip-Hop artist and former member of the Fugees.
“Other speakers include Guy Lamothe, Director General of Haiti’s Investments Facilitation Center and Mirlande Manigat, another candidate in the presidential elections.”
- Joel Dreyfuss, theRoot.com: The Perils of Dictatorship Nostalgia in Haiti
- Robert Mackey blog, New York Times: Some Cheer for Former Haitian Dictator
- Marjorie Valbrun, theRoot.com: How Haitians Keep It Moving Despite All Odds
Tunisian Upheaval Highlights Voice of Al Jazeera
“In cafes and living rooms across the Middle East, the whirling montages and breathless journalists of Al Jazeera are defining the narrative of Tunisia’s upheaval for millions of Arabs riveted by the toppling of a dictator,” Jeffrey Fleishman wrote from cairo Wednesday for the Los Angeles Times.
“The Qatar-based television network, as it does with the Iraq war and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, is airing visceral, round-the-clock coverage in a region of authoritarian states that rarely allow government-controlled media to show scenes of unrest. Al Jazeera is a messenger, pricking the status quo, enraging kings and presidents.
“It is the big voice in a multimedia landscape of Arab dissent that encompasses bloggers and online social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Whereas strategies of revolt on the Internet are largely the domain of the young and educated, Al Jazeera has for years been the touchstone for the masses seeking insight into the wider, mystifying world.”
- Michael Calderone, Yahoo News: Tunisian revolt sparks debate over Internet’s role
- Liz Cox Barrett, Columbia Journalism Review: Tunisia “Mesmerized” Journalists
- Reporters Without Borders: Tunisia: French Photographer Dies From Injury Sustained On Day of Ben Ali’s Departure
Short Takes
- “Aggressive cost-cutting moves at WPIX-TV — together with continued allegations of a harsh and unfriendly work environment — are taking their toll on morale at the Tribune-owned station, The Post has learned,” Josh Kosman reported Monday in the New York Post. “The latest move under News Director Bill Carey’s watch that unsettled staff came in the last several days, when the station shuttered the sports department, eliminated the sports director position and reassigned Lolita Lopez, the sports director, sources tell The Post. With the move, WPIX becomes the first Big Apple TV station not to have a sports department, sources said.”
- “Telemundo today announced it’s beefing up its news talent. The network added 3 new correspondents. All talent will work in all of Telemundo’s properties, including “Al Rojo Vivo,” “Noticiero Telemundo,” and digital platforms,” Veronica Villafane reported for Media Moves. Enrique Acevedo joins the team as Miami correspondent, Julio Vaqueiro is the new Mexico correspondent, Nayeli Chávez-Geller is New York correspondent and Rogelio Mora-Tagle returns to the network’s Miami headquarters from his correspondent position in Mexico City.
- Ray Cook, a convener of the first editorial advisory board of Indian Country Today, challenged a column by Tim Giago asserting censorship at the publication.”Aside from not being true, [it] is unfortunate because he disrespects the efforts of many fine reporters, editors, production people, ad sales people, fact checkers and photographers,” Cook wrote on indianz.com. “Giago is implying that our staff and I either lack a backbone or that we are all willing pawns of some imagined evil empire. Tim Giago is wrong. The ICTMN staff and contributors are all accomplished professionals in their own right. And they did not get there by caving to political pressures.”
- Elise Hu of the Texas Tribune will “leave us in mid-
February to become digital director of NPR’s nascent Impact of Government project, which promises to produce excellent, public-spirited work covering state government in all 50 states,” Evan Smith wrote Tuesday in the Tribune. - “It’s official! Your friendly, neighborhood Snob is the new Money & Politics Editor for The Loop 21, a black-interest news site I’ve been freelancing for since November,” Danielle Belton wrote on her “The Black Snob” blog on Wednesday. “I’ll be working with new writers and columnists, editing, reporting and writing stories, as well as working to develop the tone of the overall site.”
- “Eighteen journalists from diverse backgrounds have been named Chips Quinn Scholars for spring 2011 by the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute and participating news organizations,” the Freedom Forum announced on Wednesday. “This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Chips Quinn Scholars program, which began with six scholars in 1991. Chips Quinn Scholars are college students or recent graduates pursuing journalism careers.”
- “Radio Ink is seeking input regarding who should be included on our annual list of the Most Influential African Americans in Radio. We’re especially interested in individuals making a positive impact on the industry today, whether they work in management, sales, or programming,” Radio Ink announced. “Also, this year we’d like to highlight the leaders of the future. Tell us about people you know who are climbing the ladder, in mid-level management or in smaller markets, and whom you believe will be influential in the years to come.”
- “The Committee to Protect Journalists is greatly concerned about the acid attack on Afghan journalist and author Razaq Mamoon, which left him disfigured,” the press freedom group said on Wednesday. “Mamoon is a former television anchor and talk show host, and appears frequently in the Afghan media as a commentator. He recently completed a book, The Footprint of Pharaoh, which criticizes Iran for interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs. He is also frequently critical of the government.”
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