Kudos to Those Who Recognize ’63 March Organizers
As news stories are aired and written about tomorrow’s 40th anniversary commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington, kudos to those who avoid the inaccurate shorthand, “Martin Luther King’s March on Washington.”
While King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is the most enduring memory of the event, it was organized by A. Philip Randolph and his associate Bayard Rustin.
As veteran activist Roger Wilkins, who in 1963 was working in the State Department, said today on National Public Radio, “It’s possible that the march would have fallen apart were it not for his [Randolph’s] presence.”
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies notes on its Web site that “five other black leaders were co-chairs of the event along with King: A. Philip Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, Roy Wilkins of the NAACP, Whitney Young of the National Urban League, James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).”
Other Web sites with background information are those produced by the Congress of Racial Equality, California Newsreel, the A. Philip Randolph Institute and the Bayard Rustin Film Project
Journalists should especially be interested in the Library of America’s “Reporting Civil Rights” volumes, which provide contemporary news accounts of the event.
N.Y. Times to Boost Staff, With Eye to Diversity
The New York Times plans to increase its news staff by 20 positions and fill vacant slots, with efforts made to “ensure some of the new hires are women and minorities,” James T. Madore reports in Newsday.
“We want to reaffirm that any hiring will be in line with our efforts to produce a more diverse newsroom because it produces better journalism,” Times co-managing editor John Geddes is quoted as saying.
“The newsroom staff, which now numbers about 1,200 people, will grow by 20 positions by year’s end. The jobs were approved by publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. after a contentious town hall meeting in May where employees blamed the [Jayson] Blair incident in part on having too few people to cover news events and other topics,” Madore wrote.
“More than half of the new jobs are reserved for reporters, with the departments that cover local news, business, foreign affairs and sports each receiving two positions.”
San Diego Pledge Valid “Only If We Have Openings”
While editor Karin Winner told a delegation from the National Association of Black Journalists that the San Diego Union-Tribune wants to double the percentage of African Americans on its news staff in the next three years, Winner clarifies for Journal-isms that that goal would be valid “only if we have openings.”
As reported Monday, newly elected NABJ President Herbert Lowe reports on the NABJ Web site that “Winner told us she wanted to double the percentage of blacks on her staff in the next three years, and said she would seriously consider black candidates for the next senior level job openings, which she conceded don?t come about often.”
Winner belatedly replied to a query from Journal-isms yesterday, saying “I have had a desire to increase the diversity of the staff ever since I became editor” of the Copley newspaper in 1995. “Herbert forced the goal of ‘double in three years,'” she said. “It would be great to have that as a goal, but only if we have openings.”
Winner said she wanted to increase the current figure of 8 percent African Americans at the California paper “because I think it will enable us to be far more relevant to the region we serve, which is becoming more and more diverse. The paper’s content and its staff should mirror the region. Stats show that by 2020, the minority population will be the majority.”
Ford Foundation Makes Diversity Challenge Grants
The Ford Foundation is awarding “challenge” — or matching — grants aimed at supporting key journalism organizations that promote diversity in the news media.
Ford, in partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, created the Challenge Fund for Journalism, intended to help the organizations broaden their base of financial support through challenge grants and fund-raising training. The Knight contribution was $200,000.
The Native American Journalists Association, which recently disclosed it was having financial problems, announces on its Web site that “NAJA plans to use the money to increase membership, enhance member services and training opportunities, develop long-term fundraising strategies and improve office technology in order to accomplish those goals,” and provides a form to make contributions.
The foundation lists the awardees as:
National Association of Black Journalists ($50,000)
Native American Journalists Association ($25,000)
UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. ($50,000)
Asian American Journalists Association ($75,000)
National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association ($75,000)
Maynard Institute for Journalism Education ($140,000)
National Association of Hispanic Journalists ($115,000)
Mae Cheng, president of AAJA, said her organization was approved for the grant a few months ago and has raised $85,000, or $10,000 more than needed, to match it.
Gannett commentary on AAJA convention
St. Paul Paper Accused of Sex Discrimination
“Two female sports reporters at the St. Paul Pioneer Press have filed complaints with the St. Paul Human Rights Department and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that they are the victims of sexual discrimination by their editors,” reports the rival Star Tribune in Minneapolis.
“Cara LaBrie and Robbi Pickeral, the only female sports reporters at the newspaper, allege in separate complaints filed Wednesday that they have endured harsher work rules and conditions than male colleagues.
“Catherine Straight, Pioneer Press managing editor for features and sports, declined to comment Thursday about the allegations, and said that Mike Bass, the newspaper’s sports editor, also would have no comment.
“The women allege that when they complained in July that Bass, who became the newspaper’s sports editor last November, subjected them to gender discrimination, the newspaper retaliated against them by suspending both of them and demoting Pickeral.”
Pat Thompson Exit Continues San Jose Exodus
“Pat Thompson — one of journalism’s classiest acts and a friend and mentor to many of us — has decided to leave the Mercury News,” the San Jose, Calif., news staff was told in a memo from Executive Editor Susan Goldberg and Managing Editor David Satterfield.
“If there’s good news here, it’s this: Pat is moving on to a great opportunity. She’s becoming Deputy Managing Editor at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Ft. Lauderdale daily that gives one of our sister papers a heck of a competitive fight every day. Pat will have responsibility for several news departments, as well as the Sunday newspaper.”
“Pat has been perhaps the single most important person in our efforts to hire and retain a diverse staff,” said David Yarnold in the memo.
Thompson’s departure also continues an exodus of high-ranking people of color from the newsroom since Jay T. Harris left as publisher in 2001.
Bryan Monroe, deputy managing editor/local news, visuals and technology, moved in October to corporate assistant vice president/news.
Sylvester Monroe, a former Time magazine correspondent, was assistant managing editor national/foreign and business but left in 2001 as one of 126 staffers taking early retirement or buyouts.
Thompson came to the Mercury News in 1988, after working as a journalism professor at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and as a writer and editor at the Washington Post, Oakland Tribune and California’s Marin Independent Journal, the editors’ memo said.
Judge Orders Kobe Bryant Warrant Unsealed
“A judge agreed today to unseal the arrest warrant in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case but rejected a media request to see other court records that could detail what happened in his hotel suite,” the Associated Press reports.
Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett put his own order on hold, giving attorneys 15 days to appeal. No documents were released to the public.
The documents have been sealed since the Los Angeles Lakers star was arrested last month, but media organizations have sought their release.
Critics Want FCC’s New Media Rules Delayed
“Critics of new broadcast ownership rules said the Federal Communications Commission should have studied how stations can best serve their local communities before allowing companies to buy more radio and television stations,” the Associated Press reports.
“It’s a curious approach to pass a rule that’s going to allow much more concentration in broadcasting and then decide the effect this will have on localism,” Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said in an interview, reported Jonathan D. Salant. “It’s a classic case of putting the cart before the horse.”
“FCC Chairman Michael Powell announced Wednesday a series of initiatives aimed at ensuring broadcasters serve the communities in which they operate. Powell’s decision followed sharp criticism of a June decision by the FCC to loosen media ownership.
“Dorgan said he would ask the Senate early next month to overturn the new FCC rules.”
Al Roker — Journalist or Huckster?
“‘Today’ show weatherman Al Roker has re-upped for a second go-round with Weatherproof Garment Company (outerwear for men, women and children) – and will appear in a series of print ads to appear in major newspapers, magazines and outdoor billboards beginning this fall,” reports Michael Starr in the New York Post.
“Roker’s inked his first deal with Weatherproof Garment Co. back in March ’02, shortly before his gastric bypass surgery. The new ad campaign will feature a now-slimmed-down Roker in a ‘ “warm and fuzzy” way with humorous taglines,’ says the company.
From the era of “weather girls” to that of Doppler radar and the insistence of some that they are meteorologists, the question of whether the weather person is a journalist or an entertainer has never been decided conclusively. Journalists aren’t supposed to breach ethical lines that prohibit endorsing products the way an athlete would, for example, but entertainers have no such limits.
Site Measures Congress on Serving People of Color
A Web site produced by a former legislative director of the Congressional Black Caucus aims to help provide information on whether whether individual members of Congress “are being responsive to their least affluent and minority constituents.”
“The Techpolitics Web site has expanded . . . to provide key information on demographics and votes in the full House of Representatives and in other House Committees,” Ken Colburn’s site says.
“Census information is displayed to highlight potential influence of lower-income and minority groups, to highlight Congressional Districts in which the need for affordable housing is particularly acute and to show educational attainment. Full House and Committee votes are displayed and discussed based on the demographic categories, which raises the question whether individual Members are being responsive to their least affluent and minority constituents.
Colburn has held positions in national and local government as well as with national non-profit organizations. He has served as legislative director of the Congressional Black Caucus, deputy research director for the Joint Center for Political Studies, and as a deputy executive director of the Thrift Depositor Protection Oversight Board, the site says. In 1992, he was a deputy cluster coordinator on the presidential transition team.
Fox Picks Up Cartoon “Boondocks”
Fox has ordered a pilot presentation for a potential series based on the edgy comic strip by Aaron McGruder, “The Boondocks,” Michael Schneider reports in Variety.
As reported last month, Sony picked up rights to simultaneously develop TV and feature projects based on the strip, now seen in 350 newspapers.
“McGruder and partner Reggie Hudlin will write the pilot and exec produce for Sony Pictures TV. The duo hope to deliver a seven-minute presentation for Fox execs by early spring.The early production is necessary given the long lead time necessary to produce animation. It also means ‘The Boondocks’ team will know whether the show has been picked up prior to next May’s upfront announcements,” Schneider reported.
“Once given a greenlight, ‘The Boondocks’ would likely be ready for launch in the 2004-05 midseason,” he continued.
