NAHJ Says Some Broadcast Execs Didn’t Get It
While last week’s “Diversity Summit” between broadcast executives and journalist-of-color representatives produced some encouraging signs, “some broadcast executives do not see a crisis when it comes to diversity in the industry,” Juan Gonzalez, president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, said in a statement today.
He added that:
“Industry leaders, for the most part, remain reluctant to release the employment data necessary for the public or their own investors to gauge whether real progress is being made. Such data could help identify which companies or chains are doing the best job and which are lagging the most in minority hiring. We fully understand that federal regulations do not require companies to release such data, but the newspaper industry has for years routinely made public its employment information. We believe broadcasters should do so as well.
“Industry leaders also appear reluctant to increase their monetary investment in new diversity efforts, especially if it does not immediately generate greater ratings and revenue.
“If we fail to achieve consensus among most sectors of the industry that there is a crisis, if we do not have the necessary data to understand the extent of that crisis and fashion appropriate strategies, and if individual media companies do not summon sufficient will and resources to attack the crisis, we fear that significant progress in newsroom diversity will continue to elude us all,” he said.
The NAHJ statement contrasted with the generally positive tone from the Asian American Journalists Association, and in the news release on the meeting linked to or posted on the Web sites of the Radio-Television News Directors Association, Unity: Journalists of Color, the National Association of Black Journalists, AAJA and NAHJ. As reported Wednesday, some members of NABJ were critical of the groups’ failure to name the participants at the meeting and its call for more research.
Kofi Annan Gets Media Commitments on AIDS
“Leading media executives from around the world on Thursday pledged to use their companies’ extensive influence to help educate viewers and listeners about the dangers of HIV/Aids,” as Peter Thal Larsen reported in the Financial Times.
“The executives who assembled at the United Nations headquarters in New York — including Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Mel Karmazin, chief operating officer of Viacom, and Mark Byford, deputy director-general of the BBC — offered to broadcast advertising and informative programming in an effort to highlight the perils of the pandemic.
“Attendees called the meeting one of the most high-profile gatherings of business leaders aimed at tackling the disease, which is estimated to have infected more than 40m people.
“Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, said much of the public, especially young people, remain poorly informed about HIV and Aids, a situation broadcasters could address by publicising the issue.
“Bill Roedy, the head of MTV International, said the broadcaster would convene a creative summit to discuss the most effective ways to inform young people about the disease.”
In the Boston Globe, Joe Lauria added that, “Mark Byford, the BBC’s deputy director general, said a new series of programs would be launched on BBC Africa. Robert Johnson, founder and CEO of Black Entertainment Television, said BET is working with African-American entertainers and athletes to produce AIDS programming that would be freely shared with media in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Karmazin announced that Viacom would commit $200 million more to the $380 million it has spent on AIDS programming and would air a public service announcement on the subject during the Super Bowl on Feb. 1.
“A study of 21 African countries found that 60 percent of girls had at least one major misconception about the virus or were unaware of its existence. In Bolivia, 74 percent of young women have either never heard of AIDS or were seriously misinformed about it,” Lauria wrote.
TV One Network Makes Debut Monday
With surprisingly little fanfare and its news component still down the line, the new African American cable network TV One makes its debut on Monday, Martin Luther King Day.
“A joint venture with No.1 cable operator Comcast, TV One is taking on the venerable Black Entertainment Network, until now the only cable channel aimed at this key audience,” Catherine Yang writes in Business Week, referring to Black Entertainment Television.
For CEO Alfred C. Liggins III, 38, “it is the first step in building a multimedia empire for the Lanham (Md.)-based Radio One,” Yang continued. “We have the opportunity to be in African American media what Univision (UVN ) has become in Hispanic media,” Liggins told the magazine.
The network announced Thursday that “The Tom Joyner Sky Show,” a live broadcast of the “sky show” that airs 20 times a year on Joyner’s syndicated radio show, “would be the first full-length program to air on TV One soon after the network debuts at 12:00:01 AM January 19. That episode will feature Tom Joyner in Dallas with special guest R&B legend Al Green and comedian Tommy Davidson. It will repeat at 8 PM that evening. The series will air regularly on Sunday nights at 8 PM and 11 PM.”
“Blacks age 25 and up are the targeted demographic,” writes Nia Ngina Meeks on Black America Web.
“Some of the programming will be familiar, including reruns of comedies such as ‘Good Times’ and ‘227’ and dramas such as ‘City of Angels’ and ‘Under One Roof.’
“But other shows will be new, including ‘Living It Up with Patti LaBelle‘ and ‘American Legacy,’ namesake of the magazine that chronicles black accomplishments and real-life dramas.
“Other upcoming features range from a documentary on reparations to ‘On Point with Armstrong Williams,’ a public affairs show whose first guest will be presidential candidate Rev. Al Sharpton.
“Baltimore, Atlanta, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Richmond, Va. and Dover, Del. are among the markets where the network will be available.
“Other areas, such as Philadelphia, will come on line later this spring,” Meeks wrote.
National Latino Newspaper Chain Announced
“In a flurry of activity announced Thursday, La Opinión, the Lozano family-owned Los Angeles paper that is nation’s largest circulation Spanish-language daily, ended its partnership with Tribune Co. — and promptly joined up with the venture capital group CPK Media Holdings to form a national Latino newspaper chain,” Mark Fitzgerald reports in Editor & Publisher.
“The new company, called Impremedia LLC, begins with two of the most venerable Spanish-language U.S. newspapers: the 124,692-circulation La Opinión founded in 1926 and the 50,040-circulation El Diario/La Prensa in New York City founded in 1913. Jose Ignacio Lozano, who had been La Opinión’s publisher and CEO, was named vice chairman of Impremedia with a mandate to spot new acquisitions for the chain.
“‘His primary focus will be on New York and L.A., to continue to operate and grow the existing properties, and in parallel to that to grow other opportunities,’ said Enrique Kaufer, La Opinión’s vice president of marketing. The chain is targeting cities with substantial Hispanic populations and will consider weeklies and other niche publications, he said.”
Asian Journalists to Showcase Male Broadcasters
In response to the “glaring lack of Asian American male reporters and anchors,” the Asian American Journalists Association is compiling a “Men of AAJA Showcase” DVD that it plans to unveil at the April 19-21 joint convention of the Radio-Television News Directors Association and National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas.
“We want it to feature ALL of our men — from those in the biggest markets to those who are just starting out. This tape will give managers an idea of the breadth and depth of talent . . . Please fill out an entry form and send a resume and tape that demonstrates your live, storytelling and packaging abilities,” the organization said in a message to members.
A study commissioned by AAJA in 2002 found only 20 Asian American male anchors and reporters in the 25 largest television markets, as the organization noted in its news release commenting on last week’s “Diversity Summit,” mentioning the “Men of AAJA Showcase” project.
Jackson-Nation of Islam Fixation: “Hinky”
A number of black journalists are noting the injection of the Nation of Islam as a bugaboo in the Michael Jackson child-molestation case, with some questioning its relevance and others noting such false reports as the “Jacko X” story in the New York Post that said that Jackson had become a member. Some outlets are reporting now that brother Jermaine Jackson is a member of the Nation, too, though he apparently has become a follower of orthodox Islam.
On africana.com, Amy Alexander, who edited a 1998 book of essays called “The Farrakhan Factor,” writes:
“More than anything, given my familiarity with the mainstream press’s hysterical relationship with the Nation of Islam and Minister [Louis] Farrakhan, and its lurid, balls-out coverage of the murky Jackson molestation story, I wonder if there isn’t something hinky about the whole MJ-NOI story ? its timing, its origin and its general tone.”
By all accounts, today’s court appearance was the media circus that reporters, such as Peter Johnson of USA Today, predicted.
NAHJ’s Spanish-Language Stylebook Ready
“The National Association of Hispanic Journalists will release its new Manual de Estilo in February, its first-ever Spanish language stylebook for U.S.-based press which promises to be an exciting new tool journalists can use to improve coverage,” the association announces.
“The stylebook, funded by the Knight Ridder corporation, will be launched in February on a six-city tour along with a traveling workshop by its chief editor on the proper use of Spanish in news coverage in the United States. The stylebook and NAHJ-sponsored workshop are important steps in meeting the training needs of those who work in the country’s growing Spanish-language media industry,” the statement continues
“This comprehensive first edition of the Manual de Estilo is an expert guide on grammar, the proper use of abbreviations and titles, and other style questions in news reporting done in Spanish. The ten-chapter guide also addresses common problems with intonation and pronunciation on the air, and the tricky craft of translating stock market terms and government jargon in a predominantly English U.S. environment.
“Journalists who work in the booming and challenging Spanish-language media industry will also learn how to keep Spanglish from creeping into their work and stay away from words that may take on different — and sometimes obscene — meanings as vocabularies from a myriad of Latin American countries are forced to come together in the U.S.
“Liza Gross, managing editor of presentations and operations at The Miami Herald, and Javier J. Aldape, vice president at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and publisher of Diario La Estrella, were the coordinators of the publication.
“Co-authors include: Alberto Gómez Font, philologist and copy editor, Efe News Agency, Madrid; Raúl Caballero, editor Diario La Estrella, Fort Worth, Texas; Benito García, editor, Efe News Agency, Miami; Ruth Merino, an NAHJ board member and training coordinator for El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rico’s largest daily newspaper; Lilia O’Hara, editor, Enlace newspaper in San Diego; Francisco Pérez Rivera, editor/Latin American desk, The Associated Press, New York City; and Gabriel Vélez Suau, a television producer in Puerto Rico.”
Broadcaster v. Broadcaster: Sheila Smoot Wins
“A one-time consumer advocate and current Jefferson County commissioner stood accused of fraud in a Shelby County courtroom Thursday — by another well-known broadcaster,” reports Nancy Wilstach in Alabama’s Birmingham News.
“Commissioner Shelia Smoot, who once starred on Fox-6’s ‘Six on Your Side,’ faced accusations that she had defrauded Channel 13’s Malena Wells and her husband, Jesse Lee Wells Jr.” Smoot is also a former board member of the National Association of Black Journalists; Wells is a former president of the Birmingham Association of Black Journalists.
“Smoot won the day. Circuit Judge Dan Reeves on Thursday ruled for the commissioner and her co-defendant, builder Donny Proctor.”
Burning Question Answered re Lionel, Nicole Richie
“Nicole Richie is finally identifying her biological father,” write gossip columnists George Rush and Joanna Molloy in the New York Daily News. They report that the supermarket tabloid Star magazine has explained what the mainstream media haven’t: How the co-star of television’s new reality show “The Simple Life” could be identified in their stories as singer Lionel Richie’s daughter, yet look so unlike him.
“Paris Hilton’s co-star on ‘The Simple Life’ is the adopted daughter of Lionel Richie,” the columnists continue. “But she recently reunited on ‘The Wayne Brady Show’ with its bandleader, Peter Michael Escovedo 3rd. Nobody on the program knew of the connection.
“Nicole’s biological dad was a percussionist in Richie’s touring band, and Lionel was reportedly so taken with toddler Nicole that he asked Escovedo if she could move in with him and his wife, Brenda, Star magazine reports. According to Nicole, Escovedo and her biological mother, who had split up, decided the Richies could better provide for her.
“‘It’s much more complicated than that,’ says Escovedo, who is the brother of Prince protégée Sheila E.”
Site Lets Public Scrutinize Votes of Caucus Members
In August, we reported that a Web site produced by a former legislative director of the Congressional Black Caucus aims to help provide information on whether individual members of Congress “are being responsive to their least affluent and minority constituents.”
Now, Ken Colburn reports that “we have just published a compilation of seven key votes during the 108th Congress, First Session, in a table which permits sorting to see votes by Congressional Black Caucus members as a group, as well as for members of four other caucuses” — the Congressional Hispanic, Blue Dog and Progressive caucuses and the Republican Study Committee. It’s at http://congress.techpolitics.org, with a link at the top of the right-hand column.
“The display shows vividly where CBC members have voted against the Caucus majority on such issues as tax cuts, making the estate tax permanent, energy, Medicare and omnibus appropriations,” Colburn said.
College’s Latino Students to File for News Service
The University of Texas at El Paso and the National Hispanic Press Foundation will create a news service Web site featuring the university students’ reporting, for the use of the more than 200 members of the National Association of Hispanic Publications, the university announced this week.
“This makes for a wonderful and successful partnership to increase Hispanic journalists and the importance of Spanish media nationwide,” said Thomas Oliver, executive director of the National Hispanic Press Foundation.
In addition, “The Hispanic Radio Network is funding the UTEP Youth Radio Production Project. In conjunction with the Self Reliance Foundation-El Paso, the network and UTEP will produce four half-hour radio talk shows.
“A UTEP student production team and a high school student team will research, write, produce and promote the shows to be broadcast on Hispanic Radio Network satellite radio channels and local radio stations,” the university said.
The words in blue (on most computers) are links leading to more information.
