Carolyn Phillips Was Its Top Journalist of Color
In November 2002, we reported that the list of layoffs at the Wall Street Journal included Carolyn Phillips, who as assistant managing editor was the highest ranking person of color in the newsroom.
As AME, Phillips, a 20-year veteran of the paper who is African American, was responsible for staffing and training.
Last September, Phillips joined the faculty at Hampton University as Scripps Howard Visiting Professor for the fall semester.
“This week – possibly, today – in a Federal Court in New York, Phillip’s lawyer is scheduled to file a racial discrimination lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones,” as Amy Alexander reports on africana.com.
“The Journal, of course, portrays Phillips’ departure as an unfortunate byproduct of unkind economic times,” Alexander continues. “I contacted them late last week about her imminent lawsuit, and this was the company’s response, e-mailed to me by a front-office staffer named Nicole Pyhel:
“‘Dow Jones remains committed to the principles of EEO and believes that Carolyn’s claims are without merit. At this point, we don’t believe that it is appropriate to comment on internal employment matters,'” Alexander writes.
“The crux of the dispute, at least from Phillips point of view, is the question of whether Dow Jones acted legally in how it handled her lengthy illness in 2001 and her termination in 2002.
“Phillips says she requested a medical disability leave, but that her boss never listed her as being out on a medical disability with the company’s human resources division. Ultimately, when Phillips returned after a six-month absence, she found that her standing at the Journal had diminished.
“While on leave, her health had improved – it was not a life-threatening illness, but one which she preferred to handle privately – but she quickly learned that some top Journal officials had been referring to her illness as if it had left her permanently disabled.
“Further, while other Journal editors and reporters had been welcomed back after their own bouts with cancer and other serious illnesses, Phillips returned to find that her position had been severely marginalized.
“Now, obviously, Carolyn Phillips is not the first ranking executive to be treated poorly in the midst of a health-related situation, or after they’d spent twenty years at a given company.
“Yet, given the dearth of top editors at the Journal and other Big Time newspapers who really, truly, care about developing the careers of young journalists – black, white, whatever – Phillips’ dismissal by Dow Jones represented an especially cruel cut. And, while I can’t be sure how the lawsuit will be resolved, it is also worth noting that Phillips was, and remains, the first AME ever to have been ‘laid off’ from the Journal.”
Phillips told Journal-isms she could not say anything officially about the case. Her lawyer, Janet Neschis, confirmed 10 days ago that Phillips filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She has said since then that she has been trying to determine whether the complaint can be made public.
SAJA Draws “Nearly 1,000” to N.Y. Convention
“Nearly 1,000” people attended Thursday through Sunday’s South Asian Journalists Association convention in New York, with journalists taking out their cameras as speaker Salman Rushdie made one of his first public appearances with his April bride, actress Padma Laxmi, SAJA President S. Mitra Kalita tells Journal-isms.
Kalita, a reporter at the Washington Post, said of the star quality of the author and his photogenic new wife: “We don’t really gape, but he definitely drew a lot of people taking out their cameras, and these are people who cover presidents.”
Also impressive, she said, was Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, who had spoken before SAJA three months before Sept. 11, 2001. “He brought the house down” as he opened the convention, Kalita said. “He had an answer for everything. He was very polished. Sept. 11 really elevated his expertise in so many ways.”
Few Blacks at Investigative Reporters Conference
“Of the 900 journalists who attended the 2004 Investigative Reporters and Editors Conference at the Marriott Marquee Hotel in downtown Atlanta, not more than 20 were African Americans,” Bankole Thompson reports in the Michigan Citizen.
“The journalists, some of them from the nation’s leading newspapers and TV stations, met from June 17-20 to sharpen their skills in investigative journalism, and took part in panel discussions, hands-on classes and special presentations.
“Some of the Black journalists who attended said they found the training sessions intriguing and packed with information, but bemoaned that so few Black reporters were attending such events.
“‘I was flabbergasted to see the very few numbers of Black journalists who are doing or seeking to do investigative work,’ said Corey Johnson, a graduate student at Georgia State University.
“He added: ‘At a time when the Black community worldwide seems to be falling victim to an unprecedented host of nefarious tricks and schemes, there doesn’t seem to be many Black investigators to help stem the tide. This has to change.’
“Diversity was a priority for the IRE conference, Brant Huston, the organization’s executive director, said.
“‘We want to become more multicultural and international,’ he said, adding, ‘Without it you miss a lot of stories.'”
Reporting on Indians Called “Next Great Frontier”
“Indian Country represents the next great frontier for media coverage,” Steve Coll, managing editor of the Washington Post, told students at the American Indian Journalism Institute.
“We have criminally little to do with Indian Country,” Coll said, according to Randy Dockendorf, reporting Friday in South Dakota’s Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan. “We need more Native voices in our newsroom.”
“However, a reporter does not need to be an American Indian to cover issues in Indian Country, he [Coll] said. And issues in Indian Country are not of interest only to American Indians,” Dockendorf reported.
Dockendorf reported Saturday on the Institute students’ graduation.
“They came together as strangers, but the 24 members of the American Indian Journalism Institute left three weeks later as family,” he wrote.
“The AIJI members graduated Friday from the intensive experience at the Neuharth Center on the University of South Dakota campus. They were chosen from about 80 applicants and represent 19 tribes from 12 states and one Canadian province.
“A dozen of the students will continue with internships this summer on newspapers in South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
“The AIJI seeks to train a new generation of American Indian journalists, who are the most under-represented minority in the profession. Only 313 Indians are currently working as journalists at daily newspapers out of a total newsroom workforce of 54,000.”
The Black Angle on the Bill Clinton Book
Fahizah Alim of the Sacramento Bee appears to be first out of the box with the black angle on Bill Clinton’s instant best-selling memoir, “My Life.”
“Toni Morrison’s provocative assertion that Bill Clinton was the first black president offers insight into why African Americans were among his most loyal supporters, even during his most beleaguered years in the White House,” Alim wrote in Saturday’s paper.
“Now that Clinton’s national book tour and frequent TV appearances have returned him to the spotlight, many African Americans in the Sacramento area say they are eager to read the personal story of one of their political heroes,” she continued.
While some in her piece dissented, Mark T. Harris, deputy chief of staff to Ron Brown, the late commerce secretary, was a fan. He had watched Clinton’s television interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“Clinton read the last lines from his book where he refers to the term ‘home going,’ which he said he learned from attending African American funerals,” Alim wrote.
“I got goosebumps when he said he was trying to get right and get ready for his ‘home going,'” Harris was quoted as saying.
“He couldn’t have hit it any better connecting with me as an African American.”
In Book, Clinton Explains Problems with ‘Elite’ Press (Editor and PUblisher)
AP Reports Black Caucus Reaction to Moore Film
The big film story over the weekend was the top-grossing performance of Michael Moore’s movie, “Fahrenheit 9/11.” The Associated Press Friday reported that it was a hit with the Congressional Black Caucus.
“Filmmaker Michael Moore and several black lawmakers celebrated the debut of his scathing documentary ‘Fahrenheit 9/11,’ a day before the film lambasting US President George W. Bush opens in theatres across the United States.” AP wrote.
“On the steps of a legislative office building, Moore and several members of the Congressional Black Caucus praised the film for what they said is its uncompromising examination of corruption and ineptitude in the Bush White House.”
Ventura County Star Promotes Diversity Director
Frank Moraga, diversity director in the Ventura County (Calif.) Star’s newsroom for the past year, will become director of diversity for the entire newspaper, effective July 1, the newspaper reports.
The promotion was the first act by new publisher Tim Gallagher, the Star’s editor since 1995.
“Gallagher said Moraga will be assigned to look for business opportunities in Ventura County’s minority communities, improve the newspaper’s outreach efforts to minorities, and increase the diversity of The Star’s entire staff, not just the newsroom,” the story said.
The Ventura County Star is a partner in the National Association of Hispanic Journalists’ Parity Project, which seeks to raise the numbers of journalists of color in newsrooms and improve ties with the local Hispanic community.
Columnist Resigns to Teach at Black College
Bill Maxwell, columnist for 10 years at Florida’s St. Petersburg Times, had a surprise for readers Sunday:
“At age 58, and counting, I must fulfill a promise I made while attending historically black Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, and Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach: that I would, at the appropriate time, return to a historically black college or university as a professor, that I would pass on my expertise and knowledge,” Maxwell wrote.
“That time is now.
“Beginning in August, I will become a writer in residence at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Currently, the college has a journalism minor and a student newspaper that is published once each semester.
“My short-term goals are to help establish a journalism major and to publish the student newspaper weekly. My long-term goals are to help produce competent African-American journalists who can land good jobs with the nation’s mainline and minority media outlets and to transform Stillman into a center for journalism excellence, where companies, such as the St. Petersburg Times, come to recruit.”
Philip Gailey, editor of editorials at the paper, wrote in his own column that “Bill was my first hire after I became editor of editorials in 1991 — and one of my best.”
Cuba Frees Two Journalists for Medical Reasons
“Authorities granted medical parole to imprisoned journalists Manuel Vázquez Portal and Carmelo Díaz Fernández within the last week. The two men, who suffer from several health conditions, were among the 29 journalists imprisoned in Cuba since March 2003,” reports the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Vazquez Portal has a lung disease similar to emphysema.
“In May 2003, Vázquez Portal wrote a prison diary describing the harsh conditions in Boniato Prison. The journalist’s wife, Yolanda Huerga, smuggled the diary out of prison and gave it to the foreign press. In recognition of the efforts by Cuban independent journalists to disseminate news in a climate of harsh government repression, CPJ honored Vázquez Portal with one of its International Press Freedom Awards in November 2003.
Diaz Fernandez “was serving a 16-year prison sentence and was receiving medical treatment for his high blood pressure at the time of his release from a prison hospital in Havana. Díaz Fernández told CPJ that he was warned just before his release that he would be sent back to prison if he recovered from his illnesses or did not maintain good behavior,” the committee wrote.
Rodriguez Quits as GM of Discovery’s Travel Channel
“After 10 years with Discovery Networks, Travel Channel executive vp and general manager Rick Rodriguez announced his resignation today. Rodriguez is relocating with his family to southern California,” Megan Larson wrote last week in Media Week.
“He will consult with the network through November, after which he will pursue other opportunities in television. Discovery Network president Billy Campbell will launch a nationwide search for his replacement.”
“Rodriguez has had the top job at Travel Channel just since May 2003,” added Lisa de Moraes in the Washington Post.
“Rodriguez formerly was executive vice president of content for Discovery Networks International, overseeing all programming, production, Internet and interactive assets, as well as on-air promotion for the company’s various international networks.
“In 2002, Rodriguez was involved in the reorganization of Discovery’s European operations while serving as acting general manager of Discovery Networks, Europe, Middle East and Africa. From 1999 to 2001 he was senior vice president, international programming and production, and from 1997-1999 vice president, programming for Discovery Networks Latin America/Iberia. Rodriguez joined the company in 1994 as director for Discovery Channel Latin America/Iberia.”
Darci McConnell Starts Communications Firm
Dari McConnell, a “hard-hitting” Detroit City Hall reporter who left the Detroit News in April, has started her own communications firm, McConnell Communications Inc., the Michigan Front Page reports.
McConnell, vice president/print of the Detroit chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, was in this column in 2002 when she helped organize more than two dozen staffers from the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News to train local high school journalism teachers at a workshop at Wayne State University.
In April, sources told Journal-isms that McConnell quit the News after a blowout with E.J. Mitchell, the newspaper’s managing editor.
“Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is probably giggling,” the Detroit Metro News wrote then. “McConnell trailed the big guy once he took office, writing some of the most revelatory stories about his administration. News Hits reported more than a year ago that the mayor went so far as to complain about McConnell’s coverage to Mark Silverman, the News’ publisher and editor.”
According to the Michigan Front Page, McConnell had already established a communications company, Mac & Associates, while a journalist. “While much of the work — which was done with the permission of her editors — provided help to local promoters who worked with acts such as Marion Meadows and Cedric the Entertainer, McConnell also counted as clients area restaurants and business owners,” its story said.
“Besides her work for the major dailies, McConnell has served as an adjunct professor for the last three semesters at Wayne State University,” the Front Page wrote.
“How Hispanics Will Elect the Next . . . President”
“Jorge Ramos, the longtime anchor of the Spanish-language TV show ‘Noticiero Univision,’ has authored a new book, ‘The Latino Wave, How Hispanics Will Elect the Next American President,'” writes David Steinberg in New Mexico’s Albuquerque Journal.
“Ramos, reached at his home in Coral Gables, Fla., said he started writing seven years ago ‘because I felt so frustrated with television. As an anchorman I cannot and should not give my opinion but it’s frustrating to tell a story in two minutes.’
“The new book from the award-winning broadcast journalist has such chapter titles as ‘Making History: How Latinos Decided the 2000 Presidential Election,’ ‘Why Latinos are Different: The Melting Pot Myth,’ ‘How to Woo Latinos: A Guide’ and ‘The True Power of Immigrants,'” Steinberg continues.
“In another chapter, Ramos defends the Spanish — and so-called Spanglish — spoken in the United States. ‘Latin Americans and Spaniards are horrified by the way we speak Spanish in the U.S. But our kind of Spanish . . . is having a much greater influence on them than their Spanish could on us,’ he said. ‘The United States is already the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world except for Mexico.'”
Kobe Bryant Transcripts Released by Mistake
“The court reporter in the Kobe Bryant sexual-assault case on Thursday mistakenly sent transcripts from last week’s closed hearings to several media outlets, including The Denver Post, only to have the judge intervene late in the day and issue a hasty order that none of the material be published,” Steve Lipsher reports in the Denver Post.
“The Denver Post has chosen not to release the material but, like many media outlets, wrestled with the issue of ‘prior restraint’ against publishing material, which is a violation of the First Amendment guarantee of a free press.
Star Tribune Kisses “Gay Pride” Ad Goodbye
“5 Eyewitness News has learned that the Star Tribune refused to publish one of the ads for this year’s Pride Festival block party, because of a kiss,” the Twin Cities’ KTSP-TV reports.
“Part of the ad submitted to the paper shows two men kissing.
“Our feeling was that this was an advertisement for an event, and two men kissing was clearly meant to be inflammatory. It was not in good taste in the context of what it was advertising,” Ben Taylor, the Star Tribune senior vice president of communications, told the station.
“Jim Kelley, the President of GLBT Pride, told 5 Eyewitness News, ‘To say the image of two men kissing is inflammatory in the city of Minneapolis, where we have a non-discrimination policy for sexual orientation, is just appalling.'”
Demetria Fantroy Named ME in Opelousas, La.
“Demetria Fantroy, a native of Natchitoches, La., has been named managing editor of The Daily World at Opelousas, La. She will begin her assignment July 12,” the Gannett Co. announces.
The paper has a Monday to Friday circulation of 12,558 and a Sunday circulation of 14,000.
“Most recently, Fantroy was Lifestyles editor for The Natchitoches Times. She started her career in 1993 as a page designer at The Alexandria Daily Town Talk. She moved to The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La., as a copy editor in 1995,” the announcement continues.
“She joined The Dallas Morning News as a staff writer in October 2000, after spending five months as director of development for Our Brothers Keeper, an adolescent drug treatment program. She joined The Natchitoches Times as Lifestyles Editor in 2003.”
