WLIB Said to Oust Air America

N.Y. Outlet Unlikely to Restore Black Programming

New York City’s WLIB-AM, the black-owned station that tossed out Caribbean-oriented programming to host Air America, is parting with the “progressive” network effective Aug. 31, according to Katy Bachman, reporting in the trade publication Mediaweek.

When Air America launched in 2004, Pierre Sutton, CEO of Inner City Broadcasting, said the partnership “gives us an opportunity to impact on the world outside of our own community.”

Asked how he planned to do that, he told Journal-isms, “We have people we placed on the network who work for us within the network in news and in programming. We will ensure that we have an appropriate impact on the network so that it will reflect the views of the minority community.”

However, the network, with satirist Al Franken as its star host, never became closely identified with African Americans. Last year, Chuck D of the classic rap group Public Enemy spoke out to deny rumors that the network was dumping him for cheesy daytime television host Jerry Springer.

“A daily presence of a person of color besides Mark Riley in the morning could be needed to balance some of the things that appear to be redundant after about 5 p.m. Air America is still a necessary signal,” Chuck D said then.

Riley, on the air from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., was a long-time host as well as program director on WLIB when it was a local talk station.

He told David Hinckley of the New York Daily News last November, when Air America was heard on 69 stations and satellite radio, “I saw a big part of my goal at WLIB as reaching a large group of people who felt they were never spoken to or spoken for,” he says. “The Air America audience isn’t in quite that same position.”

Bachman reported Thursday, “Through an agreement with ICBC, WLIB will be operated as a joint venture and programmed by P1, a company run by former Clear Channel and Jacor Communications executive Randy Michaels. Michaels is expected to program a progressive-talk format, but replace AAR’s network programming with more local programming. A likely addition to the new lineup: Ed Schultz, the left-of-center talker syndicated by P1.”

That would appear to rule out a return to black-oriented programming.

In 1981, WLIB followed Washington’s WOL to become the second station in the nation with a black news-talk format.

But Percy Sutton, the former Manhattan borough president who oversees Inner City Broadcasting, said two years ago in the New York Times: “For 30 years LIB has been geared to the black community, and not one year have we been able to make it break even. It’s been subsidized by WBLS, its sister station.” Percy Sutton is Pierre’s father.

As for Air America, it said in a statement: “To be clear, Air America will not go silent on the New York City airwaves. We do not, however, comment on hypothetical speculation.”

Pierre Sutton and WLIB General Manager Deon Levingston did not return telephone calls.

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Cynthia Tucker to Be NABJ’s “Journalist of the Year”

Cynthia Tucker, editorial page editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a syndicated columnist, has been voted Journalist of the Year by the board of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Earl G. Graves Sr., founder, chairman and publisher of Black Enterprise magazine, was voted NABJ’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Tucker was a finalist this year for a Pulitzer Prize for commentary, beaten by Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times. The Pulitzer board cited Tucker “for her pungent, clear-eyed columns that tackled controversial issues with frankness and fortitude.”

Tucker became one of the first African American editorial page editors at a mainstream paper in 1992. She has written sharply about Jesse Jackson, the family of Martin Luther King Jr., and Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga.

“It may be that I am now conservative,” she replied to Journal-isms in 2002, “but my Georgia white readers still think I’m a communist.”

The NABJ board, meeting last weekend in Indianapolis, voted to add to NABJ’s Hall of Fame:

Lerone Bennett Jr. Ebony magazine’s executive editor for nearly 40 years; Albert Fitzpatrick Jr., former NABJ president and former assistant vice president of minority affairs for Knight Ridder; and William Raspberry, retired Washington Post columnist. [Added May 1: Susan L. Taylor, editorial director of Essence magazine, has been added.]

Other winners are the late Lawrence Young, Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise, Legacy Award; Trymaine Lee, New Orleans Times-Picayune and Errin Haines, Associated Press, Emerging Journalists of the Year; DeMarco Morgan, WISN-TV Milwaukee, Community Service Award; Ruth Tisdale, Howard University, Student Journalist of the Year; Kip Branch, Elizabeth City State University, Journalism Educator of the Year; Deyda Hydara and the Gambia Press Union, Percy Qoboza Foreign Journalist Award; Indianapolis Recorder, Best Practices Award.

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Asian American Journalists Name 5 for Top Honors

“The Asian American Journalists Association today announced the winners of four of its top national awards for 2006: Duong Phuc and Vu Thanh Thuy of Radio Saigon Houston, Phil Currie of the Gannett Co., Inc., Ti-Hua Chang of WCBS-TV and Larry Olmstead of Knight Ridder, Inc.,” AAJA said Monday.

“Award-winning journalists of South Vietnam, Phuc and Thuy fled their homeland after the country fell under Communist control,” a news release said. “Phuc and Thuy fled their homeland aboard a raft. Their subsequent open letter to the international press, which was read at a United Nations News Conference in Thailand in 1980, broke the story of the ‘boat people’ to the world. . . . Phuc and Thuy founded Radio Saigon Houston in 1999 to engage and unite the local Vietnamese community. Broadcast in English and Vietnamese, the station has become a significant resource in times of crisis.

“After Hurricane Katrina last year, Phuc and Thuy helped coordinate shelter, food and medical care to support thousands of Vietnamese who were displaced from their homes when disaster struck.”

Currie, senior vice president of the news department in the Gannett newspaper division, was honored “to recognize his commitment in the support and development of the partnership AAJA/Gannett Management Development Mentor Program, assigning many of the company’s top trainers and editors as mentors. The judges also recognized his involvement in securing the largest contribution to the AAJA endowment fund.”

Through Olmstead, vice president of staff development and diversity for Knight Ridder, “AAJA received Knight Ridder support for the AAJA Executive Leadership Program” to help Asian American Pacific Islanders “examine the role of culture in newsroom leadership; J Camp, the multicultural high school journalism training program; a newspaper mentorship program at the St. Paul Pioneer Press for AAPIs interested in management; and the AAJA national convention.”

It said Chang, “throughout his career . . has pursued justice for Asian Americans through his investigative journalism.”

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Award to Mexican-American Freshman Columnist

Fernanda Diaz, a Mexican-American first-year-student at Columbia University in New York, won the ninth annual College Columnist Scholarship Contest of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, the group announced Wednesday.

The society’s foundation annually awards a $1,000 scholarship to an outstanding general-interest columnist for a college newspaper.

“I am, indeed, a dual citizen,” Diaz told Journal-isms today. “I was born in Mexico City but left when I was five, and have since lived elsewhere. I am the Spectator’s only first-year columnist, I won a contest held for the last spot on the Op-Ed page (designated for the first time this year for a freshman).

“My columns have been very varied throughout the year – I have written 12 in all so far, ranging on topics from what it means to become a Columbian to how the recent immigration issue will deepen racial divides.

“They’re all very personal, but I try to maintain a sort of universality where people can relate at least to portions of them, and, always, maintain a relevancy to the Columbia community. It’s difficult at times, because I’m not afraid to be optimistic and divulge some sort of emotion in my columns, and that seems to be naive to certain readers.”

“The NSNC is very proud of her,” Suzette Martinez Standring, president of the columnists group, told Journal-isms. “Every year, we see an amazing array of talent through an upcoming generation of columnists. Young writers like Fernanda Diaz are an ongoing source of pride and hope in our industry.”

• Fernanda Diaz, Columbia Spectator: Not a Laughing Matter
• Fernanda Diaz, Columbia Spectator: (Il)legal Identity Crisis

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Latino Media Struggle With Immigration Coverage

Many in the Spanish-language media are “grappling with how to cover the immigration debate, which touches the lives of many Latino journalists and on-air personalities,” Eyder Peralta wrote Thursday in the Houston Chronicle.

“Some Latino journalists have openly criticized the pro-immigrant rallies, which began in March and spread around the country. Others are ambivalent or have steered clear of the issue, sometimes under orders from their bosses. And still others have become advocates for the immigrants, who plan a nationwide ‘Day without an Immigrant’ protest on May 1.

“Three Houston radio personalities whose motto is ‘Latino and Proud’ found out in March how touchy the subject can be.

“Ricardo ‘Chico’ Rico, Rascal Condi and Liz – who are collectively known as ‘the Mexicanz’ – were silent after local students walked out of school to protest a House proposal that would turn illegal immigrants into felons. They promptly received hate mail from listeners of Mega 101 FM. So they read, studied and spent their entire show talking about immigration the next day. And when students and thousands of others staged immigration protests on April 10, the radio jocks joined them.

” . . . ‘One of my family members is illegal,’ said Liz, who goes by only her first name.”

• Rob Schmitz, “Day to Day,” National Public Radio: How Words Shape the Immigration Debate
• Aly Colon, Poynter Institute: Monday’s Boycott: Questions about Your Coverage [Added April 30]

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Black Media Increasing Coverage of Gay Issues

“Black media outlets have often limited their coverage of gay issues to an occasional article about same-sex marriage, homophobia and religion and the so-called ‘down low’ phenomenon, according to a gay media group,” Eric Ervin wrote today in the Southern Voice.

“But in some black newspaper and magazines, recent articles have shown black gay men and lesbians as loving parents, activists and even a lesbian homecoming king, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation noted.

“‘There’s a multitude of reasons why coverage has increased,’ said Katina Parker, GLAAD media manager for communities of African descent. ‘There has been more visibility and activism of gay people and allies. There’s a direct relationship between visibility and activism.'”

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Journalists Use Health Issues to Warn Others

“As I told many a health professional who became a part of my survival team, ‘I want to be the poster boy for prostate cancer,'” Jim Washington, publisher of the black-oriented Dallas Weekly, told readers last week.

“As a result, I must tell every man I can, particularly African-Americans, to get checked for this disease that affects us more severely and kills us more often than any other race. What I’ve come to know and preach is that the difference between early detection and too late detection is about six feet. And I do mean six feet under.”

Washington’s cover story is only one recent example of black journalists using their personal experiences to alert readers about health issues.

Dwight Lewis, columnist at the Nashville Tennessean and a six-year colon cancer survivor, has crusaded for years about the need for colon cancer screenings.

On Sunday, he wrote a column headlined, “Black men must take hold of their own health.”

Three weeks ago, Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution did likewise. She told readers of her column, “My father died on March 4, 1984, 22 years ago, at the age of 57. And I miss him still.

“. . . Colon cancer is a stealthy and diabolical enemy. It spread its deadly sleeper cells to his kidneys and liver before he realized he was ill. If there was any mercy in his death, it was that he did not linger in pain. He died a mere seven weeks after diagnosis.

“. . . I try to honor my father’s memory. I try not to taint the good name he left me. I try to live by the standards of courage and integrity he and my mother taught me. And I have promised myself I’d spread the word about the need for colonoscopies.”

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CNN’s Kim Bondy Takes Break to Deal With Katrina

Kim Bondy, CNN’s vice president for morning programming, has left “American Morning” permanently, and CNN for a six-month leave of absence. Her New Orleans home – the place she hoped to retire – was flooded by Hurricane Katrina last August, as Brian Stelter reported last month.

CNN spokeswoman Edie Emery told Journal-isms today that no one had been named to replace her, and others said Ed Litvak was filling in as the show’s producer.

“As you all know, the past six or so months have been really challenging for me. Katrina really took it out of me – so to speak,” Bondy wrote colleagues.

“I requested and have been granted some much needed time away so I can deal with my post-Katrina life. I’m going to spend the next six months getting some ‘fresh air’ and putting the pieces back together. Katrina reminded me of something I’ve always believed: you can always make more money, but you can’t make more time! So I’m also going to spend some time doing what I promised myself I would: finish my great American novel.

“But life and American Morning must go on . . . so I’ll be leaving the show permanently.”

Bondy has been vice president at CNN/U.S. and senior executive producer in charge of the network’s “instant specials,” and before that a vice president of franchise units for CNN, where she was responsible for developing and overseeing the network’s medical, science, technology, weather, entertainment and sports programming.

Last year she was named senior executive producer of “American Morning” with Soledad O’Brien and Bill Hemmer, as well as vice president of morning programming.

• Madison Park, ASNE Reporter: Race, assumptions and Hurricane Katrina

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Short Takes

• “I’m a beneficiary of affirmative action, and when I came into the job market, I thought everyone was on the same page in the choir book, so to speak,” Reginald Stuart, Knight Ridder corporate recruiter, said in Seattle Thursday night before receiving the Robert C. Maynard Legend Award from the National Association of Minority Media Executives. “It didn’t take long to realize that this idea of having mainstream newspapers reflect their community was not a widely embraced objective. In fact, most people, when I started, gave this idea a lot of lip service. And 37 years later, people are still giving it lip service,” Eba Hamid quoted Stuart as saying in the ASNE Reporter, convention newspaper of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
• Oil industry analyst Tom Kloza on Thursday offered “14 questions to get to the bottom of the gas price run-up” on NiemanWatchdog.org. He called for better depth in reporting, cast doubt on gouging, and recommended independent, reliable sources for reporters.
• The president of Tennessee State University objected to the student newspaper, the Meter, contacting and interviewing search committee candidates for top jobs before they were officially finalists. Editor-in-chief Eddie R. Cole Jr. explained Monday that that’s what journalists do.
• Anchor Shon Gables, who joined WCBS-TV in 2003, is leaving the station, Michael Starr reported Thursday in the New York Post’s Starr Report. “WCBS TV offered Shon Gables the opportunity to remain in an anchor position, but she has decided to pursue other options,” a station spokeswoman said. “We admire her talent and wish her well.”
• “As expected, Howard Stern’s exit from terrestrial radio wreaked havoc on the morning ratings for the CBS Radio stations in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, but opened the door to Spanish-language radio, which swept mornings across the top three radio markets,” Katy Bachman reported Thursday for Mediaweek.
• “Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth will form NFL Network’s broadcast booth, when the league-owned and operated television channel kicks off its live regular-season coverage on Thanksgiving in primetime Nov. 23,” the NFL announced on Thursday.
• “Betty Wong has won the Reuters America Diversity Leadership Award for 2005,” the Asian American Journalists Association reported today. “Wong is managing editor for Reuters in the Americas. The judging committee nominated her for her efforts to get editorial managers to consider a diverse slate of candidates for every open job in editorial at Reuters in America.”
• David Louie, reporter at KGO-TV in San Francisco active in the Asian American Journalists Association, was elected a director-at-large of the Radio-Television News Directors Association at the group’s annual conference in Las Vegas this week. Ken Jobe, news director at WHBQ-TV in Memphis and a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, was named a regional director.
• “Presidential press secretary Scott McClellan and Treasury Secretary John Snow could be next in a shake-up in the Bush administration, according to White House and GOP sources,” Suzanne Malveaux reported on CNN on April 3. She confirmed for Journal-isms that she was the first to report McClellan’s impending departure, which was announced April 19. “The possible departure of both men could be among ‘several senior-level staff’ announcements to come within the next couple of weeks, said former White House staff members, GOP strategists and administration officials,” Malveaux reported from Crawford, Texas, the morning of April 3.
• “Cleaning and catering are the only areas where there is a ‘significant proportion’ of ethnic minority workers in London’s newspaper newsrooms, according to a report commissioned by the Commission for Racial Equality,” Zoe Smith reported April 20 for England’s Press Gazette.
• Afi-Odelia E. Scruggs, a freelance journalist in Cleveland, plans to teach feature writing and Web design in Italy this summer. Scruggs told Journal-isms she will be on the faculty of programs in Cagli and Camerano, sponsored by the communications department of Loyola College in Baltimore.
• BET is premiering two news-oriented Sunday shows: “The Chop Up” promises “startling new revelations into the still unsolved murder of hip-hop superstar Biggie Smalls, aka ‘Notorious B. I. G.'” this Sunday. “‘Meet the Faith’ will use its prism of morality and spiritual perspective each week with a lively roundtable discussion of current events.” It is moderated by CNN’s Carlos Watson. “The Chop Up” debuts with an hour show April 30 at 11 a.m. Eastern/Pacific; “Faith” premieres in that time slot on May 7, followed by “Chop” at 11:30.
• “The Tavis Smiley Show from PRI will mark its first year on the airwaves this week by introducing Friday podcasts” today, Public Radio International announced on Tuesday. “The weekly podcasts will make the political, health, finance, music and entertainment segments of the show available to listeners who visit www.tavistalks.com and sites such as Apple iTunes.”