Returning August 12
Sentinel Editor to Be Replaced by Corporate Manager
Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff to Co-Anchor PBS “NewsHour
To Jeff Bezos: “Good on Diversity” Won’t Be Good Enough
ESPN Co-Hosts in Skirmish at NABJ Convention Party
Univision Gets $500,000 Grant for Investigative Journalism
Ebony Devotes Issue to Trayvon Martin, Features 4 Covers
Latinos Disproportionately Among Suspended Players
Johnny Depp Blames Critics for Failure of “Lone Ranger”
Soul of the South Network Debuts Daily Newscast
C-SPAN Looks at Role of Black Soldiers in Civil War
Sentinel Editor to Be Replaced by Corporate Manager
Mark Russell, whose nearly three years as editor of the Orlando Sentinel were marked by coverage of the Trayvon Martin case and the hazing death of a marching band member at Florida A&M University, was ousted Wednesday in a reorganization that eliminated his job.
Russell was replaced by Avido Khahaifa [PDF], a corporate manager who is also African American and for whom the editor’s job will be an additional role. Both men were at the National Association of Black Journalists convention last week in nearby Kissimmee, Fla.
Staffers said Khahaifa, once a journalist but most recently a manager over the business and editorial sides, is a cost-cutter who believes that the newsroom is too large.
“Khahaifa has been with the Sentinel since 2005, most recently as a senior vice president and director of content,” according to a Sentinel story by Jason Garcia. “In his new post, Khahaifa will retain the director-of-content title and will oversee the day-to-day operation of the Sentinel’s newsroom.”
Russell was not present Wednesday when Howard Greenberg, publisher of the Tribune Co.-owned Sentinel, made the newsroom announcement. In a memo, Greenberg said Khahaifa “will add editor responsibilities to his role, and will now oversee the day-to-day Orlando newsroom management, in addition to leading regional editorial strategy.”
Khahaifa also has a management role with the Sentinel’s sister paper, the South Florida SunSentinel.
“With this change, Mark’s direct reports will report to Avido. In South Florida Sun Sentinel Editor Howard Saltz, who previously reported to Avido, will now report to me,” Greenberg’s memo continued.
In March, the Sentinel staff won the Freedom Forum/American Society of News Editors Award for Distinguished Writing on Diversity in the aftermath of the Martin case, in which the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a neighborhood watchman eventually became a national story.
“Their multi-platform series not only tackles the history of race relations, but also delves into the complexity of ethnicity and race in order to shatter stereotypical myths,” the announcement said. “The reporters and editors accomplished this under tough conditions — a tragic shooting that went viral internationally.”
The Sentinel was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist this year in the local news category.
Staffers David Breen, Stephen Hudak, Jeff Kunerth and Denise-Marie Ordway were honored “for their aggressive coverage of hazing rituals by the Florida A&M University marching band that killed a drum major and led to the resignation of the band leader and the university president.”
Russell says in his LinkedIn profile, “I’m the Editor of the Orlando Sentinel, having worked 29 years in the news business, first as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio, covering a range of business and political topics. I also worked as an editor at The Plain Dealer and the Boston Globe. At The Plain Dealer, I was Business Editor for four years, and then the Assistant Managing Editor/Region for five years. I joined the Sentinel in October 2004 as managing editor and became Editor in October 2010. I have served four years as a Pulitzer prize juror, including the last two years.”
Greenberg concluded his staff memo, “Mark’s last day is this Friday. On behalf of everyone at the Orlando Sentinel, I thank Mark for his dedicated service and leadership in the newsroom over the last nine years. He has been instrumental in moving us to a more digital focus while maintaining our tradition of strong journalism.”
Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff to Co-Anchor PBS “NewsHour”
“The PBS ‘NewsHour,’ which was co-anchored for decades by the two men who created it, will soon be co-anchored by two women,” Brian Stelter reported Tuesday for the New York Times.
“PBS announced on Tuesday that Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff would take over the nightly newscast in September, putting an end to the rotating anchor format that has been in effect for several years. Ms. Ifill and Ms. Woodruff will also share the managing-editor responsibilities for the program.
“The appointments are another milestone for women on television and in journalism, seven years after Katie Couric became the first female solo anchor of a network nightly newscast. PBS noted in a news release that ‘this will mark the first time a network broadcast has had a female co-anchor team.’ “
Stelter continued: “Ms. Ifill, who is black, said that she and Ms. Woodruff were mindful of the broader significance of their appointment. ‘When I was a little girl watching programs like this — because that’s the kind of nerdy family we were — I would look up and not see anyone who looked like me in any way. No women. No people of color,’ she said.
” ‘I’m very keen about the fact that a little girl now, watching the news, when they see me and Judy sitting side by side, it will occur to them that that’s perfectly normal — that it won’t seem like any big breakthrough at all,’ she added. . . .”
The PBS news release continued, “It was also announced that Hari Sreenivasan will serve as Senior Correspondent for the PBS NEWSHOUR with Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff, reporting several times a week from WNET’s Tisch Studios in New York, along with his duties anchoring PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND Saturdays and Sundays beginning September 7.
“In addition, three PBS NEWSHOUR correspondents have been given specific areas of content responsibility and will be contributing on a daily basis to both the broadcast and online operation. Jeffrey Brown was named Chief Correspondent for Arts, Culture, and Society. Ray Suarez was named Chief National Correspondent. And Margaret Warner was named Chief Foreign Correspondent. . . .”
To Jeff Bezos: “Good on Diversity” Won’t Be Good Enough
“Dear Mr. Bezos:
“Congratulations on buying the Washington Post,” Farai Chideya, multimedia journalist and distinguished writer in residence at New York University, wrote Tuesday. “And no, I’m not saying that while waving you off into the sunset. I hope you succeed. It will be a tall task to ‘invent’ and ‘experiment’ while also living by your statement that ‘The values of The Post do not need changing.’ — all words from your letter to the employees of the Washington Post.
“In 2010, the Post’s Ombudsman, Andrew Alexander, wrote a piece titled ‘Newsroom diversity: Falling short could be fatal.’ He stated, ‘All told, journalists of color comprise about 24 percent of the newsroom, comfortably above the ASNE [American Society of News Editors] census average of roughly 13 percent in recent years. But here’s the problem: Minorities are 43 percent of The Post’s circulation area, and a large part of the region is edging toward ‘majority minority’ status. For The Post, being ‘good on diversity’ isn’t enough.’
“I agree with Alexander. . . . “
Chideya’s letter was addressed to Jeff Bezos, who agreed to buy the Washington Post newspaper for $250 million, it was announced on Monday. Bezos is founder of Amazon.com, but this is an individual, not a company purchase.
Amazon’s record on diversity is a mystery; it refuses to release its diversity figures.
A Seattle Times series last year shows the company’s secretiveness on diversity is not its only aspect that bears a closer look.
“In a four-part series beginning today, The Seattle Times gives readers a glimpse inside the company,” the Times wrote last year.
It added, “as Amazon prepares to turn 18 this summer, its practices are drawing increasing scrutiny, from civic leaders in its hometown to lawmakers around the country, from business partners to labor activists.
“In a four-part series, The Seattle Times gives readers a glimpse behind the Amazon smile.
“We found that the company is a virtual no-show in the civic life of Seattle, contributing to nonprofits and charities a tiny fraction of what other big corporations give. In the political world, the company’s hardball efforts to fend off collecting sales taxes — a key advantage over brick-and-mortar stores — has ignited a backlash in several states. In the publishing world, smaller companies have begun to publicly criticize Amazon’s bullying tactics. And in some of its warehouses around the country, Amazon is drawing fire for harsh conditions endured by workers. . . .”
- Amazon.com: Leadership Principles
- Delfin Carbonell, Fox News Latino: Jeff Bezos, Digital Gutenberg, Takes Over The Future Of Print News
- Brent Cunningham, Columbia Journalism Review: Q&A: Steve Coll on the WaPo purchase
- Eric Deggans, Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times: Four questions about Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ $250 million purchase of The Washington Post
- Neil Foote blog: Bezos Purchase of WashPost Will Reinvent Struggling Brand
- Fox News Latino: Jeffrey Bezos, From Precocious Kid To Visionary And, Now, Newspaper Owner
- Thomas Heath, Washington Post: Graham is likely to continue to diversify company
- Jefferson Morley, JFKFacts: The Post, Amazon, and the CIA
- David Remnick, New Yorker: Donald Graham’s Choice
- Michelle Singletary, Washington Post: The day my company was sold
- David Taintor, Adweek: Will Amazon and Washington Post Work Together? Who Knows?!
- Lynne K. Varner, Seattle Times: Amazon.com owner Jeff Bezos buys The Washington Post
- Jenna Wortham and Amy O’Leary, New York Times: Bezos Brings Promise of Innovation to Washington Post
ESPN Co-Hosts in Skirmish at NABJ Convention Party
“Always looking for new programming ideas, ESPN has come up with another — battling co-hosts,” Bob Raissman reported Wednesday for the Daily News in New York.
“Hugh Douglas, a first-round pick of the Jets in 1995, apparently had too much to drink last Friday night when he accosted his ‘Numbers Never Lie’ co-host Michael Smith and vowed to beat him to a pulp during a party thrown by the National Association of Black Journalists at the House of Blues in Orlando, Fla.
‘”The Big Lead website reported Douglas called Smith an ‘Uncle Tom’ and a ‘House n—–.’ Douglas, a 6-2, 280-pounder who spent 10 seasons in the NFL, was apparently trying to get on stage to join the DJ. He became incensed when Smith was hesitant to assist him. That’s when Douglas threatened to punch Smith out. Smith attempted to walk away, but Douglas grabbed him by the wrist before [partygoers] intervened to break things up. An ESPN spokesman said network suits were aware of the altercation and ‘were looking into the situation.’ Still, it remains to be seen if Douglas and Smith will be able to work together. . . .”
In an NABJ Facebook discussion, one member said, “I was at this party and I can tell you most people had no clue this happened.”
- George Thomas, Akron Beacon Journal: Details emerge of altercation between ESPN co-hosts
Univision Gets $500,000 Grant for Investigative Journalism
“Univision News, the award-winning news division of Univision Communications, Inc., the leading media company serving Hispanic America, announced that it has received a grant from the Ford Foundation to support its quality investigative journalism,” the network announced Wednesday.
“Univision News was the recipient of a one-year, $500,000 grant from the Ford Foundation’s Freedom of Expression Unit to strengthen and expand its Documentary and Investigative units. The funds will allow the News division to devote more time and resources to the production of original in-depth reporting focused on important issues that significantly affect the Hispanic community, including immigration, civic and political participation, building economic security, access to higher education, and health, among others. . . .”
Ebony Devotes Issue to Trayvon Martin; Features 4 Covers
“In response to the watershed moment experienced by the Black community after the ‘not-guilty’ verdict in the George Zimmerman trial, EBONY magazine has devoted the September 2013 issue to Trayvon Martin and explores the ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws,” Ebony announced on Tuesday.
The announcement continued, “The September issue will also have four separate covers, each conveying the message, ‘We Are Trayvon.’ The three separate newsstand issues will feature Spike Lee with his son, Jackson, Boris Kodjoe with his son, Nicolas, and Dwyane Wade with his sons Zaire and Zion, all wearing hoodies. The subscribers’ issue will feature an exclusive photo of Trayvon’s parents and his brother, Jahvaris Fulton, on the cover.
” ‘As a mother of a young Black boy, the tragedy of Travyon Martin affected me deeply,’ said EBONY’s Editor-in-Chief Amy Barnett. ‘We simply cannot allow the conversations on this issue to come to a standstill. As the leading source for an authoritative perspective on the African-American community, at EBONY we are committed to serving as a hub for Black America to explore solutions, and to giving readers the information and tools they need to help ensure a bright future for all of our children.’. . .”
- Jenée Desmond-Harris, The Root: ‘Dapper’ Gangs: What Would Don Lemon Say?
- Lauren Duca and Jessica Kane, HuffPost BlackVoices: In Statistical Look At Cover Girls Of Color, Maxim Is The Least Diverse
- Courtney Garcia, The Grio: Youth-led campaigns seek justice for Trayvon Martin, refute Don Lemon
- ONTD Oh No They Didn’t: Conservatives call for BOYCOTT of Ebony Magazine following Trayvon Martin covers
- Antwaun Sargent, HuffPost Media: Don Lemon and Media Violence Against Young Black Men
- Mychal Denzel Smith, The Nation: Invisible Women: The Consequences of Forgetting Sybrina Fulton
- DeWayne Wickham, USA Today: Debunking ‘myth of black absence’
Latinos Disproportionately Among Suspended Players
“Eight of the 13 players suspended Monday by Major League Baseball were born in the Dominican Republic,” Victor Contreras reported Tuesday in the Sacramento Bee.
“Three came from Venezuela and one from Nicaragua.
“Alex Rodriguez, the player caught in the spotlight in one of major-league baseball’s darkest days, was born in New York City to Dominican parents. He moved to the Dominican Republic at 4, then to Miami.
“The list of suspended players looked more like a lineup card for a World Baseball Classic game.
“Unfortunately, Latinos being suspended for PED use is nothing new.
“Since baseball started suspending major leaguers in 2005 for using performance-enhancing drugs, 38 of the 49 offenders were born in Latin American countries.
“The figures among Latino offenders are even more staggering in the minor leagues.
“But before stereotyping Latino players as cheaters, look beyond the box score. . . .”
- Andrew O’Reilly, Fox News Latino: Alex Rodriguez And MLB Suspensions Put Latino PED Use In Spotlight
Johnny Depp Blames Critics for Failure of “Lone Ranger”
“Johnny Depp and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have spoken out for the first time since mega-budget Western ‘The Lone Ranger’ crumbled at the global box office, blaming U.S. critics for one of the biggest Hollywood trainwrecks of the year,” Stuart Oldham reported Monday for Variety.
” ‘I think the reviews were written seven to eight months before we released the film,’ Depp proclaims in a new interview.
“Disney’s costly feature, which could lose as much as $150 million, never stood a chance of succeeding because of overtly negative press, according to the Oscar-nominated actor.
” ‘I think the reviews were written when they heard Gore (Verbinski) and Jerry (Bruckheimer) and me were going to do “The Lone Ranger”, ‘ Depp said. ‘They had expectations that it must be a blockbuster. I didn’t have any expectations of that. I never do.’ . . .”
- Indian Country Today Media Network: 4th Largest Tribe in US? Mexicans Who Call Themselves American Indian
- Arit John, the Atlantic: The Three Stages of Accepting That You Killed ‘The Lone Ranger’
- Drew McWeeny, hitflix.com: An open letter about film critics to the makers of ‘The Lone Ranger’
- Erica L. Taylor, Tom Joyner Morning Show: Little Known Black History Fact: Bass Reeves
Soul of the South Network Debuts Daily Newscast
“On Monday, August 5, 2013, Soul of the South Evening News became the first regularly scheduled daily news broadcast aired by an African-American owned network. The pioneering newscast airs nightly at 7PM with an encore broadcast each night at 10PM CST,” the network said Wednesday in a news release.
“The half hour news program, which will expand to an hour in early September, is the first of a 4-hour news show lineup planned by Soul of the South Television Network over the next three months. National News Director Tom Jacobs, a broadcast news veteran, leads the team that also includes Soul of the South Evening News Anchor, Roy Hobbs and former KMOV/St. Louis anchor, Vickie Newton.
” ‘I was brought in to create the first African American national nightly news broadcast in the history of television,’ said Jacobs. ‘I have waited my entire career for this opportunity, and we have assembled a team of television journalist worthy of our mission and our viewer’s trust.’ . . . “
C-SPAN Looks at Role of Black Soldiers in Civil War
C-SPAN’s American History TV will broadcast in prime time on C-SPAN3 starting at 8 p.m. ET each evening during the week of Aug. 12-16, when it discusses the Civil War. Monday is devoted to the role of African American soldier.
“At 8pm . . . a discussion from the New-York Historical Society on the role abolitionist Frederick Douglass played in the recruitment of black soldiers, and their eventual acceptance into the Union Army by President Lincoln and his generals,” C-SPAN said in an announcement.
“At 9pm . . . scholars discuss how U.S. Colored Troops are remembered at various battle sites. The panel also takes a critical look at the characterization of black troops in the 1989 film ‘Glory,’ which focuses on the 54th Massachusetts — one of the first all-black units to fight for the Union. This event was part of a conference at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.
“At 10:30pm . . . from a conference hosted by the Catoctin Center for Regional Studies in Maryland, historian James McPherson examines the reasons for recruiting black soldiers for the war effort, and discusses the Northern shift from fighting to preserve the Union to fighting to end slavery. He’s followed by Columbia University history professor Barbara Fields, who looks at racism and slavery during the Civil War era and the motives behind emancipation.”
Also, on Wednesday at 11 p.m., “two history professors talk about the Civil War in the West — from the Mississippi River to Arizona — including the roles played by Hispanics, and Confederate attempts at westward expansion.”
Short Takes
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Thanks to more than 100 contributors, the Kathy Pellegrino Scholarship will be awarded to a South Florida University of Florida journalism student who represents the ideals Pellegrino stood for — diversity, mentoring and the First Amendment, Dana Banker, Gail Bulfin, John Dolen, Willie Fernandez, Karen Osborne and Sharon Rosenhause told contributors on Sunday. “In six months, we’ve raised more than $50,000, half of that through the generous support of a Florida family foundation whose benefactor prefers to be anonymous.” Pellegrino, a decades-long South Florida SunSentinel employee and diversity advocate, died of cancer last year at 57.
- “Two researchers have documented a new demographic trend in the Big Apple that they suggest may be a glimpse of the future for other large American cities,” Rich Morin wrote Wednesday for the Pew Research Center. “Researchers Ronald J.O. Flores and Arun Peter Lobo call it integration without blacks. In the past 40 years they found nearly a three-fold increase in the share of integrated New York City neighborhoods with a mix of whites, Hispanics and Asians but few, if any, blacks. . . .”
- Susan Smith Richardson, formerly managing editor of The Texas Observer, a nonprofit, investigative online news journal, and former public education editor at the Chicago Tribune, has been named editor and publisher of The Chicago Reporter, the Community Renewal Society announced Wednesday. “Richardson is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years of experience as a reporter, editor and columnist. Her work has focused on race, poverty and social inequality, with an emphasis on blending narrative and data-driven journalism,” the announcement said.
- Teri Arvesu, most recently executive producer for WLTV Univision 23 in Miami, has been named news director for Univision Chicago, the network announced Tuesday.
- Mike Hill, who left ESPN in June after hosting shows for nine years there, has joined the new Fox Sports 1 network, Fox announced on Tuesday. Hill will assume “multiple roles, providing news updates and serving as guest host for FOX SPORTS LIVE, the flagship news, opinion and highlights program airing nightly.” The network launches Aug. 17.
- In New York, “Frances Rivera, the PIX Morning News co-anchor, has accepted a buyout. Insiders say she will stay on the air until the end of the month,” Jerry Barmash reported Tuesday on his TunedIn site.
- “THE POWERBROKER: Whitney Young’s Fight for Civil Rights,” a documentary about the leader of the National Urban League whose contributions have been overshadowed by those of Martin Luther King Jr., is scheduled for rebroadcast on PBS on Aug. 27 at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
- Eric Wee, who founded the journalism jobs site journalismnext.com, has added AsiaMediaJobs.com, “the premier site for media professionals in the Asia Pacific region. We have jobs for journalists, editors, writers, on-air personalities, and writers for television, newspapers, radio, film, magazines and websites. . . . ” the site declares.
- Angela P. Dodson, a former senior editor for the New York Times and former executive editor of Black Issues Book Review, has become founder and CEO of Editorsoncall LLC. “Many authors, entrepreneurs, and media owners do not know where to look for talent” and “Many providers — managers, writers, reporters, editors, photographers, graphic designers, picture editors, fact checkers, researchers and proofreaders — are out of work because of staffing cuts and the closing of many media outlets,” she said on her website. “Editorsoncall wants to ‘recycle’ this highly skilled pool of talent, sweeping up the diamonds to ‘repurpose’ them in new media, cutting-edge ventures and the vastly expanding world of self-publishing. . . .”
- “After appearing on Al Jazeera’s The Stream as a guest, then guest hosting, then subbing for the amazing Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, I finally decided to make it official,” Latoya Peterson announced Wednesday on her Racialicious site. “I am joining The Stream (American Edition) as Senior Digital Producer.” Peterson was a 2012-13 John S. Knight Journalism fellow at Stanford University.
- The Senate confirmed Jannette Dates of Baltimore, dean emerita of the Howard University School of Communications and a professor in the university’s Department of Radio, Television and Film, to a three-year term on the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Dru Sefton reported Friday for Current.org.
- “For the first time in 39 years, NBC ‘Today’ weather anchor and ‘Wake Up with Al’ co-host Al Roker overslept and missed a show,” Alex Weprin reported for TVNewser. “Roker’s alarm didn’t go off, and he missed his Weather Channel program, although he made it to Studio 1A in time for ‘Today’. . . .”
- In Ghana, “A reporting crew of an Accra-based privately-owned radio station, Adom FM, was on August 5, 2013 physically assaulted by a group of angry church members belonging to the Mighty Chapel International located in Kotobabi a suburb of Accra, the capital,” the Media Foundation for West Africa reported Tuesday. “Isaac Owusu, Kofi Adomah, reporter and anchor respectively and Nii Narku, news editor received heavy blows and had their clothes torn by the church members. Adomah’s camera and voice recorder were also confiscated by the angry members. . . .”
- The International Press Institute Wednesday condemned Tuesday’s shooting death of Guatemalan radio journalist Jesús Lima, the third journalist killed in the country since the beginning of 2013. “Lima, a 68-year old veteran broadcast journalist, was pronounced dead at the scene after unknown assailants shot him twice in Zacapa City, eastern province of Zacapa, on Aug. 6,” IPI reported.
- “Reporters Without Borders is relieved to learn that Egyptian journalist Anas Fouda, a senior editor with the MBC media group, was released by the authorities in the United Arab Emirates on 4 August and was deported back to Egypt the same day,” the press freedom organization said Wednesday. “However the organisation recalls that the UAE authorities held Fouda arbitrarily for more than a month without charging him and without saying why or where he was being detained. He was not allowed to talk to a lawyer or his family at any time while held. . . .”
- “The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)’s monitoring of Freedom of Expression (FoE) and safety of journalists’ in Mali (May – June, 2013) has shown a significant progress following the negative impact of the year-long crisis,” the foundation reported Tuesday. “This is the first of a series of monitoring reports to be issued within the year.” France sent 3,000 troops to Mali in January to halt an offensive by al Qaeda-linked Islamists.
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