Articles Feature

A Monthly Ebony Unlikely to Return

by richard06916

‘The Cost of Print is Exorbitant’
D.C. NFL Team Retiring Name;
Writers Urged to Cease Spelling Out the Current Name
CNN Creates Expanded ‘Race Team’
Carlson’s Top Writer Quits After Racism Exposed
Joy Reid Breaks Through as a Black Woman
NBC Exec Wants Work Force 50 Percent Diverse
Brent Jones Named to Wall St. Journal Masthead
Fox News to Capitalize ‘B’ in Black
Audit Knocks Facebook on Civil Rights
Trump Campaign Goes After Univision
On-Air Couple Contract COVID-19 Virus
Luis Varela, AP Sports Journalist, Dies at 82
Brad Pye Jr., Trailblazing Sports Journalist, 89
Journal-isms Fund Drive Begins
Text of Jeff Zucker ‘Race Team’ Announcement

Short Takes

Support Journal-isms

“Roland Martin Unfiltered” (YouTube)

‘The Cost of Print is Exorbitant’

The new chair of the company that owns Ebony magazine says that “print, in all likelihood, will not come back,” that he is looking for “creative ways” to pay writers that Ebony owes and that he would like to spread around the country the concept of the “Power 100” gala honoring Black achievers.

In an interview with Roland Martin posted last week on the online “Roland Martin Unfiltered,” (video) Jacob Walthour Jr., newly elected board chairman of Ebony Media Holdings and a Black-owned asset manager, also shed more light on the reasons the board ousted CEO Willard Jackson and turned to an independent counsel to investigate his dealings.

Ebony magazine, which debuted in 1945, and was once a coffee-table staple in Black households, has not been published for months, although spokesperson Jennifer Farmer could not determine when the last issue appeared.

“As an industry the magazine business has really a really tough business, Ebony has had a tougher time than most,” Walthour told Martin.

He also said, “So print, in all likelihood, will not come back. The world of print has changed dramatically. The cost of print is exorbitant if you’re an individual magazine as opposed to a conglomerate of magazines like Conde Nast or American Media.

“And so, what we’ll look at is special editions around certain events. So maybe it’s two or three special editions a year as opposed to printing one  every single month. With respect to the digital platform, Ebony did not convert to digital as fast as most. That’s really sad . . . when you really think about it, Jet magazine was the first publication to really offer people news in really small doses.

Jacob Walthour Jr., Ebony board chair says, “I don’t want to bring a new CEO on board until our house is clean” (Credit: Crain’s Pensions & Investments)

“John Johnson,” co-founder of Ebony with his wife, Eunice, “really led the industry in condensing a story into two paragraphs . . . Unfortunately, that format was never converted to digital, so the company didn’t have commercial success on the back of that vision that he had.  

“So we’re really excited about the digital platform. Even though the brand has gone through a tough time for the last three or four years, it still is the No. 1 black brand in the world, and it’s possible for it to make a resurgence if it has the right management team and the right resources behind it.”

Walthour said there were “somewhere between six and 26” writers who are owed money, “and we gotta figure out the exact number, and exactly who is owed money.”

The National Writers Union collected about $90,000 for 48 writers through the end of 2018, union president Larry Goldbetter messaged Journal-isms. “IMHO, NWU got even more out of this than the writers did, as a number of them became active and leaders in our union, making NWU much smarter and stronger,” Goldbetter added.

But, Goldbetter said of Ebony, “They had a pyramid scheme model, always recruiting more freelancers after not paying the last crowd. Pitiful.”

 Walthour told Martin, “I’ve proposed that we engage the attorneys in thinking about a creative way to start to pay this down. In other words, put money into a trust, and at such time as someone says ‘I need it,’ pay it to them. If they don’t want to wait out the litigation, let them drop off . . . and let them move on with their life and get their payment.

“I understand that at the end of the day that this is small, but it can fester.  When someone owes you a small amount of money for a long period of time and you don’t get any answers, it does nothing really but make you upset. . . . I am committed to coming up with a creative solution, that’s what financial services firms like mine does. . . .”  

On the Power 100 gala, one of three revenue pillars — the others are print and digital — Walthour said “what we’d like to do there is bring Ebony to the local level in major metropolitan areas around the country and replicate the success that we had with Power l00, which is only held once a year.

“There are far more than 100 African Americans that need to be honored each and every year. And I think we’d like to figure out how to do that, in Detroit, in Los Angeles, in Atlanta, in New York City, and other cities where we have large concentrations of African Americans that need to be showcased nationally.”

Martin read aloud what he said was a text message from Jackson (pictured) who did not respond to an inquiry from Journal-isms. “I absolutely refute the allegation that I have not been fully transparent to Ebony’s board of directors regarding any and all transactions. I look forward to clearing my name and reputation regarding these allegations. I have directed this matter to my attorney.”

Martin asked about crowd-funding operations using the Ebony name that solicited Martin an his audience, operations that Walthour said had not been cleared with the board.

“Clearly the lines have blurred between the corporate and the personal,” Walthour said. “Business that was personal in nature was leveraging the corporate brand as well as the corporate assets to actually be legitimized. . . . I assure you that on a going-forward basis, as long as I am on the board . . . those kinds of things will not occur. . . .

“You’re spot on when you say that black people taking advantage of black people, that certainly can’t be allowed to exist, and using a black person like yourself to facilitate that certainly makes it even worse. . . .”

Ricardo Cate drew this cartoon two years ago.

D.C. NFL Team Retiring Its Name;
Writers Urged to Stop Spelling Out Current One

“The Washington Redskins announced Monday that they will be retiring their nickname and logo after completing a thorough review that began on July 3,” John Keim reported for ESPN..

“Today, we are announcing we will be retiring the Redskins name and logo upon completion of this review,” the team said in a statement.

“Dan Snyder and Coach [Ron] Rivera are working closely to develop a new name and design approach that will enhance the standing of our proud, tradition-rich franchise and inspire our sponsors, fans and community for the next 100 years.”

The reporting will be another occasion for journalists to choose their terminology.

A leaked letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last week from Native American leaders and organizations “that have worked tirelessly and substantively for over half a century to change the racist name of the Washington team” contains stern words for journalists.

Among the letter’s seven “non-negotiable” demands are:

“Cease the use of the offensive, racial slur name ‘R*dsk*ns’ immediately, and encourage journalists, writers and reporters to use the term in print only by using asterisks ‘R*dsk*ns’ and to refer to the term verbally as the ‘r-word’.”

Another demand, Mary Emily O’Hara reported July 6 for Adweek, is that the NFL “Cease the use of the 2016 Washington Post Poll and the 2004 National Annenberg Election Survey which have been repeatedly used by the franchise and supporters to rationalize the use of the racist r-word name.

“These surveys were not academically vetted and were called unethical and inaccurate by the Native American [Journalists] Association as well as deemed damaging by other prominent organizations that represent Native Peoples. The NFL team must be held accountable to the various research studies conducted by scientists and scholars which find stereotypical images, names and the like are harmful to Native youth and the continued progress of the wellbeing of Native Peoples. . . .”

Last week, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the franchise would not use any Native American imagery. Washington’s logo of an American Indian chief had been designed by a Native American in 1971, Keim reported.

Meanwhile, Jasmine Hilton reported Tuesday for the Washington Post, “First, county commissioners stripped Columbus Day from the paid-holiday calendar. Then, a construction crew hauled the 22-foot-tall bronze statue of Christopher Columbus from the city hall plaza by order of the mayor.

“Now, some activists in Ohio’s capital city of Columbus are confident that they can bring down another honor to the Italian explorer, one that would be harder to remove — the city’s name. . . .”

Asked whether the city’s daily, the Columbus Dispatch, had taken an editorial position on renaming the city or removing the statue, Editorial Page Editor Mary Yost forwarded a July 1 editorial, “Columbus, let’s make the next City Hall artwork one based on an ideal, not an idol.”

CNN Creates Expanded ‘Race Team’

CNN is creating “a new and expanded race team,” CNN President Jeff Zucker announced Monday, that “will build on what so many do already at CNN and will provide the needed structure to cover this beat with more focus and force.

“This team will break news and cover the stories and conversations around race. The struggles, progress, and triumphs. The systemic racism that the majority of Americans now acknowledge exists,” he said.

“Delano Massey (pictured) will be the leader of this new beat. Delano joined CNN recently from the AP, where he was the leader of the race and ethnicity team. . . .”

Text of memo at the end of this column.

Princell Hair said, “I’m thrilled to return to daily news gathering and compelling storytelling . . . as the world responds to a pandemic, systemic racism and an economic crisis, all of which disproportionately impact the Black audience,” (credit: Black News Channel)

Princell Hair Named CEO of Black News Channel

Princell Hair, a television industry veteran brought in briefly this year to help fix issues at the Black News Channel, Monday was named president and CEO.

J.C. Watts, the former congressman who is chairman of the 24-hour news channel targeting African Americans, made the announcement. Watts filled in as interim CEO after co-founder Bob Brillante left in April “to pursue other opportunities.”

Hair was brought in in January to help with the Feb. 10 launch, which had been delayed. He left after Super Tuesday, March 3. The website FTV Live outlined some of the struggles the network had been having. It has yet to generate much positive buzz.

A news release said, “Hair brings a unique background in diverse platforms including general management, experience leading a national news network, a regional sports business and several local television news departments. He has reimagined programming lineups in his career discovering new, engaging talent, enhancing linear audience reach and vastly growing digital user engagement. . . .”

Carlson’s Top Writer Quits After Racism Exposed

“The top writer for Fox News host Tucker Carlson has for years been using a pseudonym to post bigoted remarks on an online forum that is a hotbed for racist, sexist, and other offensive content, CNN Business learned this week,” Oliver Darcy reported Saturday for CNN.

“Just this week, the writer, Blake Neff (pictured), responded to a thread started by another user in 2018 with the subject line, ‘Would u let a JET BLACK congo n****er do lasik eye surgery on u for 50% off?’ Neff wrote, ‘I wouldn’t get LASIK from an Asian for free, so no.’ (The subject line was not censored on the forum.)

“On June 5, Neff wrote, ‘Black doods staying inside playing Call of Duty is probably one of the biggest factors keeping crime down.’ On June 24, Neff commented, ‘Honestly given how tired black people always claim to be, maybe the real crisis is their lack of sleep.’ On June 26, Neff wrote that the only people who care about changing the name of the NFL’s Washington Redskins are ‘white libs and their university-“educated” pets.’ . . .”

Joy Reid Breaks Through as a Black Woman

“Joy Reid (pictured) says she wants to bring some different perspectives to MSNBC’s evening lineup — lots of them,” David Bauder reported Thursday for the Associated Press.

“As anticipated, the host of MSNBC’s weekend ‘AM Joy’ show was appointed Thursday to succeed former ‘Hardball’ host Chris Matthews in the 7 p.m. Eastern time slot on weekdays.

“ ‘We are going to try to fire out of the gate with whatever is the most important thing that’s happening that night, and try to frame it and contextualize,’ Reid said in an interview. ‘Hopefully, I have a very unique frame.’

“As a Black woman, Reid addresses a somewhat embarrassing oversight at a news and talk network aimed at a mostly liberal audience. Before her selection, the 5 p.m. to midnight hours were hosted by five white men and one white woman.

“ ‘She’s earned this, spot on,’ said NBC Universal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde, who has said his goal is a workforce with 50 percent minorities at NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC. ‘I happen to think she’s the right person for the right moment in time.’ . . . “

NBC Exec Wants Work Force 50 Percent Diverse

“Responding to the current national period of reflection on race, NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde (pictured) has set a goal of having a 50% diverse work force across his division,” Stephen Battaglio reported Tuesday for the Los Angeles Times.

“No timetable has been set for the target Conde set in an internal video sent Tuesday to employees and obtained by The Times. There are around 3,000 employees across the units in the division — NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC — with 27% of them people of color.

“Conde, who took over the group in May and is the first Latino to run a major English language network TV news division, devised the diversity plan after meetings with employees across the division about diversity and coverage of the Black community following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody on May 25, which has led to a racial reckoning in companies throughout the country. . . .”

Brent Jones Named to Wall St. Journal Masthead

“I’m delighted to share the news that Brent Jones (pictured), a leader who has had a transformative effect on training and culture at The Wall Street Journal in the last two years, is taking on a new and expanded newsroom role as Editor of Culture, Training and Outreach,”  Journal editor Matt Murray wrote to staffers Thursday. “He will join the masthead of The Wall Street Journal and report to me starting Monday. . . .”

Jones is the first African American to join the masthead of the publication, founded on July 8, 1889, former Journal staffers told Journal-isms. However, they added that for most of that time, the masthead was no more than six or so names but has tripled at the Journal and other news organizations.

Among Jones’ accomplishments, Murray wrote, was establishing in February 2019 The Wall Street Journal–Morgan State University Business Journalism Exchange Program, a “groundbreaking” training collaboration with Morgan State University in Baltimore.

The appointment comes as staff members “have been pressing newsroom leaders to make fundamental changes in how the newspaper covers race, policing, and its primary focus, the business world, along with other matters,” Marc Tracy and Ben Smith reported Friday for The New York Times.

“In a June 23 letter to the editor in chief, Matt Murray, a group identifying itself only as ‘members of the WSJ newsroom’ said the paper must ‘encourage more muscular reporting about race and social inequities,’ and laid out detailed proposals for revising its news coverage. . . .

“Among its proposals: Mr. Murray should appoint journalists to cover ‘race, ethnicity and inequality’; name two standards editors specializing in diversity; conduct a study of the race, ethnicity and gender breakdown of the subjects of The Journal’s ‘most prominent and resource-intensive stories’; and bring more diversity to the newsroom and leadership positions. . . .”

Fox News to Capitalize ‘B’ in Black

“Starting today, FOX News Media will capitalize Black when it is used as an adjective describing people, a community, or culture,” Jon Glenn, vice president of news writing & style and senior executive producer, announced on Monday.

“Outlets including the Associated Press have recently started making the change, and FOX News Media joins them.

“We are making this adjustment after consulting our own diversity team, and after careful research into the history of language, culture, and customs.

“This change also ensures ‘Black’ is in line with our current styles for other racial/ethnic groups (including Asian, African American, Latino, Hispanic, Native American.) If the subject of a story prefers a more precise description (for instance, ‘African American’ or ‘Haitian American’) we will use that preference whenever possible.

“The National Association of Black Journalists recommends that whenever a color is used to appropriately describe race, it should be capitalized, including White and Brown. We will follow that recommendation. . . .”

Hugo Balta (pictured, above), president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, saw an inconsistency in the Fox policy.

“Since 2013, the AP [Stylebook] ‘no longer sanctions the term ‘illegal immigrant’ or the use of ‘illegal’ to describe a person. Instead, it tells users that ‘illegal’ should describe only an action, such as living in or immigrating to a country illegally’,” Balta messaged Journal-isms.

“Since then many news outlets have dropped the derogatory term and in part by the suggestion of NAHJ adopted undocumented immigrants in describing people who are ‘living or entering/in the United States illegally.

“It’s time FOX News and other mainstream media give the Hispanic, Latino community the same courtesy and respect as it is doing with the Black community by capitalizing the letter ‘B’ in Black.”

Separately, Mireille Grangenois (pictured) wrote June 30 for CNN.com,  “I’d say the “b” word debate is a red herring. . . .

“Based on long experience in both editorial and corporate roles at a variety of news outlets, I contend more than a few top editors are likely quite relieved so many news consumers, media watchers and influencers are caught up in this style-guide sideshow — instead of focusing on the main event: transforming how journalism outlets address race and, in the process, leading a genuine transformation in how America confronts racism. . . .”​

Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg rings the NASDAQ bell at the company’s initial public offering on May 18, 2012. (Credit: Facebook)

Audit Knocks Facebook on Civil Rights

Facebook has not done enough to fight discrimination on its platform and has made some decisions that were ‘significant setbacks for civil rights,’ according to a new independent audit of the company’s policies and practices, Mike Isaac reported Wednesday for The New York Times.

In a 100-page prepublication report, which was obtained by The New York Times, the social network was repeatedly faulted for not having the infrastructure for handling civil rights and for prioritizing free expression on its platform over nondiscrimination. In some decisions, Facebook did not seek civil rights expertise, the auditors said, potentially setting a ‘terrible’ precedent that could affect the November general election and other speech issues. . . .”

Meanwhile, “Civil rights and activist groups blasted Facebook’s leadership on Tuesday after meeting with CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives to discuss the demands of a large advertiser boycott that now includes hundreds of brands,” Brian Fung reported for CNN Business.

” ‘The meeting we just left was a disappointment,’ said Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change. ‘[Facebook] showed up to the meeting expecting an “A” for attendance.’ “

Separately, Facebook named Steven Gray (pictured above), formerly of the Washington Post, Time magazine, the Wall Street Journal and JPMorgan Chase, as technology communications director, editorial, based in New York. Gray was editorial director of Techonomy, a New York-based conference and content company dealing with “tech’s impact on business and society.”

The Lincoln Project, veteran Republican strategists who have endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president, is hitting Donald Trump again. They have partnered with Lalo Alcaraz, the well-known Latino cartoonist from Los Angeles who said he never thought he would work with Republicans. (Credit: YouTube)

Trump Campaign Goes After Univision

“President Trump’s re-election campaign is peeved at Univision, accusing the Spanish-language network of a liberal bias and deliberate deception intended to favor Joe Biden in the upcoming election,” Brian Flood reported Tuesday for Fox News.

“The campaign sent an email Tuesday claiming, ‘Hispanic Americans deserve better than “MSNBC en Español,” ‘ which detailed various issues the campaign has with Univision. . . .”

A Univision spokesperson told Fox News, “Univision News has covered the electoral campaign and President Donald Trump with honesty and rigorous journalism. We have invited him repeatedly to talk with our viewers about his political platform and public policies.”

Roy Ramos and Nicole Perez (Credit: WPLG-TV, Miami)

On-Air Couple Contract COVID-19 Virus

“WPLG, the ABC station in Miami, now has five staffers fighting Covid-19,” Stephanie Tsoflias Siegel reported Tuesday for TV Spy. “Those who have tested positive include the station’s main evening anchor, Nicole Perez, and her husband, reporter Roy Ramos.

“In an interview with Perez’s co-anchor Calvin Hughes, Perez and Ramos say they’re experiencing clinical symptoms including cough, congestion, chills, fatigue and the loss of taste and smell. . . .

“The couple plans to quarantine for the next 14 days. WPLG says the newsroom was disinfected on Monday night.
. . .”

Luis Varela, AP Sports Journalist, Dies at 82

“Luis Rigoberto Varela (pictured), who worked nearly 40 years as a correspondent for the now defunct Spanish desk of The Associated Press in Puerto Rico and covered five Olympics and numerous international sports events, has died,” Eric Nuñez reported June 25 for the Associated Press. “He was 82.

“His son told the AP that Varela died late Tuesday at a hospital in Ponce, a southern coastal city in Puerto Rico, after facing complications from a June 11 intestinal surgery. . . .”

“Varela left his native Cuba in 1958 and settled in Puerto Rico, where he started a nearly six-decade career in journalism. His specialty was sports, particularly baseball, track and field, basketball and volleyball. He also had a program — Sports Trench — on the Catholic Radio station. . . .”

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists added, “Colleagues called him an ‘encyclopedia of sports knowledge’ and an indispensable asset to the sports news community. During a time when the internet wasn’t available for quick and easy fact-checking, Varela was well-known for his expertise and served as the go-to resource for his sports news colleagues. His influence as a mentor and support to fellow journalists across all generations is evident not only in Puerto Rico, but throughout the entire United States and LATAM. . . .”

Brad Pye, Jr. discusses his legendary Los Angeles Sentinel column “Switch Reels” in 2016. (Credit: Los Angeles Sentinel)

Brad Pye Jr., Trailblazing Sports Journalist, 89

“Brad Pye, Jr., a trailblazing sports writer and broadcaster, passed away July 5, at his home in Los Angeles,”  Cora Jackson-Fossett wrote that day for the Los Angeles Sentinel.

“Pye, who was recognized throughout the nation for his pioneering efforts on behalf of African American athletes, suffered from various health issues that contributed to his death at the age of 89.

“Pye attained many ‘firsts’ during his long career. His achievements include being the first recognized African American sportswriter in Southern California, the first Black administrator for the NFL Commissioner and the first African American public relations and scout for the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers.

“Also, he served nearly 30 years as the sports editor for the Los Angeles Sentinel. In this capacity, the newspaper won top awards from the National Newspaper Publishers Association for 10 consecutive years. In addition, Pye led the effort in the 1960s for African American journalists to be admitted to the press areas of professional sports teams. . . .”

Pye was named Journalist of the Year in 1990 by the Sports Task Force of the National Association of Black Journalists.

In a 40-year anniversary remembrance of the 1965 Watts uprising, the L.A. Wave newspapers wrote in 2005, “Seasoned reporter Brad Pye said he and Betty Pleasant were the only black [journalists] to cover the riot because major newspapers had no black reporters and were afraid to send white writers to a ‘war zone, where people were waiting on rooftops ready to stone any car that was driven by a white person.’

” ‘After that,’ Pye said, ‘(major newspapers) began to hire more blacks because they knew they couldn’t miss out on any more stories.’ “

At the Los Angeles Times, the newsroom drafted Robert Richardson, who worked in the advertising department, as its sole black reporter covering the uprising.

Although the Times won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage, Times editor Nick B. Williams wrote a Page One editorial that acknowledged the paper’s failure to understand the riot’s causes, and pledged an “open and frank communication with the people of Watts, not just its leaders but the people themselves, including the rioters … to explore the kind of thinking, the kind of passions, the kind of despair and apathy, that led to an explosion of hatred that rocked a great city and shocked the entire world.”

Short Takes

  • A letter appearing online titled, “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate,” and signed by 153 prominent artists and intellectuals, begins with an acknowledgment of “powerful protests for racial and social justice” before pivoting to a warning against an “intolerant climate” engulfing the culture, Jennifer Schuessler and Elizabeth A. Harris reported Tuesday for The New York Times. Signers include Marie Arana, Gerald Early, Malcolm Gladwell, Zaid Jilani, Bill T. Jones, Randall Kennedy, Khaled Khalifa, Wynton Marsalis, John McWhorter, Nell Irvin Painter, Orlando Patterson, Cynthia Tucker, Thomas Chatterton Williams, and Matthew Yglesias.

  • In Charlotte, N.C., “WFAE’s Ju-Don Marshall (pictured) has been promoted to executive vice president and she’ll continue her duties as chief content officer,” the FM station announced Friday. “She joined WFAE in 2017, where she has led the newsroom and content team to multiple awards, established several digital initiatives, and created partnerships to amplify voices from diverse communities in Charlotte. . . .”

  • Eleven deans of 10 of the nation’s leading schools of journalism and communication signed a statement “reaffirming the critical role of journalism in our democracy and the responsibility as journalism educators to confront and challenge racism in our communities and in our institutions,” the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University reported on June 19.

Journal-isms Fund Drive Begins

“As a veteran reporter, I turn to Richard Prince’s Journal-isms all the time for the latest information on people of color in our business. There is no spin, no slant, just the facts to keep us informed. I also appreciate that he holds journalists and media companies accountable . . . . Keep up the good work. #NoSpinAllowed” (Courtesy Rebecca Aguilar)

— Rebecca Aguilar, freelance reporter; diversity committee chair, Society of Professional Journalists; former vice president, National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Support Journal-isms

Text of Jeff Zucker ‘Race Team’ Announcement

Announcement Monday July 13, from CNN President Jeff Zucker:

I could not be prouder of the impactful work that CNN has done on every platform in the last few years – and especially in the last several weeks – covering race and racial injustice in America. Our reporting has been powerful, emotional, and helped to shed a light on the growing movement against institutional racism. Today, I am pleased to announce that we are making an even more significant, sustained commitment to ensure race coverage is a permanent part of our journalism.

The recent conversations we’ve had in our newsrooms have been informative and constructive. We have valued them, we heard you, and we will continue listening. There are structural changes and investments we can and will make to better cover what is happening in our society. We are committed to doing that. 

Many talented journalists around the organization work on or around race. Everyone knows Sara Sidner and Mallory Simon’s powerful track record of covering hate and racism, the award-winning analysis pieces by John Blake, which show how our racial history permeates all aspects of society, Abby Phillip’s work shining a light on the role of race in the election, as she did so well recently in Tulsa, and Brandon Tensley on the intersection of race, culture, and politics. There are dozens of CNN journalists who regularly report out stories on this beat across Digital, Newsgathering, our contributors, and beyond. Race touches every aspect of our lives, and therefore every area of our coverage. That work will continue. It must.

In that spirit, we are pleased to share the news of a new and expanded race team, which will contribute to all CNN platforms. This team will build on what so many do already at CNN and will provide the needed structure to cover this beat with more focus and force.

This team will break news and cover the stories and conversations around race. The struggles, progress, and triumphs. The systemic racism that the majority of Americans now acknowledge exists. The latest polls and studies and data. How race is intertwined with inequality in business, politics, sports, media, housing, healthcare, and education. Lack of representation in leadership roles in so many industries. The still-present signals and symbols of racism. Voices who provide solutions, inspiration, and leadership. Black, White, Latino, Asian American, Native American, Multiracial, and all races. 

This team is not a silo for all race coverage, but it is a center and a beacon to enable us to do all the work there is to do in the most timely, relevant way we can for audiences across all platforms. This enhanced team and structure will provide a more effective “air traffic control” and clearinghouse for green lighting, assigning resources and advocating for more strategic placement on all our platforms so these stories have a powerful impact. 

I want to thank Meredith Artley, Virginia Moseley, Cathy Straight, Matthew Hilk, Mitra Kalita, Delano Massey, Pervaiz Shallwani, and Ramon Escobar for their collective leadership in structuring and building this team. 

Delano Massey will be the leader of this new beat. Delano joined CNN recently from the AP, where he was the leader of the race and ethnicity team. He will also continue to run the team covering the Justice Department. Delano will report to Matthew for newsgathering and into Cathy for digital priorities. The three of them will collaborate closely and make sure these stories reach and serve audiences across the network. They are recruiting as of today for the following, newly created positions:

Senior Editor – The person in this role will function as Delano’s partner, focused on assigning and editing stories for all Digital platforms on this beat and will report to Cathy.

Senior Writer – This is a digitally focused role, with occasional TV-oriented work. The person, leaning on experience on this beat, will break stories, cover major breaking news, and will pitch, write, and partner around the organization on enterprise, stories, and projects.

Breaking and Trends Writer – This writer covers breaking and developing news daily, working closely with the Live Story and Breaking News team on developing stories where race is involved. They will also work closely with the Culture and Trends team and Social to capture and reflect the conversation around race and diversity.

Separately, we’re formalizing a structure to increase our commitment to reporting on policing in America – the power that law enforcement has, how they wield it, and the full view of policing as seen from individuals and communities who value, fear or question their authority. The challenges that officers face and the stories of where the system is working and where it’s broken. Pervaiz Shallwani will oversee this beat. Pervaiz joined CNN recently after spending more than a decade editing and reporting on policing. Pervaiz will report to Matthew and continue his leadership of daily enterprise and investigative efforts in New York. In addition to drawing on the already-strong work of Shimon Prokupecz, Josh Campbell, Ryan Young, Mark Morales, Scott Glover, and others, we are going to add a new digitally-focused Senior Writer to this beat team who will contribute important context to breaking stories and think of policing as a business and an institution. The senior writer will go deep into the renewed scrutiny on police tactics, training, and unions.

Supporting both new beat systems will be a new Data and Visuals Editor. This person is a finder of data, trends, and statistics about race and policing. They may surface data on inequality, incarceration rates, access to health care, childcare, education. They will work tightly with the digital Visuals team and beyond to make stories on both the new race and policing beats stronger with interactive data, charts, and maps that make and break news for all platforms.

If you are interested in applying for any of these new positions, or know of people we should speak with, please reach out to Delano, Matthew, Cathy, or Pervaiz and refer people to WarnerMediaCareers.com.

As journalists, we all have a responsibility to accurately tell the stories of our world. These new teams are committed to doing just that, building on all the work others have done and will continue to do.

Thank you for the open and honest conversations that informed these new teams. And please keep them coming.

Jeff Zucker was named chairman, WarnerMedia News and Sports in March 2019. He has also served as president of CNN Worldwide since 2013.

Facebook users: “Like” “Richard Prince’s Journal-isms” on Facebook.

Follow Richard Prince on Twitter @princeeditor

Richard Prince’s Journal-isms originates from Washington. It began in print before most of us knew what the internet was, and it would like to be referred to as a “column.” Any views expressed in the column are those of the person or organization quoted and not those of any other entity. Send tips, comments and concerns to Richard Prince at journal-isms-owner@yahoogroups.com

About Richard Prince

View previous columns (after Feb. 13, 2016).

Related posts

CBS Stations’ ‘Hostile Environment’ for Blacks, Women

richard

Holt, Quijano Among Debate Moderators

richard

A Sunday ‘Hotter than July’

richard

Leave a Comment

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.