Articles Feature

Acclaimed Cartoonist Faces Child Porn Charges

by richard0357

Detectives Link 134 Videos to Darrin Bell’s Account
Charles Blow ‘Winds Down’ at N.Y. Times; on to Harvard
Will Jim Acosta, Whom Trump Despises, Be Sidelined?
Rachel Scott to Cover Trump’s White House for ABC
Trump Nominates Black Republican for FCC
A Nominee ‘Over His Head’ for ‘the Black Job’
Media Turn to Black Communities in Fires Coverage
Rights Leaders, Harris Pledge to Fight DEI Backlash
127 Cubans Freed, but No Identifiable Journalist

Short Takes: Martin Luther King Jr.; private schools; CNN and Afghanistan; Jim Williams; Washington Post commercial employees; NAHJ “Champions” initiative; AP’s “Napalm Girl” photo; SAJA officer election results; Asian Americans and immigration; Susan Chira and Marshall Project accomplishments; Sheinelle Jones; Ray Suarez

Homepage photo: Screenshot from “Talk It Out With Fahid” podcast.

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Darrin Bell in his Sacramento, Calif., office in February 2024. (Credit: Paul Kitagaki Jr./Sacramento Bee)

Detectives Link 134 Videos to Darrin Bell’s Account

Darrin Bell, the first Black cartoonist to win a Pulitzer Prize, today is in the Sacramento, Calif., county jail, held on $1 million bail over charges that he possessed more than 100 videos of child pornography, some of which was computer-generated.

Bell, 49, a married father of four, has been creating cartoons for newspapers since 1995, according to his website. His cartoons include “Candorville” and “Rudy Park” and are distributed by King Features Syndicate to newspapers across the country, as Sara Ruberg reported Thursday for The New York Times. In 2023 Bell published a graphic novel called “The Talk” about his life growing up in Los Angeles.

“Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Detectives (ICAC) conducted an investigation stemming from a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) related to someone uploading Child Sex Abuse Material (CSAM), also referred to as child pornography,” a news release from the Sacramento County (Calif.) Sheriff’s Office said Thursday. “The tip was related to 18 files containing CSAM. The investigation continued, and a total of 134 videos of CSAM were located and linked to the same account, owned and controlled by 49-year-old Darrin Bell.

“Yesterday morning (January 15), ICAC Detectives served a residential search warrant at Bell’s home. Detectives recovered evidence related to the case, as well as computer-generated/AI CSAM. Bell was subsequently arrested and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail for the possession of CSAM. He is currently in custody being held on $1 million bail . . .”

Bell won the Pulitzer in 2019 for “beautiful and daring editorial cartoons that took on issues affecting disenfranchised communities, calling out lies, hypocrisy and fraud in the political turmoil surrounding the Trump administration.”

In the Guardian, media writer Margaret Sullivan praised Darrin Bell’s cartoon about Donald Trump visiting Arlington Cemetery. She was writing about “An ugly case of ‘false balance'” in The New York Times. (Credit: YouTube)

Bell’s arrest “stuns amid a groundbreaking career that began when a young Bell was still in college, drawing cartoons for the Daily Californian at UC Berkeley,” Darrell Smith wrote for the Sacramento Bee.

Smith reported Friday that Bell remains held on $1 million bail and that he made a brief appearance Friday in Sacramento Superior Court before his arraignment was continued to Thursday morning.

He also wrote, “Bell was 20 when he began his career in 1995, freelancing for the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Washington Post, while a student at UC Berkeley. In 1997, Bell self-syndicated his first comic strip, ‘Rudy Park,’ co-created by Theron Heir. But it was the debut of ‘Candorville’ in 2003 that brought Bell wider acclaim. The strip, featuring three childhood friends of color, often investigated issues of race, civil rights, pop culture and family. Candorville was syndicated by the Washington Post Writers Group three times a week beginning in 2003 before moving to King Features, a division of Hearst, in 2019.

“With his earlier ‘Rudy Park,’ Bell, who is Black and Jewish, was the first Black cartoonist to have two nationally syndicated strips. At its height, Candorville ran in about 300 newspapers nationwide.”

Christopher Chiu-Tabet wrote Friday for comicsbeat.com, “Counterpoint Media, which distributes Bell’s cartoons in their daily newsletter,. . . said they have suspended distributing his work, but reruns of Rudy Park (which ended in 2018) would continue for the foreseeable future, stating, ‘While we are aware that the American system of justice presumes innocence until proven guilty, we feel it necessary to suspend Mr. Bell from future contributions to Counterpoint until more is known about the charges.’ ”

“Charles Blow exemplifies the spirit of Langston Hughes in his fearless pursuit of truth and justice. We are thrilled to honor Hughes’ legacy and support the next generation of thought leaders with this fellowship,” said Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University.

Blow ‘Winds Down’ at N.Y. Times; on to Harvard

Charles M. Blow, a staple of the New York Times Opinion pages, author of a book that was turned into an opera, and a media figure included in a People magazine “Sexiest Man Alive” issue, will ““step away from his column in early February after “more than 15 years as one of our most humane and empathetic columnists,” Kathleen Kingsbury, opinion editor at The New York Times, told staffers Friday.

Later in the day, Harvard University announced the establishment of the Langston Hughes Fellowship, to be housed at the W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute within the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, headed by Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Blow, now based in Atlanta, is to be the first fellow. “I am honored and thrilled beyond words to be the recipient of this fellowship, which is named for one of my literary heroes,” Blow said in the news release.

At the Times, Pamela Paul is also “winding down” her tenure, and Newsletter writer Peter Coy as well as Op-Docs senior editor Christine Kecher are departing, Kingsbury announced.

Blow took an unusual route to the columnist’s chair. “Upon graduation from Grambling State University in 1991, Blow was hired as a graphic artist for The Detroit News,” the HistoryMakers recounts.

“He then joined The New York Times in 1994 as a graphics editor and subsequently became the paper’s graphics director, a position he held for nine years. Blow was later appointed as The New York Times’ design director for news before leaving in 2006 to become the Art Director for National Geographic magazine. In 2008, Blow returned to The New York Times, where he was named the paper’s first visual op-ed columnist.

“His column appeared twice-a-week, and he wrote a blog entitled ‘By The Numbers’ for the newspaper’s website. Blow also served as a CNN commentator, and appeared on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, the BBC, Al Jazeera, and HBO.

On his LinkedIn page, Blow says, “I analyze, interpret and communicate cultural and political trends, events and phenomena for national audiences. I’m a NYT columnist, MSNBC political analyst, contributor to the Encyclopedia Britannica and the author of two NYT bestsellers: the memoir ‘Fire Shut up In My Bones,'”‘ which was developed into an opera, and ‘The Devil You Know,’ which was developed into a feature-length documentary. I am active on the speaking circuit, speaking about politics, culture, LGBTQ issues, race, education and equality. I have also been a presidential visiting professor at Yale.”

Blow, father of three, came out as bisexual in his 2014 book, “Fire Shut in My Bones,” which Terence Blanchard adapted into a celebrated opera.

He followed with “The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto” in 2021.

In 2017, Blow was included in People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” issue among a select group of journalists.

In 2018, the administration stripped CNN’s Jim Acosta of his pass to enter the White House after a contentious news conference where Acosta refused to give up a microphone when the president said he didn’t want to hear anything more from him. (Credit: CNN screenshot)

Will Acosta, Whom Trump Despises, Be Sidelined?

“Early Wednesday evening, shortly before I published news of CNN’s looming lineup changes, Jim Acosta received a peculiar telephone call from CNN chief Mark Thompson,” Oliver Darcy wrote Thursday for his Status newsletter on the news media. “Thompson, I’m told, delivered the veteran journalist a sudden and strange proposal: Move your show to midnight and anchor it until 2am ET.

“The offer caught Acosta off guard. He had no reason to believe that his current show would be on the chopping block. In fact, his ratings have historically been some of the network’s strongest, both when he was anchoring on the weekends and now at 10am during the weekdays. On some days, Acosta even out-rates some of CNN’s prime time programs. So why force him to move his show to the 12am hour, a time slot occupied by virtually zero other hosts in the cable news business? The move would effectively exile Acosta to the Siberia of television news. He’d be manning down a shift when much of the country is fast asleep and viewership is at its lowest.

“The proposal from Thompson comes as the CNN boss works to reshape the network’s entire dayside lineup. Most notably, Thompson is moving Wolf Blitzer to the mornings, as we first reported. Since Blitzer will now host an additional hour of television with Pamela Brown, Thompson needs to find 60 minutes in the morning lineup to saw off for the new anchoring duo. Relocating Acosta to the wee hours of the morning would conveniently do just that.

“Of course, it’s impossible to ignore the obvious: Sidelining Acosta would also work to curry favor with Donald Trump, who very much despises the CNN anchor. As one media executive I spoke to Thursday night candidly assessed to me, ‘They want to get rid of Acosta to throw a bone to Trump. Midnight is not a serious offer when his ratings are among the best on the network.’ “

In 2018, the Trump White House revoked Acosta’s press credential, only to be forced to restore it after CNN filed a lawsuit.

Rachel Scott asks Donald Trump the first question at the NABJ convention on Aug. 1. (Credit: YouTube)

Rachel Scott to Cover Trump’s White House for ABC

ABC News’ Rachel Scott, lead questioner among a panel of journalists who asked Donald Trump what he called “Rude and Nasty” questions before the National Association of Black Journalists, will be part of the network’s team covering the Trump White House, the network announced Friday.

Trump has also disparaged ABC, calling the network the “worst” and “most dishonest” on television.

Scott “joins the White House team in a new role as senior political correspondent to cover President-elect Trump and his administration and will continue leading reporting from Capitol Hill, the network said. “She was previously senior congressional correspondent and lead Trump campaign correspondent, covering the 2024 cycle, including reporting from the President-elect’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, during the first assassination attempt and anchoring the network’s live coverage of President Biden’s decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race. . . .”

In addition, “Chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce will continue to lead coverage of the White House and the incoming administration. This will be Bruce’s fifth presidential administration that she will cover for the network. . . .”

“Bruce and Scott are a part of ABC News’ powerhouse political team, including chief Washington correspondent and ‘This Week’ co-anchor Jonathan Karl, chief global affairs correspondent and ‘This Week’ co-anchor Martha Raddatz, chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas and senior national correspondent Terry Moran.

“They will work closely with senior White House correspondent Selina Wang, White House correspondent Karen Travers, who serves on the board of the White House Correspondents’ Association, and White House correspondent MaryAlice Parks. . . .”

“Industry associations have praised Olivia Trusty for her ability to get things done while working on wireless, telecom, and communications infrastructure policy issues,” said the website wirelessestimator.com. “With Trusty’s star gymnastics skills that she honed at the University of North Carolina, the FCC will gain someone who can gracefully vault over red tape, balance competing interests, and stick the landing on tough decisions.“

Trump Nominates Black Republican for FCC

“President-elect Donald Trump announced Senate aide Olivia Trusty as his pick for FCC commissioner, which would give Republicans a majority at the regulatory agency,” Todd Spangler reported Thursday for Variety. It also gives people of color a majority on the five-member commission, possibly for the first time in its history.

Trusty is policy director on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. In that role, according to Trump, “she has fought tirelessly to grow the Economy, empower Innovation, and reignite the American Dream,” he wrote in a post Thursday on Truth Social announcing her nomination to the FCC,” Spangler reported.

“Trump has selected Brendan Carr, the senior Republican commissioner at the FCC, as the agency’s new chairman. Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel, the FCC’s outgoing chairwoman, is exiting as Trump takes over the White House. The confirmation of Trusty would establish a 3-2 GOP majority at the agency.”

“Olivia will work with our incredible new Chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, to cut regulations at a record pace, protect Free Speech, and ensure every American has access to affordable and fast internet,” Trump said in the post.

The two other members of color on the five-member commission, Geoffrey Starks, who is Black, and Anna Gomez, who is Latino, welcomed Trusty’s appointment.

“Trusty previously worked as an aide to U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio). She also was a staff member on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection. Earlier in her career, Trusty worked as a consultant for Verizon and served as a policy representative at Qwest, per her LinkedIn profile. Trusty has a master’s degree in American government from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,” Spangler wrote.

Trusty leaves an arena where the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has been tracking the number of Capitol Hill staffers of color. The center this week applauded new Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., the first Black woman to represent Delaware in the Senate, for hiring Sean Ryan (pictured), an African American who worked for Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., as communications director.

“With the addition of Ryan, African Americans account for only ten (3.5 percent) Senate personal office top staffers in Washington, DC who serve as chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and communications directors. African Americans account for over 13.6 percent of the U.S. population. Every two years, the Joint Center tracks in real-time all top staff hires by newly-elected and returning senators and House of Representatives,” the center said.

Eric Scott Turner, nominee for secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, testifies Thursday at his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. (Screenshot from committee webcast)

A Nominee ‘Over His Head’ for ‘the Black Job’

“I’ve watched several of the confirmation hearings for Trump’s cabinet nominees, but the hearing for ‘the Black job’ was the Blackest yet — and perhaps also the most revealing about the next four years,” Keith Boykin (pictured) wrote Friday for Word In Black.

“Scott Turner, the only Black person Trump has nominated for his cabinet, is almost certain to be confirmed for “the Black job.”

“You know the job.

“It’s the same job that Ben Carson, Alphonso Jackson, and Samuel Pierce had. It’s the one job that Republicans love to give to a Black person: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

“Turner’s hearing on Thursday was polite and non-confrontational, especially compared to the hostility from Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi and the incompetence of Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth.

“Based solely on his decorum at the hearing, Turner actually seems to be a nice guy, and just like Herschel Walker, Trump’s pick for the non-cabinet position to be ambassador to the Bahamas, Turner is a former professional football player.

“But it’s clear to me that Turner is in over his head — not so much in terms of ability but in his lack of resilience to withstand the pressure from his Republican colleagues, his reluctance to advocate for fair and affordable housing, and his powerlessness to stand up to his bosses in the Trump administration.

“The Senate Banking Committee that will vote on his confirmation includes four Black members: the Republican chair, Tim Scott, who famously professed his love for Trump and obsequiously rubber stamps his agenda with a toothy smile, and three Democrats who tried repeatedly and failed to get Turner to commit to fighting for housing needs. . . .”

(Credit: the Pivot Fund: Image created using AI).

Media Turn to Black Communities in Fires Coverage

“Less than a week after two major fires tore through the mountains and into neighborhoods, the death toll stands at 24,” Adam Mahoney wrote Wednesday for Capital B. “Two-thirds of the lives lost were in Altadena, where thousands of structures were destroyed. Economic losses across Los Angeles County are estimated at over $200 billion.

“But the wildfires are more than a test of California’s economy, firefighting capabilities, or policies. They’re a devastating reminder of how climate change and political inaction compound vulnerability in Black communities. As ‘weather whiplash’ worsens, the insurance market collapses, and the housing crisis deepens, the state — and nation — is failing to meet the demands of a changing planet.”

Mahoney’s story comes as such media as The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today and The New Yorker are devoting some of their fire coverage to Altadena, which contains what is considered a historic Black community.

“The Eaton fire ravaged the communities of Altadena, a historically Black community, and Pasadena,” Anissa Durham wrote Wednesday for Word In Black, a consortium of Black news organizations. “With thousands of Black residents displaced, folks may be wondering how to help.” It provided an “ongoing directory of Black families who have active GoFundMe fundraisers,” and “a list of free food, mental health services, and housing options available to residents affected by the fires.”

Gene Demby told readers of NPR’s “Code Switch” newsletter Friday that when the esteemed science fiction writer Octavia Butler died, she was “buried in a cemetery in Altadena, California, a small, unincorporated community a little to the northeast of Los Angeles proper. (Also buried in Altadena: Eldridge Cleaver, the Black Panther Party spokesman, and Owen Brown, the son of the radical abolitionist John Brown, who moved to the area after the famous raid on Harpers Ferry.)

“Altadena had a reputation as a kind of local secret: a quaint, middle-class suburb that had long been a haven for Black, Latino, and Asian Angelenos — owing to the fact that during the Civil Rights era, it was one of the few places in Los Angeles County that wasn’t redlined, making it one of the few places where families of color, especially Black families, could build generational wealth through home ownership. Jackie Robinson lived in Altadena; Rodney King grew up there. Much of the history of Black Los Angeles streams through the town.”

The fires have also provided an opportunity to practice “solutions journalism” and to inspire “beautiful writing.”

Paul Thornton, letters editor of the Los Angeles Times, wrote Saturday of the latter, citing one reader who “paid tribute to her former hometown of Altadena, which lies north of Pasadena.

“As far as I know, this letter from former state legislator Susan Bonilla was the first mention in The Times of the unincorporated community’s rich history of racial integration amid housing discrimination. There, she wrote, the homes destroyed by fire ‘represent the determination to achieve family security, to defy the odds and to build a community where equity was realized.’ Bonilla asks political leaders to ‘prioritize this community in light of its historical significance to California.’ ”

For the Pivot Fund, Tracie Powell spoke with Dana Amihere (pictured), founder and executive director of AfroLA, a digital news outlet that focuses on solutions journalism, community impact and accountability reporting.

“There are families who have lost generational homes. People have no place to go back to,” she explained. “We’re connecting with our community network to figure out how to amplify resources so that others can access them.”

“One example of these efforts is the creation of a centralized hub for disaster resources. Amihere’s team has scoured social media and community platforms to compile a comprehensive list of available aid, ensuring it reaches those in need.

“ ‘We saw someone from AfroPunk (an organization that celebrates Black culture and diversity through music, art, and community) create a Google sheet to help folks avoid predatory real estate practices,’ she said. ‘We’re working on adding to that — whether it’s finding legitimate real estate contacts or connecting with volunteers who can assist with administrative tasks.’

“AfroLA’s coverage also highlights the disparities in how the disaster has impacted communities. While much of the mainstream media’s attention remains focused on high-profile areas, AfroLA prioritizes the stories of marginalized residents who are often left out of the narrative.

“ ‘We’re covering stories where people have said, “‘Nobody else has shown up,’” Amihere said. ‘We’ve seen churches in Pasadena with supplies but no volunteers for distribution. These are the stories and solutions we’re bringing to light.’ ”

Meanwhile, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists gave a shout-out Tuesday to its members covering the fires:

“Journalists like Laurie Perez of KCBS/KCAL have been working tirelessly around the clock, showing compassion and pressing for accountability. Marla Tellez, Vice President of the NAHJ LA chapter, has been anchoring for Fox 11 well into the early morning hours to keep her community informed, all the while being six months pregnant. Zaydee Sanchez of Reuters has been working nonstop, capturing the stories and resilience of those affected through her camera lens. Brian De Los Santos, host of ‘”How To L.A.’, remains a vital voice for the community with his insightful reporting, while Sophie Flay of ABC7 gives her audience an on-the-ground look at the devastating aftermath. NAHJ Region 8 Director, Cristy Fajardo, is delivering impactful reporting while also exemplifying the vital role of journalism in holding power accountable during crises, and NAHJ President Dunia Elvir continues to share resources and updates for those affected by the fires.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, left, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Andrea Waters King and Martin Luther King III link hands and pray at the National Action Network’s annual Legislative Breakfast in Washington on Jan. 15. (Credit: Robert R. Roberts/Washington Informer)

Rights Leaders, Harris Pledge to Fight DEI Backlash

“Civil rights leaders joined forces at the National Action Network’s (NAN) annual Martin Luther King Jr. Legislative Breakfast at the Mayflower Hotel in Northwest D.C. on Wednesday to address attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration,” Ashleigh Fields reported Thursday for the Washington Informer.

There has been no similar joining of pro-diversity forces in the news industry.

“ ‘They may have the votes in the House and they may have the votes in the Senate, but we control our dollars. We’re going to outline those major corporations that want to end DEI, then we want to end them having a diverse consumer base,’ the Rev. Al Sharpton, founder of NAN, told the crowd. ‘You don’t want us in the C suite, then you don’t want us in the supermarket. You don’t want us on your boards, then you don’t want us getting online and hitting you.'”

Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, promised last April to publicize the names of Fortune 500 companies that have backtracked on corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, but no such initiative materialized.

“Sharpton said he and eight partner organizations plan to employ strategies used by King in the Montgomery Bus Boycott to hit companies where it hurts,” Fields continued.

“ ‘I want those corporations to know that there will be a cost for you crossing your consumers, and that nobody in Washington can make us buy where we’re not respected,’ he emphasized.

“Special guest speaker Vice President Kamala Harris, who regularly attends the annual breakfast also emphasized the need to fight for justice in the days and years ahead.

“ ‘In the words of Coretta Scott King, ours is the journey. And the fight that we are in, which is the fight to uplift the people, the fight for freedom, the fight for civil rights, the fight for dignity, the fight for human rights, must be fought in one with each generation,’ Harris affirmed.

“Lawmakers in attendance also addressed the new tune of Fortune 500 companies that committed to uplifting diversity initiatives and inclusionary practices in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020. . . .”

Photo from ADN Cuba shows some of the first to be released this week.

127 Cubans Freed, but No Identifiable Journalist

A high-ranking Cuban official — Maricela Sosa Ravelo, Cuba’s vice president of the Supreme People’s Court — said the Cuban regime had granted 127 prisoners early release since Wednesday after negotiations with the United States and the Vatican, the website CiberCuba reported Friday. But none has been identified as one of the 10 or more journalists imprisoned in the communist country.

Most of the journalists are in custody in connection with the mass demonstrations of July 11 and 12, 2021, that resulted in 6,000 to 8,000 arrests, more than 2,000 prosecutions, and more than a thousand protesters imprisoned. That includes more than 800 who are still serving sentences, according to the Spain-based Prisoners Defenders.

Those imprisoned were accused of participating in the protests or, as journalists, of reporting at odds with the government.

The 127 who were released are but a fraction of the 553 prisoners who were to be freed after being “sanctioned for various crimes,” in the words of the Cuban government, following confirmation Tuesday of the Biden administration’s removal of Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, the independent website Cubanet reported from Mexico.

Time was of the essence, as many feared the incoming Trump administration, taking office Jan. 20, would seek to reverse the agreement reached by the Cuban government, the United States and the Vatican.

At his confirmation hearing Wednesday, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the Cuban American nominee for secretary of state, said he did not believe Cuba should be removed from the list of supporters of terrorism.

“Donald Trump’s nominee to be the top US diplomat signaled that the president-elect is likely to reverse President Joe Biden’s decision Tuesday to remove Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terrorism after he takes office next week,” Eric Martin reported Wednesday for Bloomberg.

“Rubio cited the Cuban government’s support for Colombia’s FARC, a revolutionary group once considered a terrorist organization but removed from that designation in 2021, and its friendliness toward Hamas and Hezbollah as justification for the designation. He also said Cuba hosts foreign spy stations, maintains strong ties to Iran and harbors fugitives from US justice.”

Some human rights proponents have remained cautious about the restrictions inherent in the deal. “According to the Cuban government, the gradual release of 553 people convicted of various crimes will be implemented under special conditions, which means that those released will have to remain under surveillance and comply with pending legal commitments,” CiberCuba reported. At least one member of the opposition, leader Felix Navarro, is refusing to accept those conditions.

Moreover, the repressive climate in the country remains.

Human Rights Watch reported last week in its annual global report, “The government continues to repress and punish virtually all forms of dissent and public criticism, as Cubans continue to endure a dire economic crisis affecting rights, including access to health and food. The authorities, as in previous years, arbitrarily detained, harassed and intimidated critics, independent activists, political opponents, and others. Many were at various times held incommunicado, with some facing ill-treatment, and in some cases torture.” (Image says “Liberty, No Exception; Until They Be Free”)

Still, many were pleased. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and Christian Solidarity International said Saturday they “welcomed the recent releases of Cuban believers convicted of political motives and demanded the release of all religious leaders still in prison. . . .

“Also on Saturday, USCIRF celebrated the release of Cuban Santeria practitioners Donaida Pérez Paseiro and Lisdiani Rodríguez Isaac, as well as Christian pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo.”

Marti Noticias, the U.S.-sponsored news organization, published a list of 39 freed prisoners it had confirmed.

“Among those released are several political prisoners, including opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer and Luis Robles Elizastigu, as well as 11J protesters [from July 11, 2021], who were released in the first 36 hours after the agreement,” CiberCuba reported Friday.

Prisoners Defenders identified 10 journalists who are serving prison sentences: Jorge Bello Domínguez, José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez, Yeris Curbelo Aguilera, Luis Ángel Cuza Alonso, Humberto Paz Gutiérrez.

Also: Carlos Michael Morales Rodríguez, Raúl Velázquez Valdés, Yadisley Rodríguez Ramírez, José Antonio Torres Fernández and Omar Ortega Mendoza.

“Independent journalists in Cuba are subject to harassment, persecution, persecution and threats of imprisonment by the authorities, threats that are often carried out: we have identified 10 independent journalists on our list of political prisoners; 5 of them remain in prison and another 5 are serving their sentences without confinement, but under threats, harassment, reprisals and, in some cases, under physical and psychological torture,” the group said.

Short Takes

  • “Private schools in the United States are, on the whole, whiter than public schools, with fewer Black, Hispanic or Latino students,” ProPublica says by email. “This may not be a surprising statistic because private schools can often be expensive and exclusionary, but it’s not a simple one to pin down. There is no central list of private schools in the country, and the only demographic data about them comes from a little-known voluntary survey administered by the federal government. ProPublica has launched the Private School Demographics database, to explore detailed demographic information about thousands of private schools across the country and view years worth of data. On Friday, January 31, join ProPublica for an informational webinar to show readers and journalists how to use the database, including explaining the reporting process and how your news team can use it to pursue their own reporting. Register here

From left: Matt Zahn, Joe Donlon, Jim Williams, Marie Saavedra, Irika Sargent and Albert Ramon as Williams is honored for his last weekday newscast Thursday. (Credit: WBBM)

  • Amid the stories about the financial and morale problems at The Washington Post, David DeJesus (pictured), co-chair of the Washington Post Guild, says not enough attention is paid to the plight of Post commercial employees. “Besides the newsroom, 73 commercial positions have been eliminated, most of them among the print and digital sales producers,” he told Journal-isms Saturday. “As a former guild chair I stay in touch with them and the layoff negotiations are a nightmare! Some of those employees have worked at The Post for more than 30 years, generating hundreds of millions in ad revenue and now The Post wants to offer them peanuts for severance. When generous buyouts were offered a year ago, they were denied although they qualified, being told they were essential employees. In less than a year they are now suddenly not essential.” Asked whether this had a connection to diversity, DeJesus replied, “I think this issue fits squarely in the diversity space. The most affected senior sales reps are over 50 and female.”

  • “The world-famous AP photo of Kim Phuc — ‘The Terror of War,’ known popularly as ‘Napalm Girl’ — was taken on June 8, 1972, and credited to Nick Ut, a young Vietnamese AP staffer working in the Saigon bureau,” the Associated Press said Wednesday. “The image is among the most recognized and celebrated works of photojournalism of the 20th Century. . . . For the past six months, aware that a film challenging this historical record was in production, the AP has conducted its own painstaking research, which supports the historical account that Ut was the photographer. In the absence of new, convincing evidence to the contrary, the AP has no reason to believe anyone other than Ut took the photo. . . .”

  • The board of directors of the South Asian Journalists Association re-elected Sree Sreenivasan (pictured) its president on Jan. 8, SAJA announced Monday. Filling out the executive committee are Kiran Khalid, vice president and conference chair; Divya Karthikeyan, secretary; Allana Akhtar, treasurer; Mihir Zaveri, controller; and Tania Rahman, director of communications.

  • Susan Chira (pictured), stepping down as editor in chief of the Marshall Project, a nonprofit newsroom focused on criminal justice stories, told Columbia Journalism Review’s Feven Merid Wednesday, “I believe that the Marshall Project can claim some degree of credit –– I wouldn’t say it’s all us, but I believe we’ve contributed to trying to raise consciousness about the fact that we need to understand the circumstances and the conditions of people who are really hidden from the public eye. That’s people behind bars, people winding their way through the courts, people who are desperate for their own safety but also don’t want to see their kids randomly pulled over or stopped and frisked. It’s not a gauzy portrait saying everybody is a misunderstood hero or heroine, but it is showing the complexity of their full humanity and how many people in the system inflict trauma who were also deeply traumatized, so you have a fuller understanding of the conditions that lead to these things. . . .”

  • “It is with great regret that I mention the final episodes of ‘On Shifting Ground’ have aired on KQED-FM and on nearly five dozen public radio stations across the country, and of course for the many hundreds of thousands of people who have downloaded our twice-weekly podcast over the years,” veteran journalist Ray Suarez (pictured) announced on LinkedIn. “It was my joy to be first the co-host, then sole host of the program. The numbers were good. The product performed well as a radio program, and as a podcast. This was strictly a money decision by our production platform. Now, I begin a new process, rattling the tin cup across the country looking for new partners and production platforms to help us raise the relatively small amount of money it would cost us to produce 48 new shows a year, and cover a 52-week schedule with product. . . .”

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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@groups.io

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

View previous columns (before Feb. 13, 2016)

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