Obama Press Aide Corey Ealons Leaving for Private Sector
Poll Says Coverage of Poor, Muslims Is Too Negative
AP Names Sonya Ross to New Race Editor’s Position
AP Advises Staff to Avoid “Ground Zero Mosque”
Media Cited in False Belief That Obama is Muslim
NABJ Invites “Dr. Laura” to Join Conversation
Jason Begay of Navajo Times Named Reznet Director
Obama Press Aide Corey Ealons Leaving for Private Sector
Corey A. Ealons, the White House director of African American media 
who saw his job as providing access to the White House for the black press, is leaving for the private sector, Ealons announced on Friday.
“It is with some sadness, but also great anticipation for the future, that I make my exit from the White House today,” he wrote via e-mail. “It has been an honor to serve in my capacity as the Director of African American Media with this Administration and on behalf of this President during this extraordinary time in our history. I am also humbled to have worked with the dedicated members of the Black Press and African American media. You all do a tremendous job of delivering information to the community, and this mission is more important now than ever before.
“I am taking on a new role at a communications firm in DC, so I won’t be far away.”
Ealons, was deputy chief of staff and communications director for Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., for six years before joining the Obama campaign as director of African American media.
Just two weeks ago, Ealons arranged a conference call with members of the Trotter Group of African American columnists on the administration’s efforts in black communities, resulting in columns by Mary A. Curtis for Politics Daily and David Squires in the Daily Press of Newport News, Va.
“Corey did a great job getting us access to the top administrators at the White House,” Kevin Chapell, senior editor for Ebony and Jet magazines, told Journal-isms. “He held regular roundtables with the black media, sent out timely and relevant news releases and really kept us in the loop.”
April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks said that because of what she learned in the meetings, she was able to follow up on a complaint by John Boyd, head of the National Black Farmers Association, that the administration had not earmarked money to pay a $1.25 billion discrimination settlement with the farmers. At another session with Valerie Jarrett, she said, she learned that the administration planned to treat New Orleans not simply as a disaster area, but “like urban centers in the grips of bad economic times.”
Ryan recently was awarded a third-row seat at White House news briefings. While Ealons did not play a role in those decisions he did work to include more journalists of color at White House news conferences and to have them called on.
Deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton did not respond to a question about how Ealons’ job would be filled.
Poll Says Coverage of Poor, Muslims Is Too Negative
“In evaluating news coverage of different groups, pluralities of Americans say that coverage of poor people and Muslims is too negative, while somewhat smaller percentages say the same about coverage of blacks and Hispanics,” the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press reported on Thursday.
“. . . The survey also shows that the public is divided over whether news organizations devote too much coverage to race relations in this country. Still, close to half (48%) say the media make relations between the races seem worse than they actually are, while about a quarter (24%) say they reflect race relations as they really are.
“Just more than a third (34%) say news organizations give too much attention to race relations, while a comparable 31% say they give these difficult issues too little coverage and 25% say the amount is about right.
“African Americans are much more likely than whites to say news organizations give too little attention to race relations (51% vs. 24%), though pluralities in both groups (42% for blacks, 50% for whites) say the media make race relations seem worse than they actually are.
“Nearly six-in-ten African Americans (58%) say that news coverage of blacks is generally too negative. A sizeable minority of whites (31%) also says that blacks are portrayed too negatively in news stories. Still, nearly half of whites (48%) say media treatment of blacks is generally fair (just 28% of blacks say this). African Americans also are more likely than whites to say that media coverage of Hispanics is too negative (48%, compared with 32% of whites).
“Pluralities of both blacks (49%) and whites (60%) say that news coverage of whites tends to be fair, while just 16% of whites and 12% of blacks say it is too negative. Blacks are somewhat more likely than whites to say media coverage of whites is too positive, although just 26% of blacks say this (compared with 11% of whites).”
AP Names Sonya Ross to New Race Editor’s Position
Associated Press veteran Sonya Ross, former White House correspondent and currently regional news editor in the Washington bureau, on Friday was named to the new position of race/ethnicity/demographics editor.
“She’ll work with AP journalists around the country to produce coverage that captures the changing facets of race and ethnicity in the United States and its effects on the experiences of people of various races. Through her editing and writing, she’ll help the AP look thoughtfully at the evolving definition and significance of race and ethnicity in American culture and society,” a note from Acting Bureau Chief Steven Komarow said.
“Sonya will also expand her role in the news department’s diversity initiatives, and help the AP create new types of content on diversity topics in all formats.”
“It’s a subject that’s begging to be covered,” Ross told Journal-isms. “The country wants to talk about race, needs to talk about race, and doesn’t know how. It’s time to take this subject seriously.”
The AP said it received 449 applicants when it sought a national writer on race and ethnicity in 2008. Jesse Washington, then the AP’s entertainment editor, was chosen. He is based in New York.
AP Advises Staff to Avoid “Ground Zero Mosque”
“The Associated Press, one of world’s most powerful news organizations, issued a memo today advising staff to avoid the phrase ‘Ground Zero mosque, ‘” Michael Calderone reported Thursday for Yahoo News.
“The Upshot reported Tuesday that the AP started using the phrase ‘Ground Zero mosque’ in some headlines in late May. The New York Times, for one, has consciously avoided that phrasing.
“The AP began using the phrase as the controversy over the proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque in Lower Manhattan started bubbling up to the national level. Many news organizations, across platforms, routinely dub the project the “Ground Zero Mosque.”
“The AP has always been clear in the text of stories that the project would be built two blocks from Ground Zero and not on the actual site. But AP headlines, at times, ran with the phrase adopted by opponents of the project and amplified by the media.
“Now the news organization is taking steps to make sure that no longer occurs.
” ‘We should continue to avoid the phrase “ground zero mosque” or “mosque at ground zero” on all platforms, said Tom Kent, the AP’s deputy managing editor for standards and production, in the memo the news organization shared with The Upshot.”
- Betty Winston Bay?©, Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal: Mosque opponents must not understand New York
- Tom Cohen, CNN: Muslim prayers welcome at Pentagon chapel
- Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston Globe: Obama’s two-step on NY mosque
- Cord Jefferson, theRoot.com: Feelings Mustn’t Trump Reason When It Comes to Rights
- Roland S. Martin, Creators Syndicate: I Love Jesus, the Constitution and Can Support the Building of a Muslim Mosque
- Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The New York mosque is part of the American dream
- Ruben Rosario, St. Paul Pioneer Press: Ground Zero mosque … It’s all the talk down at the Rusty Snail
- Walied Shater, USA Today: A lesson on Muslim ‘sensitivity’
- David Swerdlick, theRoot.com: Of Mosques and Martha’s Vineyard
Media Cited in False Belief That Obama is Muslim
When the Pew Research Center asked Americans how they learned about Obama‚Äôs religion in an open-ended question, 60 percent of those who say Obama is a Muslim cite the media, Pew reported on Thursday. “Among specific media sources, television (at 16%) is mentioned most frequently. About one-in-ten (11%) of those who say Obama is a Muslim say they learned of this through Obama‚Äôs own words and behavior.”
In its widely reported finding, “A substantial and growing number of Americans say that Barack Obama is a Muslim, while the proportion saying he is a Christian has declined. More than a year and a half into his presidency, a plurality of the public says they do not know what religion Obama follows,” Pew reported.
“A new national survey by the Pew Research Center finds that nearly one-in-five Americans (18%) now say Obama is a Muslim, up from 11% in March 2009. Only about one-third of adults (34%) say Obama is a Christian, down sharply from 48% in 2009. Fully 43% say they do not know what Obama‚Äôs religion is. The survey was completed in early August, before Obama‚Äôs recent comments about the proposed construction of a mosque near the site of the former World Trade Center.”
“The view that Obama is a Muslim is more widespread among his political opponents than among his backers. Roughly a third of conservative Republicans (34%) say Obama is a Muslim, as do 30% of those who disapprove of Obama‚Äôs job performance. But even among many of his supporters and allies, less than half now say Obama is a Christian. Among Democrats, for instance, 46% say Obama is a Christian, down from 55% in March 2009.”
- Earl Ofari Hutchinson, syndicated: Why it’s no surprise many still think Obama is Muslim
- Jeffrey T. Kuhner, Washington Times: Obama’s Islamic agenda
- Joel Meares, Columbia Journalism Review: Obama Not Muslim, Islam Not Bad; Yesterday’s survey results suggest coverage of Islam could be better
- Michael D. Shear, Washington Post: Obama keeping public expressions of religion to a minimum
- Cynthia Tucker, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Not that it’s anyone’s business, but Obama is a Christian
NABJ Invites “Dr. Laura” to Join Conversation
The National Association of Black Journalists Thursday extended an invitation to “Dr. Laura and Premiere Radio Networks to join us in a conversation leading to change in the public discourse, which both embraces their right to free speech and our desire to end the use of racial slurs and epithets on the public’s airwaves.”
Meanwhile, “The African American woman who called Laura Schlessinger for advice and heard the radio talk show host use the N-word 11 times said Thursday that she was confused and hurt by the call,” CNN reported.
” ‘I was calling her to get some help,’ Nita Hanson told CNN’s ‘American Morning.’ ‘I did not expect to hear the things that she said to me.’
“Hanson called Schlessinger Aug. 10, seeking advice on how to deal with racist comments from her white husband’s friends and relatives. The conversation evolved into a discussion on whether it’s appropriate to ever use the N-word, with Schlessinger arguing it’s used on HBO and by black comedians.
“National furor erupted after Schlessinger ended up using the word 11 times during the five-minute call with Hanson, and the veteran host said this week she would quit her radio career at the end of the year.
“Schlessinger apologized for her remarks but Hanson said that was not good enough.”
In the NABJ statement, President Kathy Times said, “Dr. Laura apologized for using the offensive language. She does not have the right to use racial slurs on public airwaves. She says she will not do radio anymore, but there are deeper issues that must be addressed by the company that syndicates her show ‚Äî Premiere Radio Networks. Why wait until the next on-air personality slips up?
“Is it time for the n-word and other racial epithets to be added to the list of seven dirty words (made famous by comedian George Carlin)?
- Brian Beutler, Talking Points Memo: Palin In February: We’d Be ‘Appalled’ If Public Figure Used “N-Word”
- Steve Carney, Los Angeles Times: Laura Schlessinger says she was already considering leaving radio
- Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald: Dr. Laura’s ignorance on display
- Cynthia Tucker, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Dr. Laura, the n-word and the First Amendment
Jason Begay of Navajo Times Named Reznet Director
“Navajo Times reporter and editor Jason Begay has joined the journalism faculty at The University of Montana as an assistant professor and director of Reznet,” the university announced on Friday.
“Begay will teach a class each semester and direct Reznet, the School of Journalism‚Äôs nationally acclaimed mentoring, recruitment and website project (http://www.reznetnews.org/). Now in its eighth year, Reznet is supported by UM and the Gannett Foundation.
“The intent of Reznet‚Äôs training and mentoring program is to produce more Native American professional journalists. Denny McAuliffe, who founded Reznet at UM, returned last fall to The Washington Post, where he is an overnight news editor.
“A UM alumnus, Begay was a reporter at The Oregonian before taking a job at the Navajo Times in Window Rock, Ariz., in 2004 to cover tribal government and education. In March, he became web editor of the Navajo Times, an independent newspaper and one of the most respected tribal papers in the nation. As a student and after graduation from UM, he had internships at several newspapers, including the Wichita Eagle and The New York Times.”
Short Takes
- The South Asian Journalists Association has dedicated a web page to the flooding in Pakistan. “This flooding has already affected more people than the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Haiti earthquake, and the 2005 Pakistan earthquake combined,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday during an address to the United Nations.
- Shirley Sherrod, the Agriculture Department official whose remarks were taken out of context by blogger Andrew Breitbart, and who appeared last month at the National Association of Black Journalists convention, is being represented for media appearances by Drew Berry & Associates, NABJ announced on Wednesday. Berry is interim executive director of NABJ.
- “The FCC established the Office of Native Affairs and Policy to move forward on bringing modern communications infrastructure to all native communities, the agency said last week,” Broadcast Engineering reported Thursday. “It will consult and coordinate with American Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Villages, Native Hawaiian Organizations, and other Native and Tribal entities, and will be the official Commission contact point for such activities.”
- Black Entertainment Television is among those commemorating the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. “Our co-host of 106 & Park and New Orleans native, Rocsi is in New Orleans now taping a package that will run on the show on August 27th. (106 & PARK airs M-F at 6:00 p.m.),” a spokeswoman said. “Our News team produced a documentary that takes a year long look at the people living in the Ninth Ward that will air on Sunday, August 22 at 10:00 p.m.” Joanne Ostrow of the Denver Post looked at other coverage plans on Friday.
- “Chinese speakers throughout the Bay Area can now watch local television in their native language 24 hours a day, thanks to Sunnyvale-based KCTV Channel 1.9,” John Dugan reported for the San Jose Mercury News. “KCTV is Northern California’s first 24-hour Chinese language television station. The channel broadcasts programs produced in China and Taiwan, and plugs local news stories into the nightly Chinese news programs with its own Bay Area-based team of reporters and film crews.
- “MSNBC rejected a TV ad calling for a boycott of Target Corp. after the retail giant made a political donation in Minnesota, continuing the controversy over corporate involvement in elections,” the Associated Press reported. “MSNBC spokeswoman Alana Russo said Thursday that the commercial submitted by the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org violates its advertising policy by attacking an individual business directly.”
- “A federal judge in Seattle yesterday granted a journalism professor‚Äôs motion to quash a subpoena from lawyers representing Chicago police officers in a civil rights case.” Cristina Abello reported Thursday for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “Judge Marsha Pechman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled in favor of Carolyn Nielsen, who wrote articles about a now-exonerated teenage murder defendant during graduate school. Pechman also awarded Nielsen a protective order against future deposition and her attorneys fees and costs.”
- TBD, the new Washington area news website that announced it would launch without copy editors, ran this correction this week: “At the very beginning of the process of explaining what it all means, we incorrectly stated that today was Tuesday. Today is Wednesday. We regret the error.”
- “Today Juan Adolfo Fern?°ndez Sa??nz became the 14th imprisoned Cuban journalist released and flown to Spain, following July talks between the Catholic Church and the government of President Ra??l Castro,” the Committee to Protect Journalists reported Friday.
- “Venezuela has banned its press from publishing graphic images of crime and violence for one month, fuelling a row over censorship in the runup to elections,” Rory Carroll reported Wednesday in Britain’s Guardian newspaper.
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