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Cartooning Obama’s Victory

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Mike Luckovich/Atlanta Journal-Constitution    

Election ’08 Creations Could Well Become Collectibles

It was "one of the biggest days in the 30 years I’ve been in cartooning," the Boston Globe’s Dan Wasserman says in a Globe video¬†that documents the cartoon he drew on Election Day.¬†

Of his own creation, "more people wanted to purchase that one than any I’ve ever drawn," Mike Luckovich of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution told Journal-isms. Luckovich began his career in 1984.

Lalo Alcaraz said his "Viva Obama" cartoon "got A LOT of reaction – mostly joy and amazement – from all stripes. Not all Latinos liked it, but they were a tiny minority. And it was used informally by Obama campaign offices to outreach to the Latino vote, and of course I take FULL CREDIT for that!!"

Cartoons commenting on Barack Obama‘s election might well join commemorative newspapers as collector’s items. Also shown above are contributions from Ron Rogers of the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune, apparently the only African American cartoonist drawing for a daily newspaper, Steve Kelley of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Ben Sargent of the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman and Mark Hurwitt, a white cartoonist whose work appears on theblackcommentator.com.

"Readers and staff members liked the cartoon," Kelley said of his contribution. "Some expressed surprise, knowing that I was privately a McCain partisan.  Still, no one can dispute the import of what took place November 4th."

Valerie Jarrett Named Senior Adviser to Obama

Less than a week after CBS’s "60 Minutes" profiled four white men as the top advisers to President-elect Barack Obama, fueling concerns among some that black concerns would be de-emphasized in an Obama administration, Roland S. Martin reported that Valerie Jarrett, an African American and longtime friend and [confidante] of the Obamas, told him she would be joining Obama in the White House.

"Jarrett confirmed to me a few moments ago that she has been named senior advisor to the president and assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs and public liaison," Martin wrote Friday for essence.com.

Jarrett was married to a son of legendary Chicago journalist Vernon Jarrett, a former president of the National Association of Black Journalists who died in 2004.

Obamas Describe the Moment They Learned He’d Won

"President-elect Barack Obama and First Lady-elect Michelle Obama describe the moment on election night when the reality of his victory hit home in their first post-election interview," CBS News announced on Friday. 

"The interview was conducted Friday in Chicago by 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft and it will be broadcast on Sunday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

"Asked when it sunk in that her husband had won, Michelle Obama told Kroft, ‘I remember, we were watching the returns and, on one of the stations, Barack’s picture came up and it said, "President-Elect Barack Obama." And I looked at him and said, "You are the 44th president of the United States of America. Wow. What a country we live in.’"

"’How about that?’ President-elect Obama added. ‘Yeah. And then she said, ‘Are you going take the girls to school in the morning?’

"’I did not,’ Michelle Obama replied, laughing. ‘I didn’t say that.’

"In getting the big interview, being first helps — whether first in ratings or first at the door," Alissa Krinsky wrote Friday for the TV Newser Web site.

"’We went and started working on a profile before he declared his candidacy,’ says 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft of President-elect Barack Obama. ‘I can remember the first time we went to the Obama house, the little girls answered the door. It’s not like that now.’

Ebony magazine announced on Thursday that it had interviewed Obama that day for an issue that goes on sale Dec. 9.

 

Media Bias, or Was Obama Just the Better Story?

A forum in New York this week took up the question of whether the media were biased toward the Obama campaign, Dylan Stableford reported Tuesday for Folio magazine.

"Lesley Stahl ‚Äî who said she watched most of this campaign, unlike others she had covered, from ‘her bedroom’ ‚Äî said McCain ‘did such a dreadful job as a candidate’ the media had no choice but to cover Obama," the CBS correspondent said of GOP nominee John McCain.

"’McCain was like the 1962 Mets,’ said Robert Shrum, who had served as a senior advisor to the Gore-Lieberman and Kerry-Edwards tickets in 2000 and 2004, respectively. ‘They couldn’t cover him positively.’

"Shrum added that there was a natural bias because the Obama-Clinton race" ‚Äî referring to the Democratic primary battle with Sen. Hillary Clinton ‚Ä "lasted longer than the race for the Republican nomination. ‘A Time magazine cover with John McCain in April would’ve looked ridiculous,’ he said, ‘because McCain had it locked up.’"

"’Obama was new,’ Weisberg said. "It had to do with a bias toward the story." Weisberg also suggested the media-at-large kept Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic nomination longer than she should have been. ‘It was [becoming] mathematically impossible,’ Weisberg said. ‘But [a longer campaign] serves the interests of the media.’"

The editorial page of the Washington Times seized on an analysis by Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell that said, "Stories and photos about Obama in the news pages outnumbered those devoted to McCain. Post reporters, photographers and editors — like most of the national news media — found the candidacy of Obama, the first African American major-party nominee, more newsworthy and historic."

"Her assessment could be construed as coming too late," a Washington Times editorial said on Tuesday.

Black conservative talk-show host Larry Elder took up the mantra: "One of the nation’s premier newspapers fesses up about allegations of pro-Obama bias," he wrote¬†in his column on Thursday.

Local Papers Find Racist Reactions to Obama Win

"Earlier this week we started covering anti-Obama, often racist, incidents taking place around the country, generally overlooked in the national media — but covered by local papers. This seemed to strike a nerve with many readers so we will continue regular updates," Dexter Hill wrote Friday in Editor & Publisher.

"Local stories show that anti-Obama incidents (including physical and verbal abuse, KKK outfits worn, flags burned on front lawns) are occurring on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line."

Hill wrote on Wednesday, "As we noted last week, a couple in northern New Jersey who had an Obama sign on their front lawn woke up to find the charred remains of a cross out there. Local residents today announced a "unity march" to protest the still-unsolved incident.

"Now come these fresh reports."

The E&P stories were written before the Associated Press reported on Friday, "Threats against a new president historically spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho law enforcement officials are seeing more against Barack Obama than ever before."

Tribal Colleges Urged to Join in Training Journalists

"With some remarkable exceptions, tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) have played a limited role in training journalists. Only a small percentage of TCUs offer journalism or media classes," Juan A. Avila Hernandez wrote in the fall issue of the Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education.

"A telephone survey of 32 TCUs conducted by TCJ in early 2008 showed that 9 colleges offered some sort of journalism and media courses or curriculum; 21 did not offer any journalism or media courses; and 2 offered one-year certificates in digital media or desktop publishing.

"Primarily two-year institutions providing a basic general education, the TCUs emphasize science, math, business, nursing, and English classes. Electronic media programs can be expensive to run, and colleges must concentrate on programs with the greatest potential for employment, according to Dr. Frank Tyro at Salish Kootenai College.

Noting that "Some of the most promising opportunities lie in new forms of digital media and the internet," the article quotes Denny McAuliffe, who has been involved in recruiting and training Native American college students in journalism for 10 years.

"McAuliffe is disappointed that TCUs don’t emphasize journalism education and that very few TCU students participate in the Freedom Forum’s three-week journalism boot camp. He hopes this will change in the future. His mission is to find and nurture young Native American students with a passion for journalism wherever they may be."

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHgKcPP6yK0]

Some said it was fitting that singer Miriam Makeba died after performing.

Public Service Saturday for Miriam Makeba

A memorial service for South African singer Miriam Makeba, who died last weekend after a concert in Italy, will be held on Saturday in Johannesburg, the BBC reported on Friday.

"The service, which Makeba’s family will attend, is also open to the public.

"It will take place in the Coca Cola Dome, one of South Africa’s top concert venues, with room for 20,000."

Makeba, who died Sunday night at age 76 after a heart attack shortly after performing in Castel Volturno, Italy, was the subject of tributes around the world. She was Africa’s first superstar, gaining worldwide notice in the late 1950s.

But about 60 of 72 stories in a Nexis database search that also referred to one of her husbands, black activist Stokely Carmichael, failed to note that he had later changed his name, to Kwame Ture. It was a media fate that also befell the activist in life. In some circles, he had become so radioactive as Carmichael that Makeba’s tours and record deals were cancelled.

Many also identified Carmichael as a former Black Panther, though he was primarily known as a leader of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, where he popularlized the term "Black Power."

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