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Farai Chideya to Leave “News & Notes” Early

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NPR Wouldn’t Pay for Show to Cover¬†Inauguration

Farai Chideya, host of National Public Radio’s canceled "News & Notes," said on Monday she will leave the show earlier than expected because NPR decided it was "not feasible" for the California-based show to be in Washington to¬†cover Barack Obama’s historic Jan. 20 inauguration. She will be in Washington for¬†Inauguration Week in any event, she told Journal-isms.

"Today, I announced that I will end my work as host of ‘News & Notes’ and leave NPR on Friday, January 16," Chideya said. "As you know, ‘News & Notes’ was one of two shows recently cancelled, effective March 20, by NPR management as part of broader layoffs and budget cuts. While I had planned to stay with the show until its conclusion, NPR’s decisions to curtail resources and cut coverage plans made me reconsider my timing."

NPR spokeswoman Anna Christopher said it had been decided early in the fall, "prior to our announcement to end ‘News & Notes,’ to not have ‘News & Notes’ come out here to cover it from D.C. because of limited production space and production capacity." ¬†The show may cover the Inauguration from California, she said. Christopher added that no decision had been made on filling the host’s slot for the remaining weeks.

NPR announced Dec. 10 it was canceling "News & Notes" and the midday afternoon magazine show "Day to Day" and reducing its work force by 7 percent. It said a projected $2 million deficit for fiscal 2009 had become $23 million with the downturn in the economy.

"Neither program was attracting sufficient levels of audience or national underwriting necessary to sustain continued production under these tough financial circumstances," Dennis Haarsager, interim president and CEO, said in a message to NPR affiliates.

Chideya said she did not have a contract with NPR and thus was free to leave.

In her statement, she continued, "I cannot thank ‘News & Notes’ staff enough for their gifts of creativity, moxie and hustle. To quote a colleague, ‘We made miracles every day.’ As the only daily national public radio show devoted exclusively to the African-American experience, we didn’t let lean resources sap our ambitions to be inclusive and insightful. I’m proudest of our coverage of the 2008 election: from candidate interviews to the convention floor, the debates and finally election night. I appreciate our loyal audience; our family of experts, journalists and bloggers; our African American Public Radio Consortium partners; and the many NPR member stations who supported us.

"I look forward to hosting another project that blends broadcast and multimedia and offers a fresh approach to culture and diversity. Over the coming months, I hope to meet many of you in person as I tour the country for the publication of my first novel, Kiss the Sky. In the meantime, keep passing on the love on to the News & Notes crew."

"News & Notes" had its origins in a collaboration in 2000 between NPR and African American affiliates, known as the African American Public Radio Consortium. The collaboration came up with the "Tavis Smiley Show," which became "News & Notes With Ed Gordon." Smiley and Gordon both left questioning NPR’s commitment to a multicultural audience. Chideya, a multimedia journalist who has written three books, was substitute host for Gordon and became the principal host when Gordon left.

Tony Cox, who has been with the show through all three incarnations, currently co-hosts.

FCC Fines Stations Over Inadequate EEO Records

The Federal Communications Commission fined radio and television broadcasters for failing to keep adequate equal-employment opportunity records and two commissioners accompanied the notices with a declaration that "lax EEO enforcement has yielded less diversity in employment.

"Commission enforcement of EEO rules has been inconsistent and, as one consequence, employment in broadcasting does not reflect America," a joint statement from Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein said. "It is clear that the Commission’s recent efforts to promote employment diversity have been woefully inadequate."

Cumulus Licensing LLC received a $14,000 notice of apparent liability related to several Georgia stations, including a cluster in Macon.

"Fox Television Stations received an NAL," a notice of apparent liability, "for $20,000 for alleged EEO violations at its Washington, DC, stations; Dickey Broadcasting received an NAL for $7,000 for alleged violations at WCNN-AM/Atlanta and WFOM-AM/Marietta, GA; and Urban Radio was sent an NAL for $8,000 for alleged EEO violations at WLIB-AM and WBLS-FM/New York. With WLIB’s NAL came a grant of its application for renewal.

"Also hit with NALs related to EEO rules: W.S. Communications, which received a $14,000 NAL related to two Colorado radio stations, and Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting, which received an $8,000 NAL for its TV and radio stations."

Of the black-owned New York stations, the FCC’s notice said, "The Licensee reports that it is unable to locate the required records, and the human resources employee responsible for collecting and managing the records has left the employment of the Licensee."

Of the Fox stations in Washington, it said, "We find that the Licensee’s inadequate recruitment efforts for 39 openings noted above did not result in sufficient public outreach to inform jobseekers who were unconnected to Licensee staff that positions at the Stations were available."

Of the Puerto Rico stations, it said, "Because of the Licensee’s lack of records of interviewees and referrals, we find that it was not possible for it to have adequately analyzed its recruitment program to ensure that it was effective in achieving broad outreach."

A spokeswoman for Fox’s WTTG-TV and WDCA-TV told Journal-isms, "We are reviewing everything related to the notice of apparent liability." Lawyers for other broadcasters did not respond to requests for comment.

 

Correspondents of Color Low on Most-Viewed List

With 108 and 107 minutes of airtime, respectively, CBS correspondents Byron Pitts and Bill Whitaker¬†were the most "heavily used" journalists of color on the broadcast-network evening news programs last year, according to broadcast-industry watcher Andrew Tyndall’s Tyndall Report.

But Pitts and Whitaker ranked only No. 30 and No. 32. No journalists of color cracked the top 25.

The top five were Andrea Mitchell¬†of NBC News’ Washington Bureau, with 355 minutes; Jake Tapper of ABC News, on the campaign trail, 313 minutes; Dean Reynolds, CBS News, campaign trail, 262; Robert Bazell, NBC News, medicine beat, 261; and Betsy Stark of ABC News, the economy, 245.

"2008’s network news agenda was dominated by just two questions. Who would be the next President? And how deep would the recession be that confronts him," Tyndall wrote.

"The lame duck President became an afterthought. Astonishingly, the White House correspondents at ABC and NBC did not even earn enough assignments to rank in the year’s Top 20. Coverage of foreign policy was the lowest in 21 years and domestic policy ranked 18th out of 21."

Rankings of other journalists of color were: No. 60, CBS News’ Hari Sreenivasan, 75 mins; No. 62, ABC News’ Stephanie Sy, 73 minutes; No. 63, NBC News’ Rehema Ellis, 73 minutes; No. 67, NBC’s Ann Curry, 71 minutes; No. 69, NBC’s Ron Allen, 70 minutes; No. 71, ABC News’ Ron Claiborne, 68 minutes; No. 72, NBC’s Carl Quintanilla, 66 minutes.

Noting that this was the second year that no journalists of color were among the most visible reporters, Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times asked¬†Monday, "Isn’t it time the media establishment caught up with the voting public already?"

Demise of Printed AsianWeek Said to Signal Trend

The demise of the print version of the San Francisco-based AsianWeek newsweekly "leaves an even bigger hole in the coverage of Asian Americans in a city where one-third of residents are Asian American. And, even though one-fifth of the Bay Area’s population is of Asian descent, Asian Americans’ voices will be harder to find in local newspapers or on the radio dial, as most mainstream media outlets from San Francisco to Oakland to San Jose have shed their Asian-American affairs reporters and radio programs," Ngoc Nguyen, editor of New America Media, wrote¬†on Monday.

"AsianWeek is just the latest in a string of Asian-American media closures, including KQED’s Pacific Time, AZN Television, and the San Jose Mercury News’ Vietnamese-language supplement Viet Mercury.

"Janice Lee, deputy executive director of the Asian American Journalists Association, said the reorganization of major news media has resulted in the layoffs and buyouts of thousands of journalists, including Asian Americans. The staff reorganizations have included the loss of Asian-American affairs reporters at the Oakland Tribune and San Francisco Chronicle, a columnist at the Mercury News, a veteran broadcaster at CBS-affiliate KPIX, and three Asian-American editors at the Chronicle, Lee said.

"’We’re seeing a climate of risk in in-depth coverage of Asian Americans,’ Lee said. She said all ethnic groups should be concerned about shrinking coverage of their communities.

"As newspapers become thinner, readers may not notice how the staff cuts are affecting coverage, but, Lee said, community organizations that monitor Asian-American issues will be the first to feel the impact."

"Seek Out the Stars on the Paper Who Do Those Jobs"

"Minorities are still underrepresented on business desks. How can this issue be solved?" Chris Roush, UNC-Chapel Hill journalism professor, asked Ernest Holsendolph, a trailblazer for other black business journalists.

"I think blacks and other minorities interested in communication need to be sold on business and economic reporting as a specialty," replied Holsendolph,  who worked at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, New York Times and Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"They need to be knocking on the doors, or listing business in their job reviews as a preference down the road. Both SABEW and NABJ" — the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and the National Association of Black Journalists — "need to encourage their members to talk up business as a specialty — and right now is really the time to strike. Nearly everybody, from frazzled consumers to nervous workers, testify that they are more interested than ever in reading or hearing business news, and if people are reading it, those stories become stronger candidates for the glamour position on the front of the paper, or on section fronts in both business and features."

"What would you recommend today to a black journalist who was interested in covering business?" Roush asked.

"I would counsel young blacks who are interested in business or any other specialty, from arts criticism to science to politics, to seek out the stars on the paper who do those jobs," Holsendolph said. "Talk to them about how they got there, what about the specialty that turns them on. The youngsters must solicit the aid of the senior writers. Not enough of our senior writers are inclined to mentor and actively serve as role models, but we ALL are flattered to be asked questions by someone who admires us from afar. That kind of inquiry can awaken the mentoring instincts in some cases. I say seek out the BEST in the specialty because among them you will find that kind of inspirational enthusiasm you seek."

 

Roland Burris, former Illinois attorney general, insists he should be seated.

Burris Continues Media Blitz in Quest for Senate Seat

Roland Burris, picked by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, continued his media blitz on Monday, appearing¬†on CNN’s "The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer" to insist that he should be seated despite the opposition of Senate Democrats, who said they would not accept any appointee of Blogojevich, who has been arrested and charged with influence peddling.

On Sunday, said Blitzer, Sen. Dick Durbin, "the senior senator from Illinois, and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, they both said they were open to, quote, ‘negotiating’ with you on this. So tell me, what there is to negotiate?"

"Well, I am the legally appointed senator," Burris replied. "And what we’ve been trying to get everyone to recognize [is] that the governor of Illinois has serious problems. God knows he has problems, but he is still the governor. He made a legal appointment. And that’s, you know, the end of it. Close the books. That is a legal appointment.

"And based on that, I’m hoping that the Senate of the United States will honor that. I mean, it’s just that simple."

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