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Is Immigration Status Like Race?

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Ombudsman Weighs Relevancy in Describing Suspect

"Two stories on MiamiHerald.com last week on the revival of the murder case of Chandra Levy were on the same subject, but in referring to the prime suspect they couldn’t be more different," Edward Schumacher-Matos, the Miami Herald’s ombudsman, wrote¬†on Sunday.

"One, by The Associated Press, said in the lead that an arrest warrant was being prepared against a ‘Salvadoran immigrant’ for the murder, and never said more about his immigration status. The other, a feature by McClatchy Newspapers, plays up his status by saying in the first words that he ‘sneaked’ into the country. It calls him an ‘illegal immigrant’ in paragraph No. 2.

"Which treatment is correct? If you don’t see the issue, think race. Most of us probably agree that it is not correct to publish a suspect’s race unless it is specifically relevant. What about immigration status?

"In the Levy case, television-editorialist Bill O’Reilly and other immigration restrictionists were harshly critical of the AP story, accusing it and The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and network news shows of ‘blatant press dishonesty’ for omitting that status from their stories."

Levy was the Washington intern who disappeared in 2001. Former Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., was questioned about her disappearance, and lost his bid for reelection. 

". . . Newspapers used to report the race of a black American suspected of a crime, but made no mention of the race of a white suspect until blacks pointed out that the practice unfairly stigmatized them and amounted to fearmongering. Doesn’t the same argument apply to immigrants, legal and illegal?

"Getting in the way of an answer is that most Americans think that crime increases with immigration rates, and that illegal immigrants, in particular, are violent. The very illegality of their being here contributes to that perception.

"Study after study, however, shows that immigrants, including those here illegally, are much less likely to commit violent and other crimes than native-born Americans. The dramatic cases such as the Levy murder are the exception, not the rule."

Schumacher-Matos concludes:

"Keith Woods, the academic dean of The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, summarizes it best by asking three questions.

"No. 1: What is the relevance of the suspect’s legal status? Did it have anything to do with what he’s accused of?

"No, in the Levy case.

"No. 2: Will it add to my understanding of the story to know that he is in the country illegally?

"Maybe.

"No. 3: Is it a relevant part of his biography?

"Yes, although a proper biography includes perspective. The McClatchy story passes partially by this standard, but as Woods points out: Where you put status says how important you think it is. The McClatchy story wrongly leads with it."

 

Sportscaster Dad Awaits Word on Missing NFL Players

"The U.S. Coast Guard’s ramped-up search for Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper and three others who failed to return from a fishing trip Saturday night paid off when one of the four men was rescued Monday afternoon," Steve Corkran reported for the Contra Costa (Calif.) Times.

"The Coast Guard found Nick Schuyler, 24, about 38 miles west of Tampa Bay approximately 42 hours after the boat owned by Cooper flipped over in rough conditions Saturday night.

"Cooper, 26, Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith — a former 49ers player — and William Bleakley remain unaccounted for."

Cooper’s dad, Bruce Cooper, is a sportscaster for KPNX-TV in Phoenix.

He posted a message on the station’s Web site:

"I truly appreciate the overwhelming number of phone calls, text messages and support relative to Marquis and his friends missing at sea. My wife and I learned of the situation when we received a call at about 7 am from the parents of Marquis’ wife, Rebekah. We were told the Coast Guard began searching at around 2 am EST but was unable to send a helicopter up at the time because of bad weather. By 9 am the weather had calmed and a helicopter was sent up to aid in the search. Marquis went deep sea fishing with his friends around 5 am Saturday morning. He routinely stays out on the water 12-14 hours but when his wife hadn’t heard from him by 9 pm Saturday night, she started making calls to check on him.

"Marquis is an avid fisherman; he goes deep sea fishing any opportunity he gets. Two years ago I went deep sea fishing with him. I swore I would never do so again; I didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t see land. Needless to say I am very concerned. I am praying and hoping for the best. Marquis was scheduled to report in Oakland on March 16 to began off-season workouts with the Oakland Raiders.

"Again, thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers."

Economy Forces Cancellation of Magazine Conference

It’s not just the annual convention of the American Society of Newspaper Editors that won’t be held this year. The American Magazine Conference, the annual fall gathering of the consumer magazine industry, has been cancelled, Nina Link, president and CEO of the Magazine Publishers of America, announced¬†last week. The conference was slated for Oct. 18-20 in Boca Raton, Fla.

“The cancellation of this year’s AMC is in response to the difficult economic climate facing all businesses, including the magazine industry,” she said. “We recognize that this year our members are looking at a variety of ways to achieve savings, which would include curtailing certain discretionary travel and hotel expenses. We hope to resume the AMC next year in the city of Chicago.”

 

Columnist Says Diversity Wouldn’t Change N.Y. Post

New York Daily News columnist Stanley Crouch is challenging the notion that a more diverse staff at the New York Post could have prevented the infamous chimpanzee cartoon from publication last month.

Referring to the Rev. Al Sharpton, one of those advancing that idea, Crouch wrote Monday:

"Now we find Sharpton saying the only way News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch can guarantee no repeat of the kind of cartoon published in his New York Post, which drove so many people into a boil because of its racist implication, is to hire a more diverse editorial staff. More nonwhite people, no more cartoon chimps alluding to President Obama, or any offensive thing of that sort.

"The New York Post is not the jar of sputum that it is because of the color of the people whom it has hired. It is a slop jar because of what is hawked up and spit into it."

As proof, Crouch cited the hip-hop world, saying, "the very existence of an industry that does not suffer from a lack of diversity cannot guarantee a higher level of taste than we got at the New York Post. So, what is the real issue?

"The real issue is the indifference to irresponsible behavior and statements. Such indifference is fostered by profit ‚Äî no more, no less. On a recent DVD featuring the supposed comedian Katt Williams, he justifies his and Flavor Flav’s minstrel updates by saying, in essence, ‘If they want that from me, they are going to have to pay!’"

Meanwhile, Joel Pett, cartoonist for the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader, presented¬†three other cartoonists’ views of the Post cartoon in a piece¬†in the Los Angeles Times.

And Mark Hurwitt, who drew the cartoon above, told Journal-isms that one aspect of the original Post cartoon was overlooked:

"In addition to the absurdity of the caption and the cartoonist’s record of doing similarly disgusting work, I would like to weigh in as a cartoonist on how I feel specifically about the artwork," he said via e-mail.

"In a cartoon depiction of death the eyes are usually closed or represented by X’s. To have the eyes open, mouth open & tongue extended out creates a grotesque image similar to a face in a lynching. Add to this the bullet holes & pool of blood and you have a truly obscene drawing, something that is not appropriate for children to see.

"We all have a commitment to free speech, so they are free to print this & we are free to raise hell, call a racist a racist, boycott & do whatever else we feel necessary."

Meanwhile, a front-page story by Krissah Thompson in the Washington Post noted that Obama administration officials are discussing race in unprecedented ways, and columnists continued their say:

President Obama outlines his fiscal 2010 budget (Credit: Pete Souza/White House)

Pundits Assess Obama’s Speech to Congress, Stimulus

"Maybe I’m missing something, but it seemed this stimulus package was meant to help those governments most in need," Kevin Abourezk wrote¬†in an open letter to President Obama Saturday on the Reznet News site. "To assuage the troubles of those communities that suffer rampant unemployment and poverty. To create opportunity and hope where none now exists.

"Sadly, without the support and money needed to level the playing field, the Rosebud Sioux seem destined for failure in their efforts to improve their quality of life.

"I offer a solution to this conundrum, because I believe, perhaps naively, in your administration’s good intentions: Offer technical and financial support in applying for stimulus money to those tribes most in need and require federal agencies to prioritize the needs of those same tribes.

"Otherwise, this Indian stimulus money will become little more than a windfall for wealthy casino tribes that are able to employ armies of grant writers. And all of your good intentions to lift up the downtrodden will remain just that: intentions."

GOP’s Steele Blasts Limbaugh, Then Retreats

"On the same night he was offering the keynote address to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Rush Limbaugh drew criticism from an unlikely source: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele," Jonathan Martin reported Monday for Politico.

"In a little-noticed interview Saturday night, Steele dismissed Limbaugh as an ‘entertainer’ whose show is ‘incendiary’ and ‘ugly.’

"Steele‚Äôs criticism made him the highest-ranking Republican to pick a fight with the popular and polarizing conservative talk show host, and prompted a furious counter-assault by Limbaugh on his show Monday afternoon in which he told the locquacious RNC chair to pipe down and recognize that he’s not a ‘talking head media star.’

"Steele told POLITICO he moved to stop the feud Monday afternoon with a phone call to Limbaugh."

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