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Dallas Morning News Cuts Claim 10 of Color

richard

Updated April 8 and 9

Pulitzer-Winning Photog Diaz Meyer Among Layoffs

At least 10 journalists of color were among those laid off Tuesday at the Dallas Morning News, including Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Cheryl Diaz Meyer, as the newspaper and its parent company, A.H. Belo Corp., implemented companywide cuts that it said in January would remove 500 employees across all its properties.

In addition to Diaz Meyer, newsroom employees said that reporters Stella Chavez, Frank Trejo, Blanca Cantu, Holly Yan, Damon L. Sayles, Bobbi Roquemore, Debra Dennis, Marissa Alanis and David Ninh were laid off. Six worked in local news; Ninh is a lifestyles reporter and Sayles and Roquemore covered sports. 

Morning News Editor Bob Mong told Journal-isms on Tuesday that the number of newsroom layoffs had not been released and that he could not do so.

[At least 50 editorial employees were laid off as part of 200 job cuts newspaperwide, Dallas television critic Ed Bark wrote Wednesday on his blog. "That includes a staggering 13 from the sports department, according to the in-house dmncuts.blogspot.com," Bark wrote.]

But Mong said diversity was taken into account at the nonunion paper. "This is a diverse community and our newsroom has to be diverse to cover it correctly," he said.

Still, a newsroom staffer told Journal-isms, "It’s bad for diversity, and it’s real bad, particularly, for Hispanics."

Diaz Meyer was born and raised in the Philippines and immigrated with her family to Minnesota in 1981. She joined the Morning News in 2000, and won the 2004 Pulitzer for breaking news photography with fellow staff photographer David Leeson for their work depicting the invasion and aftermath of the war in Iraq.

In late 2001, she traveled to Afghanistan to photograph the war on terrorism and its effects on the people trying to free themselves from the Taliban regime. She has received numerous awards for her body of work there, including the John Faber Award from the Overseas Press Club, according to a bio.

"This gives me a chance to kind of dream again and to redefine what my passion is and why I got into this business," she told Journal-isms on Wednesday.

"I don’t worry about making a living. I worry about finding something I really want to do . . . that I’m going to love."

Sayles, who has been at the paper since 2000, said he planned to seek a master’s in education technology at Texas A&M-Commerce starting in May.

"It got to the point where I said to myself, ‘this business is almost like a plane crashing in slow motion.’ I wanted to have a plan," said Sayles, who is 32.

Sayles covered high school sports. Roquemore covered Southern Methodist University.

Dennis said Wednesday, "I’m already job hunting," seeking a job with the public affairs section of the Department of Homeland Security in Dallas, where her sister works.

Roquemore said, "The Dallas Morning News has been very kind to me from start to finish, and I’d like to thank Bob Yates in particular," referring to the Morning News’ deputy managing editor for sports. "I made alternate plans for law school, just in case. I’ve already been accepted to a few law schools with both part-time and full-time programs, and I am excited about this new opportunity." Roquemore, 32, came to the paper in August 2007.

Some of those let go told colleagues in e-mails and messages on social-networking sites.

Chavez wrote "-30-" on her Facebook page.

Trejo wrote to the blog DMNCuts: "Thank all of you in The DMN newsroom for your words of support and encouragement this morning. It’s the world’s greatest understatement to say that it has been an honor to work with you.

"I have learned so much from you during my two decades at The News. The talent and dedication in that room is amazing. Some of you, and you know who you are, have given help and understanding during many difficult times.

"I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to work at a job that has allowed me to do so much with my life so far.

"I’m still a little numb, knowing that for the first time in nearly 32 years I do not have a newspaper job.

"But I will be fine. I have many good friends, a loving family and a partner whose unconditional love has indeed made me a better person. We will celebrate 21 years of being together next weekend.

"My thoughts and prayers are with you all."

As the Associated Press reported on Monday, the planned cuts across Belo properties, taken to save cash and cope with falling advertising revenue, represent about 14 percent of A.H. Belo’s workforce.

They follow another cut made in October, in which pink slips were given to at least five journalists of color at the Morning News.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel laid off 26 full-time and five part-time employees Monday, but newsroom layoffs are awaiting the outcome of negotiations with the Newspaper Guild, staffers told Journal-isms.  Employees are still considering buyout offers, and if enough take them, newsroom layoffs might not be necessary, they said.

Orange County Register Lays Off Sportswriting Veteran

Art Thompson III, a sportswriter at the Orange County (Calif.) Register for more than two decades and for years the only African American staff writer in the Sports Department, was laid off on Tuesday, Thompson confirmed. He covered the NBA.

"He’s one of the original Sports Task Force members, has excelled at every beat he’s had and, if fairness existed in sports journalism, would now be one of the longstanding, revered major league baseball reporters because he truly loves and knows the game," Ron Thomas, who directs the Journalism & Sports Program at Morehouse College, wrote his colleagues in the National Association of Black Journalists on its Sports Task Force’s e-mail list. "But, as it was for so many of us, the NBA had to become his route to big-time sportswriting. Didn’t matter, though, because talent is color-blind."

Baseball is considered the most cherished sports beat.

Thompson, 54, started at the Register in 1988. He told Journal-isms he did not know what he wanted to do next.

"For years I’ve wanted to teach elementary school. I feel that our young African-American children coming up need guidance and there is a dearth of African-American male teachers at the elementary school level," he wrote. "I’ve been a walk-on assistant girls basketball coach at national prep power Long Beach Poly for the past eight years, so I have been in a teaching mode for awhile. Hopefully, I will be alright."

On March 20, the Register announced plans to implement layoffs and mandatory furloughs as part of an effort to reduce expenses. Ken Brusic, senior vice president of content for the parent Freedom Communications, told Journal-isms Wednesday he was not certain he could disclose how many people were being laid off or who they were.

While Thompson said he was the only African American sportswriter at the paper, he added, "We have one other African-American, department clerk Damian Calhoun, whose other duties include helping to cover high school sports."

U.S. Journalist Held in Iran Faces Charge of Spying

"Roxana Saberi, an American freelance journalist who has been in custody in Iran since January, has been charged with spying, the judge in the case told Iranian state television Wednesday," Thomas Erdbrink reported Wednesday for the Washington Post.

"’This accused has been coming and going to certain government circles under the cover of reporter and without a permit,’ Sohrab Heydarifard said. ‘She has perpetrated actions to compile and gather information and documents and transferred them to American intelligence services.’

"The judge said Saberi was arrested on the basis of tips from Iran’s counterintelligence agency."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Wednesday for Iran to release Saberi, the New York Times said.

  

A Slight Pause at the Door of 10 Downing Street

If photographer Toby Melville realized the resonance of this photograph he shot April 1 for Reuters, he deserves commendation. Copies have been circulating via e-mail, one with the notation, "both U.S. and British security procedure dictate that they are not supposed to talk, touch, or shake hands, but the two brothers couldn’t resist the historic moment."

In fact, police at 10 Downing Street are public servants and are approachable, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Service told Journal-isms, so the police officer wasn’t really breaking protocol.

Still, Melville told Journal-isms on Thursday, "It is fairly unusual for any visiting heads of state or ministers to shake hands with an officer on the way in; therefore I would automatically have shot that moment and Obama’s visit being historical anyway it was bound to be a heavy file I transmitted of his Downing St meeting."¬†

His caption read simply, "U.S. President Barack Obama (L) shakes hands with a British police officer outside 10 Downing Street in London April 1, 2009. World leaders will have their work cut out at a G20 summit where Obama makes his first major international sortie, under perhaps more pressure than anyone to show that the country where the crisis began can lead the way out."

Meanwhile, Obama’s planned visit¬†to Mexico and his participation this month in the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad, prompted Obama commentary that included drug abuse and Latin American issues. [Updated April 9.]

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Fz539F_17g]

First video of the DUI arrest of former Kansas City columnist Rhonda Chriss Lokeman drew more than 1,000 views on YouTube.¬† Last week, a judge ordered her driver’s license reinstated. A hearing for "alleged refusal to submit to a chemical test" remains. Click to view.

Alternative Paper Posts Videos of Ex-Columnist’s Arrest

This week, the alternative Kansas City newspaper the Pitch has been featuring embarrassing videos of former Kansas City Star columnist Rhonda Chriss Lokeman – wife of Star Publisher Mark Zieman – being arrested and charged with driving under the influence.

The incident took place Jan. 1, six days before Lokeman "told Creators Syndicate that she decided to retire her column to pursue other interests," as David Yontz, the syndicate editor, recalled for Journal-isms in February.

The arrest was not disclosed immediately by the Star. Neither Lokeman nor Zieman responded to inquiries then about why Lokeman had decided to suddenly end the column.

The news apparently was broken by the "McClatchy Watch" blog on Feb. 3, and a Star story appeared the next day.

The Pitch decided to write a Valentine’s Day item¬†about "the love story of Kansas City Star publisher Mark Zieman and his wife, the medium-talented and now-retired columnist Rhonda Chriss Lokeman. Last week, news broke that police had arrested Lokeman on January 1 after she refused to take a breathalyzer test . . . .

"Lokeman filed suit January 7 against the Missouri director of revenue, fighting the revocation of her license after she refused the test. On January 29, a judge issued an order saying Lokeman could keep her license for now. Neither Lokeman’s attorney nor Zieman would comment on the case – including how Lokeman’s arrest had failed to make the paper until someone else got hold of the records," the item continued.

Then the Pitch went to work, reporter Peter Rugg told Journal-isms on Wednesday. Rugg asked the police department for the videos of the arrest, taken from the dashboard of a police car and in the police van carrying Lokeman. The contents of three videos arrived on April 1, and by 4:59 p.m. that day, the first of them was edited and posted on the Pitch’s Web site.

"When news broke that Kansas City Star columnist Rhonda Chriss Lokeman – and wife of Star publisher Mark Zieman – was arrested for allegedly driving drunk, most of Kansas City wanted to know about the missing tire," Rugg wrote in the accompanying copy. "The police report said Lokeman was driving her minivan on only three tires. Lokeman moves through every stage of grief in this video – and there’s two more that we’ll have for you on Monday – that show Lokeman being argumentative with officers.

"This first video features Lokeman acting shocked that her car only has three tires – and her inexplicably stopping in the middle of the street instead of pulling over to the side of the road. . . . She also argues with officers who are trying to get her out of the road.

"Check back Monday for video of Lokeman’s booking, cops joking about how she should ‘have another beer’ and Zieman coming to pick her up."

The You Tube video has so far registered 1,045 viewings.

In Tuesday’s final installment, "we see Lokeman inexplicably speaking Italian. On this ride to jail, she’s joined by two other scofflaws – men, separated from her by the steel cage," the Pitch site says.

After Part II, viewer Jack Miller asked, "Really, who cares? This is private matter – why kick someone when they are down? Almost everyone has [driven] with a few in them – not that I suggest it – it’s wrong, but..really this is a waste of space."

Editor C.J. Janovy explained the Pitch’s position to Journal-isms this way: "She wrote a regular column in the Kansas City Star. The Star was late in reporting her arrest. She’s the wife of the publisher. So she’s a very public figure. I understand why people might think it was a private matter, but we thought otherwise."

Lokeman and Zieman  did not respond to requests for comment, and Star Editor Mike Fannin said Thursday he would have no comment.

On April 3, a judge ordered the Missouri Department of Revenue to reinstate Lokeman’s driver’s license. The hearing for "alleged refusal to submit to a chemical test" is still to take place. [Updated April 9.]¬†

North Carolina set first-half records for points and the biggest lead in an NCAA championship game in pulling away to a 89-72 victory over Michigan State on Monday. Wayne Ellington was seven for nine from the field in the first half. (Credit: http://grfx.cstv.com)

Annual Study Shows Some Got Game, but No Diploma

Before North Carolina defeated Michigan State, 89-72, Denise Stewart wrote Monday for theRoot.com: "If the championship in NCAA men’s basketball was based on the graduation rates of black players on the teams, it would be Duke and Villanova taking the court tonight in Detroit rather than Michigan State and the University of North Carolina.

"Both Duke, which lost in the third round, and Villanova who lost to UNC on Saturday, graduate 86 percent of their black players," Stewart continued. "This is some of the very scarce good news from a study by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport conducted by Richard Lapchick."

In a March 21 column, Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star challenged the Lapchick studies, writing that race should not be the primary focus. "I’ll bet every dollar I have that athletes from two-parent families perform better academically than athletes from one- or no-parent families, regardless of race," he wrote.

Asked for comment, a spokeswoman for Lapchick told Journal-isms, "Richard Lapchick does not have the time or interest to respond to such articles."

Ebony Names "Most Influential Black Americans"

Black journalists and other media figures are included in Ebony magazine’s 46th annual list of ‘The Most Influential Black Americans," according to a list released by the magazine Wednesday.

The "Power 150" are included in the publication’s May issue, due on newsstands April 14.

The list includes radio hosts Steve Harvey and Tom Joyner; Gwen Ifill of PBS; Eric Deggans, TV/media critic at the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, CNN’s Don Lemon and Soledad O’Brien; Johnathan Rodgers, CEO of TV One; Paula Madison, executive vice president, diversity, NBC Universal; Roland S. Martin, columnist and CNN journalist; and talk-show hosts Tavis Smiley and Oprah Winfrey, the media mogul.

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