NAHJ President: Unity’s “Next Level” Should Include Whites
The new president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, columnist Juan Gonzalez of the New York Daily News, has urged for some time that the Unity idea — journalists of color coming together to press for common goals — include white journalists in a one-time event.
Gonzalez said this week that his position has not been adopted by NAHJ, but that “I expressed it in my campaign literature and people voted for me knowing where I stand.”
“UNITY needs to go to the next level, which would be to take the lead in convening a once-only Congress of American Journalists to discuss the state of journalism in the 21st century,” he told this column.
“Since UNITY is already the largest gathering of journalists in U.S. history, I believe it should make an effort to engage the membership of the various journalism organizations, which are mostly white in composition, such as IRE [Investigative Reporters and Editors], Sigma Delta Chi, NLGJA [National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association], ASNE [American Society of Newspaper Editors], and the various other groups, in a broad examination of three major issues:
- “1) The impact of corporate concentration and media conglomerates on the quality of American journalism and democratic discourse;
- “2) The impact of the technological revolution and the character of news and information delivery on our profession;
- “3) The role of affirmative action within the media and the coverage of racial issues, ethnic and linguistic minorities by the media, and how resolution of these issues is critical to the future of our profession.”
ABC’s “This Week”: “We Are Insisting That the Pool Be Expanded”
The fact that ABC’s Sunday show “This Week” has had African Americans on its news discussion roundtable for the last four weeks is a result of ABC’s diversity efforts, says ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider. The roundtable “had a group of people who always turned out to be these white middle-age guys; we are insisting that the pool be expanded,” he told this column. At the same time, Schneider said of the recent panelists, “we didn’t choose them because of the color of their skin, but because of the content of what they had to say.”
The reason for the ginger wording could be the flak that ABC caught from right wingers after USA Today reported in February that “ABC News has compiled a database of 480 people – all minorities — to turn to for on-air or taped comments. Employees have been told evaluations will be based in part on how many of these sources they call.” An ABC News executive says that while programs are evaluated based on how they reflect the diversity of the audience, booking diverse guests is not tied to producers’ compensation. But that made no difference to critics.
Last September, ABC News President David Westin appointed a committee of 11 people from across the news division, chaired by A’Lelia Bundles, director of talent development. The committee’s effort produced the database — and resulted in names for the roundtable, Schneider said.
“This Week” will not only have a new anchor, George Stephanopoulos, but a new executive producer, veteran ABC producer Jon Banner, the network announced this week.
Banner will be looking at the makeup of the “This Week” panel, Schneider said.
Report by Native Journalists Confronts Media Stereotypes
When it comes to covering American Indians, the nation’s largest newspapers tend to focus on casinos, feature stories and team mascot debates, according to a report by the Native American Journalists Association. About 300 professional and student journalists are in San Diego attending this week’s convention, which ends Saturday.
While few Native people would argue with the underlying thesis of “The Reading Red Report,” that mainstream coverage of Native life is spotty and filled with stereotypes, the limited methodology of the NAJA study makes it hard to draw definite conclusions, writes the Native Voice, the convention student newspaper.
Court Rules $100-Per-Minute Reporters’ Fines Excessive
A Pennsylvania appeals court has upheld a contempt order against Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Mark Bowden and Philadelphia Tribune writer Linn Washington, Jr., but rejected fines totaling $80,000 as “harsh and excessive,” reports the Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press.
The state Superior Court in Philadelphia ruled 2-1 on May 29 that a trial judge correctly held the reporters in contempt for refusing to provide information from interviews with a murder suspect. The fines were suspended during the appeal. “Such a steep sanction on reporters is unprecedented in Pennsylvania, and we have little difficulty in ruling this an abuse of discretion,” the appeals court ruled, sending the case back to the trial court to set a “more appropriate dollar amount.”
The 117-year-old Philadelphia Tribune calls itself America’s oldest, continuous black paper. It is the first time in recent memory in which the black press has been involved in a high-profile press freedom case.
Let the Good Times Roll!
Anyone remotely interested in great rhythm ‘n’ blues should be listening to — and writing about — “Let the Good Times Roll,” a project of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation airing as a 13-week series by Public Radio International. “Iceman” Jerry Butler hosts the series, which takes listeners back to the songs of the late 1940s and early 1950s that vie for the title of first rock ‘n’ roll song. Along with the tunes of Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, Professor Longhair and the like are stories of how the music was tied to, and often became, the drumbeat of the times.
Some of the show titles: “Jumping the Blues,” “Singing on the Corner,” “The Atlantic Sound,” “Walkin’ to New Orleans,” “Honkers, Barwalkers and Screamers,” “Bold, Bawdy and Banned,” “The Jet Pilots of Jive,” “Roadhouse Blues,” “Going to Chicago,” “Sweet Soul Music,” “Dancing in the Street,” “Our Day Will Come” and “Soul Sisters.”
To find out what stations are carrying the program, go here, go to “PRI Programs,” then “specials,” select “Let the Good Times Roll” and type in your state.
Missing-Girl Coverage Driven by Obsession with Beauty, Wealth, Says Columnist
“Rather than latent racism motivating the media, much of the fascination” with the case of Elizabeth Smart, the 14-year-old white girl missing in Salt Lake City, “can be traced to America’s dual obsession with beauty and wealth,” writes Kerry Dougherty, a white columnist at the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va.
“Sure, it’s fashionable to pay lip service to the ideal that all children are equally precious. But the fact remains that the news media — and the public — are far more distressed by the disappearance of a beautiful child than an unattractive one. And far more aggrieved by the loss of a rich kid than a poor one.”
Familiar Words from South Africa
It’s not just in America that critical journalists of color are accused of betraying their own people. “The conclusion to be drawn from the argument that black journalists who criticise the government are sucking up to their white editors and allowing themselves to be used is that black people have no brains and cannot think for themselves,” writes Suzan Chala in the Mall and Guardian in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“It is an insult to the intelligence of all black brothers and sisters who refuse to be puppets of the leaders. It implies that the only black people who are intelligent enough to form opinions are those in the leadership. How else can they find it impossible to believe that black people can form critical opinions? You either agree with them or you are damned.”
Washington Post’s Michael Wilbon Takes Heat for Jordan Coverage
The Washington City Paper takes aim at Michael Wilbon, who has been covering the NBA’s Michael Jordan since 1982, for his “jocksniffing” coverage of the superstar. In addition to writing a column in the Washington Post, Wilbon reports for ESPN and the NBC station in Washington, D.C. Replies Wilbon: “Where some people feel I should be highly critical, I don’t feel the need to be ….What’s the point — just to satisfy some other writers?”
