On Brinkley: “For All of Us Here . . . Thank You”
David Brinkley, who died Wednesday at 82, will be remembered for his wit, his clipped, distinctive phrasing and his towering professionalism, but it should also be recalled that in the early 1990s it was “This Week With David Brinkley” that gave a regular national television showcase to Robert C. Maynard, who became one of the analysts on the ABC show’s roundtable.
It was a time when Carl T. Rowan was just about the only other black journalist admitted to the big-network television commentators’ club, and it would be 2002 before another person of color would be a permanent fixture in the “This Week” chair, though Clarence Page and Julie Johnson filled in occasionally. Michel Martin, formerly Michel McQueen, was chosen for a permanent spot last year.
Brinkley took note of Maynard’s contributions on his show of Aug. 22, 1993:
“Mr. BRINKLEY: Finally, this week we lost a member of our little family here. Bob Maynard had been fighting prostate cancer for a long time, years. This week he lost the fight. During that time he was working as a newspaper editor and later as a columnist in Oakland, California, but despite the distance and the pain, whenever we called him he came, never complaining and never offering any excuses. We were always glad to have him, first, because he was good, and second, because he did not see the world from inside the Washington Beltway as we have to do. What he said always reminded us of how far we have come in this country, and how far we still have to go.
(clip)
“BOB MAYNARD, Editor, Oakland Tribune: Affirmative action exists in many forms — whites, fraternity brothers help each other through various aspects of their professional development. There are all sorts of ‘old-boy networks,’ if we could use that term, that exist that do the same things under —
SAM DONALDSON: Doesn’t make it right. Doesn’t make it right.
MAYNARD: It may not make it right, but the point is that in our society, to look at one form of affirmative action without looking at the whole of how our society works is really to do a disservice. The fact of the matter is that there are two distinct and severe racial problems in the United States today. One is definitely the underclass problem, the fact that we have a burgeoning group of American citizens who are left out of the mainstream of our society. The second is, we have a perceptual problem about the role peoples of color play in our society, despite the successes of the Doug Wilders and Colin Powells and so forth. Let’s stop blaming you or me or anybody else for the past, and let us recognize that we are on the doorstep of the 21st century, and the problems of race that plague this country today have to be addressed if we are going to be a competitive society into the 21st century.
(end of clip)
BRINKLEY: So our regrets, and best wishes to Bob’s family, and for all of us here, until next week, thank you.
N.Y. Times Finds More Blair “Misstatements”
A week after The New York Times’ two top editors resigned amid fallout from the Jayson Blair reporting scandal, the paper identified 10 more articles by Blair that required corrections, as the New York Daily News reports.
An editors’ note published Thursday said the 10 stories included “misstatements or possibly borrowed passages, or quotations that have been denied by the speaker to whom they were attributed.”
“The latest tally raised to 46 the number of Blair articles in which The Times has uncovered problems, including a case of plagiarism in April that forced his resignation on May 1,” said the News.
In other developments:
— Former co-workers of Blair at his college newspaper, the Diamondback, at the University of Maryland, have issued a detailed account of his deceits while working at the newspaper, and blamed both the journalism school and the Diamondback’s parent company for the repeated transgressions, the Diamondback reported.
“Some students tried unsuccessfully to warn faculty members and members of the Maryland Media Inc. board of directors,” said the letter, which the paper said was signed by 30 former Diamondback staffers and not intended to be made public. ” . . . Many others did not, fearful of a culture inside of the College of Journalism that fostered the belief that speaking out could hurt internship possibilities and career hopes.”
— Colbert King, Washington Post deputy editorial page editor and this year’s Pulitzer Prize winner for commentary, and George E. Curry, editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service and Journalist of the Year of the National Association of Black Journalists, told the Washington Association of Black Journalists this week that members need not take responsibility for Blair. “You have nothing to apologize for,” said King, Wayne Dawkins reported in the Blackjournalist.com Bulletin. “Get off your knees. You have a responsibility to be better journalists. You have to take on an additional duty. You can’t escape it.”
— In the Miami Herald, columnist Robert Steinback cites the Blair case as an example of a “beleaguering that black Americans face [that] is quite different from decades past. . . . the siege is one of effect, manifested by policies not aimed at black people but which disproportionately affect them.
“Blair’s case is about as relevant to black America collectively as, say, Mike Tyson’s or Darryl Strawberry’s — which is to say, roughly, not at all. . . . the fallout only smeared black America collectively because so many sledgehammer-wielding pundits made sure it did,” Steinback wrote.
— In what must be a unique observation, Zev Chafets writes in an upcoming column in the New York Daily News, sent out by Knight Ridder/Tribune news service, that former president Bill Clinton appealed to New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. to save Executive Editor Howell Raines‘ job “because he felt the editor’s pain.
“After all, Clinton and Raines were undone by the same thing — an excessive fondness for eager, attractive but otherwise undistinguished young people. In that sense, Jayson Blair was Raines’ Monica Lewinsky,” writes Chafets, who quickly adds, “I do not mean to imply a sexual relationship between Raines and Blair. Not at all. But there was certainly something emotional in Raines’ favoritism toward his young reporter.”
Ex-Philly Anchor Settles Age, Race, Sex Bias Suit
Philadelphia anchor Beverly Williams, off the air at KYW-TV since late April, has settled an age-, race- and sex-discrimination suit against the station and its corporate owners, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
“Williams, 56, who worked at KYW off and on for nearly two decades, is no longer an employee of the station but has been hired to independently produce and host a half-hour weekend public-affairs show,” the story continues.
“The as-yet-unnamed show, premiering in September, will be produced in partnership with KYW, the station and Williams announced.
“In an interview, Williams said the show would be ‘freewheeling, fun and with an eye toward serving the public interest.’ She said it would ‘allow the unrecognized to have a voice and be profiled.’
“Williams was a KYW reporter and anchor from 1975 to 1981. She rejoined the station as an anchor in 1989, after working at CNN and a network affiliate in New Haven, Conn.
“In November 2000, Williams filed suit against KYW, CBS Inc. and Viacom Inc. in Common Pleas Court, alleging race, sex and age discrimination. . . . Williams and the station would not disclose total terms of the out-of-court settlement, reached last month.”
Soledad O’Brien Joins CNN as Morning Anchor
“CNN has hired NBC anchor Soledad O’Brien to anchor its morning show, a slot that Paula Zahn left in April to do a prime time show for the network,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
“O’Brien, an anchor on ‘Weekend Today,’ will start at CNN in early July.
“‘American Morning'” airs from 7-10 a.m. The show, which also features anchors Bill Hemmer and Jack Cafferty, trails Fox News in ratings.
“Since Zahn left the morning show in April, CNN has rotated a number of anchors in the spot, including Daryn Kagan and Heidi Collins.”
An accompanying graphic notes: “Her father is Australian with Irish roots; her mother is Cuban. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and was once named one of the top 100 Irish-Americans.”
Headline News Chief: Latinos “Hitting Critical Mass”
Rolando Santos, who last year became executive vice president and general manager of CNN Headline News, says the number of Hispanics is “hitting critical mass” and that should translate into more Hispanic voices on the CNN networks. Santos, 46, is the subject of a Sunday profile by Caroline Wilbert in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
“Q: We are reading a lot these days about the growth of Spanish-language media and media that targets Hispanics. I am sure, based on your pre-Headline experience, this is something you are watching closely. How could this trend impact the news business?
“A: I think it is impacting it in the sense that the sheer number means that you should see more Hispanic faces and hear more Hispanic voices and have more Hispanic issues come up in front of you, just because it is hitting critical mass. It has always been there in the background, but I think it is now hitting critical mass.
“Q: Are you particularly interested in getting more Hispanic viewpoints on Headline?
“A: It is not a matter of what I want to do. It is a matter of that is what the news and information and audience is all about. We have a very diverse group of reporters and on-air talent at CNN across all the networks. Our responsibility is to get as many viewpoints as possible on. It is not any one person driving that. It is reality and life driving that. We should be reflective of society, and we should reflect what is going on in society. Therefore, that is what you will see on the air on not just Headline News but on all the CNN networks.”
Some wags had fun with Santos last September after he told the San Francisco Chronicle that announcers were working in slangy expressions such as “whack,” “ill” or “sick” — “the lingo of our people,” he said — to help attract younger audiences, and an internal memo told staffers “please refer to this slang dictionary when looking for just the right phrase.”
Santos then issued this statement through a spokeswoman:
“This was an e-mail among ticker supervisors, ticker writers, dekko writers and graphics creators that was designed to make them aware of resources available to them that would help make their areas more relevant to a segment of our audience that is important to us. The e-mail was informational, not a policy or directive from me. With that said, I should point out that I want the language used in our tickers and dekkos to be real, current and relevant to the people who watch us.”
Spike Lee Wins Injunction Against “Spike TV”
“Spike Lee has temporarily spiked Spike TV,” the Associated Press reports. “A Manhattan judge on Thursday granted Lee’s petition and ordered Viacom Inc. to stop using Spike TV as the new name for its TNN network, pending a trial on the issue.
“State Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub ordered Lee to post a $500,000 bond to cover Viacom’s losses in case the company wins.
“Viacom announced the name change in April as part of its transformation of TNN into ‘the first network for men.’ Spike TV shows reruns of ‘The A-Team,’ ‘Baywatch’ and ‘Miami Vice,’ sports entertainment such as pro wrestling and ‘American Gladiators’ — plus an animated series featuring Pamela Anderson as the voice of Stan Lee’s ‘Stripperella,’ an undercover operative who is also a stripper.
“Lee, whose numerous directing credits include ‘Malcolm X’ and ‘Do the Right Thing,’ said he sued Viacom to protect his name from a deliberate attempt to capitalize on his image and prestige.’
“‘Contrary to defendants’ position, the court is of the opinion that in the age of mass communication, a celebrity can in fact establish a vested right in the use of only their first name or a surname,’ the judge wrote. ‘There are many celebrities that are so recognized, including Cher, Madonna, Sting and Liza.’
“Lee’s lawyer, Johnnie Cochran, said, ‘We’re obviously elated. We had a good judge who looked at the law and at the facts,'” AP reported.
Another of Lee’s distinctions is that he surely holds the record for showcasing his work at conventions of the National Association of Black Journalists.
From Dad, “This Craft’s Most Important Lessons”
As part of a series of Father’s Day remembrances on the Poynter Institute Web site, Rob King, deputy managing editor/visuals and sports at the Philadelphia Inquirer, notes that he preceded his father, Colbert I. King, deputy editorial page editor at the Washington Post, into the newspaper business.
“But the complete truth is that while he’s spent 13 years talking newspaper stuff with me, I’ve spent all 41 years of my life learning this craft’s most important lessons from my father,” Rob King says.
“He taught me that the most important titles I’ll ever have are grandson, son, brother, husband, father, and grandfather. He taught me to love well-turned phrases. He taught me that hard work, taken in moderation, is good for you, and that opportunity is the master of disguise. He taught me a few limericks, too, but the less said about that, the better.”