Asian Journalists Expect 1,200 in San Diego
The Asian American Journalists Association’s annual convention begins today in San Diego, Calif., with about 1,200 registered (of whom 800 are paying, the rest being guests, panelists, etc.), according to Keith Kamisugi, public relations chair. The association has more than 1,800 members, he said.
Retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, who was Army chief of staff, is to deliver the keynote speech at Friday’s awards banquet. New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., Knight Ridder CEO P. Anthony Ridder, Los Angeles Times president and publisher John Puerner and CBS Television chairman, CEO and president Leslie Moonves were scheduled to participate. On Thursday, a town hall meeting on violence, “Blood, guns & drugs: Whose problem is it?” is planned, and CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is to moderate a panel on violence as a health problem.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported today that stand-up comedian Dat Phan, who won on NBC’s “reality show” “Last Comic Standing: The Search for the Funniest Person in America” is to be recognized by AAJA on Saturday.
The activities are being covered by the student online project, at http://www.aajalink.com/
Black Columnists Critical of Rice Speech at NABJ
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice’s speech last week at the convention of the National Association of Black Journalists, in which she defended the administration’s foreign policy and linked the struggle of African Americans for civil rights with the struggle of Iraqis for freedom, drew criticism from some African American columnists:
“Condoleezza Rice and Gerald Boyd are influential African Americans at the center of high-profile controversies. That’s where the similarities end.
“How they handled their controversial situations [provides] lessons about the way folks in the spotlight confront tricky circumstances. Both spoke to the National Association of Black Journalists convention Thursday and demonstrated distinctly different approaches to accepting responsibility when things go bad.
“. . . blaming the “process” [for President Bush’s claim that Saddam Hussein sought uranium, needed to make nuclear weapons, from Africa] and accepting responsibility in only the most general way allows Rice to avoid the harsh truth that she should have known about the bad info, which actually had been taken out of another presidential speech three months earlier.”
- Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston Globe:
“In a question-and-answer session after her speech, Rice continued to assert that she was ‘certain to this day that this regime was a threat, that it was pursuing a nuclear weapon.’
“This is brazen, as Rice has yet to produce even a smoking gun.”
- Tonyaa Weathersbee, Florida Times-Union:
“If Rice is going to compare their liberation struggle to the liberation struggle of black people in the United States, then why is it that the Iraqis who appreciate what the Americans have done don’t feel strongly enough about it to put their own lives on the line, take to the streets and demand that the attacks stop? Why is it that back in July, leaders of a military sweep in central Iraq called Operation Sidewinder had to threaten the townspeople to get them to behave as they rounded up insurgents?”
- DeWayne Wickham, USA Today:
“This country’s civil rights struggle was a contest between blacks who descended from slaves and whites who wanted to maintain the advantages they derived from the racism slavery spawned.
“The ongoing fighting in Iraq lacks the unassailable moral justification of the civil rights movement that transformed America.”
In other columns from the NABJ convention:
- Lewis W. Diuguid of the Kansas City Star listened to Rice’s speech and visited Dallas sites linked to the John F. Kennedy assassination and concluded, “Today we are neither safer nor better compared with Kennedy’s time.”
- In Newsday, columnist James P. Pinkerton agreed that linking the civil rights movement with Iraq was “a stretch” and said, “Indeed, about the only prominent American blacks who support the Iraq crusade are Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell.”
Transcript of Rice remarks, including question session.
Courtis Fuller Returns to Cincinnati TV Station
Courtis Fuller, a former board member of the National Association of Black Journalists who resigned his television anchor job for an unsuccessful run for mayor of Cincinnati, is back as a morning anchor at his old station, the Cincinnati Post reports.
“Fuller returns to the station, where he was an evening anchor, and reporter for almost 13 years before leaving the job for a failed bid for Cincinnati mayor in 2001.
“After Fuller’s mayoral run, the station refused to rehire the veteran anchor. At the time, then general manager Rabun Matthews said he felt Fuller’s credibility as an objective anchorman may have been tainted by his partisan political bid.
“Fuller plans to continue his 10 a.m.-noon weekday talk show on WCIN-AM (1480) he began 18 months ago. Fuller has made it no secret he wants to get back into TV.
“‘I think I can prove you can go home again,’ he said. ‘They have said it’s a fill-in slot. To me it’s an opportunity to get back there. If it works out for something more, that would be wonderful. If not, that is OK too,” Fuller told the newspaper.
Javier Aldape Named Star-Telegram VP
Javier J. Aldape, publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Spanish-language newspaper La Estrella, has been named a vice president at the Star-Telegram, the newspaper announces.
La Estrella is currently published twice a week by the Star-Telegram, and plans to begin publishing Tuesday through Saturday on Sept. 2.
“Aldape, 31, joined the Star-Telegram as publisher of La Estrella in January 1999. He is also an editorial board member of the Star-Telegram and is involved in the newsroom as a member of its 10-person hiring committee, composed of senior editors at the paper,” the Star-Telegram reported.
“Previously, Aldape was managing editor at El Telégrafo in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He is co-publisher of a new stylebook for Spanish-language journalists working in the United States and Puerto Rico; it will be distributed this fall by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
“Aldape spearheaded the publication in 2001 of the NAHJ handbook Latinos in the U.S.: A Resource Guide for Journalists. He serves as NAHJ’s financial officer and is on the boards of directors of KidsVoting USA and of Unity: Journalists of Color, an umbrella organization representing the four national minority journalist associations.”
N.Y. Daily News Knocked for “Homo” Headline
The New York Daily News put the word “homo” in a front-page banner headline last week, reporting that Jeremy Shockey of the NFL used that word in a New York magazine article to describe former New York Giants coach Bill Parcells.
Shockey claimed that his remarks were taken out of context, but Geoff Wolinetz, writing in the online Flak magazine, says the tabloid was wrong to use the word regardless.
“For the gay community, ‘homo’ is as offensive as ‘nigger’ is to the black community. If Shockey had remarked on African-American New York Jets coach Herman Edwards, calling him ‘nigger’ in the process, would the editors of the Daily News have been as quick to put that word on the front page of their newspaper? Probably not, given that the backlash from both black and white people and society at large would be tremendous.”
Flak describes itself as an independent voice whose writers are not paid and which “exists to take the raw creativity of strong writers and temper it with good sense, good taste and the spirit of responsible journalism.”
Orange County Register Steps Up Hispanic Efforts
“The Orange County Register, one of the most widely recognized media outlets in Southern California, has decided it’s time to really get serious about reaching out to the Hispanic community — an increasingly influential group that makes up 33 percent of the area’s total population,” Media Week reports.
“On the editorial side, the Register’s latest initiatives are a bottom-up effort. It begins, [top editor Ken] Brusic said, when reporters are researching stories and must take pains to ensure their sources reflect the demographic diversity of the area. That approach recently began to bear fruit when the newspaper initiated a multipart series called Our Children, Our Future. The first part, centering on educational opportunities and challenges for Hispanics in Southern California, ran on June 29. Future installments will run throughout the rest of the year.
“The Register also has partnered with Univision owned-and-operated station KMEX-TV in Los Angeles, which reports on the series during its 11 p.m. newscast and references the newspaper. The paper has also leased space to Univision for a KMEX reporter to file reports from the Register’s headquarter offices.”
Lakers Consider Changing Media Rules
“The Los Angeles Lakers are considering changing the way they deal with the media this season because of the circuslike atmosphere the Kobe Bryant case figures to create,” writes John Nadel of the Associated Press.
“Now, they’ll have to cope with media coverage that will be different from the norm, dealing with reporters who know something about legal issues but little of sports,” he continues.
“A good example occurred in the aftermath of Bryant’s hearing Wednesday, when a CNN reporter asked for an interview with legendary play-by-play announcer Chick Hearn. The Lakers politely explained that Hearn died a year ago at age 85 after a fall at his home.”
Ex-Columnist Veronica Salazar Lauded in Texas
Veronica Salazar, who 30 years ago urged her boss to publish stories about Mexican Americans and their accomplishments, was to receive the Henry Guerra Lifetime Achievement Award Aug. 8 from the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists, the San Antonio Express-News reports.
“When her boss suggested she write the articles, she did.
“Those articles evolved into the ‘Dedication Rewarded’ columns in the San Antonio Express-News from 1973 to 1990.” Salazar has since become vice president for community relations at the newspaper.
“The articles were published once a month in the West Side Sun. Eventually, ‘Dedication Rewarded’ became a weekly feature in the Sunday Express-News.
“During the first 10 years, only Mexican Americans were featured in the column.
“‘Then it dawned on me that everyone has the same goals and aspirations, and I expanded it to include all ethnic groups,” Salazar said in the newspaper.
CBS Starts “Diversity Institute” for Writers, Directors
“As part of CBS’s ongoing commitment to diversity, Leslie Moonves, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CBS, today announced the formation of the CBS Diversity Institute, adding two additional comprehensive Network programs designed to identify and develop diversity within the writing and directing community,” reads a CBS news release.
“The CBS Diversity Institute combines three programs: the new CBS Writers Mentoring Program, the new CBS Directing Initiative and the ongoing Minority Talent Showcases, currently in their second year.”
There’s Something About Being in “The Jet”
We’re told that Robert E. Johnson, the late executive editor of Jet magazine, used to say, “If it ain’t in Jet, it ain’t happened yet!” and now this columnist is beginning to know what he meant.
The Aug. 11 issue, with Ashanti on the cover, carries a two-and-a-half line item about the “Scoop” Award mentioned in the May 7 Journal-isms, and simply being in the publication at whatever length has prompted such comments as “now you’ve made it!” “you’ve truly arrived,” and “Wow! I’ve got to go out and get a copy!” Being in “The Jet” is like no other experience.
Numerous tributes and analyses were written when Jet celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2001, but in this era of 500 television channels, an uncountable number of Web sites and technology moving so fast your head can spin, it’s worth noting that nothing has usurped the black community’s regard for Jet as its true CNN (and perhaps even social register), whether we read it regularly or not. All props to Johnson Publishing.