Black Media Barons Keep Sharpton Bid Alive
“Al Sharpton’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination has so far attracted little support from voters, but plenty of financial backing from a loosely knit coalition of wealthy African American media barons and impresarios,” writes Paul Farhi in the Washington Post.
“Sharpton, the fiery and colorful New York preacher, has been the candidate of choice for business executives such as billionaire cable TV mogul Robert L. Johnson of Washington, Cathy Hughes of Radio One Inc. in Maryland, and hip-hop entrepreneurs Russell Simmons and Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs. Each has given Sharpton the maximum permitted, $2,000.
“Indeed, if not for the financial contributions of the black media establishment, Sharpton’s underdog candidacy would be even harder pressed for funds. According to records his campaign filed with the Federal Election Commission, Sharpton had spent almost all of the $283,530 he had raised by the end of September,” Farhi reports.
Lynch-Johnson “Double Standard” Examined
The issue has been festering since the summer, but as the hype over Pfc. Jessica Lynch reaches a crescendo, news media outlets are giving more prominence to the story of Shoshana Johnson.
“Two POWs, one an American icon, the other ignored; Jessica Lynch’s story, some of it hyped, made her a star. Shoshana Johnson faded away.” That front-page headline Saturday ran in the Philadelphia Inquirer over a story by William Douglas that was picked up widely in other papers.
“Tomorrow, NBC will air its made-for-TV movie celebrating Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, whose capture and dramatic rescue is the feel-good story of America’s war in Iraq,” his story began.
“But some African Americans don’t feel so good about Lynch’s story. Instead, they ask: What about Shoshana Johnson? Johnson, an Army specialist, belonged to the same 507th Maintenance Company as Lynch. Unlike Lynch, Johnson fought to stave off their Iraqi captors. Like Lynch, she sustained serious injuries.
“But only Lynch got the headlines, the TV movie, the prime-time TV interviews, and a biography by a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer.”
And, as Lee Hockstader reported Oct. 24 in the Washington Post, “While Lynch was discharged as a private first class in August with an 80 percent disability benefit, Johnson, set to leave in the coming days, learned last week that she will receive a 30 percent disability benefit from the Army for her injuries” despite the fact that she is “depressed, scarred, haunted by the trauma of her captivity and at times unable to sleep.” She “walks with a limp and has difficulty standing for long, according to her parents.”
Four days later, Johnson’s parents told KVIA-TV in El Paso, Texas, that “they aren’t sure if race had anything to do with the Army’s decision to grant Shoshana [only] a 30-percent disability benefit. They just believe that decision is wrong.”
Still, Rick Stengel, assistant managing editor of Time magazine, which has Lynch on the cover this week, was asked by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer yesterday whether “there’s a double standard under way.”
He replied: “Well, you know, it’s a fair question, I suppose, to ask. I mean, Shoshanna’s situation was different. I mean, she was captured with a bunch of other people. She wasn’t as badly wounded as Jessica.
“I know her own concern is about how much money she gets back from the military, in terms of pension, that it ought to be commensurate with what Jessica had.
“But, you know, I mean, Jessica was on her own, she is, you know, a pretty, young, blond-haired girl. I mean, we tend to focus on these things that are symbolic. You know, as Joseph Stalin said, the death of many, many men is a matter of statistics, the death of one man is a matter of pathos.”
Meanwhile, Glamour Magazine today announced that its “2003 Women of the Year” honorees include both Lynch and Johnson, “honored on behalf of all our nation’s servicewomen and sharing their award in particular with their fallen friend—U.S. Army Specialist Lori Ann Piestewa—the first U.S. servicewoman to die in Iraq” and a member of the Hopi tribe. The award is to be presented by Diane Sawyer, who interviewed Lynch for ABC.
The two women were even photographed together.
N.Y. Post Photog Sues 50 Cent Over Assault
“A Post photographer assaulted by 50 Cent’s goons has slapped the rap superstar with a $21 million lawsuit,” writes Richard Johnson in his Page Six column in the New York Post.
“Jim Alcorn was knocked down by 50 Cent’s hulking heavies on Aug. 27 while he was taking pictures of the hip-hopper leaving Jacob the Jeweler’s diamond district shop, where 50 Cent had just bought an $18,000 watch. Alcorn was rushed to the emergency room after the street-corner smackdown. Hospital X-rays revealed injuries to his neck and jaw.”
“As a result of the injuries I received, I was unable to work for nearly eight weeks,” the column quoted Alcorn as saying.
1,600 Pack Media Reform Conference in Madison
On the first day of the National Conference of Media Reform in Madison, Wis., on Friday, the crowd was so large that many could not fit in the Wisconsin Memorial Union’s Great Hall for the opening session, Judith Davidoff reports in the Capital Times.
“Michael Copps, a Federal Communications Commission member … got a standing ovation as he revved up the crowd at the Orpheum Theatre before the kickoff for the ‘Tell Us the Truth’ tour, a musical collaboration that will travel to 12 other cities to raise awareness about issues of media consolidation and globalization.
“Friday night’s lineup featured British singer-songwriter and political activist Billy Bragg; Tom Morello, guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave; Lester Chambers, part of the ’60s soul-rock group the Chambers Brothers; and Boots Riley, rapper with the Oakland hip-hop group the Coup.
“More than 1,600 registrants signed up for the media reform conference, about 1,400 more than were anticipated when conference organizers thought up the idea for the gathering some 11 months ago, according to conference organizer Bob McChesney.
“In a session on media and propaganda during wartime, Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, spoke about the Bush administration’s efforts to control coverage of the Iraq conflict.
“At another session, Linda Foley, president of the Newspaper Guild, and John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, talked about the importance of unionizing media workers so they have the freedom to produce unbiased stories without fear of punishment,” the story continued.
Behind Success of Chicago’s “Kup,” Who Dies at 91
“Newspaper columnist and television personality Irv ‘Kup’ Kupcinet, who for more than half a century brought the inside scoop on Hollywood celebrities, foreign princes and presidents to Chicago audiences, died today. He was 91,” as the Associated Press reports.
What might not be known to those of us outside Chicago is that Kup’s “associate” and sometimes “co-columnist” was Stella Foster, sister of Jamie Foster Brown, publisher and owner of “Sister 2 Sister” magazine. In fact, Stella is the “sister” in the title. She writes a regular column called “Starlights by Stella.” Foster also did a celebrity news segment called “Stella Sez” on Chicago’s “Fox Morning News.”
“It should be noted that Stella Foster, Kup’s associate for 34 years, is a major contributor to the success of the column,” Steve Neal wrote last March 24 in Kup’s paper, the Chicago Sun-Times.
As for Kup, he “championed civil rights in his column and provided a forum for such voices of freedom as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, and the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson,” Neal said in his report. Kup’s was the nation’s longest-running newspaper column.
Paper Plugs “Asian Pimp ‘N’ Ho Costume Party”
“If you’ve already got plans on Friday, DC Nites is hosting the Asian Pimp ‘N’ Ho Costume Party at Dream . . . on Saturday, with $ 1,000 each for the best-looking prostitute and her, uh, business manager,” read the “On the Town” item in the Oct. 31 Weekend section of the Washington Post. “Organizers say ‘anything goes,’ so use your imagination. Anyone wearing a costume gets in free before 11.”
A group called D.C. Asians for Peace and Justice reports that “as a result of a blitz of online activism, phone calls, and inquiries, a grassroots movement of people led the Washington Post Online . . . to remove the event information.” It says that people nationwide contributed to the effort and that some organizers passed out literature about prostitution at the nightclub.
Unfortunately, the activism came too late for the print edition of the Post.
Fifth Chinese Daily Enters N.Y. Newspaper War
“Although some of the city’s 300 ethnic newspapers may have a languid, less-than-fresh feel, the Chinese press is aggressive. And the competition is about to get more cutthroat,” reports Joseph Berger in the New York Times. “The Oriental Daily News, among Hong Kong’s biggest newspapers, is considering coming to New York City to become the fifth Chinese daily.
“So zealous is the rivalry among the dailies for news (and so tight their budgets) that each reporter has a quota of 2,000 words, or, more precisely, 2,000 characters, to write each day, often in two or three stories. The China Press also requires its reporters to shoot three usable photos a day.
“The newspapers regularly parse politicians’ moves to measure the impact on the half-century battle over the identity of Taiwan. But they also teach immigrants about American peculiarities like potluck dinners and sleepovers. They explore options for bringing relatives to the United States under opaque immigration laws,” Berger’s story says.
Women Given More Opportunities at Smaller Papers
“Stereotypes and prejudices that have kept women out of the front office for years seem to be fading, according to statistics that show the percentage of women holding the publisher title at top papers more than doubling in the past three years,” writes Joe Strupp in a cover story for Editor and Publisher.
“Although women still make up a small fraction of the publishers at the country’s highest-circulation papers, surveys and anecdotal information suggest they are being given more opportunities at smaller papers, as well as middle- and upper-management spots at major papers that are a prerequisite for promotion.
“But even with opportunities opening up, the percentage of women running newspapers still lags far behind the number of women who read them or hold upper management spots in many other industries. Partly this is because many of them find it difficult to take on the responsibility of a top post due to the demands of a home life, if they have children. A number of female publishers who spoke with E&P admit they would have had a more difficult road to the top if they had youngsters to raise.”
“Slutty” Remark Called Tip of an Iceberg
“Whatever is going on at KSTP-TV these days is bigger than what led to the managing editor reportedly being suspended, said the anchor who appears to be at the center of the storm — Harris Faulkner,” reports C.J. in the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. “Managing editor Tami Howard was suspended for her low-brow description of a high-class outfit that Faulkner wore for a public appearance.”
“Faulkner missed part of this high drama in the newsroom; she was in Africa covering a November sweeps series on AIDS. As for what Howard said, Faulkner, who is very dignified, would only go so close. ‘The s-word that you used, that’s not the issue,’ Faulkner said in an interview Friday,” referring to the word “slutty.”
But Faulkner told the newspaper there was more to the story:
“‘This is not about this one employee. I don’t want this one employee to feel he or she has been singled out. This is about a workplace situation that I spoke up about. People can guess what I might have said. They can have conjecture about the conversation, and they can hope that it has to do with one person because it’s easier then. I spoke up about a situation that I feel has [eroded] workplace professionalism. Remarks that have been said to me and in my presence that were,’ she paused, ‘obscene, racist.'”
Sylvester Monroe Exits “Tavis Smiley Show”
Sylvester Monroe, longtime Time magazine correspondent and former assistant managing editor national/foreign and business at California’s San Jose Mercury News, has abruptly ended his stint as acting supervising senior editor on National Public Radio’s “The Tavis Smiley Show.”
“It was always temporary and it ended,” Monroe told Journal-isms.
Monroe said his relationship with public radio “is in very good standing,” however. “I like them and they like me. I think we’ll find something more compatible for me in National Public Radio,” he said.
Monroe began his stint with Smiley on Aug. 18 and left on Oct. 17.
K.C. Station to Outsource Its Sports Coverage
“Time Warner Cable of Kansas City and KCTV are close to signing an unprecedented agreement that would replace KCTV’s sports department with Time Warner’s Metro Sports,” reports Aaron Barnhart in the Kansas City Star, meaning the CBS affiliate would eliminate its three-person sports department — lead anchor William Jackson, Leif Lisec and Neal Jones.
“The move could also send ripples through the broadcast news industry,” Barnhart reports. “Many TV stations outsource traffic reports, but this is the first known instance of a TV station affiliated with a major network in a major-league sports town farming out its sports coverage.
“Jackson, who has been KCTV’s lead sports anchor since his arrival in 1994, had been working without a contract since August. He said he was sorry to be leaving the station but was looking forward to his next opportunity, most likely in another city.
“‘I always keep it positive,’ Jackson said Thursday. ‘With what I’ve been able to do here, with the Chiefs and everything, I’m confident in my ability to move on to bigger and better things.'”
CNN Anchor Aids Child Victims in Colombia
“CNN En Español anchor Patricia Janiot was recently in Zurich, Switzerland, to receive the Mentor Innovation Award from Queen S[i]lvia of Sweden presented to Colombianitos Foundation,” reports Daisy Pareja in Pareja Media Match.
Janiot is president of the foundation.
As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote last month, “Colombianitos, which means Little Colombians, was awarded 100,000 euros (about $117,000) this month in Zurich, Switzerland, by the Mentor Foundation, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization founded in 1994 to battle drug abuse and aid its prevention worldwide. It is headed by Queen Silvia of Sweden, and its board of trustees includes Queen Noor of Jordan, California Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger, several European royals and a Saudi prince.”
“Colombianitos’ soccer program in Ciudad Bolivar, one of the poorest districts in the capital city, requires children to stay in school if they want to participate in the sport. The Mentor Foundation called the group’s premise a ‘simple, yet elegant and effective philosophy.’
“The Mentor Foundation supports several programs in Colombia, including ones that teach life skills to children and parenting skills to adults, said Diana Ceron, chief executive officer of Mentor Colombia. The foundation looks for well-run effective programs that can be duplicated elsewhere, she said,” the Journal-Constitution reported. Another program provides prostheses and rehabilitation to rural children whose limbs have been amputated by land mines and other explosive weapons in the country’s long-running internal war.
Brain-Injured Reporter at Level of 10-Year-old
Kyrra Casey, the former president of the Sarasota-Manatee Association of Black Journalists who last month won a malpractice suit against a Florida hospital and two local doctors, “functions at the level of a 10-year-old, the result of brain damage suffered during her stay at the hospital, according to her lawyer, Geoffrey Morris,” the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports.
Casey, a former sportswriter at the Bradenton Herald in Florida, “is currently living at a rehabilitation facility in Sarasota, but she will eventually live with her father at his home in Englewood. Her mother died when Casey was a teenager, Morris said.
“‘She can’t follow a story, can’t remember what she just did, can’t be trusted to make day-to-day decisions,’ Morris said.
“He said she walks with a cane and has difficulty with activities that ‘we take for granted in our daily living.’
“She has learned to write her name, but she will never be able to write the way she used to, Morris said,” the Herald-Tribune continues.
Bay Area Remembers Faith Fancher’s Cancer Fight
San Francisco Bay area television reporter Faith Fancher “died Oct. 19 after a high-profile, six-year battle with breast cancer, still determined to break down racial and ethnic disparities of the disease.
While undergoing chemotherapy, she “was asked to kick off a town hall on disparities in disease care scheduled for November.
“The town hall discussion went on as planned Saturday morning at Summit Hospital in Oakland, though with much discussion of Fancher and her contributions to the cause,” reports Rebecca Vesely in the Oakland Tribune.
“The forum was hosted by Alta Bates Summit’s Ethnic Health Institute and Markstein Cancer Center, the American Cancer Society and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals.
“We’ll be working to carry forward Faith’s vision and realize her goals of ending disparities in care,” said Dr. Carol D’Onofrio, board member of the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and longtime breast cancer researcher.”
RTNDA Branch Honors Univision Youth Series
?Noticias 14 Univisión,? the number one Spanish-language newscast in the Bay Area, received the Radio and Television News Directors Association of Northern California Award for best multi-part series for ?Jóvenes a Salvo? (Safe Youth),” Univision announces.
“KDTV Univision 14 Reporter Juan Barragán and Photographer Rito Vargas were honored for their work on the two-part series, which examined the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs for teenagers who have been involved in drug-related crimes. Many in these programs are of Latino or African-American descent and are trying to overcome drug addiction or gang activity. Programs like ‘Horizontes sin Límites,’ (Limitless Horizons), encourage youth to participate in activities such as the ?DJ? musical program, which teaches them how to create music, produce their own album and prepare them for sale at local community stores.”
Michelle Miller Freelancing for CBS Overnight
“Local night owls last week caught Michelle Miller, former wakeup woman at WWL-Channel 4, anchoring “Up to the Minute,” the CBS network’s overnight newscast,” reports Dave Walker in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
“Miller recently followed her husband — former New Orleans mayor Marc Morial, now chief of the Urban League — to New York. Miller’s weeklong anchor gig was freelance, said a CBS News spokeswoman, adding that Miller will likely pop up again in that role or others at the network.”
Sue Simmons Adds 7 More Years to Her 23 in N.Y.
“The longest-running anchor team in town — and arguably the most popular — will be staying together for some time to come,” writes Richard Huff in the New York Daily News.
“That’s because officials at WNBC/Ch. 4 have quietly signed Sue Simmons to a seven-year contract, which will keep her sitting side by side with Chuck Scarborough for the next several years.”
“Simmons and Scarborough have been on the air together for 23 years, and if they remain a pair for the duration of her contract, they’ll have logged 30 years in the same jobs.
“No other anchor team in town comes close.”
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