Numbers Rise at First 2 Papers in “Parity Project”
“The number of full-time minority journalists increased sharply last year at the first two newspapers participating in a new diversity project of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists,” the association announces.
“At Denver’s Rocky Mountain News, the first to join the project in April, the percentage of minority journalists on staff jumped from 8.5% in Dec. 2002 to 11.6% in Dec. 2003 — an increase of 36% in just nine months.
“At Southern California’s Ventura County Star, which launched the project in June, the percentage of minority reporters and editors went up from 11.8% to 17.2% — an even bigger jump of 46%.”
Juan Gonzalez, president of NAHJ and founder of the Parity Project. said in the news release that he was even more elated that the increases in staff diversity did not affect solely Hispanics.
At the Ventura County Star, for example, editor and president Tim Gallagher told Journal-isms that the newsroom professionals of color went from 11 to 19 from Dec. 31, 2001, to last Dec. 31. Overall, there are 93 newsroom employees.
He listed the new hires last year as Patricia Marroquin, copy desk chief, and Josi Tizcareno, managing editor of the new Spanish-language newspaper Mi Estrella, both Hispanic; reporters Marjorie Hernandez, who is Filipino American, Grace Lee, an Asian American, and Sylvia Moore, an African American; photographer Jason Redmond, who is Hispanic; copy editor Stacy Dodd, Asian American; and Keri Bradford, Native American.
Since the Parity Project got under way with the parent Scripps Co., Gallagher said, he imposed a rule that a “qualified person of color” would be interviewed for all professional positions. Dodd was hired after there were three white finalists for the copy desk job and the news editor was told to go back and get a person of color in the mix.
Working with the human resources department, the paper found an African American, an Asian American and a Latina. The Latina was hired but left for personal reasons after two months. Dodd said she was still interested and was hired, he said.
Gallagher called it a “classic example” of how the project should work.
NAHJ said that, “next week, NAHJ will launch the Parity Project at its seventh newspaper, the North County Times in Escondido, Ca., part of the Lee newspaper chain. Plans for 2004 are to start the project at another half-dozen newspaper and television stations, although all the new companies have not yet been identified.”
Print Media Ease into Marcus Dixon Story
On Wednesday, we wrote that the case of Marcus Dixon, a teen-aged African American scholar-athlete in Floyd County, Ga., who has been sentenced to a mandatory 10 years in prison after having sex with a 15-year-old white classmate, was getting broadcast-media attention, but not much from print.
Since then, these have been among the print reports:
- In the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, columnist Tony Norman wrote about the case in a piece called “The night that justice got mugged in Georgia.”
- Andrew Jacobs reported about the case in the New York Times, in an article headlined, “Student Sex Case in Georgia Stirs Claims of Old South Justice.”
- The Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed commentary from Marian Wright Edelman, president and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, “Old South Lingers in a Legal Lynching.”
- In England’s the Guardian, U.S. correspondent Gary Younge (who is black) wrote “Deep south divided by rape case.”
- In the college press, student Brian Jackson of Howard University wrote a story for The Hilltop.
Deal Eases Ownership Limits Less than FCC Wanted
“The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a compromise with the White House that sets limits on TV network station ownership,” Paul Davidson reports in USA Today.
“The measure was part of a massive spending bill that passed after Democrats backed off efforts to block it over several disputed provisions, including this one. The Senate version is identical to the one passed by the House in December and goes to the president for his expected signature.
“The deal lets a broadcaster own local TV stations reaching 39% of the nation’s households, up from the current 35% limit but less than the 45% cap passed by the Federal Communications Commission last year as part of a general relaxation of media ownership rules.
“The law’s practical effect is that Fox and CBS-parent Viacom, which both own stations reaching about 38% of viewers, won’t have to sell outlets.
“The limit was in a $328 billion spending bill passed 65-28.
“Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., says he will now step up his drive for a resolution to undo other ownership limits relaxed by the FCC. Such a measure passed the Senate last year but was blocked by House leaders.”
Sewell Chan Going to Iraq for Washington Post
Sewell Chan, a metro reporter at the Washington Post, is being assigned to the Post’s Baghdad bureau for a year, the paper announced this week, becoming one of the few Asian American reporters in the country.
Chan, who has degrees from Harvard and Oxford, was hired by the Post in 2000 after two summer internships there. He has since covered city government and co-authored a series last year on the negative effect of Washington’s criminal justice system on young people.
Also in Iraq on temporary assignment for the Post is financial writer Ariana Eunjung Cha, and the Dallas Morning News has sent photographer Cheryl Diaz Meyer to the war zone.
[Added Jan. 25: “A journalist’s life experiences always inform the reporting and writing that she or he pursues, Chan told Journal-isms. “I hope to approach my coverage in Iraq with an open mind, humility about how much I need to learn, and an avid curiosity.”]
Jim Avila Leaves NBC, Expected to Join ABC
“Jim Avila, NBC News’ seemingly ubiquitous national correspondent based in Chicago, has left the network for what sources said was a job with ABC’s newsmagazines,” Steve Johnson and John Cook write in the Chicago Tribune.
“‘It’s been a great eight years at the network,” said Avila, also a former reporter for WLS-Ch. 7 and WBBM-Ch. 2. ‘But I need to move on to something where I have a little bit more control of my life.’
“Avila, 48, would not comment on his next job, but he is expected to join ABC’s ’20/20′ and ‘Primetime Live’ as a magazine correspondent in three months, sources said, and he will continue to be based in Chicago.”
As his NBC bio notes, “Avila is the recipient of numerous awards and honors and in 1999, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists honored him with the ‘TV News Feature Award.’?
Kim Bondy in Job Reshuffling at CNN
Kim Bondy, vice president at CNN/U.S. and senior executive producer in charge of the network’s “instant specials,” is getting new responsibilities as part of a reshuffling by Princell Hair, general manager of CNN/U.S.
“Another area I look to play an even greater role in attracting and retaining viewers is the Features unit,” Hair said in a memo published on the Romenesko Web site. “Viewers rank medical, science/tech and entertainment news as among the most interesting and I plan to make those content areas an even greater part of our programming. Kim Bondy will bring her experience in special programming to her new role as head of this unit, now including Sports, and I think we can all look forward to her enhancing the presentation of this genre of news.”
A CNN spokeswoman said she was unsure of what Bondy’s new title would be.
A July 2002 notice in Ebony magazine’s “Speaking of People” section said Bondy’s responsibilities included “the Middle East crisis and Oscar coverage. Bondy also oversees the program Live From . . . and manages a staff of more than 400 employees at CNN’s Atlanta-based news office. Bondy graduated from the University of New Orleans in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. She is single.”
Memo from Princell Hair on other changes
Joe Johns Jumps from NBC to CNN
“Joe Johns, most recently a correspondent for NBC News, is joining CNN as a Capitol Hill correspondent, it was announced today by Princell Hair, executive vice president and general manager of CNN/U.S.,” reads a CNN news release.
“Johns has covered Capitol Hill for NBC News for more than 10 years. He was previously an award-winning reporter for WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. His appointment at CNN is effective immediately.”
“Joe is a highly respected political correspondent,” said Hair in the news release. “He brings instant credibility and extensive contacts to his role, and we are delighted that he will be joining our team.”
“Johns said, ‘CNN is the gold standard of political news reporting. I’m very pleased that I’ll have the opportunity to report with the depth and detail that is CNN’s hallmark, especially in this important political year.’
“Before joining WRC-TV in 1983, Johns was a reporter at WSOC-TV, Charlotte, N.C. He began his TV career as a reporter and anchor in 1980 at WSAZ-TV in Huntington, W.Va.”
A message on Johns’ NBC telephone said that today was his last day at NBC and concludes, “I will see you on TV.”
Ruben Navarrette Says Crow Doesn’t Taste So Bad
The victory of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in the Iowa caucuses left some journalists eating crow, not the least of which was Dallas Morning News columnist Ruben Navarrette, the Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz points out.
“Let us speak plainly: The last time John Kerry was engaged in this hopeless a mission, he was dressed in fatigues and running around Southeast Asia,” wrote Navarrette in a column run by the Post on Dec. 26.
Navarrette, asked about this by Journal-isms, replied:
“Having decided that crow doesn’t taste so bad — heck, it tastes a little like chicken — I’ll stick with my assessment that John Kerry won’t get the nomination. It’s a long way to Boston.
“But let’s be clear. I was one of like 1,001 journalists who wrote that the senator was in trouble. Tim Russert, asked about polls showing Kerry leading before Iowa, said the numbers wouldn’t hold up.
“David Yepsen at the Register in Des Moines said he thought Dean would come out the winner in Iowa and that the problem with the polls was that they didn’t measure enough Deaniacs. And Jon Banner, the EP of ABC’s World News Tonight, has denied that his folks got the story wrong, insisting instead that the story simply changed. Banner’s right. The story did change — and fast. That’s what makes this story fun to cover — and I dare say, my column fun to read.”
Racine Paper Suspends Spanish Experiment
“The Journal Times suspended an experiment in Spanish-language publication this week after receiving many complaints and some subscription cancellations from English-language readers who objected to the new Spanish-language content in their daily newspaper, the Racine, Wis., newspaper reported in a story by Randolph D. Brandt.
“The four-day-a-week pages, El Mundo Latino on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and Saturday’s Su Comunidad, were designed to better serve our Hispanic readers and acknowledge a growing market for news, information and advertising in Racine County.
“The newspaper recognizes its responsibility to serve the entire community, but it would be difficult to characterize the decision to cease publishing the pages in any way but a step backward from that goal. We remain committed, however, to providing news and fostering business within our growing Hispanic community, and we are determined to find a different way to accomplish the goal.
“In all likelihood that will involve a separate Spanish-language or bilingual publication as a newspaper insert or distributed through newspaper racks and other outlets in the community.”
Naples, Fla., Editor Addresses NABJ Board
Phil Lewis, the editor of Florida’s Naples Daily News who publicly apologized after his paper ran a hip-hop parody criticized by the National Association of Black Journalists, spoke with the NABJ board last weekend when the board met in Miami.
As officially recorded by board secretary Sarah J. Glover, “The Board engaged Lewis in a Q&A session regarding newsroom diversity and cultural awareness. The Board offered to assist with identifying black journalists for employment, suggested diversity programming, and provided information about NABJ?s internship program.”
Sheila Stainback Joins N.Y. Civil Liberties Union
Former Court TV anchor and veteran journalist Sheila Stainback starts Monday in the newly created position of director of communications at the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Stainback has worked in the New York area since 1985, when she was named anchor of the 10 p.m. news at WPIX. After eight years there, Stainback became a consumer/investigative reporter at CNBC, where she also hosted a legal affairs program, “On Trial.” After freelance anchoring at the Fox News Channel, she joined Court TV in 2000, anchoring news updates and providing analysis of live trial coverage until spring 2003.
Stainback is a past vice president/broadcast of the National Association of Black Journalists and former president of its New York chapter. She has been teaching journalism as an adjunct assistant professor at New York University since 1998.
Univision Scores With Young News Viewers in N.Y.
“New York’s Univision station WXTV finished first or second in the major demographics during the most recent November sweeps, the station reports,” writes Daisy Whitney in Television Week.
“While WXTV is usually fourth or so in households, Univision trumped the competition for the 18-34 demographic in the 5 p.m. news race with 105,000 viewers, followed by ABC-owned WABC-TV with 80,000 and Telemundo’s WNJU-TV with 65,000 viewers, WXTV said.
“While adults 25-54 has been the most important demo for news historically, the 18-34 demo is vital for Hispanics since their families are younger, said a WXTV spokesperson. ‘That’s the nature of the Hispanic family. You get married younger, you have kids, you get interested in what’s going on with the world,’ the spokesperson said.
“At 6 p.m., WXTV was again tops in 18-34 with 109,000 viewers, followed by WNJU with 97,000 and WABC with 76,000.”
“Boondocks” Turns Sights on Armstrong Williams
“The Boondocks” comic-strip creator Aaron McGruder has turned his sights on conservative black columnist Armstrong Williams in a strip about Martin Luther King Jr.
“Ever wonder what would it be like if Martin Luther King were alive today?” asks the Caesar character.
Bill “O’Reilly would call him an un-American leftist peacenik,” answers Huey. “Joe Scarborough would talk bad about his mother, and despite his philosophy of nonviolence, I do believe he would smack Armstrong Williams in the mouth.”
Williams did not respond to a request for comment.
TV One Arrives in Cleveland
TV One, the new channel targeting African American adults, has been added to the lineup of its Cleveland Adelphia Communications cable system as part of the expanded basic package, Adelphia announced Thursday. TV One is now available to more than 250,000 Cleveland Adelphia customers, a news release said.
Adelphia Communications Corp. is the fifth-largest cable television company in the country, serving 3,500 communities in 30 states and Puerto Rico.
TV One went live on Monday in Mid-Atlantic states, but as noted Monday, reaching more homes is one of its biggest challenges.
Vanessa Williams as Strom’s Daughter Essie?
Essie Mae Washington-Williams, who went public last month as the daughter of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., thinks Vanessa Williams should play her if a movie is made of her life, according to a piece this week by Gayle Pollard-Terry in the Los Angeles Times.
The story, recounting an interview with Williams at Lady Effie’s Tea Parlor in South Los Angeles, to which Williams brought her lawyer and her oldest daughter, mentions that Ebony magazine “had sent a reporter to track her down during her sophomore year in college, more than 50 years ago, to ask if she knew Strom Thurmond.”
From the story:
“Are we going to have a movie?” Williams asks her lawyer, Frank Wheaton.
“Yes, he answers.
“Who should play her?
“‘Vanessa Williams,’ she says. ‘Another person I like — ‘
“He interrupts, ‘Halle Berry.’
“‘ — is Angela Bassett,’ she continues.
“‘But we have to go with what’s real, Mom,’ says her daughter, Wanda Terry, referring to skin color. ‘Halle Berry is in fact mixed.’
“‘But Vanessa Williams is not,’ Wheaton says.
“‘But in her genes, somewhere,’ Terry says.
“‘If you’re African American,’ Wheaton says, ‘it’s in your genes.'”
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