ASNE’s Job Fairs, Student Papers Face Cutbacks
The American Society of Newspaper Editors, struggling to achieve parity in newsrooms with the percentage of people of color in the population, is facing a $110,000 shortfall in financing its diversity programs. The first cuts will come in its job fairs and the student newspaper at the ASNE convention, Karla Garrett Harshaw, the ASNE president, told Journal-isms today.
The job fair cuts immediately caused alarm in the city that annually hosts the largest one, Detroit.
“It could kill the job fair here in Detroit, and if the job fair” goes in Detroit, “there won’t be any — except maybe Newsday’s and the universities’,” said Joe Grimm of the Detroit Free Press, who has organized job fairs in Detroit annually since 1992.
“I have a lot of respect for ASNE, but the timing on this is bad. We are in the tail end of a bad recession, and on the brink of a 10- to 20-year period where the baby boomers will be retiring, and we will be having talent wars with other industries.”
“This will be a hard thing for ASNE or anybody else to start up again.”
Harshaw wrote this about the diversity efforts in her column in the May-June-July issue of her association’s magazine, The American Editor:
“In recent years, traditional funding sources have pulled away from supporting ongoing programs. . . .
“The shortfall in 2003-04 will be more than $110,000. That will cut into the [ASNE] Foundation’s corpus, a dangerous course that we cannot follow indefinitely. The foundation will also fund a shortfall in 2004-05. However, ASNE is beginning simultaneously to tighten expenses and raise more money. In fact, a consultant is being hired, with support from the Knight Foundation, to widen our base of support for diversity programs.
“In the meantime, we will balance the budget for the ASNE Reporter, which despite ad revenue and in-kind donations by newspapers, has been a $20,000 per year investment.
ASNE job fairs will continue, but stipends no longer would be paid for those fairs after July 1, 2005, the beginning of our 2005-06 fiscal year.”
Harshaw, the organization’s first black woman president, editor of Ohio’s Springfield News-Sun, senior editor of Cox Community Newspapers and a board member of the Maynard Institute, said today that the cost-cutting at the ASNE Reporter, in which students of color from around the country put out a daily convention newspaper, would rely more on local students, thus saving on travel expenses. Since most conventions are held in Washington, in practical terms this could mean relying mostly on students from Howard University and the University of Maryland, area schools that have journalism programs.
Grimm said ASNE provides $2,000 stipends for a job fair that costs $20,000. ASNE’s money is matched in Detroit by $2,000 from the Detroit News, $2,000 from the Detroit Free Press and $2,000 from the Detroit Newspaper Agency, the company that administers the joint operating agreement for the two papers. Until a few years ago, Grimm said, the publishers organization, the Newspaper Association of America, also contributed $2,000. That money was used to provide free memberships for students in one of the journalist of color organizations. About 30 recruiters see about 120 to 130 students at each of the job fairs, Grimm said.
Making up for the lost ASNE money, Grimm said, would require raising fees for students, who pay $20 to ensure they’ll show up, and recruiters, who pay $50 at under-50,000 circulation papers and $200 at those over that figure.
The bigger loss, Grimm said, will be the end of “one of few successful programs” for diversity in newspapers. “They’re not going to have AMEs [assistant managing editors] to be talking to” if students aren’t being recruited. ASNE will no longer be promoting diversity by “strong-arming” local papers to host the job fairs, Grimm said.
“Noticeable Gains for Minorities” in Local TV, Radio
“The latest figures from the RTNDA/Ball State Annual Survey show noticeable gains for minorities in both television and radio in the past year,” Bob Papper writes in the Radio-Television News Directors Association’s Communicator magazine.
“In television, the minority workforce rose from 18.1 percent last year to 21.8 percent this year, with about half the growth among African Americans and half among Hispanics. The percentage of Asian Americans fell, and Native Americans remained the same,” Papper, professor of telecommunications at Ball State University, continues in the July/August issue.
“The minority workforce in radio went up for the first time since the stringent EEO rules were eliminated in 1998. Overall, the minority radio workforce rose from 6.5 percent last year to 11.8 percent this year.
“Unfortunately, the increase in the percentages of minorities in radio news does not appear to result from increased minority hiring. In fact, the actual number of minorities in radio news appears to have fallen, but since the numbers haven’t fallen as fast as the overall drop in [the] workforce, the percentage of remaining minorities has gone up.”
In television, he wrote, “the bigger picture is less positive. In the past 10 years, the minority workforce in television has risen 3.8 percent — half of which appears attributable to Hispanic stations. At the same time, the minority population in the U.S. has risen 5.3 percent.”
“While we are pleased to see the level of diversity return to that of previous years,” Barbara Cochran, RTNDA president, said in a news release, “there is still a great deal of room for improvement. The percentage of people of color in newsrooms has not increased for a decade, while the American population is steadily becoming more diverse. RTNDA is committed to helping newsrooms become as diverse as the communities they serve.”
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists released a statement tonight saying it was “relieved by the apparent stem in the decline of Latino journalists and journalists of color working at our nation’s local broadcast stations.”
The release of last year’s figures, which showed that “almost all the numbers for minorities in both radio and TV are down,” prompted a “diversity summit” called for by Unity: Journalists of Color, calls for action from the Asian American Journalists Association and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and a news conference at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Dallas.
There, then-NABJ President Condace Pressley said NABJ and RTNDA would work together to provide news directors with information about interns available through NABJ’s interns program, and make more information available to experienced journalists about broadcast opportunities.
Kerry Campaign to Spend $2 Million on Black Media
The Kerry-Edwards campaign announced today it would buy $2 million on African American media through the Democratic convention using the black-owned UniWorld agency. It said the amount was the largest pre-convention black media buy in presidential campaign history.
As Advertising Age reports, the ad buy “will include national cable TV on the BET network, national magazines and local broadcast, cable TV and urban radio stations in perhaps 28 markets in the so-called battleground states.”
The announcement was made at a noon news conference at the campaign’s downtown Washington headquarters at which Charles E. Morrison, senior vice president of UniWorld Group, Inc., one of the largest African American ad agencies, campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill and Clinton administration labor secretary Alexis Herman, a campaign co-chair, spoke.
The ads will focus on “introducing Senator Kerry to the African American community,” Morrison said.
“This is the first time in history we are recognizing we must engage the African American community early in this debate,” Herman added. “Kerry recognizes this is a conversation that must start now.”
While African Americans are considered part of the Democratic base, “the issue here is turnout,” Herman said. “We only have to look at one state — Florida — to see the number of [African American] voters turned away.” In addition to this pre-convention campaign, Morrison said there would also be a get-out-the-vote ad effort closer to the election.
The Democrats have also launched a $1 million Hispanic effort from Chambers Lopez & Gaitan, of Arlington, Va.
“Kerry campaign strategist Tad Devine said the spending difference reflects the media markets of the battleground states. He noted that two states heavy with Hispanic voters, California and Texas, aren’t considered in play this year, while a number of states with many African-American voters are. While the ads use the campaign’s first creative specifically targeted to African-Americans, the campaign has increased buying media that reaches African-Americans for some time, he added,” as Advertising Age reported.
In response to a question from Joe Davidson of BET.com and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Cahill said she was “befuddled” by a front-page Washington Post report today, “Kerry’s Inner Circle Expands”, that showed no African Americans in Kerry’s inner circle of policy advisers. Brian Burke, director of policy outreach, “built the whole [policy] operation and is traveling on the plane right now with John Kerry,” Cahill said. Also Thea Lee, chief international economist at the AFL-CIO, and Cecilia Rouse professor of economics and public Affairs at Princeton University and director of the education research section, are on the economic team, and she said that Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., is an adviser.
A spokeswoman for the Bush-Cheney campaign, Sharon Castillo, said that “we are pretty close to making an announcement” on its counterpart targeting African Americans, and that Bush-Cheney had already spent more than $1.1 million advertising to Latinos. The first ads went up in March, she said, on television and Spanish-language radio. “During the first 15 weeks of his advertising campaign the Kerry campaign has been ignoring the Hispanic voter,” she said.
Chung to Keynote Asian American Gala at Unity
“Pioneer broadcast journalist Connie Chung will address the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) at a gala event in Washington, D.C. ? her birthplace and the city where she started her broadcasting career,” AAJA announces.
“Chung will be the keynote speaker at the AAJA Annual Gala Scholarship and Awards Banquet to be held on Friday, August 6, in the Grand Hyatt Washington hotel’s Independence Ballroom. The event begins at 7 p.m.”
Maurice DuBois Switching Stations in New York
“Maurice DuBois, WNBC/Ch. 4’s morning co-anchor, is leaving the NBC-owned station. DuBois is expected to announce on the air today that it’s his last day at Ch. 4,” Richard Huff reports in the New York Daily News.
“Barring a last-minute change, DuBois is likely to soon turn up alongside Dana Tyler at WCBS/Ch. 2 as co-anchor of the station’s 6 p.m. newscasts,” Huff continues.
“When he starts at Ch. 2, it will be the first time in recent years that any local station has had two African-Americans officially paired as a regular team on an evening newscast.”
None of Color in Overseas J-Fellowship Program
“The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) has awarded seven new Knight International Press Fellowships and a McGee Journalism Fellowship in Southern Africa to veteran journalists to train colleagues in countries where there is little tradition of a free press,” the organization announces, but none of the recipients is a journalist of color.
“Knight Fellows typically spend three to nine months abroad teaching, training, consulting and providing media assistance in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa,” the release said.
In response to a query, Donatella Lorch, director of Knight International Press Fellowships for the center and a former reporter for Newsweek, NBC News and the New York Times, cited journalists of color who had previously won the fellowships: Bonnie Huang, Herb Frazier, Clem Richardson, Doug Mitchell, Gil Griffin, Bob Ortega, Mandalit del Barco, Maria Martin and Ana Arana.
“We select our fellows from a pool of applications where we generally are unaware of the racial or ethnic background of journalists applying to our fellowship program. Our form does not ask for such identification. We do however actively spread the Knight ‘word’ at conferences such as UNITY.
“It is one of our major goals to increase the number of African Americans and other members of under-represented groups through better outreach and public relations as we we strongly believe that their presence on the global stage will be a great asset to our program,” Lorch said.
18 Journalists Seized, Deported at U.S. Airports
“Over the last year and a half, at least 18 journalists from countries the U.S. government considers friendly have been seized at U.S. airports and forcibly deported,” the Associated Press reports.
“While immigration policy was recently modified in response to outcry over the deportations, media advocacy groups say more action is needed, and one group has even called for congressional intervention.
“Adding urgency to the matter is the expected influx of foreign journalists in coming weeks for coverage of the political conventions and presidential election.
“Handcuffing and locking foreign correspondents in a cell for not having a visa is not only outrageous, it goes against the ideals of a free and open society,” Tala Dowlatshahi, U.S. representative of Reporters Without Borders, said in the piece.
“Only countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Vietnam, North Korea and Cuba require special visas for journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders,” the story continued.
“At issue is a regulation requiring journalists from 27 ‘friendly’ nations to obtain special visas, called I-visas, while citizens of those same countries can enter America without a visa for up to 90 days. Most citizens of other countries must apply for a visa regardless of the purpose of their visit to the United States.
“The American Society of Newspaper Editors protested the rule as discriminatory in a recent letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
“But Department of Homeland Security spokesman Bill Strassberger says the I-visa is nothing new, dating back to 1952, although he acknowledges enforcement has been more vigilant since the Sept. 11 attacks.”
In the New York Times, Elena Lappin wrote July 4 that, “I was interrogated for four hours, body searched, fingerprinted, photographed, handcuffed and forced to spend the night in a cell in a detention facility in central Los Angeles, and another day as a detainee at the airport before flying back to London. My humiliating and physically very uncomfortable detention lasted 26 hours.”
NAHJ to Honor Ignacio Lozano Posthumously
“The National Association of Hispanic Journalists will induct Ignacio E. Lozano, Sr., founder of La Opinión, the nation’s oldest Mexican American daily newspaper, into the association’s Hall of Fame during the UNITY: Journalists of Color convention, August 4-8, in Washington, D.C.,” NAHJ announces.
“Lozano will be inducted posthumously at the NAHJ Hall of Fame Gala during UNITY 2004. The gala will be held at the Washington D.C. Convention Center on Friday, August 6 at 7 p.m.
“Ignacio E. Lozano Sr. (1886 -1953) was one of the earliest pioneers of Spanish language publishing in the United States. Lozano founded the daily Spanish language newspaper La Prensa in San Antonio, Texas in 1913, and La Opinión in Los Angeles on September 16, 1926 to coincide with Mexico?s Independence Day. Under the direction of Lozano?s grandchildren, La Opinión continues to publish and has grown into the largest Spanish language daily newspaper in the U.S. La Opinión celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary in September 2001.”
Papers Accept Sanctions in Circulation Scandal
“Taking rare and forceful measures, the Audit Bureau of Circulations said Monday that it had censured the Chicago Sun-Times and Tribune Co.’s Newsday and Hoy newspapers in New York for what it called “deceptive and fraudulent circulation practices’,” as Leon Lazaroff reports in the Chicago Tribune.
“A spokeswoman for the . . . bureau said the actions were the first such punishments taken in more than two decades against any of the circulation watchdog group’s 4,300 members, which include daily and weekly publications and advertisers.” Louis Sito, Hoy publisher and Tribune Publishing vice president of Hispanic media, issued a statement saying:
“Hoy views the actions announced by ABC today as reasonable and appropriate. Hoy intends to fully comply with ABC to ensure that the newspaper’s circulation figures are accurate and reliable. We have already taken several important internal steps to strengthen our circulation procedures and practices. In taking swift action, we hope to restore the trust of our advertisers and readers, and continue serving Hispanic communities in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.”
Hoy is a Spanish-language daily newspaper with editions in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Harold Jackson Named Deputy of Inquirer Edit Page
“Harold Jackson has been named deputy editorial page editor of The Inquirer,” the newspaper told readers Sunday.
“He replaces Carolyn Davis, the deputy since 2001, who decided to devote her full attention to editorial writing. Editorial Page Editor Chris Satullo said Jackson’s integrity, fair-mindedness and passion for social justice made him an obvious choice to succeed Davis.
“Jackson’s previous job was coordinator of the Inquirer’s zoned daily commentary and Sunday Voices pages. He has been with The Inquirer since 1999, and served a previous stint in the mid-1980s.
“Jackson has also been an editorial writer at the Baltimore Sun and the Birmingham (Ala.) News. There, in 1991, he and two colleagues won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing for a series on changing Alabama’s tax system. He also worked for United Press International and the Birmingham Post-Herald” in Alabama.
“The Birmingham native in 1968 became the first black person to participate in the University of Alabama’s high school journalism program,” the item noted.
St. Louis Metro Sentinel Folds After 36 Years
“The St. Louis Metro Sentinel, a black weekly once considered the area’s political voice for African-Americans, has quietly ceased publication and is up for sale,” Eun-Kyung Kim and Deb Peterson reported Thursday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“Owner Judy Woods-Williams, who has been running the paper with her husband, Michael C. Williams, said Thursday that she broke the news to employees about two weeks ago. The paper published its final issue June 24.
“The couple are seeking a group of investors to purchase the ailing Sentinel corporation from Woods-Williams, who has operated the paper since the May 2002 death of her mother, Jane Woods-Miller. While the paper has touted a circulation as high as 36,000, recent estimates by outside sources place it more recently at about 1,000.”
An editorial in the Post-Dispatch Monday said, “From one set of ink-stained wretches to another, we hope the Sentinel’s owners and staff can find an angel.”
Town & Country Reaches Out to People of Color
“For more than a century, Town & Country was a glossy bible for American blue bloods, chronicling the cloistered world of debutantes and other Social Register types,” Teri Agins reports today in the Wall Street Journal.
But editor Pamela Fiori has “diversified the staff (today’s 42-person editorial group includes 14 blacks and other minorities) and introduced readers to subjects such as Paul Williams, the late black California architect to the stars. She instructed the magazine’s network of event planners and freelance photographers to seek out good-looking, prominent people of color. She also tapped blacks as regular cover subjects. The July issue, for example, features British actress Thandie Newton, the third black cover subject in the last nine months. Fashion models Noemie Lenoir and Roberta Little appeared earlier.”
Zemira Jones Named VP at Radio One
“Former ABC Radio executive Zemira Jones has landed at Radio One in the newly created position of vp of operations, the company announced Tuesday,” Katy Bachman reports in Media Week.
“A 9-year veteran at ABC, Jones, who was president and general manager of News/Talk WLS-AM, Modern Rock WZZN-FM and Radio Disney WRDZ-AM in Chicago, resigned last month in the wake of a management reorganization of the company’s four stations in the market.”
Sonja Gantt Having Vocal Cords Treated
Sonja Gantt, a main anchor at WCNC-TV in her native Charlotte, N.C., is undergoing treatment for nodules on her vocal cords that threaten her broadcast career, Robert Feder reports in the Chicago Sun-Times. She is a former morning news anchor at Chicago’s WGN-TV.
Oprah Gives $1M to Underground Railroad Museum
“Oprah Winfrey gave $1 million to a Cincinnati, Ohio, museum which has asked her to narrate an educational film,” reports WBEX radio in Chillicothe, Ohio.
“The $110 million National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is being built along the Ohio River and commemorates a secret underground railroad network that helped slaves escape from the South in the 1800s.
“Winfrey will also narrate a short film introducing Brothers Of The Borderland. Other celebrity supporters of the museum include Quincy Jones and Bono.”
Just What Was Louise Jefferson’s Nickname?
“Isabel Sanford, ‘The Jeffersons’ ‘ Wheezie, dies at 86,” is the headline on the Media Life magazine Web site.
Failing to recognize any bronchial problems, nearly all other news outlets rendered the Louise Jefferson character’s nickname as “Weezie.”
