Gift Goes Toward Media Studies at Black College
“Texas Southern University received one of its largest donations ever from an individual Monday when Tavis Smiley, the NPR and PBS host, gave $1 million to boost the university’s communications school,” La Monica Everett-Haynes writes in the Houston Chronicle.
“The money, which came on the same day officials dedicated a center in Smiley’s name, will endow a faculty chair and create new student scholarships.
“University officials also hope the new $5.4 million Tavis Smiley Center for Media Studies will help diversify the nation’s media by graduating more black journalists.
The Daimler Chrysler Corporate Fund also presented a $50,000 check to the university, which has an enrollment of more than 10,000.
“Smiley’s affiliation with TSU began in June after [President Priscilla] Slade went to Los Angeles with several members of her senior staff to tell Smiley they planned to name the center after him.
“The new Smiley Center, slated for completion in November, will house the KTSU studio and the university’s four existing programs in journalism, communications, electronic media and speech communications.
“Smiley, whose alma mater is Indiana State, said he gave TSU the check because it is a historically black university located in a city known for its size and diversity.
“Smiley also plans to be the first keynote speaker in a lecture series that will begin during the fall of 2005, and he plans to give TSU students internships at the Los Angeles-based Smiley Group, a communications group.
In a news release, Smiley noted that his 40th birthday — which took place Monday — was approaching at the time, and he felt something was missing from his life.
“Usually this type of honor comes towards the end of one’s professional life and not in the middle. But I soon realized it was the perfect answer to my prayers. It was the chance to be an active, hands-on part of a living and dynamic institution. It will also insure that others interested in using the media to empower, enlighten and offer diverse viewpoints on important issues in our lives will be supported for decades to come.”
The university is recognized as the second largest, single campus historically black college in the country, the news release said.
Smiley Gift Revives Debate Over Who’s a Journalist
Tavis Smiley has said before that he does not consider himself a journalist, but his gift to Texas Southern revived a debate over whether he and people like him should be considered part of that profession.
The immediate spark was a column in USA Today Monday by DeWayne Wickham, “A name on a building — one of several important strides for black journalists,” in which he called Smiley “arguably the nation’s most influential black journalist.”
That didn’t sit well with Roland Martin, new editor of the Chicago Defender, who prompted a discussion on the listserve of the National Association of Black Journalists and on Romenesko’s Poynter Institute Web site by writing:
“Today on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, Tavis said that Daimler-Chrysler gave him a Mercedes for his birthday. We all know that journalists can’t accept such gifts. And we also know that journalists don’t appear in ads for Microsoft. When Kwame Kilpatrick was running for mayor [of Detroit], Smiley openly campaigned for him. Journalists don’t speak at campaign rallies for people running for office.
“This is not a slam on Tavis. In fact, my interview with Tavis – he’s also said the same to others — on BlackAmericaWeb.com two years ago makes it perfectly clear that Tavis does not consider himself to be a journalist. But Tavis said clearly that he is an activist — not a journalist.”
Replied Julie Johnson, identified on Romenesko as copy desk chief, Modern Healthcare, Modern Physician and Health IT Strategist:
“So if Tavis Smiley isn’t a journalist, then what do NPR and PBS consider him? Are hosts of their other programs also eligible to receive generous gifts from corporations, a la the Mercedes that Smiley got from Daimler Chrysler?”
“It’s interesting, in his role as advocate,” said another, “that he would accept a Mercedes when there’s a boycott against DaimlerChrysler (Benz’s parent company) for unfair lending practices toward African Americans.”
“Of course Tavis Smiley is not a journalist. He’s not on a payroll. And, he can afford to give away a million dollars,” was another response.
But others on the NABJ list, and privately, echoed this sentiment: “Tavis might fall more easily in the category of ‘advocacy journalist,’ like many members of the black press who don’t really have the same stringent requirements that other media organizations place on their employees. Some black newspapers and radio stations regularly blend the editorial and corporate sides of their operation; they do stories on advertisers and even allow reporters or broadcasters to do commercial work.”
And still another said he had seen ads in which PBS had promoted Smiley as “a journalist, an advocate and an insomniac.”
Responding to an inquiry from Journal-isms, NPR spokeswoman Jenny Lawhorn said flatly, “his title here is host. His NPR show is a news and opinion program.”
PBS referred the question to Smiley’s publicist, Joel Brokaw, who replied: “Mr. Smiley is not a journalist by training or profession, nor does he refer to himself by that title. . . . Mr. Smiley is a television and radio talk show host, commentator, author, public speaker and activist.”
He also said it was a Chrysler, not a Mercedes, that Smiley received from the company at Monday’s Texas Southern presentation.
“On the Media”: “Journalists as People”
“Oprah’s Fully Loaded Giveaway”
Oprah Winfrey, who started out as a television journalist, is another personality who is sometimes portrayed as a journalist. But after Monday’s show, the ethics police surely would have been alerted if she actually were:
“Oprah Winfrey made the wildest dreams of General Motors come true yesterday when she devoted the entire first half of her syndicated talk show’s highly anticipated 19th-season debut to GM’s new Pontiac G6 sedan,” reported Lisa de Moraes in the Washington Post.
“Her audience didn’t mind sitting through a half-hour car commercial — all 276 of them received their very own G6s because, Oprah announced, this would be her show’s Wildest Dreams Come True season. Pontiac donated the cars in exchange for the big fat on-air plug, worth millions of dollars on the syndicated hit series, which last season enjoyed more viewers than in its previous season, and younger ones to boot. National ad rates on ‘Oprah’ are higher than for some prime-time shows, according to trade publication Broadcasting & Cable; last season a 30-second spot on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ averaged about $75,000, Nielsen estimated.”
Lu Palmer Services Saturday at PUSH in Chicago
Services for Lu Palmer, the activist Chicago black journalist who died Sunday at 82, are scheduled for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Rainbow-PUSH headquarters, 930 E. 50th St. in Chicago. It is the same location where services were held for another legendary black journalist, Vernon Jarrett, who died in May. More than 1,000 attended then.
Editorials today linked the two men. The Chicago Defender, where both Palmer and Jarrett once worked, titled its piece, “Journalism needs more Palmers and Jarretts for the 21st century.” It argued that:
“Today, the fire and passion that seemed to ooze from their bodies is missing in most of today?s Black journalists. No longer are Black journalists limited to honing their craft in places like the Chicago Defender, Los Angeles Sentinel, Houston Informer or the countless other Black newspapers that told the stories that were ignored or marginalized in mainstream media. Now, Black journalists flock to major daily newspapers and magazines that 40 years ago would?ve trashed their resumes. Listening to many of these same journalists, it seems that they choose to cloak themselves in objectivity and distance when discussing their roles as journalists. Some even go as far as removing themselves from any active participation in Black causes. While it is absolutely important that stories be presented with balance, fairness and from a position of facts, that doesn?t mean a sense of identity and purpose must also be cast aside in the name of journalism.”
The city’s two major dailies also weighed in.
A Chicago Tribune editorial, speaking of Chicago’s first black mayor, Harold Washington, said:
“The best measure of Harold Washington’s generation is the uniqueness of what men like Palmer and Jarrett helped accomplish. They were arguably the best-known of the many political activists who pulled together the African-American community, reminding its voters that their potential power went well beyond their traditional lockstep support for the machine. Black voters could, with a little help from open-minded whites and Latinos, elect one of their own.
“More than 20 years after Washington’s triumph, the movement that Lu Palmer helped engineer has yet to be replicated. With the inexorable passage of Harold Washington’s generation, Chicago is losing crusaders who accomplished one of the most remarkable feats in this city’s political history.”
However, an editorial in the Chicago Sun-Times noted that, “Palmer also publicly criticized Washington, whom he felt had forgotten the ‘common folk.'”
John Kass, writing in the Chicago Tribune, elaborated:
“After Washington’s death, Palmer’s heart was broken again. Black politicians fighting over Washington’s mantle engaged in a debilitating and ugly fight, essentially about which one of them was blackest. It disgusted Palmer and alienated white and Latino voters. In 1989, Richard Daley was crowned and later I interviewed Palmer. It hurt to hear him. . . .
“Some called him racist. Yes, he did use race as an organizing tool, but at least he did so publicly. I’ve seen it used in other elections, subtly masked by fine words such as ‘stability’ and ‘an end to divisiveness’ and ‘an end to fractious debate’ and so on.
“Now Palmer has passed. The town is quiet. And the clique that ran Chicago runs it again.”
Viewing takes place Friday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Nick and Sons Funeral Home, 7838 S. Cottage Grove, Chicago. In lieu of flowers, it is asked that donations be sent to: Extended Services Program, 6717 South Woods St., Chicago, IL 60629.
“Challenge”: To Keep Black Journos From Quitting
The October issue of Ebony magazine asks Herbert Lowe, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, what NABJ’s “most important challenge” is.
“To keep our members from leaving journalism,” the Newsday reporter replies. “Too often our careers and salaries lag behind our White colleagues; consequently, many of us are leaving for jobs in public relations and academia. This is bad for journalism and for African-Americans.”
Lowe is also asked about the audience reaction to the presidential candidates at last month’s Unity convention, and sides with those who said most journalists were off duty:
“It is my personal opinion that journalists on assignment should never applaud. And I cannot quarrel with purists who say journalists are never off duty. Only a few people who attended the Bush or Kerry forums at UNITY were on assignment. The vast majority were not, and thus able to laugh, clap or smirk as they wished. It’s interesting that few pundits have raised this question in regards to the hundreds of journalists who laugh, applaud and socialize with politicians at the White House Press Correspondents’ Association annual dinner and similar events.”
Latina Magazine Thalia Folds After 3 Issues
“Thalia, the Hispanic women?s lifestyle magazine inspired by recording artist Thalia Sodi, will be folded after a three-issue test,” a spokesman for American Media Inc. confirmed today,” reports Lisa Granatstein in Media Week.
“AMI analyzed the advertising and newsstand and the overall business plan, and determined it was not in its best interest to continue publishing, added the spokesman.
“First published this spring as a joint venture between AMI and former Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola and Thalia, the 100,000-circulation title contained celebrity interviews, as well as fashion and beauty tips.”
Time Inc.’s Multicultural “Suede” Debuts
“Time Inc.’s long awaited launch of new multicultural magazine Suede made its way to newsstands on Tuesday. Originally described by many as a younger version of Essence (Essence Communications Partners is a subsidiary of Time Inc.), the magazine is actually far more focused on fashion than its older sibling (which currently features a headline warning about cheating men),” writes Michael Shields on the Media Post Web site.
“‘It’s totally different from Essence,’ said Carla Louis, Media Planner at multicultural specialist agency the UniWorld Group. She was bullish on the magazine’s look and feel.
“Suede, which is printed on oversized, glossy stock, is chock full of attitude, and appears aimed at a reader who is unabashedly a trendsetter. The letter from editor-in-chief Susan Boyd in issue one starts out by saying, “You are ‘that girl,’ adding later ‘you’ll rock the Gucci’s like nobody else.’
“The debut issue, which features singer Alicia Keys on the cover, mixes style, coverage, fashion, and celebrity news, culture, and gossip.”
Jayson Blair Speaks to Black Students for $3,000
Disgraced journalist Jayson Blair was to speak today Winston-Salem State University, “and some students are asking why the university is spending $3,000 to bring him there,” writes Mary Giunca in North Carolina’s Winston-Salem Journal.
“Ebonee Russell, a senior and a reporter for The News Argus, the school’s paper, said she wonders whether Blair deserves any attention from the university at all. ‘What kind of role model is he? What kind of example is he setting for the students here?’ she said. ‘If I had a choice, he wouldn’t be my first choice.’ . . .
“Russell said she is bothered that WSSU is one of the few schools in North Carolina that invited Blair to campus. Blair’s Web site lists only one other college appearance — in October he will speak at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Md.
“Brian Blount, the chairman of the mass- communications department at WSSU, who booked Blair’s appearance, said that the talk is about helping students develop critical-thinking skills. He said he sees Blair’s session as a case study for students to learn how to discern the truth,” Giunca wrote.
Schwarzenegger Mulls Letting Press Into Prisons
“Freedom of the press may be a widely cherished principle, but under some governments, journalists are still struggling to gain basic liberties, such as the right to interview prisoners,” the Los Angeles Times writes in an editorial today.
“For instance, in California.
“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is currently deciding whether to change that, restoring journalists’ access to prisoners by way of a bill on his desk that would let reporters schedule prearranged interviews with prisoners, as well as use reporting tools that are currently banned, such as notebooks, tape recorders and cameras.”
AllHipHop.Com is Booming — and a Survivor
“The last interview Rick James offered did not go to one of the classic music outlets like Spin, Vibe, or Tracks,” writes Ta-Nehisi Coates in the Village Voice’s “Press Clips” column.
“No, the Superfreak’s final public words were captured by Allhiphop (allhiphop.com), the brainchild of Chuck ‘Jigsaw’ Creekmur and ‘Grouchy’ Greg Watkins. Allhiphop posted the interview on August 5, the day before James died. With the news of his death, traffic at the website doubled. ‘This was the grand slam,’ Creekmur says. ‘Unfortunately, Rick died. I shed tears over it. One of the last things he said was, “When I come to New York, we’re gonna sit down and talk some more.” ‘
“Allhiphop.com is one of the few survivors from a rash of hip-hop sites that came online as the Internet bubble expanded. . . . While most boom-era hip-hop sites (hookt.com, 360hiphop.com, etc.) lived and died by their enormous budgets, Allhiphop kept watch over the purse strings. By 2002, it was turning a profit.”
Report Outlines Press Setbacks in Congo
A two-week mission by the Committee to Protect Journalists finds that “Freedom of the press suffered major setbacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo this year after Rwandan-backed rebels led an insurrection in the eastern city of Bukavu,” the committee reports.
“These new attacks on the DRC press are explored in ‘Fragile Freedom,’ a special report by Julia Crawford, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator. The report, released today, is based on a two-week mission to the central African nation, more than 20 interviews, and a visit with the imprisoned journalists.”
Meanwhile, “Reporters Without Borders today condemned the detention of editor Freddy Monsa Iyaka Duku over a report in his daily newspaper, Le Potentiel, that allegedly made ‘harmful accusations’ against one of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s four vice-presidents, Arthur Z’Ahidi Ngoma,” that group reported.
“Duku was detained on 13 September and was released on bail the next day at the request of the Kinshasa state prosecutor.”
