J-Program Diversity Rose Despite Ballot Measure
Why Some Black Students Want to Be Journalists
It’s summer-intern selection time, and applicants for slots in the summer program sponsored by the Black College Wire, a news service that sprang from the journalism departments at historically black colleges, were asked why they wanted in. Their language may not yet be polished, but they do present a different picture of the hip-hop generation:
- “Losing a colleague to AIDS two years ago, made me question the level of news awareness. This loss has enlightened me and I would in turn like to present the public with crucial information that will help and protect them from the harm and danger of the community.”
- “In the days and weeks after September 11, 2001, I saw some of the best reporting and read some of the most beautifully written stories I have ever experienced. I was a senior in high school and I knew then that I wanted to be a print journalist. All of the information, that in that point in time highlighted all of the talent in journalism, showed me that being a journalist is not about regurgitating facts. It is about taking the eloquence and beauty of writing, adding the news, and thus creating a beautiful piece that will enlighten the world.”
- “One reason I love journalism is because it is informative. Journalists have one of the toughest jobs: telling the exact truth based on facts given without clouding it. Telling the truth is hard enough, but verifying that the facts are not clouded is harder. I like challenges; therefore, I like to weigh the facts against the opinions. It is not easy, but someone has to do the job.”
- “Journalism has allowed me to gain my understanding of the world and people instead of accepting the views and ideas that society imposes on us.”
- “In the African American community there are many injustices that need to be highlighted. Gangs are running rampant, babies are dying because of drug-addicted mothers and the imprisonment of African American men is systematically wiping out the Black race. These injustices are something that politicians do not want to highlight, and as a journalist, I know that highlighting these negatives can bring about positive change.”
- “When people approach me and tell me they liked the article I wrote, and even if they say they didn’t like it, I feel good because I know I have reached them. There are not many things in life more powerful than reaching someone through the written word. I think if given the opportunity to write for a newspaper or magazine I have the power to change the way people think and act, give them a perspective they may never have considered before.”
- “Journalism is a tool that enables all of society to come together and become one, even for fifteen minutes while reading the morning paper over tea. It is the responsibility of reporters, even young ones, to give the readers a sense of security in their daily information hunt.”
- “Though it may seem like an undesirable profession to many people, it is truly rewarding. It takes a truly stubborn person who is not easily rattled to fight for the truth and ask the tough questions that help to strengthen the community. That’s why I want to be a journalist. I want to help people find answers to the questions that they were not meant to know.”
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Outcry Could Prompt New Emery King Talks
Talks are under way between station management at Detroit’s WDIV-TV and ousted anchor Emery King‘s representatives to reopen contract negotiations next week, the Detroit News and Free Press both reported yesterday.
But John Moye of Denver, King’s lawyer, told Journal-isms tonight that “at this moment, nothing has been scheduled,” adding that the station had not moved beyond a preliminary feeler. “I am hopeful that we would be able to schedule” something, he said.
John Smyntek reported in the Free Press that, “A WDIV executive, speaking under terms that his name and position be withheld, said: ‘Discussions are under way between station management and Emery King’s representative to set up a meeting for early next week with the hope of reopening contract talks.'”
Smyntek quoted Mike Lewis, former WDIV reporter and anchor now teaching at Oakland University as saying, “For them to do this, maybe they’re serious about bringing him back.”
“If King does return, it would be one of the biggest about-faces in Detroit TV history,” Smyntek continued. “The thaw came after four days of intense criticism of the station in various public forums, and most recently, talk of a possible protest or boycott. WDIV said Friday it intended not to retain King after his contract expiration March 31.”
King told Journal-isms today that he would have to refer all questions to his lawyer. Moye told Journal-isms on Monday that he had no chance to negotiate last Friday when he presented a proposed update of King’s contract; King was simply told he was being terminated.
An energized King did say today that after having gone on a radio talk show Wednesday to thank viewers for support he said was overwhelming, “I’ve sort of crawled back in the bunker and will remain there through the remainder of my contract.”
King had said after that talk-show appearance Wednesday that, “There is a general desire for dignity, ethics and standards. This outpouring isn’t about me, it’s about that.” Some Detroiters said the Post-Newsweek station has veered toward more tabloid fare.
But Deborah Collura, vice president of news for the Detroit-based Post-Newsweek, said to Journal-isms today that the local management had told her “this was a television contract renewal negotiation. Whatever happened to Emery King had nothing to do with journalism and how we cover” the news.
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J-Program Diversity Rose Despite Ballot Measure
Washington state’s anti-affirmative action initiative, I-200, threatened to disrupt the unity of the 1999 Unity convention, as the National Association of Black Journalists questioned whether it should meet in a state that passed such a measure.
As it turned out, the initiative might not have disrupted the pipeline of journalists of color, either, thanks to sheer determination.
After I-200 passed in November 1998, “the University of Washington said it was regretfully suspending its 30-year practice of race-conscious admissions,” as the New York Times reported then. The initiative barred “preferential treatment” based on race or sex to any group in the public sector.
This week, Kyle Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that, “UW officials say I-200 hurt the school’s—and the state’s—image with minorities, making it appear unwelcoming.
“Through aggressive recruitment and diversity scholarships supported by private citizens, racial diversity is back up, but the UW still has problems with the 6-year-old law. Now UW officials are lobbying the Legislature to amend the initiative and allow state colleges and universities to again consider race in the admissions process.”
The initiative never affected the journalism program at the university, according to David Sherman, director of student services for the Department of Communication. “We’re committed to having a diverse population and we sort of acted accordingly,” he told Journal-isms. “It didn’t affect us and we made sure that it didn’t.”
Sherman supplied figures showing that the communication program had actually increased its percentage of students of color since the initiative passed. In the spring of 1999, those students numbered 153 of 565, or 27 percent; today they are 327 of 836, or 39 percent.
While the anti-affirmative-action initiative did affect admission to the university, the communication program can make sure that those who go on to enroll in communication majors are a diverse group, he said.
Among the economic and financial aid incentives that can help accomplish this, Sherman said, is the Seattle Times’ Blethen Award, which states that it is “designed to encourage cultural and ethnic diversity in the field of journalism.” Each quarter, three students of color are awarded $2,500 to $3,000, he said.
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Op-Ed Pages as Homogeneous as Cable, She Says
The Denver Post’s Cindy Rodríguez, a board member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Thursday became one of the first, if not the first, columnists of color to dedicate her space to the debate over the low numbers of women on op-ed pages.
“Television network news programs are virtual clones of one another,” Rodríguez wrote. “Cable-TV news channels chase the same story of the day, repeating the same tidbits throughout their 24-hour cycle.
“You’d think it would be different on the opinion pages of newspapers. But the overwhelming majority of voices come from middle-aged white men. And then newspaper executives wonder why readership is lower among women, young people and minorities.
“Op-Ed pages should offer a forum where readers can hear from an eclectic mix of people they might not ordinarily meet. Instead, they play it safe, to their own demise. . . . It’s something procrastinating editors need to take action on now.”
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Offense Taken at Pronunciation of Spanish Words
“KLAS-TV, Channel 8 staffers were told Wednesday that an in-house e-mail investigation was under way,” Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Norm Clarke wrote Thursday.
“A staff meeting was called after it appeared that someone in the newsroom had sent an e-mail Tuesday supporting what appeared to be a racist rant against KLAS reporter Chris Saldaña.
“The first of two viewer e-mails from the same person read:
“‘Will someone tell this GUY that he is in the United States and NOT reporting the news in Guadalajara, Mexico with his ANNOYING Mexican ‘TAKE’ on his pronunciations like ‘AnHellica’ (as in Angellica) and ‘SolDONYA’ (as in Saldana). He should make up his mind whether he is now an AMERICAN or a Mexican citizen! Jeeesh!!’
“A short time later, what appeared to be a staffer’s response agreeing with the viewer went out to the entire newsroom. The response suggested that Channel 8 is filled with anti-President Bush liberals and that any conservatives who might speak out would be in fear of their jobs.
“Messages left for Channel 8 executives were not returned by deadline.”
Neither news director Bob Stoldal nor Saldaña returned calls from Journal-isms, either.
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. . . And Some Don’t Like Spanish Captioning
Letters from readers of Robert Feder‘s television column in the Chicago Sun-Times:
“Mike Klempin Jr.: I know this will make me sound like a bigot/racist, but regarding WLS-Channel 7 offering closed captioning in Spanish, that sort of kowtowing just drives me nuts. Whatever happened to coming to America and learning our official language, English?
“William B. Mahrenholz: I, as an American, resent catering to one foreign-language group. We never did this for any of the many other foreign immigrants.
“Jim Carper: Channel 7’s English-language captions are so full of misspellings that I can’t imagine it will do any better with Spanish. You should study a week’s worth of transcriptions from the five major newscasts and see who’s the best and who’s the worst.
“Kurt Mathes: I would like foreign-language TV stations to be required to provide closed captions in English in order to use the public airwaves. Besides, I would like to know what is so funny on the game shows.”
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Some Black-College Chiefs Support Free Press
“Administrative support . . . is almost vital for the survival of a student newspaper, especially if it is not independent,” Daarel Burnette II writes for the Black College Wire.
“At many historically black colleges and universities, there has instead been a constant battle between administrators and campus newspapers. Some administrators, feeling battered and bruised by the outside media, say it is the student newspaper’s responsibility to print solely positive and uplifting news, said Valerie D. White, an assistant professor of journalism at Florida A&M University and the chairwoman of the Black College Communication Association. BCCA, whose members are newspaper advisers, identifies resources to strengthen communications programs at historically black colleges.”
Burnette, who attends Hampton University, where copies of the student newspapers were seized in 2003, discusses three historically black campuses—Southern, Langston and Lincoln universities (the latter in Missouri)—where the school administrations are supportive of a free campus press.
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Journalist Held for Interviewing Runaway Slave
The Paris-based organization Reporters sans Frontières (Reporters Without Borders) is protesting the March 13 arrest of freelance journalist Mohamed Lemine Ould Mahmoudi, who “was investigating a case of domestic slavery in Mederdra, southwest Mauritania, when he was picked up by local police,” the organization announced Thursday.
“Mohamed Lemine Ould Mahmoudi was arrested simply for practicing his profession. He must be freed immediately,” Reporters sans Frontières said.
“Mahmoudi was arrested together with two other individuals who were accompanying him at about 5:00 p.m. (local time), on 13 March. He had been transcribing the story of Jabhallah Mint Mohamed, a young woman employed by wealthy ‘masters’ to tend to their herd of sheep and goats. The woman had received neither salary nor compensation of any form for her services and had been ill-treated by her employers.
“According to the banned organisation SOS Slaves, Mohamed finally fled the estate on which she had served all her life in early March. The estate is located in the town of Abokak, approximately 20 kilometres from Mederdra. Mohamed is herself the daughter of slaves, illiterate and the mother of two children. After bringing her complaint to the local police, she was escorted back to her ‘masters’ before finally being set up in a neighbouring town with her husband and children.”
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$1 Million to Aid Tsunami-Affected Journalists
“The board of trustees of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has approved $1 million in emergency funding to three international journalism organizations to work together to aid print and broadcast journalists in northwest Indonesia in the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami,” the foundation announced this month.
“The grants will help rebuild infrastructure and facilities destroyed by the tsunami, as well as recruit new staff. The three organizations ?- Internews, the International Center for Journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists ?- all have extensive experience working with and aiding journalists in developing countries.”
“Internews will use its $500,000 grant to rebuild radio journalism in the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh. . . . A $400,000 Knight grant to the International Center of Journalists will aid print and TV journalists in Aceh. The center, which runs the Knight International Press Fellowships for American journalists to train overseas media, will use the grant for a special series of fellows,” a news release said, and “the Committee to Protect Journalists will use a $100,000 grant to establish a special free press fund to protect Indonesian journalists from government censorship and harassment.”
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MSNBC Producer Quits to Help Tsunami Victims
“Before he left for post-tsunami Sri Lanka, Eastsider Bob Aglow wouldn’t talk about what a 54-year-old dad and successful MSNBC news producer was doing dropping everything to fly into the unknown,” Susan Paynter wrote today in her column in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
“He worried it would sound too grandiose, as if he thought he could change the world.
“And, frankly, he also worried that he might only ‘nibble around the edges’ and not accomplish much.
“Now Aglow is back, having accomplished a lot. And while he didn’t change the world, the world sure changed him.
“The veteran newsman just quit the job that he loved. And despite having a 16-year-old son, Devin, still in school and the obligations that come with the ‘good life’—American style—Aglow will now follow the new path he found in the rubble of the tsunami’s wake.
“. . . for Aglow, the place that changed him is the place he’ll go. It’s a place where, under the urgency of overwhelming disaster, he made fast friendships he is sure will last a lifetime. Sounding 10 years younger than the last time we had talked, he told me, ‘I want to do more work like this.'”
South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog
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What if Sports Teams Flipped the Playbook?
“All too often in our industry, we are quick to be the reporters of discrimination and any other social ills. In sports sections we report vigorously on the lack of black coaches in college and professional football, but we don?t use the same intensity when it comes to hiring more blacks in sports-editing roles,” Gregory Lee, senior assistant sports editor at the Boston Globe, wrote Thursday in Editor & Publisher.
“We are so quick to jump into some[one] else?s home without first cleaning up our own homes in the newsroom.
“If the script was flipped and NFL owners and NCAA presidents knew of our problems, they would be asking us the same questions that we ask of them. Unlike those leagues, we would not know how to answer those questions. Those primary questions would be:
“There are not enough qualified people in the industry?
“How do you increase the pipeline?
“How to change the mindset in sports journalism, where the old-boy network remains?”
Lee, a former board member of the National Association of Black Journalists, was responding to a March 7 “Ethics Corner” column by E&P’s Allan Wolper, “One Black List That Shouldn’t Be Short.”
The headline writer summarized Lee’s piece by saying that, “The small number of black sports editors shouldn’t simply be a worry for media ethicists. Rather, it’s a major, industry-wide concern that top newsroom management should be focused on fixing.”
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Tavis Smiley Launches Online “Plan of Action”
Perhaps talk-show host Tavis Smiley‘s “most important work has been his urban evangelism, political tent meetings, gathering some of the nation’s most outspoken black leaders to talk about the state of black America,” Rochelle Riley wrote today in her Detroit Free Press column.
“Smiley has teamed with Seton Hall law professor Raymond Brown to help create a Covenant with Black America.
“The agreement won’t be between white Americans and black, or between Smiley and his constituents.
“It will be between America and a group of citizens it wronged and never righted. It would be a covenant between people who can choose to save their struggling poorer communities and their heritage, or those who need their brothers’ and sisters’ help. Black Americans are being asked to participate in an online effort to establish that national plan of action to address problems that disproportionately affect black Americans,” Riley continued.
“‘No longer can we sit back and expect one political party, one segment of the population or one religious denomination to speak for us or to act on our behalf,’ the covenant mission reads. (Read it at www.covenantwithblackamerica.com.) ‘It is our responsibility as an entire community to no longer be left behind politically, socially or economically and to bridge the economic and social divides.’
“The site asks African Americans to commit their experiences, financial resources, ideas and abilities to the online priority-setting effort—and to suggest solutions.
“It’s one more conversation, but one that must be had.
“So here’s a chance to put up or shut up. Another group of people grew weary of the status quo, and their efforts led to a nation. Imagine what a united minority can do to help make that nation—and their own lives—better.”
Sorry, Tavis, You?re Not America?s Conscience (Richard Davis, MichNews.com)
No More Rhetorical Orgies (Roland S. Martin, BlackAmericaToday.com)
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Shorter Takes:
- “ESPN, in association with Editorial Televisa, will publish a monthly Spanish-language edition of ESPN The Magazine,” Lisa Granatstein reported Wednesday in Mediaweek.
- “The operations of two of Fort Wayne’s local television stations are in the hands of a company that has one of the worst balance sheets in the industry,” Linda Lipp reported Thursday in Indiana’s Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. “Morningstar gives Granite Broadcasting?s stock, which closed at 33 cents per share Wednesday, grades of ‘F’ in growth, profitability and financial health. The ‘Fs’ represent performance in the bottom 10 percent of the industry.” Black-owned Granite was number 31 last year on Black Enterprise magazine’s Industrial/Service 100 list.
- As expected, television host and veteran broadcast journalist Arthel Neville has joined “A Current Affair” as West Coast correspondent, Twentieth Television announced. The show premieres in first-run syndication on Monday.
- Vibe is just about the only publication oriented toward people of color to make the finals of the National Magazine Awards. Vibe was nominated in the 500,000-to-1 million-circulation category for its March, May and November issues. Mimi Valdés is editor-in-chief.
- Tracey Scott Wilson‘s play “The Story,” inspired by the case of Janet Cooke, who fabricated a Washington Post story and forced the paper to return its Pulitzer Prize, opened in Chicago Tuesday. Kevin Nance wrote an advance in the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Radio One Inc. reached tentative agreement with a key panel in the District of Columbia to relocate its headquarters from suburban Prince George’s County, Md., to the Shaw neighborhood, near Howard University, “in hopes of creating a business and entertainment center in a blighted urban area,” Krissah Williams reported Thursday in the Washington Post.
- “A CNN show starring ‘Apprentice’ runnerup Kwame Jackson has been canceled even before it got off the ground, the Daily News has learned, Phyllis Furman reported Thursday in the paper.
Davan Maharaj of the Los Angeles Times won $10,000 and the Ernie Pyle award for human interest writing “for his poignant series, ‘Living on Pennies,’ about the hard, everyday lives of people in sub-Saharan Africa,” the Scripps Howard Foundation announced.
- Cheryl Smith, talk-show host at KKDA-AM in Dallas, was one of 17 people from across the country “honored as Invisible Giants for continuing to carry on the work that civil-rights activists started in the 1950s and ’60s,” columnist Norma Adams-Wade reported Tuesday in the Dallas Morning News. Smith, a former board member of the National Association of Black Journalists, was among those participating in the 40th anniversary of the March on Selma, Ala.
- Mona Lisa Yuchengco, founder/publisher of Filipinas Magazine, has been named Woman of the Year by California state Sen. Jackie Speier, the Asian American Journalists Association reported Tuesday.
- Gwen Tolbart, weather anchor/reporter at WTTG-TV in Washington, was named Outstanding Woman of the Year by Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. in Washington.
- Megumi Ikeda was promoted from director to vice president, strategic initiatives and new media, by NBC Universal Cable. “As VP of Strategic Initiatives and New Media, Ikeda will be the lead New Media contact for Cablevision, Mediacom, Insight, NCTC [National Cable Television Cooperative] members and affiliates in Canada and the Caribbean. Ikeda will continue to pursue strategic and operating opportunities with NBCU’s cable-related investments including the Sundance Channel. Previously as Director, Ikeda spearheaded the launch of Telemundo Puerto Rico and MSBNC Canada,” a Tuesday announcement said.
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