CNN Plans Extensive Coverage
“Just a few weeks back, in one newspaper headline, Ossie Davis was remembered for his role in a Spike Lee movie,” Wayne Metz, weekend news editor at the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., told Journal-isms tonight after the death of lawyer Johnnie Cochran.
“I can imagine how someone with less status will be rendered by the nation’s headline writers. True, Cochran is arguably the most renowned black lawyer in America. But I would not be surprised if in some of tomorrow’s headlines he is reduced to being merely a prop used by O.J. Simpson.
“The way around that is for news editors to be clear when they brief their staffs before going to press.”
Judging from the lead paragraphs in the Web site versions of the obituary, the first results are varied:
- Adam Liptak, New York Times:
“Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., whose fierce, flamboyant and electrifyingly effective advocacy in the O. J. Simpson murder trial captivated the country and solidified his role as a master of high-profile criminal defense, died today at his home in Los Angeles. He was 67.”
- Greg Risling, Associated Press:
“Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., who became a legal superstar after helping clear O.J. Simpson during a sensational murder trial in which he uttered the famous quote “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit,” died Tuesday. He was 67.
But an AP story with Linda Deutsch‘s byline began:
“Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., the dynamic, eminently quotable attorney whose televised murder defense of O.J. Simpson made him a legal superstar died Tuesday. He was 67.”
- Carla Hall, Los Angeles Times:
“Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., the masterful attorney who gained prominence as an early advocate for victims of police abuse, then achieved worldwide fame for successfully defending football star O.J. Simpson on murder charges, died this afternoon. He was 67.”
Hall’s L.A. Times obituary went on to make clear that, “His clients weren’t always black ? he unsuccessfully represented Reginald Denny, the white trucker beaten by a mob during the 1991 riots that followed the verdicts of not guilty in the trial of police officers charged with assaulting Rodney King.”
Media watchers should not only note where the story is played, but whether Cochran’s name is spelled correctly—”Johnnie,” not “Johnny,” as some Web sites already have rendered it.
CNN spokeswoman Megan Mahoney said tonight that the network planned a short obituary by Eric Philips, a story on his legacy and reaction by Miguel Marquez, and a longer obituary by Aaron Brown.
Jesse Jackson was to be in the Atlanta studios; and Larry King planned to host Al Sharpton, opposing “dream team”-case lawyers Barry Scheck and Chris Darden, forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee, lawyer Mickey Sherman and Cochran clients Todd Bridges, the actor who was accused of assault with a deadly weapon, and music producer Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, charged with gun possession and bribery after a shooting at a Manhattan night club.
[King actually began the show with, “We’ll have exclusive first reaction from his one-time client, Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs, plus Johnnie Cochran’s friends, like CNN Headline Prime’s Nancy Grace, his former Court TV co-host; attorney Ben Brafman, Cochran’s co-counsel on the P. Diddy case; attorney Barry Scheck, a member of Cochran’s O.J. Simpson dream team; William Epps, Johnnie Cochran’s pastor for 18 years; and Chris Darden, one of Cochran’s opponents on the O.J. Simpson case, still his friend. . . . Also with us in New York is Reverend Al Sharpton, a friend of Johnnie Cochran; in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Barry Scheck, the friend and colleague of Johnnie Cochran; and in Boston, Dr. Henry Lee, also close friend of Johnnie Cochran’s, who worked for Johnnie in the Simpson case.”
[By phone, King also interviewed Johnnie Cochran Sr., who is 80. King asked, “Did you know the end was coming?” Cochran replied: “I did. This morning when I got up, I was doing my sleep last night. The good Lord revealed to me that the day would be the day that Johnnie would come home.”]
Nancy Grace, who co-hosted a show with Cochran on Court TV called “Cochran and Grace,” was expected to contribute more coverage [and did, interviewing lawyer Alan Dershowitz; Scheck; and investigative reporter Art Harris, who covered the Simpson trial.] And Dershowitz was to be on “Paula Zahn Now.”
BET spokesman Michael Lewellen said that BET founder Robert L. Johnson had taped a segment on Cochran for “BET Nightly News” and was attempting to reach Simpson and other figures in his trial for the broadcast, which airs at 11 p.m. Eastern. [The broadcast included Sharpton in the studio for reflections; footage from a documentary BET produced on Cochran a few years ago and comments from lawyer Carl Douglas, who worked for Cochran from December 1986 through January 1998 and was part of the Simpson “dream team” defense, Lewellen said after the show.
[BET will re-air the hour-long “Journeys in Black” series episode on Cochran, from 2002, Wednesday at 11:30 p.m. Eastern, after “BET Nightly News,” Lewellen added.
[CNN said Simpson released a statement to that network Tuesday night, saying, “I loved him as a good Christian man. I look at Johnnie as a great Christian. I knew him as that. He was a great guy.”]
Court TV spokeswoman Carole Shander said tonight she had no idea what her station would be doing, and that it generally does not cover breaking news. She referred a caller to an executive who was not in her office.
[Spokeswoman Andie Silvers said Wednesday morning: “We do have plans to remember Johnnie during our daytime coverage . . . Both Jami Floyd and Nancy Grace, who both worked with Johnnie in the past, will pay tribute to him during their respective shows ‘Trial Heat’ and ‘Closing Arguments.’ In addition, Dominick Dunne will appear on ‘ Catherine Crier Live’ to talk about Cochran and we will cover it throughout the day during our ‘newsbreaks.'”
[On MSNBC, Dan Abrams interviewed Cyrus Mehri, a lawyer who worked with Cochran to push for more African American coaches in the NFL.]
A Fox spokesman could not be reached.
Through the Tobin & Associates public relations firm, the Cochran family issued a statement tonight saying:
“Certainly, Johnnie’s career will be noted as one marked by ‘celebrity’ cases and clientele. But he and his family were most proud of the work he did on behalf of those in the community. As Johnnie always said, ‘an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ It was his rallying cry as he worked to right many wrongs, and as he provided a voice to those who needed to be heard. He was deeply committed to helping and inspiring others—especially young people. His extraordinary law career will undoubtedly stand the test of time. But it was his devotion to his fellow human beings that will remain as his true legacy.”
[Attorney Johnnie Cochran Remembered (“News and Notes With Ed Gordon, NPR)
[We Remember Johnnie Cochran (EURWeb.com)
[Famed Attorney Johnnie Cochran Dead at 67 (Ed Wiley III, BET.com)
[Friends and Fans Remember Superstar Lawyer Johnnie Cochran (BlackAmericaWeb.com)]
NEW! MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.
Outpouring for Latina Anchor in Las Vegas
“There has been just a tremendous outpouring” from Las Vegas viewers who learned that Polly Gonzalez, an anchor for KLAS-TV, died in a car accident Monday, the station’s general manager told Journal-isms today. Gonzalez was traveling in California with her two daughters, ages 5 and 8, who survived the crash with minor injuries.
More than 1,000 people had visited the Web site by 7 p.m. Eastern time to see the condolences and remembrances from other viewers. In addition, the station has set up a scholarship fund for the daughters, general manager Emily Neilson said.
“Gonzalez, 43, was heading back to Las Vegas from a three-day weekend visiting relatives in San Jose, Calif., her hometown, when her car drifted to the side of the road and she overcompensated, said Bob Stoldal, the station’s vice president of news,” reported Juliet V. Casey and Paul Harasim in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Chris Saldaña, a reporter at the station, noted that Gonzalez was the first Hispanic anchor in the area. “She was such an ambassador for the community and for the people who didn’t have a voice,” he told Journal-isms. “People that I knew who didn’t speak the language could [still] relate to her.”
Eloiza Martinez, president of the Latin Chamber of Commerce “said Gonzalez took a special interest in mentoring young Hispanics thinking about a career in journalism and that she helped several of the Latin Chamber’s scholarship recipients,” the Review-Journal story said.
“Gonzalez also did on-air work at KLVX-TV, Channel 10, Southern Nevada’s public television station.
“Producers at KLVX said she was a co-host for ‘Ventana,’ a program about Southern Nevada and cultural events in the Hispanic community. The program featured politicians, performers, educators, artists and business leaders. Gonzalez was part of the program from 1998 to 1999.
“She had worked for the station since 1994, and anchored the noon and 4:30 p.m. newscasts. Her resume includes coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and California’s Northridge earthquake in 1994.
“Gonzalez also translated in Spanish an educational series the station ran called ‘Practical Parenting’ in 2002,” the report continued.
KLAS reporter Cindy Cesare did a story today from the K.O. Knudson Middle School in the Academy of Creative Arts, Language and Technology, a 51 percent Latino school that the station had adopted through VH1’s “Save the Music” program, Cesare told Journal-isms. Both VH1 and KLAS are owned by Viacom.
Gonzalez took the partnership a step further, Cesare said, by reading to the students.
The Latino Chamber of Commerce and the Ronald McDonald House also plan to set up scholarships for the Gonzalez children, Neilson said.
NEW! MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.
Both Sides Criticized in Red Lake Coverage
Monday’s disclosure that the son of the chairman of the Red Lake Nation has been arrested and charged in connection with last week’s deadly school shootings has returned the Red Lake story to prominence, but it has also continued the debate over coverage.
Some commentators maintain that the story has not received the attention of the Columbine school killings in suburban Colorado because it involves Native Americans, but news media representatives complain that tribal leaders have made it difficult for reporters and photographers to cover the story.
While a photographer whose camera was seized last week has had it returned, “there have been a couple of instances where there has been a conflict of values in the last day or two,” Dave Tomlin, assistant general counsel for the Associated Press, told Journal-isms today.
“The media were not welcome” at the funeral of the shooter’s grandfather, Tomlin said, though “one or more of our people were invited there by police. . . There was anger by family members that we were there.”
Emily Schmall of Salon.com interviewed “muckraking Chippewa journalist” Bill Lawrence, who “says tribal press constraints keep details of the recent school shooting murky?and hide systemic problems on the reservation where he grew up,” in Salon’s words.
On the other side, Kate Parry, reader’s representative at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, said the paper erred by using the headline, “Rampage at Red Lake” in describing the tragedy in which nine people were killed and seven injured.
“While the technical definition of ‘rampage’ would accurately describe a shooting that leaves 10 dead, it was a poorly chosen word to describe a catastrophe on an Indian reservation. Portrayals of ‘rampaging Indians’ fed hateful stereotypes in books and movies for many years. Yet I’ve seen the word used in many media around the country to describe the Red Lake shooting,” she wrote.
And in a Saturday story, “Measuring the media coverage against Columbine,” Eric Black of the Star Tribune began, “When two students shot up Columbine High School in 1999, all three network anchors traveled to the Denver suburb to lead live coverage. No network anchors went to Red Lake.”
He went on to quote ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider as saying, “Columbine was among the events that got the most coverage of any story in any year. That’s an extremely high bar for comparison” and may lead to a false impression that Red Lake was ignored, when in fact it got enormous attention.
Still, when Michael Kinsley, opinion pages editor at the Los Angeles Times, wanted to begin a weekend column with a reference to the week’s big stories, he wrote “Based on the two big domestic stories of last week?Terri Schiavo and Social Security personoramification (or whatever they want us to call it instead of privatization) . . . “
Another shooting, another chance to ignore problem (Erick Anthamatten, Houston Chronicle)
An assignment of great ambivalence (Rona Johnson, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.)
The two worlds of native American teens (Todd Wilkinson, Christian Science Monitor)
More coverage on Indianz.com
NEW! MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.
Earthquake Story Not as Big as Expected
“It turned out to be nowhere near as big a TV story as it first seemed Monday when an aftershock hit the same spot as December’s quake that created a killer tsunami,” Tim Cuprisin wrote today in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
“But the hours after the Asian quake—which hit shortly after 10 a.m. Central time—produced a dramatic period of waiting to see if this quake would spawn another enormous wave in the devastated region.
“In defense of the coverage, this could have been huge. Although, for a couple hours, there weren’t any pictures to drive this story.
“Across the all-‘news’ spectrum, TV took a break from wall-to-wall Terri Schiavo coverage and updates on Michael Jackson‘s trial to report on the aftershock. By midafternoon, however, there was no sign of the devastation that came three months ago, and attention started slipping away,” Cuprisin wrote.
[“We monitored the situation from the first moment the news hit, watching the reports and taking questions from journalists . . . but things have quieted down,” Sree Sreenivasan, administrator of the South Asian Journalists Association, told Journal-isms early Wednesday.
[He reminded readers that SAJA’s journalism awards contest, for which the deadline is April 11, “has categories for tsunami coverage that includes ALL countries affected by the wave, not just South Asia.”]
By coincidence, the quake might have boosted public television’s “Nova.” “Reports Monday of another earthquake off Indonesia pushed the tsunami back into the headlines, and so PBS’ The Wave That Shook the World is especially timely. The hour Nova offering, at 8 tonight on WMFE-Channel 24, concentrates on the science of tsunamis,” Hal Boedeker wrote in the Orlando Sentinel.
NEW! MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.
Marita Rivero Named GM of Boston’s WGBH-TV
“WGBH announced yesterday that it has named Marita Rivero general manager of its television and radio stations,” Suzanne C. Ryan reported today in the Boston Globe.
“Rivero is the first woman and first African-American to serve as general manager for WGBH-TV,” a public broadcasting outlet. “Her position was created because WGBH is looking to use its programming on multiple platforms.
“In an interview yesterday, Rivero said she was looking forward to her new assignment, which, she said, came as a bit of a surprise. ‘I really had not thought about television. I’ve been working in radio,’ she said, referring to her current job as general manager of WGBH-FM. She will continue in that post, in addition to her new positions.
“Rivero said that with the growing influence of digital cable as well as the Internet, the media landscape is filled with opportunities to use the same content in various mediums. ‘It’s an interesting moment. We’re trying to make the most out of every program we have,’ she said.
“In her new role, Rivero will oversee all of the local and regional programming and operations for WGBH, which includes the three radio stations WGBH-FM (89.7), WCAI-FM (90.1), WNAN-FM (91.1) and the two TV stations WGBH-TV (Channel 2) and WGBX-TV (Channel 44).
“She will also oversee the website WGBH.org, and the digital channels WGBH World, WGBH Create, WGBH Kids, and Boston Kids & Family TV, as well as the WGBH on-demand TV service.”
NEW! MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.
Staged Footage in Civil Rights Film Questioned
“With filmmakers creating a tempest over the undisclosed use of re-enactments in this year’s Oscar-winning documentary short, ‘Mighty Times: The Children’s March,’ the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has initiated a review of its eligibility rules for documentaries,” Irene Lacher reported today in the New York Times.
“Although re-enactments are a staple of documentary filmmaking and explicitly allowed by the academy, some documentary filmmakers are questioning the ethics of Bobby Houston and Robert Hudson‘s unflagged use of a technique Mr. Houston and Mr. Hudson call ‘faux doc’ in portraying the 1963 civil rights protest by thousands of children in Birmingham, Ala. The filmmakers, based in Ojai, Calif., recreated scenes using vintage cameras and distressed film stock to shoot more than 700 extras, trained dogs and period automobiles and fire engines on various locations in Southern California.
“Mr. Houston, who directed the film, and Mr. Hudson, who produced it, said only 10 percent of the 40-minute documentary consisted of such re-enactments. But Jon Else, the cinematographer and producer of “Eyes on the Prize,” the 1987 television mini-series about the civil rights movement, reviewed the film at the academy’s request and estimated that at least half of ‘The Children’s March’ was recreated.
NEW! MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.
Byron Pitts in Iraq: “I’m Praying the Whole Time”
Bob Schieffer is getting attention from media critics for the more interactive style he brings as interim anchor of the “CBS Evening News,” and one example is this exchange with reporter Byron Pitts, who has been in Baghdad since March 17:
“SCHIEFFER: This is your third trip. Is it different than the last time you were there?
“PITTS: It’s difficult to move around in Iraq. And Bob, I don’t mind telling you: Every time we leave this command center, I say a little prayer when we leave, I say a little prayer when we get back—Truth be told, I’m praying the whole time we’re out there.
Pitts was named Journalist of the Year in 2002 by the National Association of Black Journalists. On Friday, he filed a report, “From Hero To Homeless”, focusing on an African American soldier in Iraq, Pfc. Herold Noel. Monday’s piece was “Iraqi Youth Adopt Western Ways.”
NEW! MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.
N.Y. Times Covers Wedding of Writer Touré
“As the sun started to set over Miami Beach on March 19, Rita Nakouzi, a consultant on fashion and lifestyle trends, and Touré, a writer and pop culture commentator, were married on the sand behind the Raleigh Hotel in the South Beach area,” Judy Cantor Navas wrote in the “Vows” section of Sunday’s New York Times, in a story that included a photo of the couple “jumping the broom.”
“‘O.K., who’s got the bling?’ asked the Rev. Joseph Simmons, a Pentecostal minister, who was looking for the couple’s wedding bands. Also called Reverend Run, he is best known as a member of the pioneering rap group Run-DMC. The crowd of 120 included his brother, the hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons; the CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien; and members of Miss Nakouzi’s family, who had flown in from Beirut, Lebanon, where the bride was born.
“Cultures melded as the couple jumped over a broomstick, an African-American tradition symbolizing the leap into a new life, then walked off to their reception where the sequined bra of a belly dancer sparkled as she performed with a sword. The guests ate tabbouleh and lobster. Gift bags contained a CD, heavy on Nina Simone and Stevie Wonder, and a T-shirt printed with the Arabic word for love.
“‘We fit very well together,’ said Touré, a correspondent for CNN and a contributing editor to Rolling Stone magazine. ‘She’s somebody who can go with me from a 50 Cent concert to a Toni Morrison reading and be equally comfortable in both places.'”
NEW! MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.
Anchor Accused of Assaulting Her Ex at Drugstore
“WCBD-TV, Channel 2, anchorwoman Carolyn Murray was arrested Sunday at a Walgreens drugstore after North Charleston police said she assaulted her ex-husband during a custody exchange for their child,” South Carolina’s Charleston Gazette reported.
“Murray, 39, is charged with simple assault. She was released Monday from the Dorchester County Detention Center on a personal recognizance bond.
“The incident occurred about 11 a.m. in the parking lot at 8395 Dorchester Road as Murray’s ex-husband, Reginald Terry, attempted to leave with their child,” the report said.
“Murray’s current husband, Jimmy Coaxum, witnessed the incident and later told an officer that his wife should not have hit Terry, according to a police report,” the story continued.
“Murray, an anchor for the noon news, joined WCBD from a CBS affiliate in Chicago, where she was a reporter.”
NEW! MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.
Barry Bonds’ Racism Charge Debated
“Throughout his career, Barry Bonds, the most polarizing figure in sports, has invoked the most polarizing subject to explain his treatment by the public and press: racism,” Katherine Corcoran wrote Sunday in California’s San Jose Mercury News.
“For years, many agreed, while others argued that was a cop-out.
“But after Bonds broke down last week in the face of injuries and allegations of steroid use, infidelity and financial violations, even those who agree he is subject to double standards say this time the slugger may have no one to blame for his troubles but himself.”
- Alice Z. Cuneo, AdAge.com: San Francisco Giants to Scale Back Barry Bonds Ads
- Jon Friedman, MarketWatch: The media owe Barry Bonds no apologies
- John Harris, Toledo Blade: Media just doing its job, Mr. Bonds
NEW! MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.
