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Where Were Black Networks?

richard

Published Nov. 4, 2005

None Changed Course to Show Rosa Parks Funeral

Flipping through the channels as funeral services for civil rights matriarch Rosa Parks took place in Detroit on Wednesday meant seeing the event live on a C-SPAN channel, portions on MSNBC, CNN and Fox News Channel, and if you lived in Detroit, certain stations elsewhere in Michigan, or in Montgomery, Ala., seeing it uninterrupted on local stations.

Tonight, two days later, C-SPAN2 is showing the seven-hour event again, at 9 p.m. Eastern time.

It has been the most coverage accorded the death of an African American since Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in 1968.

Greater Grace Temple made available a satellite feed at no charge to any station or network in North America, thanks to underwriting from Detroit station WXYZ. But viewers watching the three African American-oriented cable networks — Black Entertainment Television, TV One and the Black Family Channel — by and large saw programming as usual, tributes to the civil rights icon notwithstanding.

“It would seem to me that carrying the Parks memorial, or at least a significant portion of it, would be a no-brainer for those networks, considering the importance of her life to America’s history, and given the fact that the feed was free,” said Bryan Monroe, president of the National Association of Black Journalists and assistant vice president/news at Knight Ridder. “And I’d even bet it would have pulled a better rating than a few more hours of music videos. It was history.”

Earlier in the week, NABJ issued a proclamation honoring Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson, who at the end of the year is leaving the network he created in 1980.

“All they had to do was give us a call and we would have given them the coordinates” of the satellite to download the signal, Melvin Epps, communications director at Greater Grace Temple, said of the networks. “Wow,” said Lewis Gibbs, the church’s media director, when told that none of the three showed the service. Then he said he suspected why. “They would have to pre-empt programming and commercials,” he said.

The three networks offered different explanations.

“No one contacted us,” said Greg Morrison, news director of the Black Family Channel. “We would have been very interested in it as a public service and as a piece of history. It’s like, ‘where were you the day Kennedy was killed’, or King was killed. I watched it on C-SPAN. I found myself drawn in by it. Willie Gary,” a principal of the network, “is a good friend of the Parks family. In an ideal situation, we should have come together and pooled the resources together and gotten it done. We all have the same mission, to serve our families.”

“It’s important for us to cover events like that,” agreed Johnathan Rodgers, CEO of TV One, “and hopefully, in the future, we will do all of that. The issue of whether it is free or not is really not the issue. We are just too new in our existence to have the ability to pick up live feeds like that. We hope as our distribution grows that we will be there for every other major event affecting the African American community.” TV One debuted on Jan. 19, 2004, Martin Luther King Day.

“BET did four news briefs during the day with footage and highlights from Mrs. Parks’ funeral,” spokesman Michael Lewellen told Journal-isms via e-mail. “In addition, we will further honor her memory as part of a BET News special on Sunday, December 4 in recognition of the Civil Rights Movement’s 50th Anniversary. That special will include additional coverage from the many memorials and tributes to Mrs. Parks; and a town hall meeting with prominent African-American leaders to discuss the state of the Civil Rights movement in the 21st century.”

Each of the news briefs was “60 seconds, same as the briefs you’d see on any other network,” he said in response to a question.

“If you look at the networks that showed more extensive live coverage, they were news networks — not entertainment, sports or music channels,” Lewellen continued. “BET has covered this story from the beginning, and will continue to stay linked to this and all news events of importance to African-American viewers.”

Mekeisha Madden Toby reported today in the Detroit News that Detroit’s TV stations dedicated more than 30 hours combined, an unprecedented amount, to the Parks funeral.

“WDIV lost about $80,000 in ad revenue and production costs, estimates Steve Wasserman, the station’s vice president and general manager. WJBK and WXYZ chose not disclose what the coverage cost them,” she wrote.

“But, Wasserman says a financial loss does not eclipse what it took to give Parks’ passing its due.

“‘This is what local television is all about,’ Wasserman says. ‘You had all three television stations devoting countless hours to the funeral of a legend.

“‘It was important and the right thing to do.'”

Knight Ridder Called in Grave Jeopardy

“Power brokers on Wall Street have ensured that the relatively comfortable status quo employees and readers of Knight Ridder’s newspapers and Web sites enjoyed as recently as Monday is gone,” Lou Alexander wrote Thursday on the Bay Area’s GradetheNews.org Web site.

“Things are going to change forever in the 29 markets the company serves with daily newspapers and the 110 markets reached by Knight Ridder Digital. None of the scenarios that can reasonably be anticipated allow Knight Ridder and its newspapers to operate in the future as they have in the past. And I assure you there will be chaos and uncertainty,” wrote Alexander, described as a former journalist who “spent 20 years in the advertising department of the San Jose Mercury News, rising to the top jobs in both display and classified before retiring in 2004.”

“On Tuesday Bruce S. Sherman from Private Capital Management, L.P., the largest shareholder in the company, wrote Knight Ridder’s board of directors urging them to ‘aggressively pursue the competitive sale of the Company’ because of the poor performance of the stock,” Alexander continued. “If the board is not willing to sell the company Sherman threatened what would essentially be an unfriendly takeover. PCM owns about 19% of Knight Ridder Inc.”

Court Says 4 Must Disclose Confidential Sources

“A federal appeals court has refused to block an order requiring four journalists to testify about their confidential sources in reporting on former nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee,” Howard Kurtz wrote today in the Washington Post.

“The appeal by news organizations failed on a 4 to 4 vote in which two of the dissenters warned that the ruling would damage First Amendment rights and all but destroy the principle that has generally protected reporters from being compelled to testify in such cases.

“Lee’s interest in seeking compensation in a civil suit ‘pales in comparison to the public’s interest in avoiding the chilling of disclosures about what the government then believed to be nuclear espionage. . . . It’s hard to imagine how his interest could outweigh the public’s interest in protecting journalists’ ability to report without reservation on sensitive issues of national security,’ appellate court Judge David S. Tatel wrote in dissent.

“. . . The reporters in the case are James Risen of the New York Times, Robert Drogin of the Los Angeles Times, H. Josef Hebert of the Associated Press and Pierre Thomas, formerly of CNN and now at ABC.

Charles D. Tobin, lawyer for Thomas, the journalist of color among the group, told Journal-isms, “”We are reviewing the various decisions and evaluating a petition for Supreme Court review.

“Naturally we are disappointed. But we’re gratified that half of the judges recognized the public interest in truthful reporting like Pierre’s. For the first time, we have judges in the case acknowledging the important stake that the public has in the protection of sources.”

Clarence Thomas Fans Slam Milwaukee Paper

“An editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week that opposed President Bush’s nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court has drawn fire from conservatives for its criticism of Justice Clarence Thomas,” Joe Strupp reported yesterday in Editor & Publisher.

“The opinion piece, posted first on the paper’s Web site Oct. 31, sought to slam Bush for adding another white man to the court, which diminishes its diversity. But in doing so, the column sparked opposition from some for the characterization of Thomas as ‘a black man who deserves an asterisk because he arguably does not represent the views of mainstream black America.’

“Editorial Page Editor O. Ricardo Pimentel said the paper had received nearly 150 letters, e-mails, and phone calls from critics, noting that most were from outside the state.”

Pimentel is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists; the editorial was written by Greg Stanford, a member of the Trotter Group of African American columnists.

Columnist McCarthy Taking Buyout at Newsday

Sheryl McCarthy, columnist for 16 years at Newsday and an employee for 18, said today she has accepted a buyout offer and that her last day was Thursday.

Newsday said in September it would cut 45 editorial positions and trim New York City coverage, a cutback due to a costly circulation scandal last year. McCarthy worked in the New York office.

She told Journal-isms that the paper offered her a contract that would place her column “in the drastically cut New York pages. I’m not pleased about that.” However, McCarthy said she had made no final decision.

In a farewell column Thursday, McCarthy told readers, “When I started writing this column, there were only a few black or female newspaper columnists in the business, and column writing was an overwhelmingly white and male domain. . . . Over the years, I’ve learned that what columnists write has less to do with their politics and ideologies than it has to do with their personalities, with the experiences they had as children with their parents, on the playground or in the classroom, and the resulting world-view that they formed.”

Scripps TV Stations Join NAHJ’s Parity Project

“The E. W. Scripps Company’s broadcast television station group is becoming a partner in the Parity Project, a program established by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists to improve the quality of news coverage of the Hispanic community and to increase the number of Latinos working in the nation’s newsrooms. Scripps is the country’s first television station group to become a Parity Project partner,” the company said today in a news release (PDF).

“Scripps plans to begin implementing its television station group’s Parity Project partnership in 2006, starting at its NBC-affiliated station in West Palm Beach, Fla., WPTV, and its ABC affiliated station in Phoenix, KNXV.

“Scripps owns and operates ABC-affiliated television stations in Detroit (WXYX); Cleveland (WEWS); Cincinnati (WCPO); Baltimore (WMAR); and Tampa (WFTS); and NBC affiliates in Kansas City, Mo., (KSHB) and Tulsa, Okla., (KJRH). Scripps also operates one independent station in Lawrence, Kan., (KMCI).”

Howard U. Students Protest Courtland Milloy Column

“Looking to refute charges that Howard University students lack political activism, the university’s student association led a protest yesterday outside of the downtown offices of The Washington Post,” Kevin Harris and Tomi Akinmusuru reported Thursday in the student newspaper the Hilltop.

“The Howard University Student Association (HUSA), along with more than 100 students and heads of campus organizations, went to the Post demanding an apology from metro columnist Courtland Milloy, who in recent columns insinuated that Howard students lacked the political activism of past alumni and cared more about homecoming celebrations than social issues affecting the black community.”

The controversy began when Milloy wrote Sunday about Howard students protesting a campus visit by President Bush and first lady Laura Bush. “To set off a student protest at this school, you’d have to be politically tone-deaf in the extreme, out of touch and flying blind. And yet, Bush did it,” Milloy wrote.

After students complained, Milloy wrote a second column on Wednesday, “Time for Some Soul-Searching At Howard U.,” on what he considered Howard students’ missed opportunities for activism.

In the Hilltop Wednesday, alumnus Aaron J. Nelson wrote to Milloy, “Your gross misrepresentation of the Howard student body was slanderous and highly irresponsible. . . . I have no other resolve but to demand that The Washington Post no longer carry your column and that you issue a formal apology [for] your last remarks to its readers.”

NAHJ Mourns Member Hit by Subway Train

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is mourning the death of member Leon Valdivieso, 25, of Germantown, Md., who the Washington Post reported “was run over at 5:40 a.m. Sunday by an Orange Line [subway] train, Metro officials said. They said it appears that Valdivieso stepped onto the tracks before the train pulled into the station. Trains were running early that day for the Marine Corps Marathon.”

Valdivieso “took part in the student campus during the association’s national convention this past June in Fort Worth, Texas,” NAHJ said in a news release.

“The student campus is a week-long program that trains students about coverage issues, news writing and newsroom ethics. The program takes place during the association’s annual convention.

“Valdivieso was a resident of Germantown, MD, and a student at Montgomery College. His death has been ruled an accident.”

Anchor-Turned-Politician Gets 3-Month Sentence

“Former television news anchor and failed political candidate Dalton Tanonaka was sentenced in U.S. court to three months in prison for campaign spending violations,” the Associated Press reported.

“Tanonaka, once a senior anchor of CNN’s Asian headquarters in Hong Kong, pleaded guilty in July to two counts of violating campaign finance laws during his unsuccessful run for U.S. Congress in 2004.

“. . . A former TV newsman in Hawaii, Tanonaka covered Hong Kong’s return to China in 1997 for CNBC and anchored “Japan Business Today” from Tokyo for Japan’s public broadcaster NHK.

“He left as senior CNN anchor in Hong Kong in 2001 to make his unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor.”

2 Black Reporters Leave St. Pete Times

Marcus Franklin, the St. Petersburg Times reporter who was shot and wounded in September while in Baton Rouge, La., as part of the paper’s Hurricane Katrina coverage, and reporter Demorris Lee, who arrived at the paper six months ago from the Raleigh News & Observer, have separately left the paper, Executive Editor Neil Brown confirmed this week.

But despite the Times’ revolving-door reputation, “We are not slowing down on recruiting . . . nor have the departures kept us from attracting good people,” Brown told Journal-isms, naming four recently hired black reporters: Stephen Holder, Amber Mobley, Vince Thomas and Dalia Wheatt.

Franklin could not be reached for comment, and Lee, reached in Raleigh, N.C., said, “my leaving the Times on really, really great terms had nothing to do with the profession of journalism. My family and I thought it would be better to be close to my nuclear family, who are aging. We didn’t realize the void that would be created when [we] left the area.”

Brown said the Times was continuing to work on creating for staffers of all races “a good culture of editing, where people have editors/coaches they can learn from day in and day out,” and are given opportunities to do good stories. A staff development committee headed by Joe Childs, Clearwater managing editor, and Marilyn Garateix, who has been active in the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, is working on retention strategies, Brown said.

“Parts of our marketplace aren’t very diverse. We need to make even those jobs attractive. Anybody who comes to the St. Petersburg Times considers us because they see a great opportunity to grow professionally.”

Lee agreed, pointing to a series he wrote there, “Beyond the Gridiron.”

Univision Cutting Workforce 5.9%

“In announcing a 5.9% reduction in Univision Communications Inc.’s (UVN) work force, President and Chief Operating Officer Ray Rodriguez called the move ‘difficult, but necessary,'” Paula L. Stepankowsky reported Wednesday for MarketWatch.

“Rodriguez said the cuts will come primarily from its television business.

“Chief Financial Officer Andrew Hobson said the cuts are being made in administrative support functions and reflect a streamlining of the company’s administrative support process and an elimination of some work that had been done.

“Univision has 4,400 full-time employees, according to its latest annual report. A 5.9% reduction in full-time work force would mean about 259 jobs would be affected.”

BET Hires Touré, Selwyn Hinds, Nelson George

“Today BET News announced the hiring of ex-CNN pop culture correspondent Touré, former Editor-in-Chief of The Source magazine Selwyn Hinds; and writer and filmmaker Nelson George. BET President of Entertainment Reginald Hudlin describes the hiring of the Brooklyn-based trio as pivotal to the next phase of BET News and Public Affairs programming,” an announcement from Black Entertainment Television said today.

“Roles managed by the three will touch multiple aspects of BET programming. Touré draws a multi-level assignment as host, writer and Consulting Producer for BET News, including serving as host on such specialized programming as the recent BET 25TH ANNIVERSARY POST-SHOW. Hinds will assume the role of Interim Executive Producer for the daily BET News Briefs, periodic BET News Specials and BET’s soon-to-be launched Sunday news magazine show. George becomes Consulting Producer on all BET News and Public Affairs programs. All three gentlemen either hail from or reside in the New York borough of Brooklyn.”

Magazines for Black, Latino Men on Rise

“From the cover of the October-November issue of King magazine, actress Meagan Good pouts her lips, juts her camisole-clad bosom, and casts an alluring gaze,” Dwayne Campbell wrote Thursday in the Philadelphia Inquirer. “On the cover of this fall’s Fuego, the quarterly magazine’s second issue, Colombian actress Paola Rey also stares enticingly at prospective buyers. She holds her cascading hair back with one hand and tucks the other ever so slightly in the folds of her saffron strapless swimsuit.

“Only creative angles and dainty pieces of clothing separate these photos and the more explicit ones inside from the photos in these magazines’ X-rated counterparts. But this appears to be why King, aimed at African American men, and Fuego, aimed at Hispanic men, have been steadily building followers among young minority males who see them as alternatives to ‘lad’ magazines such as Maxim, Stuff and FHM that feature mostly Caucasian women.”

Buzz Has Jay-Z as Potential Source Owner

“Is Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter looking to follow former partner Damon Dash into the magazine business?” Jeff Bercovici wrote today in Women’s Wear Daily.

“According to buzz making the rounds Thursday, Carter is said to be considering making a joint bid for hip-hop title The Source, which faces legal action from its landlord and major creditor for failure to pay rent and loans. Carter likely would team up in the bid with two top music executives, Warner Music Group’s Lyor Cohen and Interscope’s Steve Stoute, said two former employees of the magazine and a source at Def Jam records.

“It’s unclear whether they would try to acquire the magazine directly from owners David Mays and Ray ‘Benzino’ Scott, or try to buy out the $16 million in debt claimed by Textron Financial Corp., The Source’s biggest creditor, in hopes of taking control in the event of a bankruptcy proceeding. Other interested parties, including XXL owner Harris Publications, also are said to be circling.”

Short Takes

In Congo, “Franck Kangundu, a veteran political affairs journalist at the independent daily La Référence Plus, was shot dead shortly after midnight by unidentified assassins who accosted him at his home in the capital, Kinshasa. The attackers also killed Kangundu’s wife, HélÚne Mpaka,” the Committee to Protect Journalists reported today.

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