Black College Papers Face Interference, Flakiness
“Uncommitted staffers, interference by the administration and infrequent publishing are among the primary problems faced by newspapers at historically black colleges, according to editors and advisers who discussed those issues Feb. 8 to 11 at the 2006 HBCU Newspaper Conference and Job Fair,” Jameya Porter and Ayesha Rascoe wrote Monday for the Black College Wire.
“Those factors can impede student journalists as they prepare for their careers. The conference drew 162 students from 20 schools to North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. Media professionals and students shared ideas there for improving the newspapers and confronting those obstacles.”
“. . . Students related several examples.
- “A front-page note in the Feb. 8 issue of the A&T Register alerted readers that a school official insisted on approving quotes to be used. The official also asked to read the reporter’s story in advance of publication; the note told readers that this would violate newspaper policy.
- “At a session about the First Amendment, student editors from Lincoln University of Missouri alleged that an administrator there threatened the newspaper’s funding if she continued to be questioned for a popular opinion feature called “21 Questions.”
- “At Hampton University this month, officials tried to convince the Hampton Script that it did not have a story when a site team visit resulted in a recommendation of a two-year provisional accreditation for the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications. The Script wrote the story anyway.
- “Some student reporters said officials refuse to talk to them about stories of interest to students.” “How are you going to talk to the local paper and not talk to us — the students — and we’re the ones paying you?” Jennifer Jiggetts, editor in chief of Norfolk State University’s Spartan Echo newspaper asked in the story.
As reported in 2004, there are few black student editors on mainstream campuses. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education reported then, “Newspapers at 19 of the nation’s 25 highest-ranked universities responded to our survey. Overall, our survey found 350 editors at these 19 student newspapers. Only nine, or 2.6 percent, were black.”
Similar results held for second-tier institutions.
- Winners Named in 2005 HBCU “Excellence in Journalism” Student Newspaper Contest
- Legendary Journalist Sees Power at Black Colleges (Eddie Cole Jr., Black College Wire)
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Patricia Fisher, Pioneer at Seattle Times, Dies at 59
Patricia Fisher, who was both the first woman and the first black to write editorials for The Seattle Times, died Sunday, Marc Ramirez reported Monday in the Seattle Times. She was 59 and had multiple sclerosis.
“In 1987, Ms. Fisher, along with [Seattle Times columnist Jerry] Large and others, co-founded the Black Journalists Association of Seattle (BJAS), the local chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.
“Several years earlier, Ms. Fisher and other local journalists had co-founded the Northwest Minority Media Association, now called Northwest Journalists of Color.
“But Ms. Fisher’s energies were mostly directed at students, and she ignited their journalistic desires through her classroom appearances. “If she saw even a spark of interest, she was there to nurture it,” aid Micki Flowers, a longtime friend and former KIRO-TV reporter who met Fisher in 1966 when both were students at the University of Washington, the story said.
Multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the central nervous system, eventually forced her to retire in 1989.
- Lynne Varner, Seattle Times: A special friend I never met
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Black Cable Viewers Cast Eyes Beyond BET
“It probably comes as no surprise that Black Entertainment Television was the No.1 rated network in primetime among African-American viewers in 2005. But what may open a few eyes is that African-Americans are also sampling more broad-based networks like Turner Network Television, Disney Channel and even Lifetime Network at nearly the same levels,” R. Thomas Umstead reported Monday for Multichannel News.
“Network executives say efforts to provide more diverse images both from their original and acquired programming are beginning to pay dividends as African-American viewers tune into general entertainment networks, as well as BET, to see images of themselves.
“Despite the industry’s emphasis on reaching Hispanic viewers, network executives say they’re not turning their backs on the African-American audience. With African-American viewers representing 23% of all cable subscribers â?? despite only making up 12% of all cable homes â?? network executives are conscious of providing fare that will appeal to the group.”
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Bob Johnson Expands Holdings In Hotels
“Robert L. Johnson, the Black Entertainment Television founder who has since become the country’s largest African American owner of hotels, said yesterday that his Bethesda private investment firm has struck a $1.7 billion deal to purchase 100 hotels, most of which are Marriotts,” Michael S. Rosenwald reported Tuesday in the Washington Post.
“Johnson’s agreement with Indiana-based White Lodging Services Corp. makes his six-year-old firm, RLJ Development, into a major national hotel owner, with the company and its affiliates controlling $3 billion in assets and 129 properties scattered in major U.S. markets. The deal also makes RLJ one of the country’s largest franchisees of Marriott properties,” Rosenwald wrote.
White Lodging owns the Indianapolis Marriott, host hotel for the Aug. 16-20 convention of the National Association of Black Journalists.