Maynard Institute archives

McClatchy’s “Going to Get It Right”

by richard0500

Stuart a Consultant; Olmstead Starts Own Firm

The McClatchy Co. assumed control of Knight Ridder newspapers this week, making it the nation’s second-largest newspaper company. Two black journalists, Larry Olmstead and Bryan Monroe, lost their corporate jobs when Knight Ridder went out of business, but McClatchy hired another veteran black journalist, Knight Ridder recruiter Reginald Stuart, as a consultant.

Olmstead, who was vice president of staff development and diversity, said he had started a consulting firm with other former Knight Ridder executives, based in San Jose, Calif., Knight Ridder’s home. Monroe, who was assistant vice president/news and is president of the National Association of Black Journalists, said he was taking time off.

McClatchy absorbed 20 of Knight Ridder’s 32 newspapers and is selling the other 12. It already had 12 papers and a reputation as a diversity-friendly company. So did Knight Ridder, which used the slogan, “Diversity. No Excuses.”

Howard Weaver, vice president, news, told Journal-isms today that McClatchy was less centralized than Knight Ridder, but considered diversity important enough to be one of three items on every McClatchy executive’s management-by-objective goals. The other two are circulation and revenue. Other goals are determined by the location, he said.

Weaver said McClatchy agreed to continue such programs as the Knight Ridder Minority Scholars Program, which offered up to $40,000 in scholarship funds to graduating high school seniors from communities in which Knight Ridder companies operated. “We’re not going to pick up everything, but we do recognize there are going to be responsibilities,” Weaver said.

“The deal is big and we’re going to get it right. We’ll have to adapt. The current structure may change,” he said.

As a consultant, Stuart is working on McClatchy representation at the remaining conventions this summer of the journalist of color organizations, Weaver said.

He added he was proud of his company’s showing in the diversity survey released this month by the Associated Press Sports Editors. The highest percentages of people of color were at the sports departments at the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, in the biggest-circulation category and the Fresno (Calif.) Bee in the second-largest circulation category.

Olmstead told Journal-isms he had opened a consulting firm, Leading Edge Associates, “with a focus on executive coaching, management training and leadership development. LEA will also do diversity consulting and assist with culture change initiatives,” he said via e-mail. “I will be working with Rafael Gonzalez, a veteran consultant and executive coach; Marty Claus, former VP/News, Knight Ridder; Robyn Parmley, former KR training coordinator and human resources analyst, and others. We plan a formal announcement in a few weeks that will provide more detailed information. Meantime, folks can contact me at larryolmstead@cs.com, or 408-813-3463,” Olmstead wrote.

Monroe said, “I am taking some much needed time to hang out with my kids and get all those chores done around the house. Meanwhile, I have been talking to a few folks about my next opportunities and may have some more news in a few weeks.”

Meantime, “The new owners of Philadelphia’s largest news media company promised yesterday to raise the profile of The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com with a $5 million print, billboard and broadcast advertising campaign, plus stepped-up promotion and subscription drives,” Joseph N. DiStefano reported today in the Philadelphia Inquirer, which was sold along with the Philadelphia Daily News to local investors.

“As of now, this great news organization is locally owned,” Brian Tierney, chief executive officer of Philadelphia Media, said from a dais crowded with his fellow investors, to sustained applause from a group of newspaper managers and staff, DiStefano wrote. One of those investors – who have now pledged not to interfere with editorial content – is an African American investment banker, Leslie A. Brun.

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Vibe Finds Buyer; Layoffs, New Editor Expected

“After more than a year on the block, urban music and fashion monthly Vibe is said to have found a buyer,” Stephanie D. Smith reported today in Mediaweek.

“Sources familiar with the deal say Keith Glen Media, the parent company of progressive fashion and culture monthly BlackBook, is expected to take over Vibe magazine, womenâ??s quarterly Vibe Vixen and Vibeâ??s Internet, television and mobile offerings. Keith Glen Media is led by CEO Eric Gertler and president Ari Horowitz,” Smith wrote. “The deal is expected to close today.

“According to sources, Vibe President Kenard Gibbs and editor in chief Mimi Valdes will likely leave the company. Additionally, layoffs, primarily on the editorial side, are also expected.”

Smith reported June 12, “Vibe has struggled as of late with its ad pages. Through July, pages fell 8.2 percent to 624, reports the Mediaweek Monitor. Vibe’s paid circulation fell 2.8 percent to 836,611 through the second half of 2005, missing its 850,000 rate base, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Newsstand sales grew 8.1 percent.” Len Burnett, Vibe’s group publisher, said total circulation declined in part to Hurricane Katrina, Smith said.

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Yusef Jackson, Jesse’s Son, Lands on Media Map

“Now that he’s got Radar magazine, is the Chicago Sun-Times again on Yusef Jackson’s radar?” Phil Rosenthal asked today in the Chicago Tribune.

“Jackson, son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, was reluctant to take the focus off Thursday’s announcement that his Chicago-based Integrity Multimedia Co. is giving Maer Roshan his third shot at making a go of Radar, the snarky online and in-print chronicler of politics, scandal and pop culture.

“But with Radar, Jackson says he’s ‘now firmly in the media,’ an appetite only whetted a couple years ago by his rejected high bid, reportedly $850 million, for the Sun-Times and its area sister publications.”

Jackson, 35, is a lawyer who is chief executive of River North Sales & Service, an Anheuser-Busch distributorship.

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Mike McQueen Promoted to Bureau Chief at AP

“Mike McQueen, assistant chief of bureau for The Associated Press in New Orleans and former managing editor of The Macon (Ga.) Telegraph, has been named AP chief of bureau in New Orleans,” the AP, the world’s largest newsgathering organization, announced Thursday.

As reported last month, only four African Americans have held the bureau chief’s position at AP. Larry Campbell in Anchorage, Alaska, is the only other African American bureau chief.

Anthony Marquez, a Latino, is bureau chief in Los Angeles, and John Shurr, a Cherokee who is on medical leave, holds the title in Columbia, S.C.

McQueen, 49, will direct AP’s news coverage and staffs in Louisiana and Mississippi as well as head relationships with AP member newspapers and broadcast stations in the two states, the announcement said. McQueen joined AP as assistant bureau chief only in March.

He succeeds Hank Ackerman, 63, who has been bureau chief in New Orleans since January. Ackerman will return to the corporate staff as a general executive in the AP’s Newspaper Markets Department, the announcement said.

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Fox News Channel Going Off Air for Mexican Election

“Fox News Channel is going off the air in Mexico in advance of Sunday’s presidential election to steer clear of that country’s restrictions on campaign ads and public surveys, cable channel executives said Wednesday,” Matea Gold reported Thursday in the Los Angeles Times.

“Fox News decided to temporarily halt transmission into Mexico because of concerns that the channel’s coverage would violate a ban on disseminating opinion polls or campaign commercials in the days before the election, and jeopardize the standing of the cable and satellite companies that distribute its signal.”

Robert Feder reported today in the Chicago Sun-Times that “Brenda Carmona and Enrique Rodriguez, news anchors on Univision’s Spanish-language WGBO-Channel 66, will be reporting through Monday from Mexico City with live coverage of the Mexican national elections. The station says they’re the only Chicago news team reporting from Mexico.”

Burbank, Calif.-based Garcia Research said Wednesday that presidential candidate Felipe Calderon, from the National Action Party (PAN), leads among Mexican immigrants in the United States, with the support of 22 percent of those polled. Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, from the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) received 13 percent, and Roberto Madrazo, from the PRI/Alliance for Mexico, received 8 percent. Almost half of the respondents – 46 percent – said they were not familiar with the candidates or that they did not like any of them, the firm said.

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NABJ Cancels Stand-Alone Awards Dinner

After two years of holding its awards program as a stand-alone banquet at a Washington hotel, the National Association of Black Journalists is restoring the program as part of its annual convention. Last fall’s “Salute to Excellence” awards dinner lost $61,840, Jackie Greene, co-chair of the organization’s financial oversight committee, told Journal-isms earlier this month.

“We made the decision to bring the awards back into the convention this year after looking at ways to better manage the resources of the association overall, as well as present our signature awards to as large an audience as possible. This is something many members have been asking for,” NABJ President Bryan Monroe said today.

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists, however, will continue its annual program, also held at a Washington hotel. Its third such event will be held Oct. 5, Iván Román, executive director of the organization, said. In its first year, he said, the event at least broke even and last year made about $64,000.

One difference between the two organizations’ approaches, Román said, might be that NAHJ views the event as a fund-raiser rather than a membership event. Prices are higher, and the event is promoted as one of several sponsorship opportunities, he said. “Ours is not focused on membership,” Román said.

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Domestic “Terrorist” Story Faded Fast

“Last week’s news that seven black men had been arrested in Miami on terrorism charges faded from the headlines as quickly as it landed. The group, it turns out, had no contacts with any terrorist groups; no explosives, few resources, and its leader sought such basic equipment as boots and uniforms from a federal informant,” Jackie Jones wrote Tuesday for BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“. . . Initially, news reports raised fears of a serious domestic threat but by Sunday, interest in the story had begun to dissipate, and the national morning talk shows had moved on to stories about the possibility of troop cuts in Iraq. In Washington, one local pundit referred to the group as the ‘Keystone Terrorists.'”

On National Public Radio on Sunday, David Folkenflik reported, “All three major American cable news networks gave the arrests nearly wall-to-wall coverage. Pretty scant attention was given to the subject that dominated Friday’s front pages, at the nation’s leading newspapers. And that’s this revelation: U.S. Treasury officials had secretly relied on sweeping subpoenas to sift through the millions of records processed by an international banking group called SWIFT.”

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Father’s Story Explains Why She Became Journalist

“This is why I do what I do,” Esther Wu, outgoing national president of the Asian American Journalists Association, explained Thursday to readers of her Dallas Morning News column.

She told the story of her father, who came to the United States as a young boy from Toi San, China, and the indignities he faced.

“Diversity is not just about race. It is about the acceptance and inclusion of all people – regardless of age, sexual preference, religious orientation, or special needs or disabilities,” Wu wrote.

“My father worked hard all his life to keep his family fed and clothed. But he wanted his life to have meaning. He wanted to make a difference – another trait I picked up from him.

“Our newspaper industry is changing so rapidly that sometimes I worry we’ll lose sight of our core mission.”

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Asian Journalists to Evaluate All Programs

“These are indeed challenging times for our industry. Not just in financial terms, but in terms of how we view and distribute the news,” Jeanne Mariani-Belding, who becomes national president of the Asian American Journalists Association on Jan. 1, told Journal-isms.

“And AAJA, too, must evolve to provide our members with the skills they need to compete and succeed in these multimedia newsrooms of the future,” said Mariani-Belding, editorial and opinion editor of the Honolulu Advertiser. Now vice president-print, she ran unopposed for president at the organization’s convention in Hawaii last week. Journal-isms asked her to explain her platform.

“That means evaluating all of our programs, which is what we’re in the process of doing at this time,” Mariani-Belding continued. “In addition, as we watch consolidation and changes along the media landscape, ensuring diversity in this new mix is crucial – and AAJA will continue to play a role there.

“I really do feel that with challenges come opportunities – and I see this as a key opportunity for AAJA to become even more relevant and meaningful to our members, and to lead the way in terms of diversity in our changing industry. It truly is an exciting time for our industry and for AAJA, as we look to the future.

“We are also in the second stage our $2 million dollar endowment effort, which thus far has garnered strong support, so we’ll continue to see that through. The endowment will help ensure the organization’s fiscal health during these financially challenging times for nonprofits everywhere.”

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For July 4: Pondering the Race of Lady Liberty

“Almost everybody’s heard the story by now: The Statue of Liberty is a woman of African descent. Just look at her features. Slightly flared nose, full lips,” began a column Wednesday by Lawrence Aaron in the Record of Hackensack, N.J., as columnists begin to discuss Independence Day.

“So was she black or wasn’t she?” Aaron asked. “Compelling arguments arise on both sides.”

Others wrote about related July 4 issues, including immigration and voting rights:

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Biographer Asks More Questions on King Papers

Not everyone is giving an unqualified cheer to the acquisition of the papers of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by an Atlanta consortium, announced last weekend.

In the Los Angeles Times today, King biographer David Garrow said he saw more to be done:

“What’s most important is the fate of the hundreds of boxes of civil rights papers that remain at the King Center,” he wrote. “They may not contain valuable autographs, but that does not make them any less historically significant. The richest single collection among those left behind is the papers of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the 1960s’ major protest groups. King’s office files, and those of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which he led, are still at the center, which is understaffed and in poor repair. It is imperative” that Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin “use her influence to reunite these documents with the ones purchased through Sotheby’s.

“Equally troublesome is that the terms of the King sale prohibit quotes of any of King’s unpublished or published works without permission from the family. The $32-million price tag – a premium, given that Sotheby’s auction estimate was $15 million to $30 million – did not include the literary rights.”

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Short Takes

  • “Fisher Communications announced Wednesday it had agreed to purchase African-American Broadcasting of Bellevue, owners of KWOG-TV serving the Seattle market, for $16 million. The deal will give Fisher, which owns KOMO-TV, the ABC affiliate in Seattle, a duopoly in the 13th largest TV market,” Katy Bachman reported Wednesday in Mediaweek.
  • More than 40 news staffers at CN8 in New Castle, Del., were laid off effective Aug. 28, as part of Comcast’s plan to move away from local news and focus more on the region from Maine to Virginia, Gail Shister reported today in the Philadelphia Inquirer. However, “Art Fennell, co-anchor at 7 and 10, will host an hour-long newsmagazine, Art Fennell Reports, at 10 weeknights,” Shister wrote. Fennell is a past president of the National Association of Black Journalists.
  • Tom Curley, president and CEO of the Associated Press, Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor, “NBC Nightly News,” and the late New York Times editor A.M. Rosenthal will be honored by the South Asian Journalists Association at its annual convention on July 15 at Columbia University in New York, the organization said. SAJA also announced the winners of its annual awards.
  • “For the second year in a row, the St. Louis American dominated the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s Merit Awards dinner, netting eight awards including the top honors General Excellence and the John B. Russwurm Trophy that is given to the newspaper receiving the most points in all Merit awards categories,” Lorinda M. Bullock reported on Wednesday for the New Pittsburgh Courier. “The American also placed first in Best Column Writing.”
  • “For Leon Harris, the path to local glory on the small screen began in college with a noble pursuit that had nothing to do with television. He was chasing a babe,” John Maynard wrote Wednesday in the Washington Post. The WJLA-TV and former CNN anchor took a date to a communications conference while in college in 1982 and heard Ted Turner describe his plans for CNN.
  • “Some 55 percent of U.S. Hispanics watch television in both English and Spanish, while only 12 percent watch TV in only English and 31 percent in only Spanish, according to a study by Encuesta, Inc., a U.S. Hispanic marketing and research company,” John Consoli reported Wednesday in Mediaweek.
  • In a case involving an imprisoned subscriber to the Christian Science Monitor, the Supreme Court ruled 6-2 on Wednesday that inmates do not enjoy a First Amendment right to receive newspapers and magazines in their cells when they are being punished in the highest security section of a prison, the Monitor reported.
  • Columnists of color are to be featured at the National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ conference in Boston today through Sunday, including Derrick Jackson of the Boston Globe, Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Rochelle Riley of the Detroit Free Press, Suzette Martinez Standring, the organization’s president and a Filipino-American, told Journal-isms. In addition, Javier Marin, editor of El Planeta and co-founder of Hispanic News Press, is to discuss breaking into Spanish-speaking publications. She said the results of a first-ever columnists’ demographic study, conducted in collaboration with the University of San Francisco, are to be released.
  • “When we hired Rashaun Rucker, his references praised him for regularly coming back with images that the rest of the photo staff missed. His work was always different and enriched the newspaper,” Joe Grimm, recruiting and development editor of the Detroit Free Press, wrote last week on the Unity: Journalists of Color Web site. “Somebody always told me, when people zig, you zag, and you’ll usually come out on the winning side,” Rucker was quoted as saying.

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