Finger-Pointing at Inquirer

Company, Union Each Blame Other for Diversity Hit

Management and leaders of the Newspaper Guild are pointing fingers at each other over the disproportionate number of African Americans laid off at the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The National Association of Black Journalists protested to Inquirer management last week that black journalists were twice as likely to be laid off as their white counterparts.

On Monday, African Americans at the paper sent their own letter of protest to management.

“African American journalists made up only 11.3 percent of the Inquirer’s newsroom staff,” said the employees’ letter to Brian Tierney, CEO and publisher of Philadelphia Media Holdings. “Nonetheless, black reporters, editors and photographers represented a staggering 23 percent of the 71 people laid off. That means the layoff percentage was twice as high as the proportion of black journalists the newspaper started with. (If you include the five Asian American journalists also laid off, that percentage increases to 30 percent for journalists of color.)

“Brian, those numbers just don’t jibe and they don’t add up to good business. There is no way that Philadelphia, a city that is majority minority, or its outlying regions can be covered with any nuanced perspective or knowledgeable authority without the contributions of a diverse workforce.”

Tierney wrote to Bryan Monroe, president of NABJ, that he had read the NABJ letter and said, “I want you to know that I agree 100% and I find it very troubling.

“You may be aware that I was quoted publicly voicing this very same concern throughout the contract negotiations. The impact layoffs would have on diversity was one of the driving reasons that we tried, repeatedly, to change the seniority system under the Guild contract. Unfortunately, Guild leadership was adamant that they would not change the seniority system in a way that would allow us to consider critical diversity issues in the event of a layoff, and as such my hands were tied.”

Not so fast, responded the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia. “Nothing could be farther from the truth,” it said in a statement to members on Wednesday.

“Not once during bargaining did the Company raise the issue of diversity or express any interest in protecting it during layoffs.

“The only thing the Company asked the Guild bargaining committee to approve – and it did – was a list of jobs the Company wanted to protect from layoffs. The Company cited the need to preserve expertise and continuity as the reason for those so-called carve outs.”

“. . . Of the 22 other reporters who were skipped and thus, not laid off, three are African American and one is Asian-American. Looking at [it] another way, they saved 18 Caucasian members and four members of racial minorities. They could have done better.”

The African American Inquirer employees plan to meet with Tierney and editor Bill Marimow on Tuesday.

Apart from the African American concerns, a South Asian reporter, Gaiutra Bahadur, told Journal-isms she was worried about what would happen to the immigration beat.

“I got my layoff phone call the night before I left for Mexico,” she said. “It came from Carl Lavin, our deputy managing editor for news. He said, ‘we all know this isn’t about your professionalism or your talent, but about hire dates and numbers.’

“Everyone tells me not to take it personally. But I can’t help it. I have worked as a reporter for just over nine years. Seven of them were at the Inquirer. The Inqy gave me my first real newspaper job, as a two-year correspondent in the Cherry Hill bureau. And it sent me to Iraq last year. As someone raised in some ways by the paper, and who risked her life working for it in Baghdad, I have to tell you I was very hurt to be laid off by the Inquirer.

“The paper compiled a list of beats central to the mission of the paper and therefore spared from the guillotine. So, aside from the pain to me personally, I have to ask why immigration wasn’t one of them. There are at least 350,000 immigrants in our coverage area, and certainly the last year has shown how critical and live-wire the issue is for the country as a whole. We aren’t Miami, LA or New York, but nearly 10 percent of Philadelphia was born outside the U.S. Isn’t it critical to the mission of the paper to tell their stories and capture their voices? Or is that just a luxury in this age of cutbacks?”

And in another development, “The owner of Philadelphia’s two largest newspapers said Tuesday it is considering selling the historic building that serves as the publications’ headquarters, a landmark that has graced the downtown skyline for 82 years,” the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.

• Kia Gregory, Philadelphia Weekly: Reading Between Racial Lines — Layoffs at the Inquirer sharply reduce diversity

MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.

Where Were Blacks Commenting on Bush Speech?

“I’m flipping between MSNBC, CNN, FOX, CBS, ABC and NBC and surveying the array of voices offering their views on President Bush’s new Iraq plan. Besides Sen. Barack Obama, I didn’t . . . see ANY Black folks,” Roland S. Martin, editor of the Chicago Defender, wrote Wednesday night on his blog.

“I’m watching Sen. Mitch McConnell, Patrick Buchanan, Lawrence O’Donnell, Joe Klein, Andrew Sullivan, David Gergen, Gov. Tom Vilsack, [Arianna] Huffington, Michael Crowley, Oliver North, and the list goes on and on. When was the last time you saw ONE Black general or military expert share their views on the war in Iraq or the war in terror? I didn’t see it Wednesday night! Is there one TV network that has an African American on staff as a military expert, and if so, who is he/she and which network?

“Is it possible that ANY Black writers, columnists, bloggers, political consultants or analysts had ANYTHING to say about the president’s speech?”

MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.

“Minority Correspondent” Eyed for “60 Minutes”

“We definitely have our eye out for a minority correspondent” to succeed CBS correspondent Ed Bradley on “60 Minutes,” Jeff Fager, the show’s executive producer, told Gail Shister of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“It’s important that our correspondents represent a cross section of America. That’s important in journalism, as in all walks of life.”

“Bradley won’t be replaced as a correspondent, however, until next season, according to Fager,” Shister wrote on Wednesday.

“‘It’s like trying to replace Lou Gehrig. It’s impossible. Ed was a superstar who died too young. He left us before anybody expected it. It was a shock to the broadcast. He was a huge figure here.'”

The void left by Bradley, who died Nov. 9 of leukemia, has highlighted diversity questions at CBS. Bradley, who was 65, was the first and only African American correspondent in the show’s 39-year history.

In the St. Petersburg Times, media critic Eric Deggans noted on Dec. 11: “Bradley came to CBS’s Washington bureau in the mid ’70s, around the same time as future CNN anchor Bernard Shaw, future 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl and future CBS Evening News co-anchor Connie Chung. All were hired, in part, to answer criticisms over the lack of race and gender diversity in network news.

“Three decades later, CBS has not found the next Ed Bradley.”

“60 Minutes” spokesman Kevin Tedesco told Journal-isms he could not say whether CBS would look outside the network for Bradley’s successor or whether Fager’s phrase “a minority correspondent” included Asian Americans, Latinos and Native Americans.

“It speaks for itself,” he said of Fager’s statement.

Shister began Wednesday’s column by reporting that Bradley’s “60 Minutes” colleagues are finding solace in his untouched office.

“It’s very comforting,” she quoted correspondent Steve Kroft as saying. “It feels like he’s still here. In some ways, it almost feels like he’s off shooting a story.”

MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.

11 Media Figures on People en Español List

Eleven media figures are on People en Español’s list of “The 100 Most Influential Hispanics,” featured in the February issue now on newsstands.

It features television anchors but no working newspaper journalists (unless a publisher counts) or broadcast journalists in the English-speaking media. “The editors of People en Español picked those they felt made the most impact,” spokeswoman Jennifer Morales said.

The list includes: Christina Norman, president of MTV; Gustavo Cisneros, president of the Cisneros Group, owner of Venezuelan broadcaster Venevision; Jorge Ramos, co-anchor of “Noticiero Univision”; María Antonieta Collins, host on Telemundo; María Celeste Arrarás, editor and anchor on Telemundo; Maria Elena Salinas, co-anchor of “Noticiero Univision”; and Mario Kreutzberger (Don Francisco), whose weekly variety show, “Sabado Gigante” (Giant Saturday), “draws a bigger audience than Leno, Letterman and Oprah combined,” according to ABC News.

Also, Markos Moulitsas Zúniga of Dailykos.com, a blogger who does political commentary; Mónica Lozano, CEO and publisher of the Los Angeles newspaper La Opinion; Nina Tassler, president, CBS Entertainment and Raúl Alarcón Jr., president, Spanish Broadcasting System.

“Though the published list is out now, People en Español wants readers to weigh in and vote for their favorite personality on a Ford Edge-sponsored poll at peopleenespanol.com,” Nancy Ayala wrote Friday in Marketing y Medios.” Ford ran ads to promote its online participation as well as its Ford Edge vehicle, the story said.

“The poll started on Dec. 29 when subscribers of the magazine received the issue. Site users will be able to vote during the month of January. Voters will be able to see real-time results as soon as they submit their vote, with total votes calculated next month.”

MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.

Ebony Statement in Line With Other Magazines

Ebony magazine’s declaration in its February issue about the infamous racial epithet, that “you will likely never see that word used in this magazine – or our sister magazine, Jet – again,” is in synch with at least two other magazines targeting African Americans.

“B.E. simply doesn’t use the word, as our mission is to uplift the AA community,” Black Enterprise magazine spokesman Andrew Wadium told Journal-isms by e-mail.

Founder Earl Graves Sr. “is someone who had to sit on the back of the bus, even while serving his country.

“He is no stranger to racism and has seen [its] devastating effects first-hand,” he said. “Our core audience knows our mission is to forward the community though wealth-building, positive career advice and inspirational goals.”

At Sister2Sister, targeted at black women, “We treat it the way we treat any other instance of profanity: We’ll put a couple of [other] characters in there,” said Associate Editor Ericka Boston, who said the magazine’s founder, owner and publisher, Jamie Foster Brown, feels strongly about the issue.

Essence magazine had no one available to comment, spokeswoman Sheila Harris said, and the office of Elliott Wilson, editor of the hip-hop magazine XXL, referred Journal-isms to a public relations spokesman who did not respond.

The Ebony editorial by Bryan Monroe, editorial director of Ebony and Jet, also won support Wednesday in a column by Annette John-Hall in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

John-Hall urged readers to view the Web site www.abolishthenword.com.

“Its graphic and searing introduction breaks down the history of the n-word, spliced with a horrific series of photographs of black men being lynched with ‘Strange Fruit,’ Billie Holiday‘s mournful protest dirge, in the background,” she wrote.

“Blacks who are still debating the use of the word and whites who don’t understand why they can’t use it, should have a look at the site and ask themselves not just ‘Why would you use the n-word today?’ but ‘How could you ever use the n-word again?'”

MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.

Winfrey Stirs Pot With U.S.-S. Africa Comparison

Oprah Winfrey is continuing to draw commentary for her statement in South Africa that in America, “I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools that I just stopped going. The sense that you need to learn just isn’t there. If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don’t ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school.”

“Oh, no, she didn’t,” wrote Eugene Robinson Tuesday in the Washington Post.

“It’s hard to know where to start. I guess the most charitable spin is that Oprah should visit some different schools. If she checks out some rich suburbs, for example, she’ll find that kids there also want iPods — and, yes, that they lust after overpriced sneakers, too.

“In the inner-city schools I’ve visited, most students desperately want to learn—just as Oprah, growing up poor in inner-city Milwaukee, wanted desperately to learn.”

Winfrey was in South Africa to open her $40 million Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, spread over 52 acres outside Johannesburg.

Fashion writer Robin Givhan, who won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism last year, defended the inclusion of a beauty salon in the complex.

“The way in which women—and men—feel about themselves when they’re standing in front of a mirror has a direct impact on the way they perceive themselves in every aspect of their life,” Givhan said.

• Eric Deggans, St. Petersburg Times blog: Criticizing Oprah and Asking the Question: Is ReacTV for Real?
• Deborah Mathis, BlackAmericaWeb.com: Oprah Shouldn’t Be Judged for Her Choices, Nor Should the Kids Who Need Miracle Schools Here
  
• Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune: Oprah’s `truth’ shouldn’t hurt

MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.

Moroccan Editor on Trial for Sex, Religion Jokes

In a case that recalls the furor in some countries a year ago when Danish cartoonists drew the face of the Prophet Muhammad, “A magazine editor in Morocco who published jokes about sex and religion faces up to five years in prison on charges of damaging public morality and Islam, in the latest case to test the freedom of the press in the country,” Caroline Alexander reported Wednesday for Bloomberg News.

“‘I don’t understand why we are being prosecuted for publishing stories that Moroccan people tell,’ Driss Ksikes, of the Arabic-language weekly Nichane, said in a telephone interview from Casablanca where he’s being tried alongside his colleague Sanaa Al-Aji. `It’s an absurd affair.’

“The state prosecutor is also requesting the magazine’s permanent closure, a 100,000 Dirham ($12,000) fine, and seeks to ban the accused from practicing journalism. The trial began Jan. 8 and was adjourned until Jan. 15.

“The jokes Nichane published were part of a Dec. 9-15 feature entitled `How Moroccans laugh at religion, sex and politics.’ It was an analytical, ten-page piece, structured around themes and illustrated with jokes, according to Ksikes.”

MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.

Open-Government Effort Reaches Out to Latinos

“Eight leading journalists from across the country have joined the Sunshine Week 2007 Spanish Language Working Group to promote the importance of open government in the Hispanic community,” organizers announced.

“Sunshine Week (www.sunshineweek.org) is an open government initiative spearheaded by ASNE (www.asne.org). Entering its third year, the program encourages newspapers, broadcasters, online content producers, schools, libraries, civic groups and others to engage in discussions about the importance of protecting public access to government information and meetings.”

The working group members are: Gilbert Bailon, editor and publisher, Al Día, Dallas; vice president, ASNE; Dino Chiecchi, editor of Hispanic publications, San Antonio Express-News; former president, National Association of Hispanic Journalists; Sallie Hughes, assistant professor, School of Communications, University of Miami; Sergio Muñoz, syndicated columnist; former editorial board member, now contributing editor, Los Angeles Times; Mirta Ojito, author, journalist and visiting professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, New York; Rafael Palacio, editor, El Sentinel, Orlando; Cindy Rodriguez, columnist, the Denver Post; vice president of print, NAHJ; and David Sedeño, publisher, Diario La Estrella, Star-Telegram, Fort Worth.

MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.

Sibyl Myers, Pioneer Omaha Reporter, Dies at 55

Sibyl H. Myers, one of the first African Americans to work at the Omaha (Neb.) World Herald, and the first president of the Omaha Association of Black Journalists, died Monday of heart failure, the newspaper reported Tuesday. She was 55.

Myers was also the publisher of a new magazine, “Dreamland,” which worked to keep alive the history of black Omaha.

“Soon after joining the paper” in 1975, “Myers began writing a neighborhood column. Three decades later—long after she had left the paper to help with her family’s business and get more involved in the community—Myers still wrote about happenings in neighborhoods across the city as a correspondent for the newspaper,” Judith Nygren wrote.

“Myers devoted herself to helping senior citizens, inspiring at-risk kids, championing Omaha’s neighborhoods and pushing north Omaha to revitalize itself through an understanding of its history.”

MESSAGE BOARDS: Feel free to post a comment on this subject and view those from others.

Short Takes

• Courtney Maxwell Greene, who anchors Saturday mornings on WHO-TV in Des Moines, was named press secretary for incoming Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, according to Iowa news reports.
• “A communications specialist with the 911 operation in Guilford County, N.C., has been arrested in the Jan. 4 shooting death of Denita Monique Smith of North Carolina Central University, who wrote for the student newspaper, Rony Camille wrote Wednesday on Black College Wire.
• Soledad O’Brien, co-anchor of CNN’s “American Morning,” has been chosen for the NAACP President’s Award, presented in recognition of special achievement and distinguished public service. The NAACP Image Awards are to air live on March 2 on Fox.
• After nearly 21 years, Herbert A. Sample, a reporter in the Sacramento Bee’s San Francisco bureau, is leaving the paper. “A week before Christmas, the Bee recalled me and two other bureau reporters in San Francisco and LA, or offered buyouts. We all took the buyouts,” he told Journal-isms. While with the Bee’s Washington bureau, Sample was president of the Washington Association of Black Journalists.
• Acel Moore, the associate editor who retired — at least in name — from the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2005 after 43 years, is working with Dorothy Gilliam’s Prime Movers program for high school journalists as it expands into Philadelphia. Moore is operations manager for the Philadelphia pilot program, Gilliam told Journal-isms. “We plan to start Prime Movers Media Clubs at six high schools in Philly during this semester, funded by Knight Foundation.” Gilliam said she is planning “to scale up to media clubs at a total of 24 Philadelphia high schools by November.”
• The Rev. Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley, who worked on Washington’s WHUT-TV’s “Evening Exchange” program before becoming a Unitarian Universalist minister, died Dec. 10 of gallbladder cancer at her sister’s home in Vineland, N.J. She was 57, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
• Michael Robinson Chavez, photographer at the Washington Post, will be joining the Los Angeles Times in mid-February, he announced on the lightstalkers Web site.
• Michelle Webb, a former ABC News producer, will produce and manage a project in which Verizon will launch local television channels in selected markets, Verizon announced Tuesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The local channel project, to be called FiOS1, will include round-the-clock traffic and weather, local news and community sports. Webb is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
• “On Friday, several thousand U.S. media activists will converge in Memphis to attend the Free Press group’s ‘National Conference for Media Reform,'” Jeffrey Chester wrote Wednesday on AlterNet. “Among the key concerns is fighting against the Federal Communications Commission’s current plan to permit greater consolidation of our nation’s newspapers and broadcast stations; battling Congress over the broadband Internet (network neutrality); and highlighting the lack of ownership of media outlets by women and people of color.”
• Mark Holmberg, a 20-year Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch columnist whose comments to a local weekly last year drew attention to a controversial policy barring such unauthorized views, is leaving the paper, the Times-Dispatch reported Wednesday. “Editor Glenn Proctor . . . said Holmberg had left on his own, describing him as ‘a very valued commodity here,'” Editor & Publisher reported Wednesday. Proctor declined to comment on the media policy or a case about it that went to the National Labor Relations Board.
• “Men of the State Security Service yesterday held staff and management of Leadership Press, publishers of Leadership newspapers, incommunicado for an hour, Umoru Henry reported Wednesday in the Vanguard newspaper of Lagos, Nigeria. The men harassed and intimidated the staff, abducting the general manager and the editor, the paper said.
• Starbucks has selected “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” by Ishmael Beah as its next featured book, Jim Milliot reported Thursday morning for Publishers’ Weekly. The book is a memoir about Beah’s experiences in Sierra Leone’s civil war and his eventual escape to the United States, and will be in approximately 6,000 Starbucks’ company-operated stores Feb. 15. It is to be excerpted in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine.