Washington Monthly’s Ratings Reward Social Mobility
U.S. Muslims More Satisfied Than General Public
NPR Ombudsman Asks for Thoughts on Word “Minority”
Rush Limbaugh’s Right-Hand Man Is Black
Station Removes Photo of New Anchor With Chris Brown
Maria Antonieta Collins Back as Univision Correspondent
Karuk Indian J-School Grad Ready for Job at NBC
Jackson State University, shown in a 2010 homecoming promotion, ranked ninth in Washington Monthly’s college survey. The magazine emphasized social mobility, research and service. (Video)
Washington Monthly’s Ratings Reward Social Mobility
“Washington Monthly released its annual college rankings this week, and black and women’s colleges are ranked next to Ivy Leagues,” NPR’s “Tell Me More” reported on Wednesday. “That’s because on this list, colleges score more points for promoting volunteer work and admitting more students with Pell Grants.”
Jackson State University, a historically black institution in Jackson, Miss., trumpeted the news on its website under the headline, “Jackson State University outranks Yale, Princeton in national study.“
“In its newly released study, Washington Monthly magazine ranked Jackson State University one of the top 10 institutions of higher learning across the country in terms of social mobility, research and service ratings. Coming in at No. 9 among 258 institutions, Jackson State outranked Princeton (No. 31), Yale (No. 39), the Georgia Institute of Technology (No. 54) and Howard (No. 73) universities. Jackson State is the only Historically Black College or University to break into Washington Monthly’s top 10,” the notice said.
Paul Glastris, editor-in-chief of Washington Monthly, appeared on “Tell Me More” and quickly took a swipe at the better-known rankings compiled by U.S. News & World Report.
“. . . I managed not to have to work on the college rankings when I was at US News, but it was sort of common knowledge that the metrics were a little bit dicey. And when I came to the Washington Monthly, we ran a series of stories exposing, in a sense, what was wrong with US News’ college metrics and suggesting what they ought to do,” Glastris said.
“And eventually, we thought, well, if we’re so smart, why don’t we come up with rankings of our own? And so we did this.”
“. . . U.S. News measures mostly inputs, how much do they pay their professors, class sizes, things that are not unrelated academics but really don’t tell you that much about how much learning is going on.’
Host Michel Martin said, “So the three areas that you use in your ranking are first of all, the first one you call ‘based on social mobility.’ How committed are they to enrolling low-income students and helping them earn degrees? The second category looks at research production and success at sending undergraduates on to Ph.D.s. And then you give great weight to service.”
Jackson State was not the only historically black college or university to benefit under those criteria.
“We’ve made very persistent efforts in recent years to better serve our students — especially those who don’t have the means for college tuition — and to train them for careers in research and community service,” Mark G. Hardy, Jackson State provost and vice president for academic affairs, said in the news release. “This ranking reminds us that we are on the right track.”
Glastris said, “Jackson State does a very, very good job of the social mobility measure. They have a lot of low-income students, and they do a heck of a job of graduating them. They also have a big ROTC program. A lot of kids do community service of various kinds that we measure, and on those measures, they — and they got a decent research background. So on those measures, they’re the ninth-best national university in the country.”
U.S. News plans to release its annual rankings on Sept. 13.
- Cord Jefferson, Good Education: Ivy League Fooled: How America’s Top Colleges Avoid Real Diversity
A 63 percent majority of Muslim Americans are first-generation immigrants, with 45 percent having arrived since 1990. And 70 percent of Muslim Americans born outside the United States are U.S. citizens, a much higher rate of citizenship than among the broader immigrant population in the United States, according to the Pew Center for the People & the Press. (Credit: Pew Research Center)
U.S. Muslims More Satisfied Than General Public
“As the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, a comprehensive public opinion survey finds no indication of increased alienation or anger among Muslim Americans in response to concerns about home-grown Islamic terrorists, controversies about the building of mosques and other pressures that have been brought to bear on this high-profile minority group in recent years,” the Pew Center for the People & the Press reported on Tuesday. “There also is no evidence of rising support for Islamic extremism among Muslim Americans.
“On the contrary, as found in the Pew Research Center’s 2007 survey, Muslims in the United States continue to reject extremism by much larger margins than most Muslim publics surveyed this year by the Pew Global Attitudes Project. And majorities of Muslim Americans express concern about the possible rise of Islamic extremism, both here and abroad.
“. . . Muslim Americans have not become disillusioned with the country. They are overwhelmingly satisfied with the way things are going in their lives (82%) and continue to rate their communities very positively as places to live (79% excellent or good).
“At a personal level, most think that ordinary Americans are friendly (48%) or neutral (32%) toward Muslim Americans; relatively few (16%) believe the general public is unfriendly toward Muslim Americans. About two-thirds (66%) say that the quality of life for Muslims in the U.S. is better than in most Muslim countries.
“Strikingly, Muslim Americans are far more satisfied with the way things are going in the country (56%) than is the general public (23%).”
- AP announces broadcast coverage plans for 9/11
- CBS News Announces Division-Wide Coverage Plans to Mark 10 Years Since the Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks
- Ted Diadiun, Plain Dealer, Cleveland: Reassessing 9/11, not rehashing it
- Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press: NYPD monitored where Muslims ate, shopped, prayed
- Chris Hellman, TomDispatch.com: Are you safer now than you were 10 years ago?
- NBCUniversal Announces Its Broadcast Plans for the 10-Year Anniversary of September 11th
- NPR News Special Coverage of 10th Anniversary of September 11
- Univision to Commemorate 10th Anniversary of 9/11 with Special Coverage across All its Platforms
- Steven Zeitchik, Los Angeles Times: Television takes on 9/11 amid its 10th anniversary
NPR Ombudsman Asks for Thoughts on Word “Minority”
“NPR guests, hosts and correspondents used the term in nearly 80 stories in the last year, not counting the hourly newscasts. Ken Wibecan, a listener from Schuyler Falls, NY, wrote to us:
” ‘Many people use [minority] when they really mean African American or Latino. That it is not only inaccurate, but it is also offensive…Does NPR really think that the population of America is composed of only two elements — whites and minorities? I don’t think so. And if not, isn’t it time to retire that insulting word and use more specific designations instead?’
“Already, just over a third of the country is Latino, black or Asian American, according to the 2010 Census. Non-Hispanic whites have fallen to less than 50 percent of the population in the country’s two most populous states, California and Texas. Demographers cited in a June 27 report on ‘Tell Me More’ projected that non-whites will become the majority of the U.S. population by roughly 2050. Add growing inter-marriage to the mix and the lines between majority and minority are becoming ever more blurred.
“. . . So, it would seem that the word ‘minority’ in describing a racial or ethnic group is useful in some instances. But which ones? This seems a good project for the next several months as we follow NPR reports. I hope that you will aid with your own vigilance, as well as send your general thoughts and guidance.”
About 1998, the Unity ’99 organization was renamed “Unity: Journalists of Color, Inc.,” a development that coincidentally followed questioning by a number of journalists about the appropriateness of the “minority” term.
“I haven’t used that word the entire week,” Ernest Sotomayor, Unity president in 2004, told Journal-isms at the time. “I don’t think there were very many people in that ballroom who felt they were minorities.”
In 1991, Derrick Z. Jackson of the Boston Globe wrote a column headlined, “‘Minor’ call, major gaffe” that began, “Let us bury the term ‘minority.’ Minoriteee ends like tineee, which ends like weeneee, which ends like dinkeee. When corporate and newsroom executives utter the mantra, ‘We could use a minoriteee,’ I swear they have invented a human specieee so darn puneee, it is a fait accompleee that the search for a minoriteee will be met with futiliteee.”
David Lawrence, then president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, read the column and questioned whether ASNE should continue using the term. The name of ASNE’s Minorities Committee was later changed to Diversity Committee.
Jackson’s 1991 column is in the “Comments” section below.
- Nsenga Burton, theRoot.com: Minorities Are Majority in 8 Major U.S. Cities
- Edward Schumacher-Matos, NPR: On Race: More On Being Called a ‘Minority’ [Sept. 1]
Rush Limbaugh’s Right-Hand Man Is Black
“That’s not to say it is surprising that Limbaugh has any black friends. Justice Clarence Thomas, an anathema to some in the black community and elsewhere, due in no small part to his sullying of the Supreme Court with Tea Party money, officiated at Rush’s third wedding in 1994.
“But Limbaugh’s right-hand man is himself a black guy named James Golden, known as Bo Snerdley. Bo Snerdley is the guy who screens the calls, impersonates black leaders and Ebonics speakers from the hood on air, and acts as the show’s one-man peanut gallery and amen corner. Some would even suggest he plays the role of court jester or minstrel.
“Self-described as the ‘official Obama criticizer,’ Snerdley says he is ‘certified black enough to criticize, with a heavy dose of pure, unadulterated organic slave blood.’ Part of his shtick is providing a commentary, usually a criticism of Obama or some other black leader, in perfect English.
” ‘America is great, it was great before you stepped on the scene. The thing that frightens us sir is you are Hell-bent on destroying what is great in the name of liberalism,’ Snerdley offered in one commentary. Then, he translates his statement into Ebonics, so that black folks in the so-called ‘hood’ would understand.”
Evrod Cassimy, right, with Chris Brown (Credit: Westword)
Station Removes Photo of New Anchor With Chris Brown
“Among the top stories on CBS4’s website at this writing is an introduction to newly hired anchor/reporter Evrod Cassimy,” Michael Roberts wrote Tuesday for Westword, a Denver alternative weekly. “But one viewer who clicked was distressed to discover that Cassimy’s head shot . . . was accompanied by a photo of him arm-in-arm with singer Chris Brown, who pleaded guilty in 2009 to assaulting his then-girlfriend, pop star Rihanna. . . .
“. . . Thus far, Cassimy — who, like Rihanna, is of Caribbean descent (his parents are from Trinidad, she was born in Barbados) — hasn’t responded to an interview request on this subject. However, CBS4 news director Tim Wieland, replying via e-mail, writes, ‘That photo was taken during an interview Evrod conducted with Chris Brown at his former station [in Orlando, Florida], about a charity event Brown was doing for the Red Cross.’
“However, he adds, ‘We’ve decided to remove it from the bio page.’ “
During the previous job, Cassimy maintained a website that called him “TV News’ FIRST R&B recording artist.” “In July 2008, Evrod joined the Central Florida News 13 team using his microphone to cover the Orlando newsroom as a general assignment reporter,” it said. “When he’s not covering the big story, Evrod is entertaining on another mic. A singer since he was three years old, Evrod has released his own CD single.”
Maria Antonieta Collins Back as Univision Correspondent
“. . . Besides reports for the ‘Noticiero Univision’ evening and weekend newscasts and newsmagazine program ‘Aqui y Ahora’ (‘Here and Now’), the new correspondent will work on special assignments, Univision said.
“The announcement marks the journalist and author’s official return to the network where she began in 1986 as Univision’s first newsperson in Los Angeles.
“Collins later had her own show, ‘Cada Dia con Maria Antonieta,’ on the rival Telemundo network, and also reported for Mexican TV giant Televisa and publications such as El Nuevo Herald and El Sol de Mexico.”
Karuk Indian J-School Grad Ready for Job at NBC
“With an activist’s insistence on justice and a journalist’s obsession with truth, this recent graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism has made a short film, ‘Winning for Native America,’ (watch the video above) in which New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain, former PGA Tour golfer Notah Begay III and Olympic ice dancer Naomi Lang talk about their experiences as American Indians competing at the highest levels of athletic achievement.
“Each athlete talks about life in the mainstream — and about life in Indian country, including the health and education disparities in those two communities, from a personal perspective.”
A native Californian whose mother is Karuk and whose father is Sicilian, “Sottile produced the documentary to complete her master’s thesis and, she says, because ‘Native peoples are not just lines in history texts, cigar-store dummies or sports mascots. Those kinds of representations indicate how often in mainstream culture Native people are relegated to the past.’
“This film suggests that Sottile’s future career, set to launch in the fall when she joins the next class of News Associates at NBC, will be stellar. . . .”
NBC’s News Associates diversity program is described as “a fast-track opportunity for people with the goal to learn news gathering and production skills. It is not designed to train people who wish to be on-air reporters.”
- Nathan Finster, Kansas State Collegian, Kansas State University: Defunct club for minority students in journalism in need of leadership
Short Takes
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- “SportsNewser will no longer exist as a standalone website starting tomorrow, September 1st,” Alex Weprin, senior editor of mediabistro.com, wrote on Wednesday. “. . . Many thanks to SportsNewser’s founding editors Marcus Vanderberg and Noah Davis, as well as Cam Martin, who joined us in April.” Alan M. Meckler, chairman and CEO of WebMediaBrands, told Journal-isms by email Tuesday, “SportsNewser . . . will become part of TVNewser. It will have distinctive posts indicating they are from SportsNewser. The whole idea is that TVNewser is a dominant brand — huge traffic. And sports is a topic of importance in and around what TVNewser does. So the idea is making things a bit easier for management to run 19 blogs instead of 20. Those writing for SportsNewser will still be contributing. Alex Weprin, for example, is very much associated with TVNewser and also posts on SportsNewser.”
- President Obama appeared on radio’s syndicated “Tom Joyner Morning Show” on Tuesday. He talked about the work of Martin Luther King Jr. “making possible his very presence in the Oval Office. And he described two important symbols that he sees every day — the Norman Rockwell painting of Ruby Bridges, the black child who integrated a New Orleans elementary school, newly installed in the White House, and a framed original program from King’s March on Washington,” Peter Wallsten wrote Tuesday for the Washington Post.
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- “Home run king Barry Bonds will be back in federal court on Dec. 16 to be sentenced for his felony obstruction of justice conviction,” the Associated Press reported Tuesday. “A jury convicted Bonds in April of giving an evasive, rambling reply when asked whether he received drugs that required a syringe.” At the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual convention in August, some mbmers challenged the NABJ board’s decision last year to accept $20,000 from the Barry Bonds Family Foundation to encourage and promote journalistic entrepreneurship among black journalists. A motion not to accept money from convicted felons or from those accused was referred to a committee after objections that the language was too broad.
- “MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry marked the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with a searing monologue about what she saw as the country’s failure to learn from the disaster on Monday’s ‘Rachel Maddow Show,’ ” the Huffington Post reported. “. . . She criticized the country’s lack of progress on the vulnerabilities that Katrina exposed, namely the inadequacies in public infrastructure and the racial and economic disparities that made the hurricane so devastating.”
- “Al Sharpton used his first night as a permanent host on MSNBC to squarely tell his viewers what his anchor style would be — and to warn them not to touch the dial,” the Huffington Post reported. “. . . ‘I’m not going to be a robotic host reading the teleprompter like a robot,’ he said. ‘Nor am I going to come in here and do the James Brown and do the electric slide to prove to you that I’m not stiff.’ ”
- “CBS Sports Network will examine the first black college football game played in New York City as part of a documentary airing Sept. 28,” R. Thomas Umstead wrote last week for Multichannel News. “The one-hour documentary, ‘1st & Goal In The Bronx: Grambling vs. Morgan State 1968,’ will chronicle that game between those schools in New York City and the cultural and political context surrounding it.”
- “A date with CNN’s Don Lemon doesn’t come cheap,” Gail Shister wrote Tuesday for TVNewser. “Internet entrepreneur David Hauslaib bid $1,050 for the privilege Saturday at the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association auction, held on the final night of its 2011 national convention in Philadelphia.”
- “The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of a jailed journalist in Sudan, but is troubled by reports of the continued detention of at least eight others without charge. President Omar al-Bashir had announced Saturday that he would free all journalists detained in Sudan,” the press freedom organization said Tuesday.
- In Congo, “An estimated 200 Congolese journalists marched to the National Assembly in Kinshasa on Friday to show their outrage over reports that supporters of incumbent President Joseph Kabila have physically and verbally abused members of the press,” Mohamed Keita reported Tuesday for the press freedom group.
- In Syria, “President Bashar Al-Assad yesterday approved changes to Syria’s media legislation that are part of a series of planned reforms intended to end an ongoing wave of anti-government protests,” Reporters Without Borders said on Monday. “The new law tries to give the impression that the media are being given more freedom. . . . Article 12 nonetheless calls for ‘responsible freedom of expression’ and bans any reporting that incites violence or sectarian divisions, or threatens national unity. It also bans any report about the armed forces, including the army.”
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