“ALONE AT THE TOP”

Bonds’ 756th Means Quick Work for S.F. Newsroom

About 75 people were in the San Francisco Chronicle newsroom Tuesday night when Barry Bonds made history. All the televisions were on, as usual —

after all, many were fans of the San Francisco Giants, said Reid Sams, a news editor normally assigned to the front page.

“It was excitement,” Sams conceded. In a newsroom, “you want things to happen, but then you realize that everything that happens affects you and your job.”

That meant a scramble. As reported earlier, a prime concern at the Chronicle was whether Bonds would make history in time for the Chronicle to display the achievement appropriately. On Saturday night, when he tied Hank Aaron’s’ 755-home run record, he did. On Tuesday night, it was close.

It was 8:51 p.m. Two plans were in place. Expendable stories were placed on Page A3, so that what was on Page A1 could move there in case the Giants slugger broke the record.

That’s what they did. Most of what was on page A3 was thrown out. Same with pages A7 and A8. Science and health news, stories about Britain and East Timor all went.

An exclusive about plans for a major donation of a museum by the founder of the Gap went inside. So did the full nameplate of the paper, which moved to page A3.

Page One was all Bonds. The number 756 was displayed with an orange background and the headline, “ALONE AT THE TOP: Barry Bonds Passes Hank Aaron’s Record for Career Home Runs.” A huge picture showed Bonds with his hands in victory. Sams wasn’t completely satisfied with the color, but it was the best photo available.

Columnist Gwen Knapp filed her front-page column within 20 minutes: “Shot soars 453 feet, into center-field seats.”

There was time to tweak the page for two more editions. Pages A7 and A8 had become Bonds pages, too, with stories about the context of the milestone and about the steroid investigation.

And about the game, as well. The Giants lost to the Washington Nationals, 8-6.

Postscript: “Well, he hit No. 757 tonight, but we didn’t go crazy this time,” Sams said Wednesday night. “I mentioned it in our skybox that also referred to a special four-page Bonds commemorative wrap around the sports section. And this time the Giants won, 5-0.”

• Editor & Publisher: ‘Roid Rage: Cartoonists React to Home-Run History for Barry Bonds
• Roy S. Johnson sports blog: 756 . . .
• Kate Kennedy, Newseum: Baseball Giant Homers, and Newspapers Run With It
• T.J. Quinn, New York Daily News: The crime of the century? News summons legendary jury of Bonds’ peers to decide if slugger’s slaying of 755 was unjust
• Richard Sandomir, New York Times: Announcers Offer Balance After 756th
• Joe Strupp and Greg Mitchell, Editor & Publisher: Papers Respond to Bonds’ HR in Varying Ways
• San Francisco Chronicle: Barry Bonds page
• San Jose Mercury News: Barry Bonds section

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Standing Room Only at Chauncey Bailey Funeral

“Spilling out of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church in East Oakland, hundreds of mourners came to pay their respects to slain journalist Chauncey Bailey, who was remembered as a crusading journalist and mentor to young people,” Angela Hill wrote Wednesday for the Oakland Tribune.

“It was standing-room-only on Wednesday morning,

as at least 700 people filled the church auditorium, lining the walls, elbow-to-elbow in the foyer. And dozens more waited on the front steps outside.

“Interspersed with rousing gospel music and a full Mass, city leaders, local clergy, fellow journalists and others in the community who knew Bailey either personally or professionally spoke of his sincere love of journalism and efforts to dig out the truth.

“‘I experienced Chauncey in that very special, sometimes tenuous world — the relationship between the journalist and the politician,’ Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums said. Some chuckles arose at the remark. ‘One thing stands out — he was always there,” he said, to rousing applause.

“‘Whether he was the lone journalist on a sunny spring Saturday in Oakland, watching several hundred children participate in a track meet, or in a large media event, there he was, listening carefully, asking the first question, setting the tone,’ Dellums said.”

On Monday, Saleem Bey, son-in-law of the late Yusuf Bey, founder of Your Black Muslim Bakery, came forward to say he was the main news source for a series Bailey was writing about the bakery, as Leslie Fulbright reported Tuesday in the San Francisco Chronicle.

“Two years ago, he asked me if I would give him the exclusive when I was ready to talk about the bakery and the family,” Bey said in the story. “I kept it in mind but never thought I would come forward. I ran into him just over two weeks ago downtown and he asked me again to tell him the story.

“I figured it was time.”

“So the two men sat down and exchanged information involving the bankruptcy of the San Pablo Avenue business and what Saleem Bey called fraudulent and unfair business practices by Yusuf Bey IV. He gave Bailey a stack of papers and asked him to look into what he said was illegal at the bakery,” the story said.

As the Tribune reported earlier, “Police said Devaughndre Broussard told them he killed Bailey because he was angry over stories the journalist had written about the bakery, its employees and leaders in the past. Investigators said Broussard also was concerned about stories that he thought Bailey might be working on.”

• Maidstone Mulenga, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, N.Y.: Tribute: Chauncey Bailey championed freedom of the press
• National Association of Hispanic Journalists: NAHJ Mourns the Loss of Chauncey Bailey
• Chris Thompson, Village Voice: The Killing of a Journalist: Voice reporter Chris Thompson recalls a fallen colleague and his own days on the run

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NABJ Said to Expect Surplus After Six-Figure Deficit

The National Association of Black Journalists expects to close the year with a $122,000 surplus, according to NABJ President Bryan Monroe, Dominique Squires reported Wednesday in the student convention newspaper, the NABJ Monitor.

If that takes place, it will mean the organization will have undergone a turnaround in a matter of months. In March, it was reported here that, “The National Association of Black Journalists recorded a $641,500 deficit for 2006, three times as large as that of the previous year and apparently the first time the organization has had to dip into its reserves two years in a row.”

“The Little House on the Prairie is no longer falling down,â?? Treasurer John Yearwood said in the Monitor story. â??The house is once again stronger.â??

“Numbers show that the organization, after experiencing a financial pitfall last year, has seen a substantial increase in sponsorship and in-kind contributions. The organizationâ??s year-to-date earnings and spending show heightened revenues compared with last yearâ??s financial activity.

“Sponsors like Proctor and Gamble, NBC and General Electric have helped to secure roughly $170,000 in scholarship dollars and officials are hopeful the organization will fare well financially if leaders continue to meet budgeting needs,” the story said.

“While finding ways to lessen convention dependence, NABJ leaders pursued ways to save money. . . . The Challenge Grant Campaign, which hoped to gain $100,000, generated over $150,000. Officials say the current and projected surplus demonstrates the largest increase in revenues the organization has seen recently.”

• Student convention coverage

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Isaiah Washington Cancels NABJ Appearance

Some 2,800 people had registered by 4:15 p.m. Wednesday for the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Las Vegas, but actor Isaiah Washington was not one of them.

Washington, the ousted star of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” was due to participate in a panel discussion, “What Is Race?” He sent word that filming for NBC’s “Bionic Woman,” which he has contracted to join for five episodes, now presented a conflict.

The panel, moderated by this columnist, is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday with

Sam Ford of WJLA-TV in Washington, a Cherokee Freedman; Pearl Duncan, New York-based cultural writer who has traced her roots to both the Akan Akuapim people in Ghana and the Scots; Dr. Yolanda T. Moses, professor of anthropology, University of California at Riverside, and chair of the National Advisory Board of The Race Project; and biracial novelist Elizabeth Atkins, a former president of the Detroit chapter of NABJ.

Through DNA testing, Washington discovered his roots in the Mende people of Sierra Leone and has created a foundation to assist them. In Washington’s place will be a brief presentation from “African American Lives 2,” the upcoming public television sequel to Henry Louis Gates’ “African American Lives” (2006) and “Oprah’s Roots” (2007) about using DNA to trace one’s family history.

“Washington was booted from his role as a surgeon on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ after he used an anti-gay epithet backstage at the Golden Globe Awards in January while denying he’d used it previously on the set against cast mate T.R. Knight,” as the Associated Press reported. He then tried to make amends.

“Bionic Woman” and ABC’s “Cavemen” “are the highest-rated new network TV programs on this Fall’s prime-time schedule in terms of viewer buzz, awareness and intent to watch, according to TV Dailies, a syndicated service that measures pre-premiere metrics via online polling,” John Consoli of MediaWeek reported on Wednesday.

• Paula Hendrickson, Television Week: NABJ Urges Media to Do Better

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Black Political Scientists Feeling Left Out

“Despite Sen. Barack Obama’s candidacy in a large field of Democratic presidential hopefuls who are all aggressively pursuing the black vote, many black political scientists say they feel like the Maytag repairman when it comes to the news media seeking their take on the 2008 race for the White House: They’re getting few, if any, calls,” William Douglas reported Wednesday for BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“I’ve been at this for 30 years, and the fact is black political scientists are overlooked. It’s that simple,” Ronald Walters, a University of Maryland political science professor, told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “I’ve seen a lot of stories about Barack Obama not being black enough and not a single black political scientist quoted.”

“. . . That’s a shame, academics and media experts say, because reporters rely heavily on political scientists in their coverage for their observations, insights, and research on a key issues — from the electoral process, to the economy, to education, to race and gender issues.

“Coverage of the 2008 elections will be among the various topics discussed this week when the National Association of Black Journalists gather in Las Vegas for its annual convention. Sen. Obama (D-Illinois) and Sen. Hillary Clinton D-NY — two of the leading Democratic presidential candidates — are scheduled to speak to conventioneers Thursday and Friday.”

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Journalism Groups Exceed Goal, Raise $1.36 Million

Fifteen journalism organizations, including the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Minority Media Executives, collectively raised $1.36 million as the result of a year-long challenge from a partnership of the Ford, John S. and James L. Knight, McCormick Tribune and Ethics & Excellence in Journalism foundations, the partnership announced on Wednesday.

The Challenge Fund for Journalism, launched in 2003, helps journalism organizations broaden their base of financial support through challenge grants, fund-raising training, and organizational development coaching, an announcement said.

Fund-raising, and support from foundations such as the four in this partnership, are the lifeblood of the nonprofit journalism organizations.

“The challenge grants, which require a one-to-one or one-to-two match, are complemented by a host of networking opportunities, organizational development and fund-raising trainings, and customized coaching,” the partnership’s announcement continued.

Over the past year, 15 groups granted money under CFJ III, as the latest challenge was known, raised $1,365,255 to match $584,500 in grant awards, the announcement said. That was $400,000 more than the groups were required to raise under terms of the matching grants.

Among the 15 groups were NAMME, which raised and was awarded $75,250, and NABJ, which raised and was awarded $250,180. The largest amount went to Investigative Reporters and Editors, which raised and was awarded $348,539.

In the next phase, called CFJ IV, another 12 journalism organizations have been awarded a total of $514,000 in challenge grants, and will have one year to match or double their specific award, the four foundations said. They include the Center for Integration & Improvement of Journalism, $15,000; and Unity: Journalists of Color Inc, $50,000.

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Asians Worry About Diversity Commitment

“Most members of the Asian American Journalists Association have positive feelings about the work they do, but they worry that media consolidation and newsroom cutbacks will weaken the profession’s commitment to diversity, according to a new survey,” AAJA announced at its convention in Miami last week.

“The AAJA-commissioned study, ‘Love and Fear in the Time of Media Consolidation: A Survey of Asian American Journalists,’ is a new Focus Project survey underwritten by the World Journal newspaper and conducted by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. Stephen Doig, the Cronkite School’s Knight Chair in Journalism, was the chief researcher on the project.

“The 25-question survey was conducted online in June. AAJA members were sent e-mail invitations to take the survey, and a total of 223 current and recent AAJA members responded out of 1,689 contacted.

“More than three out of every four respondents said they have positive feelings about the journalism profession. Even so, nearly a third of those with positive feelings said it was likely that they would leave journalism at some point to take up other career interests such as non-journalism writing, video and multimedia production, teaching or business management.”

• Ray Hanania, Mideast Youth: Really inspired as a journalist and depressed as an Arab at AAJA convention

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Chinese Harassment Said to Be More Covert

“Despite a promise that China would allow the foreign media more freedom this year, Chinese police and other government officials are engaging in widespread — possibly more covert — harassment of journalists, an international organization has found,” according to a story Wednesday from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

“The report issued by Human Rights Watch found that the freedoms promised to journalists have largely not been experienced, documenting through mostly anonymous interviews with journalists that surveillance and intimidation of reporters may simply be less obvious.”

Meanwhile, in the Columbia Journalism Review’s CJR Daily, Paul McLeary wrote on Wednesday, “An AP piece this morning reported that Paul Steiger, The Wall Street Journal’s former managing editor, thinks that Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of Dow Jones won’t affect the Journal’s coverage of China: ‘My expectation is that there will be no change in our China coverage . . . Coverage of China is an extremely important priority for The Wall Street Journal . . . and we don’t expect there to be any change in that.’

“As Steiger well knows, expectations don’t always work out the way we want them to. Fact is, if the past is any indication, no one should be surprised if the Journal’s China coverage does change under the new regime.”

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Short Takes

• The Chicago Police Department is investigating allegations that an officer seized and damaged Chicago Tribune photographer Terrence Antonio James’ cameras Monday night at the scene of a police-involved shooting that turned into an unruly public demonstration, the Tribune reported Tuesday on its Web site.
• Douglas Lyons, senior editorial writer at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and Diedtra Henderson, staff writer in the Boston Globe’s Washington bureau, are among nine winners of the East-West Center’s Hong Kong Journalism Fellowships. In September, journalists participate in a two-day China seminar at the East-West Center in Honolulu, followed by a 12-day study tour to Hong Kong, Beijing, and two other cities in mainland China.
• “Activist Rev. Al Sharpton organized rallies across the United States on Tuesday urging public divestment from the music industry until rap lyricists stop employing the ‘n-word’ and terms degrading to women,” Eric Olsen reported Tuesday for Reuters. “We’re talking about Viacom (Inc.), Time Warner (Inc.), Vivendi,” Sharpton was quoted as saying, referring to three entertainment conglomerates that Sharpton said would be pressured to clean up musicians’ lyrics if threatened by the withdrawal of government-run pension fund investments.
• Russell Yamanoha, sports director and anchor for Honolulu’s KHNL and its sister station KFVE-TV, is leaving the station to devote his energies to just one of his two full-time jobs — real estate, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported on Tuesday. In addition to sportscasts on KHNL and KFVE, Yamanoha did sideline reporting for University of Hawaii football broadcasts.
• “The media industry in Kenya has been thunderstruck by the surprise enactment of a media law that will require journalists to disclose the identities of their sources in court,” the International Freedom of Expression Exchange Clearing House said on Tuesday. The law states: “When a story includes unnamed parties who are not disclosed and the same become the subject of a legal tussle as to who is meant, then the editor shall be obligated to disclose the identity of the party or parties referred to.”
• Mexican journalist Alberto Fernández Portilla was shot and wounded early Sunday morning as he arrived at his home in Salina Cruz, a Pacific port city in the southern state of Oaxaca,” the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on Monday. “Fernández told CPJ that the shooting occurred around 1:50 a.m. as he returned alone from a dinner at a restaurant with colleagues. When he got to his house, an unidentified individual approached him and said, ‘Don’t mess with our leader.’ The man then shot Fernández with a 9mm pistol five times, hitting his thigh, arm, and rib cage. Fernández remained in the hospital.”
• “A Rwandan journalist is reported to have arrived in Britain to claim political asylum,” Roy Greenslade reported Wednesday in England’s the Guardian, citing the Rwanda news agency. Elenues Akanga “has a history of clashes with the Rwandan authorities. He was fired from a daily paper, The New Times, after writing a story about the abuse of journalists in Rwanda. A source at the paper said Akanga was assigned by his editors to write the story but took sole blame when the piece offended members of the establishment.”
• Intelligence agents in the Democratic Republic of Congo have jailed a reporter for failing to air an interview with a local politician, according to news reports and local journalists,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday. Manda Mutombo of Radiotélévision Nationale Congolaise was arrested Friday by Congo’s National Intelligence Agency in the diamond-rich city of Kananga, according to news reports and local journalists, CPJ said.