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At AP: Incremental Diversity Progress

richard

Originally published Nov. 17, 2007.

Ex-VP’s Discrimination Lawsuit “Terminated”

In May 2006, a fired vice president of the Associated Press, who had been the most senior African American at the world’s largest news organization, filed a lawsuit claiming that racial discrimination led to his dismissal.

The court action by Jeffrey A. Hastie, who was vice president of services and technology, quietly ended in February with what the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York calls a “termination” of the case, most likely meaning it was settled out of court. Neither side would comment further.

On Monday, the AP announced four senior management promotions: Managing Editor Mike Silverman to the new position of senior managing editor, and news executives John Daniszewski, Lou Ferrara and Kristin Gazlay as managing editors. None is a person of color. “The moves come amid a reorganization of operations at the news cooperative,” the AP’s story said.

Two months after Hastie filed his suit, Journal-isms asked CEO Tom Curley about the diversity concerns voiced by employees and former employees of color. “I’ve given very specific directions to the management group” to improve the diversity efforts, he said. “I’ve seen a lot of hiring to suggest that there are changes taking place.”

At the time of the lawsuit, the AP’s entire management committee was white, and its senior headquarters news management team — which includes the executive editor, managing editor, three deputy managing editors, director of photography, business editor, sports editor, online director, graphics director, writing coach, director of news operations, director of career development and director of the News and Information Research Center— were said to include only one person of color, Robert Naylor, director of career development.

In March, we reported that the AP was cutting back on a program designed to increase the diversity among news photographers and writers by pairing college students with professionals.

Journal-isms returned to AP this week to ask about its progress, and Silverman responded. Here is the exchange:

Q. How much diversity is reflected in Monday’s announcement of management changes?

A. One of the three new managing editors is a woman. It’s the first time AP has had a woman in that position.

Q. How much change has taken place on the diversity front in the last year and a half, since I last addressed the issue, per Tom Curley’s directive to improve diversity efforts?

A. We have made a number of internal promotions and outside hires to improve the diversity of our news leadership, both domestically and internationally. Some of the specifics are mentioned in my answer to the next question.

More broadly, News and Human Resources jointly hired Larry Olmstead of Leading Edge Associates to design a recruiting strategy for News that will certainly address hiring for diversity. [Olmstead was vice president/staff development and diversity for Knight Ridder Inc. before it went out of business last year.]

Q. What news leaders on the senior management team, or close to it, are journalists of color?

A. Earlier this year, we hired Victor Vaughan as AP’s national photo editor. He is black. Vaughan’s boss, director of photography Santiago Lyon, now reports in for business purposes to AP Images, whose deputy, Fernando Ferre, is Hispanic.

State news executive Michael Giarrusso, who is Asian, was recently put in charge of one of the news department’s top strategic initiatives — regionalization of the domestic AP.

We recently hired Amanda Barrett, who is black, to be content coordinator in our Online department.

The enterprise editor in our Business News department, Mercedes Cardona, is Hispanic.

Among the other diverse news managers, many of whom you already know about:

On the international side, we recently hired Mary Rajkumar, who is Asian, as an assistant international editor based in New York, and Ken Moritsugu, also Asian, who is enterprise editor on our Asia desk, based in Bangkok. We also recently expanded the duties of Malaysia bureau chief Vijay Joshi to include Singapore and Brunei. Other diverse managers include Europe desk enterprise editor Joji Sakurai, who is Asian; and Africa editor Donna Bryson, who is black.

[Silverman added that the list is not meant to be all-inclusive. Sonya Ross, a news editor in the Washington bureau, was not included, for example.]

Q. What’s being done to groom journalists of color for the senior management positions on the news side?

A. We are sending Michael Giarrusso as one of two AP news managers who will attend the Sulzberger leadership program at Columbia during the coming year. Many of the people I mention above took part in intensive in-person leadership development training this summer as the AP prepared for its semi-annual strategic planning retreat. And many of them also have taken part in the leadership programs that Robert Naylor has developed and led for the staff.

JOURNALISTS of color at AP said privately they thought the list overstated the responsibilities of some of those named.

“Many people on Mike’s list as being ‘close’ to senior management (department head or deputy managing ed tor level) are light-years away,” one said. In addition, the organization lost an African American in a bureau chief’s position when Campbell became assistant bureau chief in Seattle, which has Alaska in its jurisdiction. He had been bureau chief in Alaska.

“Your question was about senior management, not key editors,” another told Journal-isms. “It is unlikely that some of the key editors named control a budget.”

“All of what he says is correct,” said a third, but (1) it’s no great accomplishment to hire Asians in Asia and (2) it’s still pretty abysmal numbers for a news organization with nearly 3,000 journalists.”

Silverman was asked whether there was an overall assessment of how far away AP was from where it wants to be, and if there were goals.

He replied, “We know we aren’t yet where we want and need to be.”

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N.Y. Black Journalist Leader Out; Called Call-In Show

“Gary Anthony Ramsay, a longtime reporter and a weekend anchor for NY1 News, left the station this week, days after calling in to one of the channelâ??s live shows under a false name and commenting on a news story, a lapse in judgment that Mr. Ramsay described as ‘a flash moment of frustration,’â?? Manny Fernandez reported on Sunday in the New York Times.

Ramsay is president of the New York Association of Black Journalists. “On Nov. 9, Mr. Ramsay phoned ‘The Call,’ an evening call-in show, and identified himself as Dalton, from the Upper East Side,” Fernandez wrote. “The topic was Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York police commissioner facing a 16-count federal indictment, and the indictmentâ??s effect on the presidential campaign of former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.

â??’So which is the real Bernie Kerik?’ Mr. Ramsay asked on the show. ‘Is it the one who pleads not guilty before or is it the one who pleads guilty after he cuts a deal that heâ??s comfortable with?’

“In an interview last night, Mr. Ramsay said he was at his Upper West Side home watching the program, when he became frustrated with some viewersâ?? comments, including those who said they believed that supporters of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton had a role in the investigation.

“He said that had he been on a reportersâ?? roundtable, his comments would have been the same, and that he felt that he was not giving his opinion so much as correcting information that was ‘inaccurate and unchecked.’ But he said that his failure to identify himself crossed a line of journalistic ethics.

â??’I am continually apologetic for smudging that journalistic line, but Iâ??m a human being, and Iâ??m subject to the same frailties,’ Mr. Ramsay said.

“Steve Paulus, NY1â??s general manager, declined to comment about Mr. Ramsayâ??s phone call. He said that the station did not ask Mr. Ramsay to leave, but that Mr. Ramsayâ??s contract had expired and he had voluntarily decided to move on. ‘Heâ??s been with us since the beginning, and after 15 years, he was ready for a move,’ Mr. Paulus said.”

Ramsay told Journal-isms that the New York Daily News, which first reported his ouster on Saturday, had the story wrong. Its headline was, “NY1 anchor Gary Anthony Ramsay fired for making crank call.” The News’ story said Ramsay did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment.

Ramsay wrote this note to members of the New York Association of Black Journalists:

“As I have told many of you over the last year, I was preparing my departure from NY1 News. That day has arrived.

“I have an opportunity now to grow as a journalist while exploring the many possibilities that exist inside and outside of tv news. I thank Paul Sagan (NY1’s first General Manager) for giving me the opportunity 15 years ago. His vision and leadership is missed. It is my hope that Time Warner will one day do what it takes to help it become the institution it can be. In the meantime, I wish my colleagues and former co-workers success and happiness.

“. . . I will remain president of the chapter and continue to promote diversity and fairness in journalism as much as I can.” [Updated Nov. 18]

S.F. Chronicle Stories Broke Open Bonds Case

“Lance Williams, who co-authored the San Francisco Chronicle stories that broke the Barry Bonds steroid case open years ago, says he did not believe it would come to an indictment of the home run king,” Joe Strupp wrote on Friday in Editor & Publisher.

“‘It is a huge story, but one I never thought I’d write,’ said Williams, who with former Chronicle scribe Mark Fainaru-Wada first revealed leaked testimony tying Bonds to steroids. ‘I didn’t think they would necessarily go for it. They had taken forever and I didn’t think they would go for the celebrity athlete.’

“Williams spoke to E&P late Thursday as he worked on his own coverage of Bonds’ indictment, which was announced yesterday and requires him to be in court early next month. Williams and Fainaru-Wada, who is now with ESPN, faced their own legal battle over their reporting when federal investigators subpoenaed them seeking sources for their access to the testimony, but the case never reached a jail sentence.”

Meanwhile, Bonds was receiving little sympathy from columnists of color, and neither was Major League Baseball:

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Robin Roberts Tells Viewers About Going Bald

“By the end of Thursday, the day on which Robin Roberts let ‘Good Morning America’ viewers who have followed her battle with breast cancer know that she lost her hair to chemotherapy and let them see her sans wig, the verdict was in,” Michele Greppi wrote Friday for TV Week. “Some 1,000 people e-mailed, the vast majority telling the ‘GMA’ co-host she looks beautiful.

“More than 40,000 people viewed the ‘video diary’ posted on abcnews.com. More than 50,000 had read the story online (and about 7,000 of those posted a comment), and many more will have a chance to read about it in an interview in the current People magazine.”

Roberts told viewers, “To wear a wig or not to wear a wig is a very personal decision for everyone who goes through this. This is my work, and I love my job, being part of your morning each day, but I never want to distract you from the story I’m reporting.

“When I’m not here, I don’t really wear the wig. If you see me out on the street, I might be wearing a cap or nothing at all on my head. If I were in another line of work I might go without a wig all together. But because this is what I do, I want to give you my best work and give you the story, not distract you from it.”

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USA Today to Cut 45 Jobs Through Buyouts

“Gannett Co Inc’s USA Today, the largest U.S. newspaper by circulation, said it will cut 45 positions, or 8.8 percent of the editorial staff, through voluntary buyouts,” Robert MacMillan reported for Reuters on Thursday.

“‘It’s unfortunate that we have to take these steps, particularly when our newspaper circulation is growing,’ Editor Ken Paulson wrote in a memo to employees. ‘Unfortunately, revenue has not kept pace and we’re now facing the same cutbacks that so many other news organizations have already experienced.’

“‘Job eliminations are possible if we don’t have enough applicants,’ he added.

“Staffers with 15 years or more experience and less than five years of online experience will be offered voluntary buyouts, Paulson said in the memo, a copy of which was provided by the company.”

Ed Foster-Simeon, the deputy managing editor for news who handles recruitment, told Journal-isms “It’s way too early” to speculate about how the buyouts would affect diversity at the paper.

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Columnist Explores How Media Ignore Hispanics

“When it comes to impact, the ways in which the American media have ignored the Hispanic audience are too numerous to count,” Jon Friedman wrote Friday in his online MarketWatch column, in the first of a two-part series.

“The latest snub can be found in Rolling Stone’s 40th anniversary issue. . . . Rolling Stone interviewed 25 prominent individuals about the changing times, yet not one of them is synonymous with the Hispanic-American community. This sort of neglect happens all the time in the media, so it shouldn’t come as a shock.

“Thing is, Rolling Stone — and the rest of the media that undertake similar sweeping stories — should be keenly aware that the Hispanic population is among the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the U.S. It’s hard to imagine that Rolling Stone couldn’t have found at least one representative to speak incisively on the subject.

“‘One of the areas we experience the greatest shortfall in the mainstream media is the concept of “mainstreaming,”‘ Rafael Olmeda told me the other day. He is the assistant city editor of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as well as the president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

“Olmeda continued in a frustrated but measured tone: ‘Are we included in stories that are not about ethnicity? Tax policy? Health care? Local veterans? We’re part of the American story, my friend. The problem with the larger media is that when they look at Hispanic issues, they look at exactly that: Hispanic issues. Is that fair to us? We have been in this country for years. They only care about Hispanics when “Hispanic issues” are involved.'”

Friedman began his column talking with Mimi Valdes Ryan, who went from editing Vibe magazine to editing Latina.

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Guild Files Grievance on Indy Writer’s Behalf

The Newspaper Guild has filed a grievance on behalf of RiShawn Biddle, the Indianapolis Star editorial writer who was ousted two weeks ago after he posted a blog item referring to a black official as a “Zip Coon.”

“On Nov. 9, 2007, the Indy News Guild formally grieved the dismissal of RiShawn Biddle, arguing that there was no ‘just cause,’ and that progressive discipline should have been employed first,” the Guild leadership wrote to members, according to Biddle.

Abe Aamidor, president of the Guild’s Local 70, told Journal-isms that the company must hear the grievance once it’s filed. If it rules against Biddle, the Guild has the option to file for arbitration.

Meanwhile, Biddle responded to a Nov. 8 column by Amos Brown III in the Indianapolis Recorder criticizing him.

Brown wrote that, “RiShawn was one of a new breed of African-American journalists the Star has hired who disdain their blackness; refusing to acknowledge our community; not even wanting to be caught anywhere in our community.”

Biddle replied to Journal-isms, “As I’ve said always and often over the past three years, being Black merely means that you are born with at least one African-American parent. It isn’t a mindset or a groupthink; Blacks are diverse in their opinions and viewpoints; there are the Bill Cosbys, the Jason Whitlocks, the Juan Williams, the Earl Ofari Hutchisons and the Bob Herberts. No one person can claim they represent the vast variety of viewpoints within the African-American community, either in Indianapolis or throughout the nation. There is plenty of room for all worldviews and they should be accommodated.”

He also clarified that he had never titled his fateful blog item “Coons for Power,” as the Web address for the document indicated. He said he had scrapped that title before the item was posted. Thus, only one black official was called “coon”: Monroe Gray, the council chairman, who was referred to as “Zip Coon.”

Biddle, 33, also said he was “exploring opportunities and doing my work.” Indianapolis blogger Ruth Holladay noted he has a piece on education reform in the conservative magazine American Spectator, posted on Thursday.

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“NBC Nightly News” to Run Series on Black Women

Throughout the week of Nov. 26, the series “African-American Women: Where They Stand,â?? will air on â??NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams,â?? the network announced on Thursday.

“The series will cover a wide-range of issues from their role in the â??08 Presidential race, to the increased health-risks that they need to be concerned about,” the network said.

Mondayâ??s installment will discuss African American women’s progress in the education field. “Nearly two-thirds of African-American undergraduates are women. At black colleges, the ratio of women to men is 7 to 1. And that is leading to a disparity in the number of African-American women who go on to own their own businesses.” Rehema Ellis will talk to educators, students and businesswomen about why a disparity exists. Tuesday, Ellis will look at the relationships of African American women. Many agree the gender disparity in education and business among African Americans is having an effect on relationships that African American women have, the network said.

Dr. Nancy Snyderman will discuss the increased risks for breast cancer for African American women on Wednesday. On Thursday, Ron Allen takes viewers to South Carolina— the first Southern primary state — and asks, “Will race trump gender or gender trump race?”

“To close the series on Friday, Dr. Snyderman will raise the frightening statistic that African-American women are 85% more likely to get diabetes, a major complication for heart disease. And, like breast cancer, more black women die from heart disease than white women,” the network said. Mara Schiavocampo, digital correspondent for “Nightly News,” is to address interracial dating and the impact of hip-hop music on black women.

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