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“Massive” Media Interest in Jackson Service

richard

Updated July 4, July 5

TV One Sunday Show to Feature D.C. Newsmakers

AEG Live, the company that hoped to stage Michael Jackson’s London concerts, provided CNN with a video of Jackson at a rehearsal held in Los Angeles two days before his death.

L.A. Organizers Warn That Some Will Be Turned Down

Organizers of Michael Jackson’s memorial service at Staples Center in Los Angeles said Friday they will give away 17,500 tickets to the event and told those applying for press credentials, "We will do our best to accommodate as many members of the media as possible both inside and outside of STAPLES Center. Due to the massive amount of interest, however, we do not have the capacity necessary to accommodate everyone."

"The service will be live-streamed on television and on the Internet, and there will be no funeral procession, organizers said at a news conference this morning at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles," Cara Mia DiMassa reported for the Los Angeles Times.

"Organizers of Michael Jackson’s memorial said that in the first hour after ticket details were announced this morning, the website had received more than 500 million hits," DiMassa wrote in a separate story. By Sunday, more than 1.6 million people had registered for free tickets to the memorial. Only about 8,750 people will be chosen in a lottery, the Times’ Jason Song reported.

CBS and TV One were the first to announce live coverage.

"Based on current plans, CBS News will provide comprehensive coverage anchored by Katie Couric of Michael Jackson’s memorial at Staples Center in Los Angeles, as well as the events and activities surrounding the memorial via the CBS Television Network, CBSNews.com and CBS Radio News," CBS said.

On Monday, "The Early Show" is to be broadcast live from Los Angeles, and from Staples Center on Tuesday. The "CBS Evening News With Katie Couric" is to be anchored both Monday and Tuesday by Couric from Staples Center. "48 Hours" will also be anchored by Couric from Staples.

TV One announced Sunday night it will air will air live, uninterrupted coverage starting at 1 p.m Eastern, 10 a.m. Pacific. It will be co-anchored by veteran journalists Art Fennell and Jacque Reid, who also co-anchored TV One’s Democratic convention and election night coverage. The network plans to re-air the service Tuesday at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern time.

"We will be broadcasting some portion of the memorial service," said BET spokeswoman Jeanine Liburd.

The Associated Press reported Sunday that, "NBC executives changed their minds Sunday and decided to join other networks that will televise Michael Jackson’s memorial service live this week.

"NBC joins ABC, CNN, MSNBC and E! Entertainment in offering the ceremony live. . . . NBC had initially planned only a one-hour prime-time special on Tuesday night. "

CNN said on Sunday it would broadcast the service live on CNN, CNN International and CNN.com. "Web users will also be able to share thoughts with others on Facebook while viewing the events on the CNN.com live video player if they choose," a release said.

"Anderson Cooper, Larry King, Don Lemon and Soledad O’Brien will host coverage live from Los Angeles, with Campbell Brown and Roland Martin anchoring live from New York, starting at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on CNN/U.S. and CNN International. CNN’s international bureaus will provide coverage of memorial events happening around the world. Kiran Chetry will anchor ‘American Morning’ beginning at 6:00 a.m. (ET) live from Los Angeles.

"Robin Meade, A.J. Hammer and Jane Velez-Mitchell will anchor live coverage for HLN, driven by perspectives on and analysis of the day’s developments.

"CNN en Espa?±ol will offer live coverage with Juan Carlos Arciniegas from Los Angeles and will then air a wrap-up special at 9:00 p.m. (ET) on Panorama Mundial anchored by Patricia Janiot."

Meantime, in nearby Los Olivos, the owners of Neverland Ranch said Friday they will not allow any more tours or interviews to be conducted at the estate until the memorial service is over, the L.A. Times reported.

Among those who had broadcast from the ranch were Matt Lauer of NBC’s "Today" show, CNN’s Larry King and Cynthia McFadden of ABC’s "Nightline."

In another development, AEG Live, the company staging the 50 "This Is It!" concerts that Jackson was to perform at London’s O2 Arena, provided CNN with a video of Jackson rehearsing for the concerts at Los Angeles’ Staples Center on June 23, two days before the singer’s death, Daniel Kreps reported for Rolling Stone.

"The video comes just days after AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips refuted claims that Jackson was frail and listless during his last rehearsals at the Staples Center."

"There’s little indication that media interest is fading," David Bauder wrote Thursday for the Associated Press. "Six days after Jackson’s death, it was still the lead story on all three network morning news shows. Even though its producer admitted to some doubts about it earlier Tuesday, a Katie Couric-anchored CBS News special won its time slot with 8.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

"One logistical advantage for networks is that they have sizable Los Angeles bureaus. Although ABC, for example, has sent a dozen or so extra people in for the story on an open-ended basis, it’s not like transporting large staffs into remote areas, said Kate O’Brian, senior vice president of news."

The nonstop coverage comes at a price.

"The past week has been filled with breathless rumors and revelations from supposed intimates of Michael Jackson. Hyper-competitive news outlets are lapping up supposedly inside information from a motley cast of supporting characters, including Deepak Chopra, Lou Ferrigno and Al Sharpton, as well as many lesser lights," Maria Elena Fernandez and Scott Collins wrote Thursday in the L.A. Times.

"So, on Thursday, a top publicist hired by the dead singer’s family lashed back at the extensive and error-prone media coverage.

”People should be embarrassed when they print, blog or say things on the air that are proven to be entirely untrue or partially untrue,’ said Ken Sunshine, a veteran PR consultant retained Wednesday by the Jackson family.

BET.com pulled an item Friday that it gleaned from blogs, "The kid that said Michael Jackson touched him just came out and reportedly said he lied," it read, in a reference to Jordan Chandler, now 26, Tanu Henry, executive editor of the BET.com news channel, told Journal-isms that he could not verify the accuracy and now considered it "unconfirmed Internet rumor." [Updated July 5]

. . . BET Sorry for "Inappropriate" Awards Performance

The Web site allhiphop.com reported Friday that in a statement to the site, "BET has expressed remorse over a performance by Lil Wayne, Drake and Young Money Records that involved underage girls during [the] songs ‘Best I Ever Had’ and ‘Every Girl.’

"The songs, which have overt sexual references, were performed during the Sunday BET Awards ’09 show as a bevy of young girls danced on stage. The group of girls consisted of Lil Wayne’s daughters and her friends.

"Drake has apologized and taken responsibility for the performance, admitting it
was in poor taste."

An edited version of the show, which had been retooled as a tribute to Michael Jackson, airs on Monday.

"It was completely inappropriate for what happened to have happened during Lil Wayne’s performance and it was absolutely NOT planned," spokeswoman Jeanine Liburd told Journal-isms on Saturday. "Apparently his daughter wanted to join him on stage and in an impromptu decision, Lil Wayne agreed.

"It’s worth noting that, except for that specific incident most people really appreciated the show and the effort it took (in one business day) to turn things around – especially the great moments, including the ‘Mighty’ O’Jays, Alicia Keys and Wyclef Jean getting the humanitarian award, the people across the country getting recognized for the good work they do in the community (eg, the three doctors in Newark, NJ that wrote The Pact), as well as performances by Beyonce, Ne-Yo and Maxwell. And of course, the place was held captive when Janet Jackson spoke.

"The bottom line is, if you don’t watch BET or been to one of our presentations then you don’t know that we’re more ‘Sunday Best’ than Lil Wayne, you don’t know that we have reduced our videos from 70% to 20% and you also might not know the new shows we are launching like ‘the Monique Show’ and ‘the Bottom Line.’ No doubt we have a way to go, but the good news is that we are working in the right direction. And while there will always be people critical of the network, we hope that at a minimum people look at the network’s future, not just [its] past."

The references are to "Break Time with Monique,"a daily talk show featuring the comedic actress, and "the Bottom Line," a panel show on "Black America’s most pressing issues."

As reported Wednesday, Sunday’s show became the most-watched program on a cable network this year, but bloggers, tweeters and e-mailing members of the Sports Task Force of the National Association of Black Journalists blasted it as uneven and embarrassing. [Updated July 4.]

Morgan State U. Ousts Student Newspaper Adviser

Morgan State University has decided not to renew the contract of the adviser to the student newspaper, Denise Brown, tying the renewal to an appearance by the student journalists before the administration to explain stories about "what appeared to be questionable expenditures and practices by the University’s Student Government Association."

The meeting did not take place ‚Äî Brown pleaded miscommunication and the students’ summer vacation ‚Äî and her contract ended on Tuesday. She told Journal-isms she is considering legal action.

"For now, Brown and members of the student media are fighting the administration to have their voice heard," Ryan H. Marshall wrote Friday in the student newspaper, the Spokesman. "Student media and Brown also cite that the university violated Student Bill of Rights in removing Brown. It states that, ‘. . . an editor, manager or director of the student media shall be protected against removal from their respective positions, or from Morgan State University as a result of administrative, faculty, and student disapproval regarding editorial policy or content.’"

A. Recardo Perry, vice president for student affairs at the historically black university in Baltimore, did not respond to a request for comment left with him last week.

TV One Sunday Show to Feature D.C. Newsmakers

"Roland Martin will anchor a new Sunday public affairs show aimed at a black audience that will debut in September on the TV One network," David Bauder reported Friday for the Associated Press.

"The ‘Washington Watch’ program aims to tap into a new interest in politics and government due to the election of President Barack Obama, said Johnathan Rodgers, TV One’s president and CEO. It debuts Sept. 27 at 11 a.m. ET, and the show will be repeated each week at 5 p.m.

"Martin, who is also a CNN commentator, will interview newsmakers and members of the Congressional Black Caucus. April Ryan, White House correspondent for the American Urban Radio Networks, and Robert Traynham, Philadelphia Tribune columnist and Comcast host, will be regular panel members. TV One is in about 48 million homes, a little less than half of the nation’s TV homes.

"Rodgers said it dawned on him when TV One covered last year’s Democratic convention and saw many Black Caucus members trudge up to the network’s temporary rooftop studio for interviews: these politicians have few outlets to talk about their issues and people have few places to hear them."

A story in the Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill last month discussed Caucus members’ dissatisfaction with the Sunday talk shows on the mainstream networks.

"I’m not pleased at all with the diversity issue as it relates to talk shows," CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee, D-Calif., told the newspaper’s Mike Soraghan. "We have, what, 17 subcommittee chairs and four full-committee chairmen? These members are brilliant; they know their stuff. They’re powerful and they should be part of the Sunday morning talk shows."

In the White House West Wing, President Obama tells Associated Press White House correspondent Jennifer Loven Thursday that affirmative action plans "have to be done in a way that is thoughtful." (Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press)

AP Sees "Racial Preferences," but Obama Doesn’t

"President Barack Obama said Thursday the Supreme Court was ‘moving the ball’ on affirmative action in this week’s decision favoring white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., but he added that the court had not ruled out the use of racial preferences in the future," read a story by Jennifer Loven of the Associated Press on Loven’s interview with Obama.

The problem was that Obama never used the loaded phrase "racial preferences," favored by affirmative action opponents.

Later AP stories eliminated the phrase from the first paragraph, but kept it in farther down in the story.

In a version by Mark Sherman, the story began, "President Barack Obama said Thursday the Supreme Court is ‘moving the ball’ to limit affirmative action, but he stressed that its ruling in favor of white firefighters still allows employers and educators to take race into account in hiring, promotions and admissions."

The terminology is important. As the Pew Research Center noted again in June, "Public Backs Affirmative Action, But Not Minority Preferences."

In 1995, the National Association of Black Journalists cautioned against equating "racial preferences" and "affirmative action," noting that the U.S. Civil Rights Commission said in 1981, "Only if today’s society were operating fairly toward minorities and women would measures that take race, sex and national origin into account be preferential treatment."

According to the AP’s transcript, Obama’s interviewer said, "Let me ask you about affirmative action, it’s back in the news with recent Supreme Court cases ‚Äî the New Haven firefighters case, the Texas voting rights case. Do you think there [are] still times and incidences in our society where hiring on the basis of race or admissions on the basis of race are still needed?"

Obama replied, "I don’t think that hiring on the basis of race or admissions on the basis of race alone is constitutionally plausible and I don’t think that crude quotas like that are necessary. I do think that there are still circumstances in which on a college admissions or on a hiring decision, taking into account issues of past discrimination, taking into account issues of diversity of a workforce or a student body can still be appropriate.

"But I think that they have to be done in a way that is thoughtful. So when I look at the firefighters case, I say to myself, if New Haven had thought through how it was going to approach the issue ahead of time and said, ‘we think merit and highly qualified firefighters are absolutely important; that doesn’t contradict our desire to make sure that there’s diversity in a city that’s 60 percent black and Hispanic. Let’s design promotion approaches that reconcile those two things, and we don’t have people taking tests, studying for them, and then thinking that they were going to be promoted automatically on the basis of those tests, suddenly being disappointed.’

"Instead of doing it that way, doing it in a way that’s thoughtful and everybody has the same clear expectations, I think that would survive Supreme Court scrutiny and I think a lot of people would say that that’s fair. I think what people instinctively probably reacted to on that particular case had more to do with the fact that the people who had studied for those tests already had a set of expectations that were thwarted. But keep in mind that the Supreme Court didn’t close the door to affirmative action if properly structured in this case and . . .

"Q: But they’re moving the ball a little bit.

"Obama: But they are moving the ball and, look, society evolves.

Q: Do you think they’re jumping the gun a little bit ahead of where society really is?

"Obama: This was a very narrow case, so it’s hard to gauge where, where they will take it. I’ll be honest with you, though, I’ve always believed that affirmative action was less of an issue, or should be less than an issue, than it’s been made out to be in news reports. It’s not it hasn’t been as potent a force for racial progress as advocates would claim, and it hasn’t been as bad on white students seeking admissions or seeking a job as its critics has been.

"I think the way to move forward on race is to make sure that every kid from the time they’re born is getting good nutrition and good education, is succeeding in K through 12, and we’re opening opportunities for all young people. Because when everybody’s got a level playing field, everybody’s competing, and we’ve dealt with some of the legacies of discrimination that have resulted in substandard schools or extreme poverty in some communities, then affirmative action ends up being an afterthought and we can really just make sure that everybody’s treated fairly in an environment that, in which race is rarely taken into account."

At the end of the wide-ranging interview, Obama was asked "What’s a pet peeve with your aides?"

After saying he loved his staff, he said, "Probably my biggest pet peeve is the shine police. You notice that even before this interview, they constantly want to powder my nose and forehead and it’s never enough ‚Äî that I find quite irritating."

Piece on First Lady, Black Reporters Criticized

Washington Post media writer Howard Kurtz is catching flak over a story Thursday about the number of black female reporters covering first lady Michelle Obama.

"Howard Kurtz‚Äôs recent claim that black female reporters are having difficulty covering the first lady because she is also a black female is a worthwhile topic of discussion, but his focus on ‘objectivity’ misses the point," Dayo Olopade wrote on theRoot.com.

She said she agreed with Adam Serwer, who wrote on his American Prospect blog:

"The issue of reporters empathizing with their subjects is one that goes far beyond race ‚Äî politicians who have failed to earn the empathy of their press corps (see Gore, Al) have done far worse than politicians who have (see Bush, George W.) so this shouldn’t be a racial issue."

Kurtz noted that the first lady is covered by Rachel Swarns of the New York Times, the Washington Post’s Robin Givhan, Newsweek’s Allison Samuels, Darlene Superville of the Associated Press and Politico’s Nia-Malika Henderson, all African American women.

"Whether racial and gender identification produces a gauzier, more favorable portrayal of Obama is perhaps too early to judge. After all, no one raises questions when an Irish American male reporter covers a pol named Murphy. And with her carefully crafted focus on her children, affordable fashion and such reduced-fat apple pie issues as healthy eating, Obama has done little to warrant sharp criticism," Kurtz wrote.

Honduras Coup Leaders Seize Some Media Outlets

"Honduras’s provisional government, while trying to persuade the international community that its overthrow of its president was democratic, is being criticized for taking control of a number of media outlets since the coup," Nicholas Casey reported Thursday from Tegucigalpa, the capital, for the Wall Street Journal.

"The country’s Channel 36, run by a close associate of expelled Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, was shut down following Mr. Zelaya’s ouster and remained off the air this week, with only a blank signal showing up on Honduran televisions.

"Channel 8, a state-owned network that had also supported Mr. Zelaya, went off the air on Sunday and then returned with a new cast of anchors, largely delivering news friendly to the government’s interim president, Roberto Micheletti.

"Radio Globo, a network that spent much energy criticizing Mr. Micheletti before he took power, remains under military guard, according to its owner, Alejandro Villatoro. When it broadcast the first Honduran interview with Mr. Zelaya Wednesday from exile, in which he was addressed as ‘Mr. President,’ soldiers turned off the station’s transmitter, Mr. Villatoro said."

Laura Ling, right, and Euna Lee of San Francisco-based Current TV were arrested in North Korea on March 17.

Colleagues of Imprisoned Journalists Afraid to Talk

"Two Asian-American journalists sentenced to 12 years‚Äô ‘reform through labor’ by a North Korean court June 8 were part of a three-person team that set out from Los Angeles in March to document the underground railroad that North Korean refugees use to reach China, where they receive aid from beckoning South Korean and Korean-American evangelical Christian groups," Babamoto wrote Wednesday for the L.A. Weekly.

"The Current TV team included veteran executive producer Mitchell Koss, 56; on-air correspondent Laura Ling, 33, vice president and managing editor of Current/Vanguard; and much less experienced editor Euna Lee, 36, all from the cable outlet’s elite Vanguard investigative-reporting unit based in a dreary section of the Hollywood flatlands between Highland and La Brea avenues.

"Lee and Ling, younger sister of National Geographic reporter Lisa Ling, were arrested in the predawn hours of March 17, as they videotaped in Kangan-ri, North Korea. The pair were whisked in separate vehicles to Pyongyang for questioning, South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo reported. They were charged with politically smearing the North Korean state.

"Koss somehow eluded capture, was briefly held by Chinese authorities and then seemingly dropped off the face of the earth.

"This much has been widely reported.

"Today Koss is holed up at his home in the quiet hills a few miles from downtown Los Angeles, refusing all comment. Friends of Koss say that he and others were advised that if they spoke, it could be used against Ling and Lee by the North Koreans.

"Current TV is maintaining a stony silence, with what one employee calls ‘a complete lockdown’ on comment by all workers, and managers have deleted messages of support for the jailed journalists from the Current TV Web site."

Buffalo television anchor Mylous Hairston: ‘When you feel something is wrong, ‘when something doesn’t feel right, especially in your chest, go see a doctor.’ Video

2 Black Journalists Under 50 Warn of Heart Attacks

In Buffalo, "weekend anchor Mylous Hairston is recuperating in Buffalo General Hospital after having a heart attack that led to two surgeries Tuesday and Wednesday to open an artery," Alan Pergament reported in the Buffalo News on Friday.

‚Äú’They tell me I had a small heart attack,’ the 44-year-old Hairston said from his hospital bed on Thursday. ‘I should be off the air for at least two weeks unless they tell me differently.’

"Hairston, who has become a runner recently and lost 45 pounds three years ago, said he felt tightness in his chest while anchoring last Sunday and was fortunate that he had a physical scheduled for Tuesday. During the physical, the doctor didn’t like what she saw during a heart exam and what she heard when Hairston told her how he had been feeling."

Hairston told his station, WIVB-TV, "I got lucky, very lucky."

"And as a journalist, Mylous now has a message, a warning for everyone about the symptoms of a heart attack, ‘When you feel something is wrong, when something doesn’t feel right, especially in your chest, go see a doctor,’" according to a story on the station’s Web site.

Hairston’s heart attack coincided with a radio appearance by Michael Wilbon, Washington Post sports columnist and co-host of ESPN’s "Pardon the Interruption," to raise awareness of the possibilities of heart attacks in younger men. Wilbon is featured in a piece on that subject in Men’s Fitness magazine.

"About a year and a half ago, he and his wife, Cheryl, were in Phoenix. Michael was about to cover his 21st Super Bowl. Both were eagerly anticipating the birth of their first child. What they weren’t expecting was a late-night trip to the hospital," Michel Martin said on her "Tell Me More" show Monday on National Public Radio.

"That’s where they found out that Michael, at age 49, had suffered a heart attack. Since that scary night in 2008, Michael Wilbon has worked to improve his health and to educate other younger men about heart disease.

Wilbon recalled being with a trainer in a health club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

"And it’s about 2 o’clock in the afternoon and they’re about 15 to 18 guys in a big club on treadmills at the time at that hour. And he said, ‘well, just in front of you like four, five, six’ ‚Äî he counted off six or seven guys who had heart attacks. None of them were as old as me, and I was 49 at the time. None of them were as old as I was. And guys came over to introduce themselves, saying hey, it’s good you’re here. These guys will take of you. This is great, because I had mine at 41. It’s like this club you join," Wilbon said with amazement.

NABJ Candidates Differ Over Membership Decline

"Check this out! the Nat’l Association of Hispanic Journalists have lost about 1,000 members," Angelo Henderson, a candidate for president of the National Association of Black Journalists, is telling members. His reference is to a preliminary report showing an NAHJ loss of 800 members. "Be clear, NABJ ‚Äî our membership ‚Äî is also suffering. In May 2009, NABJ had only 1,685 full members ‚Äî compared to 1,977 in May of 2008. That’s a 292 drop in full members."

On Saturday, he added, "NABJers we’ve got to turn this downward membership spiral around ‚Äî we can do it!
Click on www.angelohenderson.com and help me help us!"

"It is true," NABJ’s executive director, Karen Wynn Freeman, told Journal-isms. "We were holding our own through April. Please compare 2007 data against the 2009 data. During a UNITY year the numbers are usually higher than on average. Considering what is taking place in the industry NABJ hasn’t lost too much ground. We are carefully watching as the months progress."

The May 2007 figures show 3,666 members, compared with 3,765 in May 2008 and 3,332 this past May. For full members, NABJ had 1,790 in May 2007, 1,977 in May 2008 and 1,685 this past May.

Henderson’s NABJ opponent, Kathy Times, the association’s vice president/broadcast, responded this way on Sunday when asked for comment:¬†

"Frankly I’m somewhat astounded that anyone, especially a journalist, with a basic knowledge of our industry and organization would question why our membership is down.

"There are very few industries that have been adversely impacted by technology and a global economy like our industry.

"The reduction in our membership can be attributed to basically two things: technological changes in our business and a recession.

"Many members renew their membership when it’s time to register for the convention.

"The reality is some members can’t afford to pay their dues and attend the convention due to the economy and record layoffs.

"I cried after reading the applications of members who applied for hardship scholarships to attend the Tampa convention.

"NABJ’s board reaches out to members when they don’t renew their membership.

"If I’m elected NABJ president, I will continue working to retrain, reclaim, recruit and retain members. I want to rebuild the organization from the ground up and put more resources into strengthening chapters.

"I’m asking members to hold on to the one thing that will help them get through these difficult times. If you’ve been laid off, notify NABJ’s national office immediately. We are offering free six-month membership extensions."[Updated July 5.]

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