Should Associations’ Alliance Be Based on Ethnic Issues?
L.I. Reporter Finds Bodies of Infant Son, Baby Sitter
S.F. Chronicle Kills Web-Only “Asian Pop” Column
NBC Won’t Let Sharpton Campaign for, Endorse Candidates
Hugo Balta Moves From WCBS to ESPN
Fleeing Ecuadorean Journalist Left Behind Wife, Two Teens
Bilingual Investigative Reporting Center Celebrates First Year
Camille Beredjick, left, and Yimou Lee work in the student newsroom at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association convention last week in Philadelphia. (Credit: nlgjaconvention.org)
Should Associations’ Alliance Be Based on Ethnic Issues?
The journalist-of-color associations plan to begin talks this month about whether to reunite the national associations of Hispanic, Asian American and Native American journalists with the National Association of Black Journalists under the Unity umbrella.
The associations, starting with a Sept. 14 conference call, might also consider whether to admit the predominantly white National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association to the coalition known as Unity: Journalists of Color since about 1998. The alliance was formerly named after the convention year, such as ‘Unity ’99’.
In so doing, the Unity partners will also decide the organization’s focus. Is it to be dedicated chiefly to a diverse workforce in journalism, to the advancement of journalists of color, or something else?
The American Society of News Editors has a goal of matching the percentage of journalists of color with that in the population. The figure for journalists of color stands at 12.79 percent, with women at 36.92 percent. The survey does not ask about sexual orientation. The percentage of nonwhites in the population is 36.92 percent. Census figures show 50.8 percent of the population is female.
David A. Steinberg, president of NLGJA, chooses diversity as the goal for Unity. “I think there are many exciting opportunities in any partnership with UNITY, and as I said before, our missions are so similar, so it only makes sense to work together as we strive for media diversity and support of all of our members,” Steinberg told Journal-isms in an email.
In a tweet posted on the NLGJA website, someone identified as DiversityAtoZ wrote, “If NABJ rejoins/NLGJA joins UNITY, how about inviting Nat. Ctr. on Disability Journalism and JAWS? Would be great conference in 2012.”
That would be a departure from Unity’s original intention, say those who were active in the coalition during the 1990s.
“I was there at the very beginning of Unity when it did not have ‘Journalists of Color’ in the name and we had some very tough conversations about adding NLGJA and I had some very frank discussions with the late Leroy Aarons and our beloved Tom Morgan,” said Sidmel Estes, a former president of the National Association of Black Journalists. Aarons, a co-founder of the Maynard Institute, founded NLGJA. Morgan was the first and only openly gay president of NABJ.
“The issue from the very beginning has always been keeping our FOCUS on racial and ethnic issues,” Estes continued in an email. “We thought that adding the gay and lesbian issues would take us off task. And it was repeatedly brought up that many of the non-colored gay and lesbian managers were among the chief perpetrators of discrimination and lack of sensitivity in many newsrooms.”
She added, “Yes, there was a vote in 1994 and we weren’t the only ones who voted against it. In fact, as I recall, it was almost unanimous not to include them because we had other things on which to focus. There was never any sentiment that we were ‘homophobic or anti-gay’. We just wanted to keep our focus.”
The issue came up again in 1998, when Paul DeMain of the Native American Journalists Association was Unity president.
“I think the discussion was more about whether we open the organization to another organization(s) or not. We all noted that UNITY was based on Journalists of Color — not gender or orientation, and that Gay, Lesbian, and Bi members and all had already achieved executive status in our organizations without having to come-out,” DeMain said via email.
“In that discussion it boiled down — if we open up the organization, then we open it up — or not. We don’t need to open it up once, then find out that some New Zealand cross-dressing journalist organization wants in next year, or vegan Native Journalist want their own sub-group two years from now separate from NAJA. If they are considering opening it up, then it should be opened up as a Journalists in UNITY organization and consider all sub groups —as some kind of membership, organization member, etc., which opens up all other kinds of needs for administrative actions, criteria, etc. . . . Otherwise we said NO last 2 times around, ‘the 4 founding organizations only at this time,’ around the issue of the experience and needs of Journalists of Color — end of discussion. I believe I voted against it, and Tony [Lone Fight] voted for it as NAJA delegates to UNITY, and overall the UNITY board voted not to open it up at that time.”
Some Unity board members had additional considerations. Kara Briggs, who joined the Unity board in 1998 and was president of NAJA, told Journal-isms by email, “I would say, to my feeling at the time, I was always concerned that another large group would undercut NAJA, being small and to have yet another significantly larger group.”
Records of those 1994 and 1998 board meetings are not easily accessible, Unity’s executive director, Onica N. Makwakwa, told Journal-isms. “The office has moved at least 3 times that I’m aware of, not to mention the complete staff turnover,” she said by email. But Vic Lee of the Asian American Journalists Association said his recollection was that NABJ felt most strongly that Unity membership should be based on ethnicity.
“NABJ was always against nlgja joining as equal partners,” Lee said by email “The reason was unity is a coalition of ethnic journalism groups. I distinctly recall naja and aaja speaking in favor of the group joining. Can’t remember NAHJ’s position. I thought we did vote … but I could be wrong.”
Gilbert Bailon and Nancy Baca, who represented NAHJ in 1998, could not be reached for comment. Jackie Greene, who represented NABJ, said, “Most members felt that NLGJA had representation within all of the other groups and therefore there was no urgent need to add them. The four groups were still struggling with the guidelines and learning how to work together without adding more complications.”
But those discussions took place more than a decade ago. The departure of NABJ from the coalition this year left a large space to be filled at Unity’s 2012 convention in Las Vegas.
Joanna Hernandez, Unity president, told Journal-isms by email on Sunday, “No decisions have been made yet by NLGJA or UNITY, and no vote has been taken by the UNITY Board, although we are striving to vote on this matter soon. And we are always talking to journalism organizations about how we can work together on diversity. When we found out NLGJA had not selected a 2012 convention site, we felt now was the right time to start brainstorming because our 2012 convention is going to be such an important gathering for all journalists in the country.” She reiterated Friday that “UNITY is only in discussions with NLGJA.
“I’m looking forward to productive conversations with NABJ. They were an important part of the UNITY Alliance, and it was disheartening when they walked away.”
NABJ’s departure was partly based on dissatisfaction with the way Unity was governed and the way its finances were divided among the associations. That’s not a deal breaker for Steinberg. “We of course want to examine the details of UNITY’s governing structure and financial arrangements to make sure they make sense for NLGJA. But NABJ and NLGJA are two very different organizations, and as a much smaller group, the financial equation is much different for us,” Steinberg said.
The current NAJA president, Darla Leslie, said NAJA had no comment “as we are in the midst of discussion on the matter,” but her predecessor, DeMain, said that today, “I think I would be in favor of opening the organization up for other organizations — the configuration which will take time to figure out….”
Why? “Because everything in the industry is changed. NAJA is almost defunct in part because of dwindling memberships, and a huge transfer of Native journalists into no man’s land, and it sounds that NABJ left in part, or fully because they think their revenue producing capabilities are greater without the other organizations. I think it is time to think outside of my box and I think I might have argued the same thing in the past — if we are going to revamp, then let’s look at enlarging the circle beyond one more group.”
Those words might please the Twitter poster who envisioned adding other groups to Unity, such as women and disabled journalists.
“I think this is something the new board will likely talk about,” said Becky Day, executive director of the Journalism & Women Symposium, known as JAWS.
Michael Baldwin II speaks to a reporter outside his home about the horrific incident. (Credit: Stephen Barcelo/Daily News)
L.I. Reporter Finds Bodies of Infant Son, Baby Sitter
“A one-month-old baby boy died after he was found unresponsive underneath the body of his unconscious babysitter at his Long Island home,” Greg Cergol reported Friday for WNBC-TV in New York.
”The baby is the child of Michael Baldwin II, a News 12 reporter and host of the program ‘Diverse Long Island.’
”Baldwin told NBC New York the babysitter, 39-year-old Teresa Coffey, was an acquaintance of his wife and had been asking for an opportunity to watch the infant. When Baldwin was called into work Thursday, he said he was in a bind and felt he had no other option but to ask Coffey to babysit.
”At about 6 p.m., Coffey left a voicemail message for Baldwin while he was at work and said the baby was crying and fussy. When he attempted to call her back, she did not answer the phone.
”Baldwin returned home to find Coffey motionless on the couch and assumed she was asleep, he said. He looked for his son in his crib and around the house but could not find him.”
Jeff Yang said his column “began in January 2004, had a period of revolving-door contributors (including me), and I was asked to take it over as sole columnist in late 2004.” (Credit: Jeff Yang)
S.F. Chronicle Kills Web-Only “Asian Pop” Column
SFGate.com, the website of the San Francisco Chronicle, is “eliminating a majority of our online columns to shift the resources to other areas,” Vlae Kershner, the website’s news director, told Journal-isms on Friday.
Affected are Jeff Yang’s column, “Asian Pop,” along with “Money Tales” and “Your Whole Pet.”
Yang, who lives in New York, told Journal-isms by email, “with my column ending (after seven years!) there won’t be any regular coverage of Asian/Asian American topics in a city that’s a third Asian.”
Kershner said Yang’s column “is online only, carried by SFGate, which is edited independently of The San Francisco Chronicle.
“We’ve greatly enjoyed running Jeff’s column. He repeatedly has broken new ground with his sensitive analyses of the role of Asians and Asian Americans in popular culture. Some of his columns have been pointedly humorous, such as his dismissal of the wimpy Asian male’ stereotype.
”Unfortunately, we are eliminating a majority of our online columns to shift the resources to other areas.
“In my opinion, the changing economics of our industry has made it very difficult to justify paid online-only columns on free (advertising-supported) news websites.
“We hope Jeff will find an appropriate outlet to continue to offer his perspectives.”
Yang said, “Obviously, I’d love to continue the work I’ve been doing — since I was first asked to take it on, the column has evolved considerably, from a focus on Asian media and entertainment (thus the title ‘Asian Pop’) to one that interprets the term ‘pop’ in a broader, more inclusive and more challenging fashion — ‘populi’ rather than ‘popular.’
“Since then, it has focused on the dynamic shifts that are shaping the global Asian community, here in the U.S. and abroad — and the ways that our culture is impacting and influencing those around us as well, connecting the changes taking place in a city that’s a third Asian (and counting) with those taking place in a world that’s two-thirds Asian, driven by colossal shifts in technology, demographics, politics, economy and creativity.
”But to the great credit of the powers that be, I was given the chance to carve out a unique niche in both the Chronicle’s landscape and that of the news industry at large, and for that I’ll always be grateful.”
NBC Won’t Let Sharpton Campaign for, Endorse Candidates
“The Rev. Al Sharpton, the civil-rights activist who has been at the center of every hot political contest in New York for years, will no longer be able to make political endorsements or campaign for candidates now that he’s become the host of a nightly program on MSNBC,” Michael Howard Saul wrote Thursday for the Wall Street Journal.
”But in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Mr. Sharpton said he wasn’t aware of any MSNBC rules that prohibit him from endorsing candidates. ‘I cannot write checks, but I can make endorsements if I choose,’ he explained.
“Lauren Skowronski, a network spokeswoman, said, ‘Rev. Sharpton will be adhering to NBC News policies now that he’s an MSNBC host. NBC News prohibits employees from campaigning for candidates without prior consent from management.’
”When told that Mr. Sharpton believed he was free to endorse candidates — and just merely barred from making political donations — Ms. Skowronski replied, ‘I can let you know that Rev. Sharpton is aware of the policy and has agreed to adhere accordingly.’ “
While he was hosting the show on an interim basis, Sharpton answered critics who said his political activity might present a problem by telling Journal-isms that as a 501(c)(4) corporation, his National Action Network does not make political endorsements.
- Peter Hart, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting: NYT TV Critic: Sharpton’s Show Could Use More Misinformation
Hugo Balta Moves From WCBS to ESPN
“After almost a year and a half as Managing Editor at WCBS in New York, Hugo Balta is leaving the station. He switches gears, moving over to sports, accepting a job as Coordinating Producer at ESPN. He’ll be responsible for content and on-air look of studio and event related programs,” Veronica Villafañe reported Friday on her Media Moves site.
“Hugo says he’ll be mentoring and working with producers and on-air personnel ‘to plan and produce innovative, challenging and entertaining sports productions while maintaining the highest journalistic standards.’
“His last day at WCBS is Sept. 21. He starts at ESPN on Monday the 26th.
“Why the change?
” ‘I decided to join ESPN because of the great brand worldwide and [its] assertive approach to producing content on multiple platforms,’’ Hugo tells me. . . . “
Balta, a former vice president for broadcast of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and then a presidential candidate, announced last month he was running again for president.
Fleeing Ecuadorean Journalist Left Behind Wife, Two Teens
Emilio Palacio, the Ecuadorean journalist who fled to Miami last week, “left behind his wife Luisa and two teenage sons. He has no idea when he will see them next,” Chuck Strouse wrote Tuesday for Miami New Times.
“Palacio is hiding out in a tiny, tree-shrouded house in west Coconut Grove. Had the 57-year-old not fled his native Ecuador this past Wednesday, he’d be behind bars — jailed for the truth.
“. . . Until recently, this gnome-like gentleman was one of the most powerful journalists in South America, brother to a former president, and page editor of one of the continent’s largest and best-known newspapers, El Universo. . .” Strouse wrote after conducting Palacio’s first interview since his escape.
Carlos Lauría wrote Thursday for the Committee to Protect Journalists that President Rafael Correa, “a 48-year-old left-leaning economist, brooks no dissent from the news media and, in less than five years, has turned Ecuador into one of the hemisphere’s most restrictive nations for the press.
“Promising a ‘citizens’ revolution’ that would boost revenue from the country’s natural resources, Correa took office in January 2007 with substantial support from mainstream news media. But after vowing to fight what he called Ecuador’s corrupt elite, he took an aggressively adversarial stance against news media, which threatens the internationally guaranteed free expression rights of all of his citizens,” Lauria wrote in a “special report” on the country.
Bilingual Investigative Reporting Center Celebrates First Year
The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting, the nation’s first nonprofit, digital and bilingual investigative journalism organization, is celebrating its first anniversary this month.
“And FCIR has accomplished a lot in that year, with investigations in English and Spanish that examined Congressional lettermarking (en Español), for-profit virtual high schools, the immigration-enforcement program Secure Communities (en Español), extraditions (en Español), FBI informants, foreclosure density (en Español), even the effort to recall Gov. Rick Scott,” an announcement says.
“Along the way, we made some news ourselves. The Columbia Journalism Review called FCIR ‘a pioneer bilingual investigative nonprofit,’ and FCIR’s journalism has won awards from the Education Writers Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Florida Society of News Editors.”
Mc Nelly Torres, associate director and reporter, told Journal-isms that the project just received another $100,000 from Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.
The center plans a celebration Friday night in Miami.
Short Takes
- “A Tampa radio station with a long history of serving a predominately black audience has switched formats to reach a young adult Latino audience,” Walt Belcher and Cloe Cabrera of the Tampa Tribune reported Friday. “On Friday, financially troubled WTMP (1150 AM, 96.1 FM) became ‘La Bahia,’ meaning ‘The Bay,’ playing Spanish and tropical music instead of jazz and music. Also gone is the syndicated ‘Tom Joyner Show.’ The staff has been let go and a new WTMP website is ‘under construction’.”
- “Two women from the world of Mexico City journalism were abducted and slain, their naked, bound bodies found Thursday in a field behind a cemetery, authorities said,” Tracy Wilkinson reported Thursday for the Los Angeles Times. “Although dozens of journalists have been killed, kidnapped or threatened as part of Mexico’s spiraling violence, this appears to be the first time news media employees have been slain in the relative safe harbor of Mexico City. . . . The women were identified by authorities as Ana Marcela Yarce Viveros, a veteran reporter who helped found the scrappy news magazine Contralinea and who more recently took charge of its public relations department, and Rocio Gonzalez Trapaga, a former reporter for Mexico’s dominant TV broadcaster, Televisa.”
- “Say what you want about Rick Sanchez, and some of the things people say aren’t fit for print, but the man is a professional communicator in every positive sense of the term,” Tom Jicha wrote Friday in the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Sanchez made his debut in the unlikely role of analyst for FIU football Thursday night. He was knowledgeable, analytical and enthusiastic. He knew the players, the plays and how the coaches planned to use them. He was prepared.”
- “Reporters Without Borders is dismayed to learn that a UN-backed special tribunal that is trying former Khmer Rouge leaders for war crimes has started contempt of court proceedings against Voice of America’s service for allegedly revealing confidential information about a new case against the Khmer Rouge,” the press freedom organization said Thursday. “. . . In a statement yesterday, VOA Khmer chief Chris Decherd said: VOA Khmer supports the work of the tribunal and helps to inform the Cambodian public by reporting about the court’s work.”
“This Sunday a new voice will grace the airwaves of NPR’s ‘Weekend Edition,’ ” Betsy Rothstein wrote Friday for FishbowlDC. “It’s Audie Cornish’s first day as host of the weekly morning program. Cornish, who has been a reporter with NPR since 2006, is the first new host of the show in more than 20 years, after Liane Hansen retired in May.” ‘I want Weekend Edition to feel like brunch with cocktails,’ says Cornish of her new gig. ‘I want people to sit at my table and feel comfortable.’ ”
- “Dominican journalist Jose Agustin Silvestre promised to reveal a bombshell in the next edition of his magazine: a story of drugs and corruption involving local businessmen,” the Associated Press reported. “He never got the chance. Before he could publish his exposé, Silvestre was kidnapped and shot to death.”
- “After years of working as an author, top media executive and journalist for major networks, Keith Brown is now pursuing his dream of building his own empire,” Cyril Josh Barker wrote Thursday for the New York Amsterdam News. “The former senior vice president of news and public affairs for BET is a partner, along with his wife, Maria, in the Perez-Brown Media Group Inc. The two live with their 4-year-old daughter in Harlem. The consulting firm provides strategies to companies to reach African-American and Latino communities.”
- African Americans who “listen to both black-oriented stations and mainstream stations are signaling a desire for more diverse content, Joe Miller wrote Wednesday for New America Media, commenting on the filing for bankruptcy protection by Inner City Media Corp., operators of New York’s WLIB and WBLS. “Their behavior indicates an impulse to seek out contexts that communicate — as Pepper Miller of the Hunter-Miller group describes it — ‘a universal situation … living parallel to mainstream’ rather than isolated in a silo with no mass appeal relevance. This does not require black-oriented stations to change formats completely. But what it does require is learning a lot more about black listeners who are less loyal to Urban AC formats, and addressing some of their programming needs. If Inner City doesn’t do it, someone else will, and it is starting to look more and more like that may very well be the scenario.”
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