Maynard Institute archives

Journal-isms

Fatimah Ali, Philadelphia Columnist, Dies at 56

Somali Pirates Still Holding U.S. Journalist for Ransom

Obama’s Message Well-Received, but Fewer Watched

Romney, Gingrich Keep Appointments on Univision, but Not Santorum

“Where Are The Women And Non-White Media Critics?”

Fatimah Ali, Philadelphia Columnist, Dies at 56

Fatimah Ali, 56, a fierce advocate for social justice who broadcast her Fatimah Aliviews on local radio and wrote a column for the Philadelphia Daily News from 2006 to 2011, died in her sleep Monday, Jan. 23, in her North Philadelphia home,” John F. Morrison reported Wednesday for the Philadelphia Daily News.

“One of her daughters, Khadija Ahmaddiya, said the cause of death was not known.

“. . . Ms. Ali was best known locally for her Daily News column and her two-hour daily broadcasts on WURD-AM (900), where she hosted The Real Deal With Fatimah Ali.

“It began in March 2011, and her last broadcast was a report on the activities of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

“Ms. Ali described herself as a ‘God-loving mother of five and grandmother. I’m a journalist, a radiohead, who loves her family, her roots, people, art, food, news and information, and culture.[

” ‘The beauty of Fatimah Ali’s career is that despite career changes, she seized new opportunities for her vibrant voice to be heard,’ said Sarah J. Glover, president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and a Daily News photographer.

” ‘She’s a Philly gal who kept it real, produced thoughtful commentary in written and spoken words, and gave back to the community.’ “

Somali Pirates Still Holding U.S. Journalist for Ransom

Michael Scott MooreLost in the coverage of the Navy SEAL rescue mission in Somalia is the fact that another American was kidnapped there four days ago and is being held for ransom,” NBC News and the msnbc staff reported on Wednesday.

“It’s also not clear if President Obama’s vow on Tuesday to protect U.S. citizens would extend to a rescue operation on his behalf.

Michael Scott Moore, an American writer who started his career tracking the surfing world and who was in Somalia to report about piracy, was kidnapped on Saturday.

“In a statement released by the White House after the overnight rescue of American Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted of Denmark, Obama on Wednesday vowed: ‘The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice.’ “

“Asked Wednesday about Moore at a press briefing, a State Department spokeswoman said she had ?no information but would get back to reporters.”

“. . . Moore had been reporting for the German magazine Der Spiegel when he was abducted on a road as he was heading to an airport.

Obama’s Message Well-Received, but Fewer Watched

President Obama's embrace of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., gravely wounded last year by a would-be assassin, was front page in the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson.

An overwhelming majority of Americans approved of the overall message in President Obama’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, according to a CBS News poll of speech watchers,” Lucy Madison reported for CBS News.

However, Bill Carter reported for the New York Times, “There were an estimated 37.8 million television viewers of President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, the lowest total in his presidency. The State of the Union address Tuesday night was seen by 37.8 million television viewers, according to figures released by the Nielsen company, by far the fewest who have watched President Obama give the address.”

According to the CBS poll, which was conducted online by Knowledge Networks immediately after the president’s address, “91 percent of those who watched the speech approved of the proposals Mr. Obama put forth during his remarks. Only nine percent disapproved,” Madison reported.

“Last year, 83 percent of viewers approved of Mr. Obama’s State of the Union remarks.

“This year, 82 percent of those who watched the speech said they approve of the president’s plans for the economy, up from 53 percent who approved before the speech. Eighty percent said they approved of Mr. Obama’s plans for the deficit — in contrast to 45 percent before the speech. Eighty-three percent approved of Mr. Obama’s proposals regarding Afghanistan, which received only a 57 percent approval rating beforehand.”

An online survey by theRoot.com released before the address found that Obama “has reason to be cautiously optimistic about the support he will get from his base for his re-election bid. However, to cement their support, he will need to focus on the issues that are most important to them in the 2012 campaign season: job creation and unemployment.”

Romney, Gingrich Keep Appointments on Univision, but Not Santorum

Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich appeared Wednesday on Univision, the nation’s largest Spanish-language television network, although last fall all GOP candidates except Ron Paul announced they wouldn’t participate in a proposed Univision debate over the network’s handling of a story related to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

As the Associated Press noted on Monday, “It’s not a debate since the candidates will appear separately.”

Gingrich, former House speaker, “told Univision’s Jorge Ramos on Wednesday that he wants at least 50 percent of the Hispanic vote in the 2012 election, and denied that his criticisms of President Clinton for having an affair were hypocritical,” Hispanic Business reported.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., was scheduled to appear, but attended private fundraisers instead.

” ‘We had a change in schedule a few days ago and asked (Univision) if they could move it and they said they couldn’t,’ Santorum said to reporters Wednesday after a large rally at First Baptist Church in Naples,” Andrew Abramson reported for the Palm Beach Post. “ ‘We tried to change out schedule so we could do it, and they said they weren’t willing to change the schedule. It’s unfortunate. We were able and wanted to do it, but they couldn’t. And it’s not their fault, they just said they couldn’t reorganize. ‘ ”

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, accused Gingrich “of pandering to Florida’s Latino voters by mocking Romney’s stance on immigration,” Roz Helderman reported for the Washington Post.

Fla. Hispanics Favor Romney Over Gingrich, Poll Finds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Univision, ABC News and Latino Decisions released a new survey Wednesday of 500 registered Hispanic voters nationwide, with an oversample of 500 registered Hispanic voters in the state of Florida.

“Among Hispanic Floridians planning to vote in next Tuesday’s GOP primary, Mitt Romney holds a 15 point advantage over Newt Gingrich (35-20), with Ron Paul and Rick Santorum polling at 6% and 7% respectively and 21% undecided,” Univision said.

“In a head-to-head match-up, President Obama continues to hold a strong advantage over his most likely GOP rivals: 67–25 over Romney; 70–22 over Gingrich.”

A “mixed picture of a Hispanic electorate not yet enthusiastically committed to President Obama and the Democrats, yet wary about supporting a Republican party that has taken such a tough stance on the issue of immigration was evident throughout the survey’s findings.”

  • Henry Banta, Nieman Watchdog: Romney on income inequality and ‘quiet rooms’
  • Wayne Bennett, the Field Negro: The SOTU and Newt’s racial stereotype problem.
  • Charles M. Blow, New York Times: Newt’s Southern Strategy
  • Michael Calderone, Huffington Post: South Carolina Primary: Mitt Romney Press Corps Rankled By Travel, Access Mishaps [Jan. 20]
  • Jack Coleman, Newsbusters: Geraldo Condemns Gingrich’s ‘Racialist’ Conduct Toward Juan Williams in GOP Debate
  • Earl Ofari Hutchinson, syndicated: Will Gingrich Bring White Supremacy Back to the White House?
  • Transcript: Univision interview with Mitt Romney
  • Tonyaa Weathersbee, BlackAmericaWeb.com: Gingrich Rise Ultimate Proof of White Privilege
  • DeWayne Wickham, USA Today: Newt the historian should see ‘Red Tails’
  • Edward Wyckoff Williams, theRoot.com: Colorblind Racism: The New Norm
  • “Where Are The Women And Non-White Media Critics?”

    Andrew BeaujonA hearty congratulations to City Paper alum Andrew Beaujon on accepting a gig at Poynter as the site’s ‘new Romenesko,’Shani Hilton wrote Wednesday for the Washington City Paper. “There, he’ll be writing a media blog edited by Julie Moos that will replace the work of Jim Romenesko, who left Poynter last year and launched his own blog.

    “With all of the changes happening in journalism, it seems to be a good time to opine and report about the media. Plenty of blogs and bloggers do so brilliantly, but so do a few hearty souls in traditional outlets. A quick brainstorm session brought forth a list of high-profile names: Romenesko and Beaujon, yes. But also, The Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz, NYU’s Jay Rosen, the Maynard Institute’s Richard Prince, plus four more City Paper alumni: Reuter’s Jack Shafer, the New York Times’ David Carr, former New York Observer media beatster Tom Scocca (now at Deadspin) and the Post’s Erik Wemple.

    “Aside from Prince, all of these people are white men. It’s generally accepted that diversity (geographical, economic, gender and race) bring differing perspectives to the newsroom and can enhance coverage. That’s why journalism has been fighting (and some could say, losing) a battle for greater diversity for decades.

    “Beaujon has a theory for why white men are so prevalent in the field: “Media criticism, which is a fly-in-the-soup job, is fundamentally an alt-weekly pursuit, and alt-weeklies’ DNA is heavily white and male. In turn, I have a couple theories about that, but my working one is that it’s because working at such places gives white males such as myself a chance to feel like an underdog for once in our lives.”

    “. . . maybe more importantly, the ability to criticize probably comes a bit easier for folks who don’t ever have the question, ‘Should I even be here?” hanging over their heads as they look around a room and don’t see anyone who looks like them’.”

    Are they right?

     

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