”60 Minutes" Icon Had Fun With Show’s Late Creator
Don Hewitt, the creator of CBS-TV’s legendary "60 Minutes" newsmagazine who died Wednesday at age 86 of pancreatic cancer, was not a strong believer in race- or gender-consciousness when it came to staffing the program.¬†
"One argument I didn’t accept was the one that said it was time to put a woman on ’60 Minutes,’" he wrote in his 2001 autobiography, "Tell Me a Story." "Baloney. It was time to put Diane Sawyer on ’60 Minutes’ – as far as I was concerned, she could have been named Tom Sawyer. Gender didn’t have a damn thing to do with it, any more than Ed Bradley’s hiring had to do with race."
"I am against racial profiling as police policy, and I have doubts about racial profiling as a hiring policy, which I would be all for if I thought it worked without causing bitterness among whites who are anything but racist yet resent that the color of their skin can be an obstacle to their getting a job," he wrote at another point.
"Be that as it may, it’s tough to argue with Bayard Rustin, who predated Martin Luther King as America’s best-known civil rights leader and said, ‘it behooves white America to make the same concerted effort to include us as it once made to exclude us.’ So, on that subject I find myself between a rock and a hard place."
Despite Hewitt’s ambivalence, there was no denying that his show played its part in chronicling – and affecting – the nation’s racial narrative since its debut on Sept. 24, 1968.
The news release announcing Hewitt’s death says, "Good journalism could also exonerate the innocent, and 60 MINUTES did this many times over the years. When pressed for 60 MINUTES’ finest hour, Hewitt cited the Lenell Geter story in 1983. Geter, a young man sent to jail for life for a robbery in Texas, was freed after Morley Safer’s report discredited evidence and used eyewitnesses to prove he was innocent."
The story of Geter, a black engineer who later became a motivational speaker, was developed into a 1987 television movie, starring Dorian Harewood as Geter.
And it was "60 Minutes" that made Bradley, the African American journalist who died in 2006, a household name, with interviews ranging from Kathleen Willey, who claimed that Bill Clinton kissed and fondled her in a 1993 encounter at the Oval Office, to entertainer Lena Horne and actor Sir Laurence Olivier. Bradley’s final piece punctured holes in the racially charged claim by a black woman who accused the mostly white members of the Duke University lacrosse team of rape.
In his autobiography, Hewitt told how Bradley playfully tested Hewitt’s commitment to pluralism.
"Not long after Ed signed on," he wrote, "my secretary, Beverly Morgan, came into my office and said, ‘You’re not going to believe this.’ What she had in her hand was a memo from Ed to the personnel office at CBS informing them that he was changing his name to ‘Shaheeb Sha Hab.’
"All I could think was, ‘I’m Mike Wallace. I’m Morley Safer. I’m Harry Reasoner. I’m Shaheeb Sha Hab. These stories and Andy Rooney tonight on ’60 Minutes.’
"’Is he kidding?’ I asked Beverly.
"I don’t think so,’ she said. ‘The memo has already gone to personnel.’
"What I could do about it I didn’t have the slightest idea. How can you tell a guy he can’t change his name to anything he wants it to be? But on the off chance that it wasn’t true (and God, I hoped it wasn’t,) I went to Bradley’s office, figuring that maybe I could smoke him out.
"I respect what you’re doing, I told him, and suggested that one of us should call Kay Gardella at the Daily News and let her break the story.
"’Good idea,’ Ed said. ‘Do you want to call her or do you want me to?’
"’Why don’t I do it?’
"’Fine and dandy,’ he said. ‘You do it.’
"My God, I thought, he isn’t bluffing. I picked up the phone and started dialing.
"’Hello,’ I said when Kay answered. ‘I’ve got a good item for you.’
"Tell me about it,’ she said.
"That’s when Bradley cracked. ‘Hang up,’ he said. ‘Tell her you’ll call her back.’ And he burst out laughing. Shaheeb Sha Hab indeed."
CBS announced that "60 Minutes" would devote its entire hour Sunday to Hewitt. "The 60 MINUTES correspondents are working on individual segments that will tell the story of the legendary newsman’s life, lasting contributions to the television news industry and especially their favorite stories about their boss and his times at 60 MINUTES," it said.
- Eric Deggans blog, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times: 60 Minutes creator and Cronkite producer Don Hewitt died today at age 86
AAJA Plans Fundraisers to Forestall $237,000 Deficit
The Asian American Journalists Association is preparing to hold fundraising events around the country to eliminate a projected $237,000 deficit, Sharon Chan, the association’s national president, told Journal-isms on Wednesday.
"We have already identified several options: holding a wave of fundraising events across the country to culminate with AAJA’s 30th anniversary, kicking off an annual fund and membership drive, continued fundraising from individuals in our Power of One campaign, suspending the membership dues share split with the AAJA chapters and a potential chapter assessment," she said.
"We’re also very fortunate in that AAJA leaders before us built up a healthy national endowment to prepare for hard rains."
The organization becomes the second journalist-of-color association to face a projected deficit this year. Last month, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists foresaw a $300,000 budget shortfall and asked every member to raise at least $200.
The National Association of Black Journalists, the largest of the groups, said this month that it was in the black, projecting revenue of about $2.2 million and expenses of about $2 million for the fiscal year, as Adele Hampton reported for the NABJ student convention project.
Glenn Sugihara, accountant for the AAJA national office, attributed his group’s projected shortage to factors that included a dropoff in membership dues, losses associated with a convention turnout that was lower than expected, sponsors who pulled or reduced their support and a buyout of the convention hotel contract, Audrey Kuo reported for AAJA Voices, the student convention newspaper.
Registration for the AAJA convention, held last week, reached 680, Maya Blackmun, interim executive director, told Journal-isms. She said the figure was not final.
All of the journalism organizations saw lower attendance at their conventions this summer. Earlier in the year, the American Society of News Editors and other groups canceled their gatherings altogether. The journalist-of-color  groups all focused on retraining members in light of increased demand for multimedia skills.
"The convention was proof that AAJA is more important than ever to our members, and that this organization will and must endure," Chan said.
Judge Green-Lights Bias Suit Against Wall St. Journal
A federal judge ruled Monday that Carolyn Phillips, the Journal’s first African American assistant managing editor, can proceed with her claim that she was terminated by the newspaper based on her race, as the Associated Press reported. Phillips sued the company in 2004.
Judge Deborah Batts tossed out Phillips’ claims of discrimination based on disability,
"I am thrilled at the prospect of having a jury decide this thing," Phillips told Journal-isms. She is now a database editor for Standard & Poor’s in Charlottesville, Va.,
Her former employer said, "Dow Jones does not discriminate period. We are gratified the court dismissed the disability claim, and we expect to prevail on the other claim at trial."
The case might alternatively be settled out of court.
Phillips worked at the Journal before Dow Jones was acquired by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
The New York Daily News reported when the suit was filed that Phillips, then 47, suing the paper for $5 million, was "alleging that her life became a nightmare after she became an editor.
"The suit says Phillips, of Afton, Va., became the editor in charge of recruitment in 1995, and almost immediately her position was marginalized. It says her job was marginalized further after Phillips became ill and took a six-month leave of absence.
"Phillips lost her job as assistant managing editor in November 2002. She sued the company in 2004.
"’She was a star performer at the Wall Street Journal then when she gets to upper management it is a whole different kettle of fish,’ said Phillips attorney Janet Neschis. ‘She never got a chance to perform.’"
WTKR-TV in Norfolk, Va., posted this video clip on its Web site.
Barbara Ciara, Cameraman File Charges After "Attack"
Barbara Ciara, managing editor and anchor at WTKR-TV in Norfolk, Va., and two photographers were "attacked" Wednesday while confronting the owners of a company accused of scamming the unemployed, the station reported.
WTKR news director Tina Luque-Blacklocke said Ciara and cameraman Brian Caldwell filed criminal complaints against Virginia Employment Services staff to a magistrate in Norfolk for vandalism, assault and disorderly conduct, the Daily News of nearby Newport News, Va., reported in Thursday’s editions.
Ciara is the immediate past president of the National Association of Black Journalists and longtime station employee.
"How do you describe a day where you are assaulted, your camera equipment broken, and it’s the lead story at 5, 5:30 and 6pm?" Ciara wrote on her Facebook page.
"They pushed me around and banged me on the head with a car door — but other than that Mrs. Lincoln how was the play?"
"The station has posted a video clip on its Web site showing Ciara and two cameramen, identified as Wayne Pellenberg and Brian Caldwell, confronting two unidentified men, at least one of whom is affiliated with Virginia Employment Services, a company that is currently being sued by the state attorney general’s office on fraud charges," the Daily Press reported.
"The video shows Ciara pushing a microphone at the men, and one of them pushing the microphone out of the way. The two men continue to walk as Ciara and the two cameramen follow them and attempt to block their paths. The men climb into a waiting vehicle and Ciara blocks them from closing the door to the vehicle as she continues to ask questions. One of the men then stands between her and the vehicle so that the door can be closed, and the vehicle drives away."
Media Groups Protest Football Coverage Rules
Three national media organizations are protesting credentialing requirements issued by the Southeastern Conference, whose college football season starts in earnest on Sept. 5, saying the rules infringe on free speech and could be illegal.
Marty Kaiser, president of the American Society of News Editors, David Bailey of the Associated Press Managing Editors First Amendment Committee and Garry D. Howard, president of the Associated Press Sports Editors, said the new credentials go beyond "adjustments"; "they are wholesale changes that restrain our members from covering your teams in ways that serve fans without harming league interests.
"ASNE has heard from far too many of its members that they must give up too many rights in order to cover major sporting events."
For example, they said in a letter, "Our members, as editors of newspapers or online publications, appear to be prohibited from using any video or audio highlights from SEC games on their Web sites while [television] stations ‚Äî with certain limitations ‚Äî can do so. They are also time-limited on their use of pre and post-game audio and video on their websites. This is a major restriction that only serves to limit the fans’ access to all viewpoints and information."
They also objected to a requirement that the bearer of the credential "hereby grants the SEC and its member institutions a license at no additional charge to use the photographs for news coverage purposes and for display on their official Web sites and in their official publications."
"There is no reason that our members should be restricted in this way, but be forced to allow the SEC and its members to ‘free ride’ off our work," the group representatives said.
They continued, "It is our understanding that other college football conferences will be releasing their credentials in the near future. We expect they will be similar in nature."
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Ken Belson and Tim Arango, New York Times: Leagues See Bloggers in the Bleachers as a Threat
Alex Wallace, left, and Al Roker. When was the last time? Video.
3 Black Men "Taking Over the Weather Channel"
"When Scott Williams and Alex Wallace tossed to Al Roker for yesterday’s 5:40 a.m. tease to the Weather Channel’s ‘Wake Up With Al,’ Roker had an explosion of black pride," Mike James wrote Wednesday on his News Blues site.
"’When was the last time you had three black guys on the Weather Channel at once?’ he asked with a wide grin." A few minutes later, Roker said, "Takin’ over the Weather Channel," raising his right fist. "Yeaah."
"Princess" Animated NABJ Convention, Readies Debut
"Sure, she’s a few inches taller than me, but most of that is big hair. And yeah, I’m a commoner and she’s royalty, even if she did attain her rank by locking lips with an amphibian. But in the majesty that we Americans so pine for from our royalist roots, we make a handsome couple, she and I, as can say a few hundred other guys upon getting the opportunity to pose with . . .
"Well, a character actress who doesn’t have to wear a giant Goofy or Minnie head."
Robin Washington, news director at the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune, was describing Disney’s upcoming "The Princess and the Frog," previewed this month at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Tampa, Fla. His piece, published Sunday, is among the film’s first reviews. The animated feature opens in its completed form on Dec. 11.
The buzz has already begun. It features the first African American princess in a Disney film.
"There’s a toy line from consumer products debuting this fall along with other consumer products such as Carol’s Daughter hair care products for the film," publicist Jackie Bazan-Ross told Journal-isms.
"The Princess Tiana walkabout character makes her debut in the Disney Parks this Fall.
NABJ’s "was not the only event. We had a fantastic event at NAACP’s conference for the Act-So Youth in partnership with the NAACP’s Hollywood Bureau. Each of these included a performance by Anika Noni Rose," who portrays the princess. "The NAACP we conducted a q&A with her and the kids.
"On a smaller scale, we also showed the exclusive footage at select film festivals. For these an animator ([African American]) from Disney and a producer conducted Q&A’s with the audience and the animator hosted an animation workshop for kids.
"We have a jazz program for kids being made available to educators and groups this Fall and lots more.
"At NABJ, we donated 2 limited edition Serigraphs from the film signed by Anika and numbered. . . . to raise funds for the NABJ scholarship fund. We also raffled one off at NAACP at no cost and the Roxbury Film Fest auctioned one."
Back to the film itself.
It is set in Jazz Age New Orleans, and Washington wrote, "Though the red light, back-alley Big Easy allowed a peculiar form of race-mixing, the historical reality is that Jim Crow lived just fine in the rest of the city. That’s where Plessy challenged Ferguson for the right to ride a conveyance regardless of color, only to lose before the U.S. Supreme Court in a decision that would codify Southern segregation for the next 58 years.
"All right, it’s Disney, for Pete’s sake. Why am I going here? Well, why did they go there instead of setting the tale in the White House beers-for-everyone America of today? Or if indeed delving into historical material, doing so honestly?
"No matter. All of this is a far cry from animation‚Äôs heyday during less-enlightened times, when Disney released the nostalgic-for-slavery ‚ÄúSong of the South‚Äù (1946) and Warner Brothers responded to Snow White with ‘Coal Black and De Seben Dwarves’ (1943).
"Let’s welcome Princess Tiana into her post-racial court."
Short Takes
- "U.S. immigration officials released a visiting Pakistani journalist employed by the U.S.-sponsored Voice of America news service Wednesday, 10 days after taking him into custody on his arrival at Dulles International Airport," N.C. Aizenman wrote Wednesday for the Washington Post. "Rahman Bunairee, 33, was hoping to find refuge in the United States after receiving threats in recent weeks from Islamic militants displeased with his reports about their activities in Pakistan’s restive North-West Frontier Province."
- The Afghan government issued instructions to the media forbidding them to cover Taliban violence during Thursday’s presidential election, an action that Reporters Without Borders said "not only violates media freedom but also the fundamental right of Afghan citizens to know what is going on in their country. Worse still, this censorship attempt threatens the entire democratic process and increases the danger that Taliban attacks represent for the population."
- "In recognition of their work chronicling human rights in Asia, Africa, and
the developing world, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Committee today announced that authors and journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn will receive the 2009 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Lifetime Achievement," the prize administrators announced on Tuesday. In 1990, Kristof and WuDunn became the first married couple to win a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests for the New York Times. - PBS’s Gwen Ifill was featured as an "expert" on Tuesday night’s "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," Patrick Gavin reported for Politico, but blew it. "One of game show’s contestants, Jennifer, used her first lifeline to ‘Ask An Expert’ on the following question: ‘When Richard Nixon wrote his famous letter, "I hereby resign the Office of the President of the United States," he addressed it to whom?’ The options: Henry Kissinger, Gerald Ford, Tip O’Neill, Alexander Haig." Ifill said O’Neill; the right answer was Kissinger.
- President Obama, NBA superstar LeBron James and pop singer Kelly Clarkson are to be featured in the television special "Get Schooled: You Have the Right," which premieres Sept. 8 at 8 p.m. in the first programming "roadblock" of any kind across all Viacom networks ‚Äî including BET, MTV, VH1, CMT, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV and Nickelodeon ‚Äî Viacom and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced on Wednesday. The purpose of the 30-minute documentary is to spotlight professionals around those big names ‚Äî speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz, music director Jason Halbert and marketing executive Latesha Williams ‚Äî to show students a variety of career choices, Viacom’s Kelly McAndrew told Journal-isms. Journalists may be participating in some of the accompanying activities, she said.
- "Reporters Without Borders condemns the new wave of violence against the media that took place last week, while Honduras appeared to be further than ever from resolving the crisis resulting from President Manuel Zelaya’s removal in a coup on 28 June," the organization said on Monday. "Lidieth Diaz of Radio Globo — one of the few remaining news media still critical of the de facto government — said she was denied access to the presidential palace on 13 August on the personal instructions of de facto President Micheletti when she [wanted] to cover a ceremony in which Micheletti was participating. She was allowed in several hours later after the office of the human rights ombudsman intervened."
- "There’s a friendly wager going on today between W.H. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and [American] Urban Radio Network’s April Ryan over this question on the president’s push for health care reform: Did Gibbs ever say Obama wouldn’t personally go somewhere (like Capitol Hill) because he didn’t have a home field advantage?," Amie Palmes wrote for Politico. "Both Gibbs and Ryan are claiming victory. And a panel of journalists is now convening to choose who gets the 50 bucks. Congress Daily’s George Condon, Bloomberg’s Ed Chen and Helen Thomas are the judges."
- "Tyra Banks, the diva of the lace-front, is going to open her self-titled
talk show‚Äôs upcoming season with something viewers may have never thought they‚Äôd ever see ‚Äì her real hair. On the premiere episode of ‚ÄúThe Tyra Banks Show‚Äù airing Tuesday, Sept. 8, Banks will do her entire show minus any fake tresses," Tonya Pendleton reported Wednesday for BlackAmericaWeb.com. - "Jayson Blair knows his new profession ‚Äî life coach ‚Äî smacks some people in the face like a bad punchline," Matthew Barakat reported for the Associated Press. Blair, 33, resigned from the New York Times in 2003, "leaving a journalistic scandal in his wake. The resulting furor led the paper’s top two newsroom executives to resign. Blair wrote a book, then mostly disappeared from view. For the past two years, he has been quietly working as a certified life coach for one of the most respected mental health practices in northern Virginia."
- "Charles Perez, former anchor for WPLG-ABC 10, on Tuesday won a two-year restraining order against his ex-partner, whom he believes caused a chain of events that got him fired this month from the Post-Newsweek station," Steve Rothaus reported for the Miami Herald. "Miami-Dade County Judge Rosa Figarola ordered Dennis Ricardo Pe?±a to stay at least 500 feet away from Perez for the next 24 months. Pe?±a, an unemployed paralegal, has 30 days to appeal and said ‘of course’ he will."
- Damon Weaver, the 11-year-old reporter who interviewed President Obama, told Time magazine’s Laura Fitzpatrick that his role model is CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and that if he stays in journalism he would like to be an anchor on ESPN, but that he’s "confused" about his career ambitions. "Now I’m [thinking] about being a pilot. I would want to fly a rocket, and Delta Airlines. They have TVs on every seat."
- "In a highly unusual decision for a news organization, Time has purchased a 95-year-old house in Detroit’s historic West Village neighborhood, next to Indian Village," Bill McGraw reported Sunday for the Detroit Free Press. Time announced on Thursday that the home will be used for a year by Time Inc.’s various news outlets to "report on the host of issues facing Detroit in this economy," and then donated to a local charity.¬† As reported in this space, Time.com’s Steven Gray is leaving Chicago to open Time’s Detroit Bureau as national correspondent.[Updated Aug. 20]
