Maynard Institute archives

High Schools With No Student Media: “Largely Poor, High Minority”

by richard0533

Overall, 33% Have Online Component, Study Finds

Huffington Post Lets Go Its 4 General Managers

Obama Tells Joyner He Was “Too Polite” in Debate

Michigan, UCLA Law Schools Not “Best” for Blacks

Riza Cruz Named Executive Editor at Marie Claire

Nicholas Lemann to Step Down at Columbia J-School

“An Interview Should Be Like . . . a Weapon”

Which Chávez Did Obama Honor Again?

Short Takes

Some 111 high school students from California participated in Newspapers2 Journa

Overall, 33% Have Online Component, Study Finds

High schools that don’t have their own student media “are largely poor and have high minority populations, often depriving the students of a vital educational opportunity,” the University of Kansas reported Wednesday.

Moreover, “While the Internet has steadily become a larger part of media over the past decade-plus, the survey found that only 33 percent of schools have an online media component. That low figure is likely attributed to a number of factors, but the researchers argue it is doing a disservice to students,” KU researchers found.

“Peter Bobkowski, assistant professor of journalism at KU, surveyed more than 1,000 high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia,” according to a news release from the university. “The findings, which show that 96 percent of schools provide some opportunity to participate in student media, were published in the Journalism & Mass Communication Educator journal. Mark Goodman and Candace Perkins Bowen, journalism professors at Kent State University, were co-authors.

The release also said, ” ‘Given that this is the “always connected generation,” these students grew up with the Internet,’ Bobkowski said. ‘Our conclusion is not enough schools are providing students opportunities to learn about responsibly producing online media.

“. . . There are still a large number of schools with newspapers or some form of media, but the survey found those that don’t provide student media are generally poorer, smaller or have a large minority population. Schools that reported having no student media had an average of 54 percent of students who qualified for free or reduced price lunch, compared to 41 percent in schools that do. The average school without student media had a 56 percent minority population compared to 35 percent of schools with media.’ “

Goodman told Journal-isms that the initial report was published in fall 2011. However, he said, an article in Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, giving a more detailed explanation of that data, was just published and prompted the news release from the university.

The American Society of News Editors still maintains a goal of having the population of people of color in newsrooms equal the population in the nation at large. Providing early journalism training can boost those chances. ASNE’s 2012 survey counted 40,600 journalists in the newspaper and online workforces, and 5,000 journalists of color, representing 12.3 percent. “According to the U.S. Census, the percentage of minorities in the total U.S. population is nearing 50 percent,” ASNE noted.

In 1994, the Freedom Forum published “Death By Cheeseburger: High School Journalism in the 1990s and Beyond [PDF],” conceived and guided by Alice Bonner and Judith Hines. Although many new initiatives have been undertaken since this report, written before the explosion of the Internet, recalling its 12 steps for improving high school journalism programs remains worthwhile.

  • “Every high school should have a newspaper that publishes at least once a month. . . .

  • “High school newspapers should include racial, ethnic and gender diversity in staffing and coverage to enrich content and broaden students’ exposure. . . .

  • ” Journalism teachers should be well-trained and qualified at the highest level with a thorough grounding in reporting and editing, ethics, First Amendment law and the newspaper business. . . .

  • “Principals, administrators, school boards and parents must recognize the value of student expression for an effective education.

  • “News media should provide vigorous moral and material support for the practice and teaching of journalism in high schools and independent youth newspapers. . . .

  • “Students deserve clear teaching regarding the role of free expression within a democratic society and the responsibility of those who have access to the means of expression. . . .

  • “The curriculum and training associated with school newspapers should include design, illustration, cartooning, photography, advertising, production and distribution as well as solid teaching in reporting, writing and editing. . . .

  • “School newsrooms and journalism classrooms should be well-equipped with computers to attract students, enhance learning and provide tools for producing an attractive newspaper and preparing students for their later work life. . . .

  • “Schools must have adequate funding to afford the materials, resources and adviser compensation necessary to produce a good newspaper every month. . . .

  • “School newspapers should be widely circulated to parents, feeder junior high schools and local communities, cultivating future staff members and creating a strong base for readership and advertising revenue. . . .

  • “School broadcast media should be integrated with newspapers to serve diverse student interests and talents, and to let electronic media, including broadcast, cable and electronic bulletin boards become a part of high school journalism. . . .

  • “Students and teachers should have opportunities to use the services and attend meetings of state and national scholastic press organizations. . . .”

Huffington Post Lets Go Its 4 General Managers

The Huffington Post has let go its four general managers, including Derek J. Murphy, who supervised multicultural initiatives, a spokesman told Journal-isms Wednesday.

Separately, Miguel Ferrer, managing editor of the company’s BlackVoices, LatinoVoices (English-language) and Voces (Spanish-language) sites, has left for a new joint venture of ABC News and Univision, those organizations announced.

“I’m exploring new opportunities,” Murphy told Journal-isms by email. Derek J. Murphy

When Murphy was named general manager for multicultural in 2011, a news release said, “. . . Derek Murphy will drive the overall strategy and operational performance for AOL Latino, BlackVoices and AOL’s other multicultural offerings. Murphy had been COO of Global Media Ventures, which he formed with [Sheila C.] Johnson,” co-founder of Black Entertainment Television. “He was previously Senior Vice President, Business Development of The Huffington Post. Prior to that, he was at CNN, where he oversaw integrated media partnerships with a broad range of companies, including Google and Amazon.” Murphy has an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

“The GM responsibilities are being handled by expanded sales and marketing teams who can work on initiatives across the site rather than being siloed in interest areas,” the Huffington spokesman told Journal-isms. “Our staff numbers have continued to grow, and this reorganization was done for business optimization purposes, not budgetary reasons. It’s not our practice to publicly release the names of employees who have been let go.

“Regarding Miguel’s departure, we have great teams in place and our national editor is working with them and with Miguel on succession plans. . . . We’ll miss him but we understand that this is a tremendous opportunity for him and we wish him well.” Kate Palmer is national editor.

Miguel Ferrer

ABC News and Univision News announced Ferrer’s appointment Wednesday as they disclosed that their joint venture news and lifestyle network for U.S. Hispanics will be based in Miami.

Ferrer “will be the first Executive Producer, Digital for the new company. He will oversee all digital properties and work closely with the ad sales, distribution and editorial teams,” the announcement said.

“. . . The currently unnamed television network is expected to launch in 2013. Editorial coverage will focus on the issues most relevant for U.S. Hispanics, including the economy, entertainment, music, food, immigration, education, politics, health and wellness and more.

“The landmark joint venture capitalizes on Univision’s news leadership and expertise in reaching U.S. Hispanics and ABC’s global news leadership to serve more than 52 million Hispanics, the youngest and fastest-growing demographic in the country. . . .”

In February, Ferrer, then managing editor of HuffPost LatinoVoices, also became managing editor of HuffPost BlackVoices.

Ferrer had previously been director of programming for AOL Latino, where he was responsible for growing AOL Latino’s audience and developing key media partnerships. Before AOL Latino, Ferrer was business development manager for People en Español.

President Obama said of his debate performance last week,

Obama Tells Joyner He Was “Too Polite” in Debate

On the eve of Thursday’s vice presidential candidates debate between incumbent Joseph R. Biden Jr., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., President Obama said on the syndicated Tom Joyner radio show that he had been “just too polite [audio and transcript]” last week in his debate with an aggressive Mitt Romney, the Republican standard-bearer and former governor of Massachusetts.

In Britain’s Daily Mail, columnist Tony Harnden suggested that something else was afoot. He cited an unnamed Democrat who is “aligned with the Obama campaign” and “an unofficial adviser on occasions,” in writing Tuesday that “what nobody knew, until now, was that Obama believed he had actually won.

“In an extraordinary insight into the events leading up to the 90 minute showdown which changed the face of the election, a Democrat close to the Obama campaign today reveals that the President also did not take his debate preparation seriously, ignored the advice of senior aides and ignored one-liners that had been prepared to wound Romney.”

Meanwhile, “With multiple networks carrying the same programming tomorrow night the one and only Vice Presidential debate — CNN has decided to feature real-time feedback from a focus group in Virginia, and a running time clock that tracks each candidate’s speaking time which will be added up to determine the time spent on the issues,” Chris Ariens reported Wednesday for TVNewser.

Joyner said to Obama, who called into “the Tom Joyner Morning Show,” “I only have two questions for you. One, what happened at the debate? Everybody wants to know. Or was that some kind of genius strategy to [rope-a-dope] him in and then fact check him at the end? Or, and the other question is for all of my, my black friends who say that the President’s not doing nothing, not doing anything for the black community, talk to them.”

Obama replied, “Well, two things. I mean, you know, the debate, I think it’s fair to say I was just too polite, because, you know, it’s hard to sometimes just keep on saying . . . ‘what you’re saying isn’t true.’ It gets repetitive. But, you know, the good news is, is that’s just the first one. Governor Romney put forward a whole bunch of stuff that either involved him running away from positions that he had taken, or doubling down on things like Medicare vouchers that are going to hurt him long-term.

“. . . And, you know, I think it’s fair to say that we will see a little more activity at the next one. . . .”

The interview was widely reported by news organizations Wednesday.

Michigan, UCLA Law Schools Not “Best” for Blacks

Washington-based lawyer Yolanda Young, a USA Today contributor and founder of onbeingablacklawyer.com, says “The Black Student’s Guide To Law Schools” will be posted on her site on Oct. 17.

“While Harvard, Howard, and Georgetown law schools top the list, it excludes Michigan and UCLA, schools whose black student populations plummeted when their states disallowed the inclusion of race in admissions decisions,” she told Journal-isms by email. “Depending on how the U.S. Supreme Court decides the affirmative action case, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, black enrollment at these institutions may drop even lower.”

As Mark Sherman reported for the Associated Press, “Supreme Court justices sharply questioned the University of Texas’ use of race in college admissions Wednesday in a case that could lead to new limits on affirmative action.

“The court heard arguments in a challenge to the program from a white Texan who contends she was discriminated against when the university did not offer her a spot in 2008.”

“The court’s conservatives cast doubt on the program that uses race as one among many factors in admitting about a quarter of the university’s incoming freshmen. The liberal justices appeared more supportive of the effort.”

The battle over affirmative action also extends to language. A USA Today website headline read “Supreme Court weighs quotas in affirmative action case” even though the story by Richard Wolf and Mary Beth Marklein specifically quotes Solicitor General Donald Verrilli saying “There’s no quota.” The story also repeats the term “racial preferences,” a pejorative not used by the University of Texas or the U.S. government to describe the program.

Riza Cruz Named Executive Editor at Marie Claire

Riza Cruz, a senior editor at Vogue magazine since 2006, is joining Marie Claire as executive editor on Oct. 29, Marie Claire Editor-in-Chief Anne Fulenwider announced on Wednesday.

Riza Cruz

“In her new role, she will assign and edit cover stories, top-edit all articles and sections in the magazine, and manage the magazine’s features editors and writers,” a news release said.

“At Vogue, she edited cover stories, fashion features, personal essays, and the fashion and social sections, and edited writers including André Leon Talley, Hamish Bowles, Sarah Mower, Lynn Yaeger, Robert Sullivan, and Plum Sykes.

“From 2004 to 2006, Cruz was features editor at Real Simple, where she assigned and edited personal essays from writers including Jonathan Safran Foer, Elizabeth Gilbert, Jane Smiley, and Susan Choi, among others, in addition to editing human interest and personal finance stories. Earlier in her career, she also held editor positions at Inc., Business 2.0 and Vanity Fair.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Riza to Marie Claire,” Fulenwider said in the release. “She’s an extraordinary talent and a great editor. We worked together at Vanity Fair and I’m looking forward to collaborating again.”

Cruz is Filipina-American. Late last month, Keija Minor was named editor-in-chief of Brides, making her the first person of color to hold the title at a Condé Nast Publications magazine.

Nicholas Lemann to Step Down at Columbia J-School

“The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is about to choose its first new leader in a decade, after Dean Nicholas Lemann announced his impending departure from the post at the end of this academic year,” Jeff Sonderman wrote Wednesday for the Poynter Institute.

“University President Lee Bollinger will take the ‘unusual’ step of personally leading the search committee for a new dean, The New York Times reports.

Nicholas LemannA news release said, “During Lemann’s time as dean, the school has brought in 20 new members to its full-time faculty, started the school’s first new professional degree program since the 1930’s [PDF] — the M.A. degree, which stresses subject-matter expertise — and launched new centers for investigative reporting and digital journalism. The school also started the Punch Sulzberger News Media Executive Leadership program in 2007, the only executive leadership program for news managers based at a journalism school, along with several other major programs to train working journalists.”

Howard W. French, an associate professor and former New York Times correspondent, said of Lemann by email, “I know from having engaged with him intensely on the issue that strengthening diversity has been an important goal for Nick throughout his tenure here. He has pushed to find ways to bring us to consider diversity in virtually everything we do here, but a tremendous amount of work remains to be done, especially in hiring of faculty. The hope is that the new dean will bring just as strong a commitment.”

June Cross, another associate professor of color, said by email, “A lot of my colleagues have commented that these will be big shoes to fill. Nick’s designed a blueprint and laid a foundation that will take the school into the 21st century. His philosophy has been to plant a thousand seeds and see where they will grow. The reality is that the business is changing so fast that no one can know. He set a tone for civil discourse at the school that I hope we can retain through the transition ahead.”

Sree Sreenivasan, the school’s former dean of student affairs, recently named the university’s chief digital officer, told Sonderman, “Nick has been a terrific dean and will leave a permanent stamp on the school — not just through the many infrastructure improvements he brought, but also through the talented new faculty and changes to the curricula he initiated and led.”

Wayne J. Dawkins, who teaches at Hampton University and edits the Columbia J-school Black Alumni Network newsletter, said by email, “. . . the legacy accomplishments I associate with Lemann [include] making our alumni association truly global and not Manhattan-centric as it was for decades before the changes in the 21st century. . . .

“Second, under Lemann’s watch the BA Network and the school endowed a BA Network/Phyllis T. Garland scholarship that provides $5,000 in financial aid to needy students. At least five awards were made, then the scholarship was suspended in order to properly endow the scholarship. . . . We do anticipate an award this fall. . . . Lemann is soft spoken and self-effacing. . . . Personally, I’m grateful for Lemann’s generosity and advice.”

Cyndi Stivers, editor-in-chief of Columbia Journalism Review, the face of the school to many outside the campus, said by telephone Thursday that Lemann defers to Chairman Victor Navasky on matters of policy. An African American is about to start on the business side, she said, and Sang Ngo, who is Asian American, is an associate editor. There are nine full-time people. Diversity “is not as good as it ought to be . . . The whole [magazine] industry does not reflect the nation,” she said. However, “we welcome pitches all over the place.” Journalist Farai Chideya will be writing for CJR, though not as a staffer, Stivers said. Stivers was hired by Lemann.

“Following a one-year sabbatical, Lemann plans to return to the faculty at the Journalism School, and will continue his work as an author and a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine,” the university said.

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