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Journalisms Mon Jan 21

Joyner, Smiley Clash Again Over Obama

The differences between syndicated radio host Tom Joyner and media figure Tavis Smiley, who was was a regular commentator on the Joyner show, show no signs of mending. Joyner wrote on his blog Monday, “What do many Republicans, the spokesmen, for NRA and Tavis Smiley have in common? Once they start down a road, no matter how dangerous or ridiculously wrong it is, they won’t turn back.”

He added, ““I believe that Tavis is the one fascinated with Dr. King’s legacy, but more importantly Tavis is fascinated with his own legacy, and that’s not good.”

Smiley said on CBS’ “Sunday Morning” , “I’ve heard people exclaim that President Obama is the fulfillment of Dr. King’s dream. Well, not exactly. . . . The interrelated triple threat of poverty, militarism and racism that King talked about still looms large in a yet-deeply-divided America.”

Joyner said, “. . . Dr. King knew good things would be said about him in death and he was humbled at the idea of it. Tavis is afraid of what will be said about him and it’s driving him crazy. He points out on the day of President Obama’s swearing in that the President is not the fulfillment of Dr.King’s dream, but maybe a good down payment. I wonder what that makes Tavis, and sadly, does he.”

Meanwhile, Cornel West, Smiley’s partner on the “Smiley and West” radio show, “says he is outraged that Mr. Obama would use Dr. King’s personal Bible at the inauguration without endorsing Dr. King’s ‘black freedom struggle,’” Susan Saulny reported Sunday in the New York Times.

“ ‘Martin went to jail talking about carpet bombing in Vietnam and trying to organize poor people, fighting for civil liberties,’ Mr. West said. The president, he said, ‘has a compromising kind of temperament.’ ”

Asian Americans Relied on Ethnic Media During Campaign

Around half of Asian Americans relied on ethnic media for news during the last election in which the growing community voted overwhelmingly for President Barack Obama, a study said Thursday,” Shaun Tandon reported for Agence France-Press.

“Massive support by minorities played a vital role in Obama’s re-election on November 6. Asian Americans made up 3.4 percent of the electorate and could play a greater future role as they form the fastest expanding racial group.

“The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, releasing detailed findings from its exit polls, found that 48 percent of Asian Americans considered ethnic media, led by television, to be their prime news source.

“Asian Americans of Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese heritage are most likely to consider vernacular-language ethnic media their main news source. The figure dwindles for Indian and Filipino Americans for whom fluent English is the norm.”

The AALDEF released detailed findings from its nonpartisan multilingual exit poll of 9,096 Asian American voters in 14 states, calling it the largest survey of its kind in the nation.

Seventy-seven percent voted for Barack Obama for president,

Thirty-seven percent were limited English proficient, defined as speaking English “less than very well.”

Voters were asked if they encountered any voting problems. The organization said 249 were required to prove their U.S. citizenship; 307 said that their names were missing or had errors in the list of voters at poll sites; 215 had to vote by provisional ballot; 165 voters said that poll workers did not know what to do; 136 voters said that poll workers were rude or hostile; 183 voters said that no interpreters or translations were available when they needed their help and 105 were directed to the wrong poll site or voting machine/table within a site.

 

Google Drops “Make Me Asian” Smartphone App

‘Make Me Asian,’ a smartphone app that drew the ire of Asian-American activists for what they say are stereotypical depictions, is no longer available on the Google Play Store,” Gene Demby reported Thursday for NPR.

“The ‘Make Me Asian’ app let users alter photos to turn faces into stereotypical Asian caricatures — think Fu Manchu-style mustaches and rice paddy hats. Its creator, ‘KimberyDeiss,’ developed similar apps, like Make Me Indian, Make Me Russian, Make Me Frankenstein and Make Me Fat. Those apps are no longer available, either, and KimberyDeiss’s Google Play profile has been deleted.

“. . . In a recent conversation with NPR’s Allison Keyes, columnist Jeff Yang of The Wall Street Journal said he wasn’t surprised that the app didn’t raise the sort of objections that apps about other ethnic groups might have.

” ‘There is less inherent social and political power associated with these groups,’ he said, so the consequences often aren’t as serious ‘if you parody, satire or mock or offend these communities.’ “

 

Cristina Azocar Named Interim J-Chair at San Francisco State

Cristina Azocar, the director of the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism at San Francisco State University for more than 10 years, has resigned to become the interim chair of the Department of Journalism, the school announces on its website. Azocar is a past president of the Native American Journalists Association and serves on the board of the Women’s Media Center.

“Associate Professor Rachele Kanigel will become the acting director of CIIJ while a new direction is planned for the 23-year-old organization.”

Founded at San Francisco State University in 1990 by Betty Medsger, the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism “believes that accurate and responsible journalism reflects the changing demographics of the society it serves. We develop programs and conduct research aimed at recruiting, retaining and revitalizing journalists and journalism educators. We seek to make journalism more inclusive from the classroom to the newsroom,” it says.

Azocar is to serve while Chair Venise Wagner is on leave during the spring semester.

 

Hans Massaquoi of Ebony Dies, Grew Up Among Nazis

Hans Massaquoi, a former managing editor of Ebony magazine who wrote a distinctive memoir about his unusual childhood growing up black in Nazi Germany, has died. He was 87,” Freida Frisaro reported Monday for the Associated Press.

“His son said Massaquoi died Saturday, on his 87th birthday, in Jacksonville. He had been hospitalized over the Christmas holidays.

” ‘He had quite a journey in life,’ said Hans J. Massaquoi, Jr. of Detroit. ‘Many have read his books and know what he endured. But most don’t know that he was a good, kind, loving, fun-loving, fair, honest, generous, hard-working and open-minded man. He respected others and commanded respect himself. He was dignified and trustworthy. We will miss him forever and try to live by his example.’

“In an interview in 2000, the elder Massaquoi told The Associated Press that he credited the late Alex Haley, author of ‘Roots,’ with convincing him to share his experience of being ‘both an insider in Nazi Germany and, paradoxically, an endangered outsider.’ His autobiography, ‘Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany,’ was published in the U.S. in 1999 and a German translation was also published.

“Massaquoi’s mother was a German nurse and his father was the son of a Liberian diplomat. He grew up in working class neighborhoods of the port city of Hamburg.

“. . . . He worked first for Jet Magazine before moving to Chicago-based Ebony, where he rose to managing editor before retiring in the late 1990s.”

 

Jessica Lum, Multimedia Journalist, Dies at 25

Jessica Lum, a journalist who combined multimedia skills with enthusiasm for telling stories to report news and share her personal struggle with cancer on Facebook, died June 13 of cancer, her family said. She was 25, Robert D. Dávila reported Thursday in the Sacramento Bee.

“Ms. Lum, who graduated from McClatchy High School, was a senior at UCLA when she was diagnosed in 2008 with metastatic pheochromocytoma, a rare cancer. Having documented much of her college life in comments and photos on Facebook, she instinctively turned to social media to announce that she had cancer and to seek support.

“She posted updates about her health for more than 1,000 Facebook friends. She voiced private feelings in a public forum with ‘an online style of honesty mixed with humor and sarcasm,’ according to a Bee story in 2009.

“. . . For her master’s thesis, Ms. Lum spent weeks in the Colorado Desert in Southern California interviewing, photographing and writing about residents of Slab City, a squatters haven in Imperial County. Her multimedia project, ‘Slab City Stories,’ won the 2012 Online News Association award for best feature by a student. (The project is online at slabcitystories.com.)”

 

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