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John Dotson Jr. Dies at 76, Industry Leader, Diversity Champion

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Former Akron Publisher Co-Founded Maynard Institute

Food Network Drops Paula Deen Over N-Word

35-Plus in Newsroom Laid Off in Oregonian Transition 

25 Journalists Attacked or Detained in Brazil Protests

Heat-Spurs Finale Is Miami’s Highest-Rated NBA Game Ever

Sree Sreenivasan Leaves Columbia U. for the Met

Pacifica’s N.Y. Station WBAI to Lay Off Entire Staff

In Birmingham in ’63, Civil Rights Wasn’t Front Page

A Quiet Conversation About a Hat That Screams

Short Takes

Former Akron Publisher Co-Founded Maynard Institute

John Dotson Jr., a former publisher of the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal and a leader in the newspaper industry at a time when few African Americans could claim to be, died Friday at 76, the Beacon Journal reported. He had mantle cell lymphoma, a rare, aggressive cancer, his wife, Peggy, told Journal-isms. 

Dotson was one of nine co-founders of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, a member of the Pulitzer Board, a board member of the Washington Post Co., an editor at Newsweek, publisher of the Daily Camera in Bouler, Colo., and a journalist at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, the old Newark (N.J.) Evening News and the Detroit Free Press.

He was also on the Board of Visitors of the John S. Knight Fellowship Program, an ex officio member of the Newspaper Association of America and a member of its diversity subcommittee, and he was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame.

“Those who knew and worked with Mr. Dotson . . . say he was a man with a keen news judgment who cared about Akron and strove to make it better,” Marilyn Miller and Stephanie Warsmith wrote in the Beacon Journal’s obituary. “He was also a big supporter of diversity, helping to break many glass ceilings as the first African-American publisher at the Beacon Journal and serving at the newspaper’s helm when it won a Pulitzer Gold Medal for Meritorious Public Service for a series on race in 1994.

“The Beacon Journal’s work on the racial relations project inspired President Bill Clinton to hold his first Town Meeting on Race in Akron in 1997.

” ‘He was an outstanding person who cared about his community,’ said retired Summit County Common Pleas Judge James R. Williams. ‘The Beacon Journal’s series on race relations, which brought President Clinton to Akron and resulted in a Pulitzer for the Beacon was an example of his outstanding leadership.’ . . .”

When Newsweek folded its print edition in December, former editor Mark Whitaker recalled Dotson’s influence on staffing.

“A lawsuit filed by female staffers unable to advance beyond secretarial and research jobs had exposed its inconsistent zeal for equal rights. But an African-American news editor, John Dotson, and his boss, Rod Gander, had finally gotten serious about integrating the magazine’s ranks, and I was soon working with a rising generation of talented black journalists like Vern Smith, Sylvester Monroe, and Dennis Williams,” Whitaker wrote for Newsweek/the Daily Beast.

“They schooled me in Newsweek’s ways, but also warned about limits to advancement. After two successful summer stints, Dotson predicted that I might become a section head some day if I accepted a full-time job. ‘What about editor?’ I asked. ‘Newsweek isn’t ready for a black editor,’ he replied somberly. . . .”

Monroe recalled for Journal-isms by email, “it was John Dotson who helped me to understand that not only could I be a first rate journalist at a place like Newsweek, but that I had earned the right to be there and deserved to be. In those days there were very few role models at Newsweek for a young black reporter. John Dotson and Vern Smith, a correspondent in Detroit and later Atlanta bureau chief, provided the crucial support I needed to survive the constant dull pain of cultural isolation at Newsweek.

“Later, when I became an assistant managing editor at the San Jose Mercury News and having never managed at that level before, it was John who helped me through me through the rough spots and tough times. I will miss him.” [Complete statement below.]

Austin Long-Scott recalled for a Maynard Institute history project what it was like for black journalists of Dotson’s generation. “I like to say that people like Bob Maynard, Earl Caldwell, Dorothy Gilliam, me, Wally Terry, Tom Johnson, Paul Delaney, John Dotson, Claude Lewis and a number of others were the first generation of black reporters in mainstream media who had substantial support from other black reporters,” Long-Scott said. “There were a very few black reporters in mainstream media before us, people like Ted Poston, but not in the numbers required to build an effective support network.

“And most of us knew that we needed each other’s support. Being black in the white media made it hard to stay sane, because the cultural assumptions that our view of events depended upon, cultural assumptions that were an integral part of life in black communities all over the nation, were constantly being openly challenged by white editors and reporters who refused to accept our perceptions. . . .”

The Beacon Journal told of how Dotson brought his cultural knowledge to bear during the race series. “James Crutchfield, who succeeded Mr. Dotson as Beacon Journal publisher and who was the newspaper’s second black publisher, was managing editor during the race series.

“He said editors at the time knew the project was traversing new ground in how a newspaper covered its community. They were concerned, however, that the project might have been pressing the emotions of readers too hard, making some people uneasy.

“Mr. Dotson disagreed, Crutchfield said, saying: ‘Are you sure it’s big enough? I don’t think it’s big enough.’

” ‘And that’s when it became even bigger,’ Crutchfield said. ‘You see, I felt we were pushing the envelope by what we were presenting to him and we ended up pushing it even further than I even pushed it because of John.’ . . .”

Dotson was the second chair of the board of directors of the Institute for Journalism Education, following Maynard in the role. He had become involved in 1974 as a member of the multicultural print faculty of the Michele Clark Fellowship Program at Columbia University. The program was created by Fred W. Friendly, former CBS News president, to train and place people of color in U.S. newsrooms, according to a history by fellow faculty member Frank O. Sotomayor, then an editor at the Los Angeles Times.

The broadcast program began in 1968, with print following in 1969. Dotson was then Los Angeles bureau chief for Newsweek.

The others on the print faculty were Maynard and Leroy F. Aarons of the Washington Post, Earl Caldwell of the New York Times and Walter Stovall of the Associated Press. Friendly was ready to end the program in 1974, but faculty members rallied to save it and it evolved into the Maynard Institute. Dotson remained on the board for many years. [Steve Montiel statement below.]

Dotson was publisher of the Beacon Journal from June 1992 to June 2001, the paper noted. He was one of only two black publishers in the then-Knight Ridder newspaper chain of 29 daily papers in the late 1980s and early 1990s and one of only a handful in the country. He and his wife, Peggy, lived in Boulder, Colo. They had a winter home on Marco Island in Florida. Peggy Dotson said the family had not determined when or where funeral or memorial services would be held.

When the last count of African American publishers at mainstream newspapers took place, at NABJ’s convention last year, the number stood at seven, down from nine the year before. They were Rufus Friday, Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader; Susan Leath, Centre Daily Times, State College, Pa.; Rodney Mahone, Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus, Ga.; Orage Quarles III, News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.; Samuel Martin, Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser; Alberta Saffell Bell, owner, publisher, the Gardner (Mass.) News; and Charles Pittman, senior vice president-publishing, Schurz Communications, Mishawaka, Ind. Martin has since left.

Food Network Drops Paula Deen Over N-Word

June 21, 2013

Food Network Drops Paula Deen Over N-Word

“Paula Deen, the self-proclaimed queen of Southern cooking and a sugary mainstay of the Food Network, was dropped by the network on Friday, after a bewildering day in which she failed to show up for an interview on the ‘Today’ show and then in two online videos begged her family and audience to forgive her for using racist language,” Julia Moskin reported for the New York Times.

“A network spokeswoman said it would not renew Ms. Deen’s contract when it expired at the end of June. Ms. Deen has faced a volley of criticism this week over her remarks in a deposition for a discrimination lawsuit by a former employee. In the document, she admitted she had used racial epithets, tolerated racist jokes and condoned pornography in the workplace.

“The Food Network statement did not elaborate on its reasons for dropping her, but a person close to the network said its shows featuring her sons, Jamie and Bobby, would not be affected. Ms. Deen currently has three regular programs on the network, including ‘Paula’s Best Dishes. . . .’ “

NPR added, “Deen’s admission that she used the epithet came during a deposition in a sexual and racial harassment lawsuit filed against her and her brother by a former employee. Trying to contain the controversy, Paula Deen Enterprises issued a statement Thursday that suggested Deen’s use of the N-word occurred long ago — after all, she was born in Georgia in 1947, at a time when segregation was still the law of the land in the South. . . .”

The Deen story was a hot topic among African Americans on social media. TV One host Roland Martin, the National Association of Black Journalists’ Journalist of the Year, said he detected hypocrisy.

“Paula Deen made some stupid, racist comments. But if I’m mad at her using the N-word, I’m mad at you too,” Martin tweeted.

Web sites such as Bossip interpreted Martin’s remarks with headlines such as, “Roland Martin Says He Approves Of Butter-Ball Chef Paula Deen Using The N-Word[. If] ‘Black Folks Can Say It Then She Can Too!‘ “

Martin replied, “To the ignorant folks, I never said it was OK for Paula Deen to use the N-word. But cut the pathetic hypocrisy and fake outrage.” He said in another tweet Thursday, “My logic is real clear: ZERO TOLERANCE for the N-word. Black folks can say brother, sister or friend.”

Meanwhile, media critic Eric Deggans wrote in the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, “This is wrapped up in a syndrome I’ve talked about before here; it’s tough to admit when you indulge stereotypes and prejudice, particularly when you see yourself as a good person, you’re in the middle of a lawsuit and certainly when a multi-million dollar celebrity brand is on the line.

“But history teaches us the only way out of such messes. You admit what you did, apologize and vow to do better, making sure you live up to that claim. . . .”

35-Plus in Newsroom Laid Off in Oregonian Transition

“Newsroom layoffs at The Oregonian have topped 35 reporters, editors and photographers today as the paper reduces home-delivery days and cuts staff,” Aaron Mesh reported Friday for Willamette Week, an alternative paper in Portland, Ore.

Editor Peter Bhatia, asked how the reductions affected newsroom diversity, replied by email, “It’s a little premature to be specific because there’s still some flux in who is going and staying, but I’ll let you know.”

The Oregonian reported 16.4 percent journalists of color in last year’s American Society of News Editors newsroom census: 0.6 percent American Indian, 8.8 percent Asian American, 2.9 percent black, 3.5 percent Hispanic and 0.6 percent multiracial. Bhatia is of South Asian background.

The Willamette Week story continued, “Staffers gathered last night at Higgins Restaurant, where they spent the entirety of a $3,500 bar tab donated by citizens who called the restaurant, including Mayor Charlie Hales, who personally chipped in $50. (More money has been donated today.) During the evening, reporters huddled over a bar table to read a hand-written list of colleagues who had been fired.

“The Oregonian and its New Jersey-based owners, Advance Publications Inc., revealed Thursday morning that the paper will be reducing home delivery to four days a week — Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday — and offering subscribers a web version of the newspaper called ‘MyDigitalO.’ (That name will be abandoned, the paper’s publisher told Oregon Public Broadcasting today.). . . “

25 Journalists Attacked or Detained in Brazil Protests

“At least 25 journalists have reported being attacked or detained amid protests that have swept Brazil over the past two weeks, growing from discontent in São Paulo over public transportation fare hikes to wider nationwide demonstrations against government policies,” the Committee to Protect Journalists reported Friday.

The story continued, “At least 15 journalists reported being attacked on June 13 as military police cracked down on protesters in São Paulo, according to the local association of investigative reporters ABRAJI. Two reported being hit in the eye with rubber bullets fired by police. News accounts said that both Giuliana Vallone, a reporter for Folha de S. Paulo, and Sérgio Andrade da Silva, a photographer for Futura Press agency, were hospitalized for their eye injuries.

“Pedro Vedova, a reporter for GloboNews, said he had been hit in the head by a rubber bullet fired by police while covering protests in the city of Rio de Janeiro on June 20, according to news reports. He sought treatment at a local hospital for a forehead wound, the reports said. A security officer on June 19 punched and kicked Vladimir Platonow, a reporter for Agência Brasil, at a bus terminal in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro state, where he was documenting protesters fleeing from police, according to news reports. Platonow was not hospitalized for any injuries. A spokesman for the bus terminal said the assailant was not affiliated with the company.

“Military police also detained at least five journalists covering the protests. . . .”

Heat-Spurs Finale Is Miami’s Highest-Rated NBA Game Ever

“The Miami Heat’s win against the San Antonio Spurs in game 7 of the NBA finals delivered a 17.7 overnight rating, the second-highest rated NBA game in ABC history, ” Merrill Knox reported for TVSpy. “The ratings peaked at 22.6 from 11:30 – 11:45pm ET, during the game’s last five minutes.

“With a 44.2 metered market rating on WPLG, the game was the highest-rated NBA game ever in Miami. In San Antonio, KSAT’s coverage of the game delivered a 46.4 metered market rating. . . .”

Meanwhile, some Cleveland Cavaliers fans were still hatin’ on ex-Cav LeBron James, who claimed his second consecutive NBA title Thursday.

Chief meteorologist Mark Johnson of Cleveland’s WEWS-TV excised the word “heat” from Thursday night’s postgame late local news forecast, Timothy Burke reported for Deadspin.

“Johnson — who’s been at the Cleveland ABC affiliate since 1993 — eventually ran out of adjectives, relying at the end on ‘Ninja Turtles’ as a substitute for describing what is most certainly hot North Coast weather. . . .”

Sree Sreenivasan Leaves Columbia U. for the Met

“Sree Sreenivasan, a longtime presence at Columbia University — first at its Graduate School of Journalism, and then more recently as its first chief digital officer — will be leaving the university in August to take a position with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York,” Arik Hesseldahl reported Thursday for All Things D.

“The hyper-connected Sreenivasan, who often for the sake of simplicity goes by just his first name, will become the Met’s first chief digital officer, starting Aug. 12. In the new role, he’ll lead the museum’s Digital Media department into some new initiatives, especially in the areas of documentation and interpretive materials on the museum’s collection. He confirmed the move to AllThingsD after Capital New York reported on it this morning.”

Sreenivasan, who is also a founder of the South Asian Journalists Association, “said he wasn’t looking for a new job, but when the museum came calling, it was hard to resist. ‘I loved what I was doing at Columbia, but when you’ve been in love with something like the Met Museum for 30 years as I have, it’s very hard to say no. . . .”

Pacifica’s N.Y. Station WBAI to Lay Off Entire Staff

“The saga of Pacifica’s 99.5 WBAI New York has taken another twist as the station has begun issuing notice to its entire staff and management that they’ll be out of work come July 15,” Lance Venta reported Thursday for Radio Insight.

“The station has been having problems coming up with money to meet payroll and pay rent on its studios and Empire State Building transmitter site. The announcement comes a day after word that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is withholding funding to Pacifica’s five stations for insufficient accounting practices, misreported revenues and failure to comply with CPB rules on open meetings and financial transparency. One of the WBAI hosts claims that the layoffs have come about because ‘The Labor Department got wind that they were refusing to pay us.’ “

Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area, and syndicates content to more than 100 affiliates. “It invented listener-supported radio,” the foundation’s website says.

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