NABJ to Consider Leaving Accreditation Council
ASNE Fixes Diversity Panel That Lacked Diversity
NAJA Leader Blasts Michael Steele’s "Injun" Remark
Columnists Unanimous on Gilbert Arenas’ Gunplay
Much of Freelancing Has Become All Too Free
Sam Cooke Documentary Debuts Monday on PBS
NABJ to Consider Leaving Accreditation Council
The National Association of Black Journalists is considering pulling out of the major accrediting council for college journalism, a decision that would leave none of the journalist of color organizations on the body.
The Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and NABJ sat on the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication as one way to ensure that diversity remains a priority in college journalism programs, both in staffing and curriculum.
The groups fought to be included, but finances have become an issue.
"We are taking a second look at any expense that is not an essential service," Kathy Times, president of NABJ, told Journal-isms on Friday. "The board will be approving the NABJ budget this month and will decide if it wants to continue paying $4,000 for the ACEJMC membership."
When AAJA withdrew in 2006, the dues were $5,000. AAJA cited the cost, and the then-president, Sandra Keyes, flew to the association’s annual meeting in Hawaii to urge it to stay. NAHJ left in 2007 "in protest over their failure to vigorously apply the standards that would have been required for significant diversity gains in the 10 years of our membership." The same year, NLGJA decided to leave, but reversed itself.
Other journalists and educators of color remain members of the council, however, including a representative of the Black College Communication Association. Peter Bhatia of the Oregoian in Portland, who is Asian American, is president of the council and Jannette Dates, dean of the John H. Johnson School of Communications at Howard University, who is African American, is vice president.
David Boardman, Thom Fladung, Susan Goldberg and Bernard Lunzer
 
ASNE Fixes Diversity Panel That Lacked Diversity
"Diversity and downsizing: Can the two coexist?‘ asked the promotion for a Jan. 26 panel conducted by the American Society of News Editors.
Pictured were three panelists — David Boardman, Thom Fladung, Bernard Lunzer — and its moderator, Susan Goldberg.
A member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists wrote Journal-isms asking, "Is it me or I am missing something. What’s wrong with this picture?"
All the panelists were white, as they are in many such panels assembled throughout the industry. But this time, the response was different.
"You’re right," responded Richard Karpel, ASNE’s executive director. "We made a mistake by not including a person of color. We’re going to rectify that. Debra Adams Simmons, managing editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and former editor of the Akron Beacon Journal, will join the panel. We will also seek a representative from AAJA. Thanks for bringing it to our attention."
NAJA Leader Blasts Michael Steele’s "Injun" Remark
"The head of the Native American Journalists Association is calling on Michael Steele to apologize for his "scurrilous tongue" in the wake of a derogatory statement the RNC Chairman made about Native Americans," as Sam Stein wrote Friday for the Huffington Post.
"Ronnie Washines, who heads the association, accused Steele of resorting to ‘uneducated archaic racist remarks’ when he used the phrase ‘Honest Injun’ on Sean Hannity’s radio show to underscore his support for the RNC’s document of principles.
“I am thoroughly outraged that the leader of the National Republican Party would use such repulsive language on national television," Washines said. Those of us in journalism have tirelessly worked to ensure that political leaders, newsrooms and the public be respectful to all cultures when speaking [publicly]. Michael Steele’s scurrilous tongue does no service to his group and only undermines the positive work of those who sincerely seek to respect one another in all of our working relationships. I urge Michael Steele to carefully word a sincere apology to the Native American community, which could help stop such uneducated archaic racist remarks from being made in the future. We here at NAJA are available to assist him and his organization with obtaining an accurate understanding of Native America.” .
Stein noted, "Washines’s rebuke comes days after similar push back was offered by Rep. Dale Kildee, (D-Mich), who co-chairs the Congressional Native American Caucus."
- Dawn Turner Trice, Chicago Tribune:¬†Michael Steele’s ‘honest injun’ comment sparks backlash
Columnists Unanimous on Gilbert Arenas’ Gunplay
"It’s difficult to imagine any more laughter coming from Gilbert Arenas on this matter of having guns in the locker room," the hometown columnist, Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post, wrote Thursday about the Washington Wizards’ star player. "It’s safe to assume there will be no more pulling a fake trigger for the cameras, no more Twittering, no more seeing this gun episode as another prank. Even Arenas knows the laughter stops when NBA Commissioner David Stern says you are suspended indefinitely. Wednesday, funny turned into career threatening.
"If you read Stern’s statement on the matter, where he says, ‘The actions of Mr. Arenas will ultimately result in a substantial suspension, perhaps worse,’ it’s the ‘perhaps worse’ part that should wipe any smile off Arenas’s face for awhile. Not only is the remainder of his $111 million contract in jeopardy, so perhaps are his playing days in the NBA. This indefinite suspension that Stern says ultimately will be ‘substantial’ could last beyond the remainder of the season. Don’t be surprised to see consideration of a suspension that goes into the 2011 season. Perhaps beyond that, too."
The denunciation of Arenas’ conduct went far beyond the Wizards’ home turf:
- Jemele Hill, ESPN: NBA should suspend Arenas, Crittenton
- Mary Mitchell, Chicago Sun-Times: Dunce cap a perfect fit for this Wizard’s Arenas
- Terence Moore, AOL Fanhouse: Stern Bans Arenas to Help Save NBA
- Monte Poole, Oakland (Calif.) Tribune: Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas, now suspended by NBA, shouldn’t be joking about gun incident
- William C. Rhoden, New York Times: The Loose Cannon in the Locker Room for the N.B.A.
- Barry Saunders, Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer: For once, Al Sharpton aces the race card
- Deron Snyder, theRoot.com: Why the World’s Up In Arms Over Gilbert Arenas
- David Squires, Daily Press, Newport News, Va.: Stern action fits the crime in NBA gun play
- Michael Wilbon, Washington Post: Al Sharpton speaks wisely on Gilbert Arenas
Much of Freelancing Has Become All Too Free"
"Today’s reality is that much of freelancing has become all too free," media writer James Rainey wrote Wednesday for the Los Angeles Times.
"Seasoned professionals have seen their income drop by 50% or more as publishers fill the Web’s seemingly limitless news hole, drawing on the ever-expanding rank of under-employed writers.
"The crumbling pay scales have not only hollowed out household budgets but accompanied a pervasive shift in journalism toward shorter stories, frothier subjects and an increasing emphasis on fast, rather than thorough.
" ‘There are a lot of stories that are being missed, not just at legacy newspapers and TV stations but in the freelance world,’ said Nick Martin, 27, laid off a year ago by the East Valley Tribune in Mesa, Ariz., and now a freelancer. ‘A lot of publications used to be able to pay freelancers to do really solid investigations. There’s just not much of that going on anymore.’
"Another writer, based in Los Angeles, said she has been troubled by the lighter fare that many websites prefer to drive up traffic. A new take on any youth obsessions (‘Put "Twilight" in the headline, get paid’) has much more chance of winning editorial approval than more complex or substantive material.
"The rank of stories unwritten — like most errors of omission — is hard to conceive. Even those inside journalism can only guess at what stories they might have paid for, if they had more money."
With ‘You Send Me’ in 1957, Sam Cooke became the first African American to reach No. 1 on both the R&B and pop charts. (Video)
Sam Cooke Documentary Debuts Monday on PBS
After Sam Cooke was shot to death at age 32 in 1964, his record company told listeners that "Sam Cooke lives on in his songs." Every time one hears "A Change Is Gonna Come," "You Send Me" or "Chain Gang," it proves the company right.
On Monday, PBS’ "American Masters" series debuts "Sam Cooke: Crossing Over," an hour documentary on a gospel-turned-pop singer who, the documentary says, was the first black crossover singer, the first African American to have his own record label, the first black man to go to RCA Records with a $1 million contract, and a man who, in 1963, refused to appear at segregated concerts and had stopped straightening his hair.
Made over 10 years, the film features Danny Glover, Muhammad Ali, Herb Alpert, James Brown, Dick Clark, Smokey Robinson, Jerry Wexler, Billy Preston and other, some of whom died before the film could be completed. Check local listings for airtime .
Short Takes
- John Paton, 52, chairman, chief executive and president of impreMedia LLC, the top news and information company serving Hispanics that he co-founded in 2003, was named chief executive officer Thursday of the Journal Register Company, owner of The Oakland (Mich.) Press, the newspaper announced. "In 2009, Editor & Publisher magazine recognized Paton for transforming what was a legacy news media organization into a modern multi-platform company by naming him ‘Publisher of the Year.’ He was also named a ‘Media All-Star’ by AdWeek magazine’s Marketing y Medios."
- Foon Rhee, the Boston Globe’s deputy national political editor, was due to leave the paper Friday for the Sacramento (Calif.), Bee, where he is to be associate editor, serving on the editorial board and writing editorials, media writer Dan Kennedy wrote on his Web site. He quoted a memo from Washington bureau chief Chris Rowland, who said, "There is no positive way to spin this, so I won’t try: it is wretched news for the Washington Bureau, and he will be deeply missed." Rhee, a native of South Korea, worked at the Charlotte Observer and the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. "At The Globe, most recently he covered national politics, the White House and Congress," the Sacramento Business Journal said.
- WCBS-TV reporter Pablo Guzman last week recalled when the late Percy Sutton and R. Peter Straus, then the head of WMCA Radio, put up the bail after Guzman and Felipe Luciano were arrested in 1970. Guzman and Luciano were then members of the Young Lords, an activist Puerto Rican community group.
- Sewell Chan, New York Times metro reporter and bureau chief of the City Room blog, is hearing for the Times’ Washington bureau. He’s being replaced by Andy Newman. Metro editors Joe Sexton and Wendell Jamieson called Chan a "genius, a reporter who took a mighty dare with a new genre, inhabited it, and remade it. City Room, sometimes called a blog, was and is, of course, way more than that. And Sewell, its creator and conscience and beating heart from Day 1, was no less than all of that."
Shiho Fukada, a freelance photojournalist who has been working in China since May 2008, when a devastating earthquake struck the Sichuan Province, won an Alicia Patterson Foundation fellowship to study "Japan‚Äôs Disposable Workers.‚Äù "The Times nominated her poignant photographs for a Pulitzer Prize¬†in breaking news," Miki Meek reported Monday in the New York Times , she wrote. - Sportswriter A.J. Perez, one of 26 laid off at USA Today in December, has landed at AOL Fanhouse."I’m a national reporter, a new general assignment position created by Fanhouse. I’ll be covering everything from ‘roids to hockey," Perez told Journal-isms on Friday.
- Last week, the staff of Cook County Board President Todd Stroger invited a group of African American journalists who work for African American-owned publications to his campaign headquarters ‚Äî but he didn’t show up," Lisa Donovan reported Thursday in the Chicago Sun-Times. Glenn Reedus, "one of the veteran journalists in attendance said they listened as campaigners talked about how the mainstream media hadn’t given Stroger a fair shake. ""Do I talk to other groups, outside of black journalists and not invite you?" Stroger said, according to Donovan. "Yes. Do I talk to the Pakistani Times? Yes. Do I talk to Hoy without you? Yes. I talk to all kinds of different groups without you." "One year after the inauguration of the first African-American President, MSNBC will present ‘Obama‚Äôs America: 2010 and Beyond,’ Jan. 18, 10 p.m.-12 a.m. ET, an extended discussion surrounding race and post-racial identity in America. Moderated by ‘Hardball‚Äôs’ Chris Matthews and featuring radio host Tom Joyner, live from Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas, this two-hour special event on Martin Luther King Day will explore some of the most pressing and provocative issues connected to race and race relations in the U.S.," NBC announced on Thursday.
- A memorial service for Deborah Howell, the former Washington Post ombudsman and Minnesota editor who died Jan. 1 in a New Zealand accident, is scheduled for Jan. 23 at 11 a.m. at Central Presbyterian Church in downtown St Paul, Minn., the church confirmed. A funeral takes place Jan. 15 in Washington. The Native American Journalists Association joined the tributes, saying Thursday,"she helped provide funding to aspiring Native Journalists through the Newhouse Foundation Scholarship Program. Howell assisted NAJA with more than $350,000 dollars in scholarships that were awarded to Native American journalism students throughout the country."
- "Mervin R. Aubespin has been named the 2010 recipient of Louisville’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Award," Sheldon S. Shafer reported Thursday in the Louisville Courier-Journal. Aubespin is a former editor and reporter for the Courier-Journal and a past president of the National Association of Black Journalists. Mayor Jerry Abramson is to present the award, which is given by the city, on Jan. 17.
"Seeking to bolster its daytime lineup, CNN is making another anchor switch for the new year," Matea Gold reported Friday in the Los Angeles Times. "The network is giving chief business correspondent Ali Velshi his own daily show from 10 a.m. to noon, a time slot currently anchored by Kyra Phillips, who will take over the 6 to 8 a.m. slot. Heidi Collins, who had been anchoring ‘CNN Newsroom’ during that time, is leaving the network after nearly eight years." - "Maurice Hope-Thompson, familiar to a generation of listeners for his public affairs program on KTSU, was found dead at his home Monday. He was 68," Jeannie Kever reported Wednesday for the Houston Chronicle. . "He had multiple myeloma but had been doing well, said his daughter, Maria Birdsong. Hope-Thompson, a native of Jamaica, worked as a newspaper reporter in upstate New York before earning a law degree from Boston College in 1980. But friends say he found his true calling in Houston, where he taught at Texas Southern University and hosted a long-running program at the school’s radio station."
- Erin Aubry Kaplan, a Los Angeles writer who was born and raised in South Central, argued Thursday in the Los Angeles Times against what she calls the latest "ghettotainment": L.A. Gang Tours. "Ahe very least, the tour’s marketing sends mixed messages and raises the question of whether it’s even possible at this point to distinguish between showcasing the ‘hood for altruistic reasons and showcasing it for titillation." Founder Alfred Lomas "says the tour is not geared to outsiders. Why, then, run a tour at all, especially one that charges $65 a ticket?"
- "Audrey Smaltz, Ebony Fashion Fair’s legendary commentator, reminisces about hitting the road with the doyenne of black fashion" in theRoot.com, reads the blurb for a reminiscence Wednesday of Eunice W. Johnson, the founder of the Ebony Fashion Fair who died Sunday at age 93.
