Journal-isms Mon Oct 7

When late-night ABC-TV host Jimmy Kimmel asked passers-by last week whether they preferred “Obamacare” or the “Affordable Care Act,” most did not know they were the same. (Video)

Study: Fox Followed Advice to Use Loaded Health-Care Phrases

“In May of 2009, conservative pollster Frank Luntz released a memo, ‘The Language of Healthcare 2009: The 10 Rules for Stopping the “Washington Takeover” of Healthcare’” Joe Strupp and Oliver Willis reported Monday for Media Matters for America. “In that memo, Luntz advised conservatives to use phrases like ‘rationing,’ ‘Washington takeover,’ ‘government run,’ ‘government takeover,’ and ‘bailout’ when addressing health care reform.

“In The ‘Luntzification’ of the U.S. Health Care Debate, Mark D. Harmon of the University of Tennessee’s College of Communication and Information shows the extent to which Luntz’s GOP-friendly language permeated news coverage of health care reform.

“Harmon reviewed transcripts from the six major cable and broadcast networks for uses of ‘sixteen Luntz terms’ — such as ‘rationing,’ ‘bureaucrat,’ ‘Washington takeover,’ ‘government takeover’ — and ’16 more neutral terms describing’ health care reform, including ‘pre-existing conditions,’ ‘lifetime limits,’ ‘profits,’ ‘insurance exchange,’ ‘patient protection’ and ‘affordable care.’ He found that Luntz terms outnumbered neutral terms on Fox News, and also made up ‘a significant percentage’ of the terms used on CNN, MSNBC and on the nightly news broadcasts on ABC, CBS and NBC.

“The research found that Luntz language was used 1,521 times on Fox while neutral language was used 1,122 times on the network. On the other networks, Luntz’s language was used 4,022 times and neutral language invoked 6,323 times. . . . “

Meanwhile, if one needed additional evidence that conservatives prefer “Obamacare” to “Affordable Care Act,” Tim Graham, director of media analysis at the Media Research Center, reported last week on the decision by NPR to limit use of the “Obamacare” term after this columnist contended it could no longer be considered neutral. Graham also reported that the Associated Press “is also bending under Prince’s questioning,” although the AP policy change was already posted when the inquiry was made.

“Other media outlets seemed to bend toward ‘Obamacare’ usage only when Obama decided to use it, which isn’t exactly a formula for media independence,” Graham wrote.

In another development, “A Fox News Channel anchor has apologized for falsely saying that President Barack Obama had offered to pay for the operation of a museum of Muslim culture ‘out of his own pocket’ during the government shutdown, the Associated Press reported.

“Anchor Anna Kooiman made the remark Saturday on ‘Fox & Friends’ during a discussion about closed facilities. She said it didn’t seem fair that a World War II monument in Washington was closed, especially in the context of other things funded.

“She didn’t name her source, but Kooiman appeared to be influenced by a satirical news site that said Obama would use his own money to keep a Muslim culture museum open. . . .”

• Charles M. Blow, New York Times: A Terrible, Tragic Game
• Kara Brandeisky, ProPublica: Key Reads on Government Shutdowns
• Stanley Crouch, Daily News, New York: The honorable vs. the anarchists
• Lewis W. Diuguid, Kansas City Star: Confusing times to be a Republican
• Colbert I. King, Washington Post: The rise of the New Confederacy
• Roland S. Martin, Creators Syndicate: Obama Can’t Bow Down to Pathetic GOP Antics
• Pew Research Center: Partisans Dug in on Budget, Health Care Impasse
• James Poniewozik, Time: Not “Both Sides,” Now: Why False Equivalence Matters in the Shutdown Showdown
• Rochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press: Cowards in Congress forgot about the people
• Bob Ray Sanders, Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas: GOP leaders more like morticians planning their own funeral
• Brian Stelter, New York Times: Cruz’s 21-Hour Speech Fueled a Ratings Jump at C-Span2
• Ana Veciana-Suarez, Miami Herald: #DearCongress: You appall me
• Paul Thornton, Los Angeles Times: Jimmy Kimmel’s Obamacare stunt: How infallible is public opinion?

Plans for Local Versions of NPR’s “Code Switch” on Hold

“Plans to expand NPR’s Code Switch to a local and regional level are on hold as network President Gary Knell departs for his new job,” Mike Janssen reported Monday for Current.org.

“A CPB draft business plan for 2014, released last month, said that the corporation ‘is considering building on the success of the NPR Code Switch initiative by extending it to local stations as a regional initiative.’

“The cross-platform production aims to examine issues of race, culture and ethnicity, and spark discussion on social media platforms and NPR’s website. It launched in May with a $1.5 million, two-year grant from CPB.

“Plans to expand beyond its current operations are now in a holding pattern, however, as NPR looks for a new chief executive. ‘We’ve been talking to NPR and PBS about a national-down-to-local diversity initiative,’ said Michael Levy, executive v.p. of corporate and public affairs at CPB. ‘Given that Gary is leaving NPR, we’re still committed to the idea . . . but we’re not sure what form it’s going to take. We’re going to continue to talk with NPR and PBS.’ ”

NAHJ Reintroducing Ñ Awards at Chicago Conference

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists plans to honor its 2013 NAHJ Ñ Award Winners this weekend at its Region 6 conference in Chicago.

The winners are:

• Joe Vazquez, reporter and anchor at KPIX-TV in San Francisco, Broadcast Journalist of the Year.
• Feliciano Garcia, coordinating producer for NBC’s “Today Show,” Online Journalist of the Year. Garcia is also creator, producer and host of NBC Latino’s “Cafecito.”
• Frances Robles, correspondent for the New York Times, Frank Del Olmo Print Journalist of the Year.
• Herman Ulloa, photographer and editor at Univision in Miami, Photojournalist of the Year.
• Nicole Chavez, University of Texas at El Paso, Student of the Year.

Asked why the awards were being presented at a regional, rather than national conference, NAHJ President Hugo Balta messaged, “we r reintroducing the awards and for this year we felt combining the Ñ Awards n scholarship presentations would attract more attendees to the conference (an experiment).” NAHJ canceled its annual awards banquet in 2009, when it faced a $300,000 budget shortfall.

Editors’ Intervention Kept Story of “The Butler” Alive

The hit movie “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” might not have been made had two Washington Post editors not talked a downhearted Wil Haygood into going ahead with the story on which the movie was based, Haygood said Saturday at a reception in his honor at the Washington home of Washington Post Publisher Katharine Weymouth.

Lead producer Pamela Oas Williams flew in from Los Angeles as a surprise, and one of the story’s editors, Steve Reiss, came in from Chicago. The other editor, Deborah Heard, was also present. Both have since left the Post. They joined about 100 other guests who arrived to valet parking, red-carpeted front steps, books ready to be autographed and even napkins inscribed with the title of Haygood’s best-selling book, “The Butler.”

As he has on other occasions, Haygood described how he tracked down Eugene Allen, who worked for eight presidents in his 34 years at the White House, starting in 1952 as a dishwasher and retiring as maitre d’ in 1986. In conjunction with the 2008 presidential election, Haygood “began searching for a former White House employee who had worked there in the era of segregation —someone who probably couldn’t have imagined the outcome of the 2008 election,” in the words of Amy Saunders, writing last December in Haygood’s hometown newspaper, the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch.

“Hours into the interview, Allen’s wife, Helene, apparently decided that the reporter had earned her trust and deserved to know more,” Saunders recounted. But Helene Allen died in her sleep not long after Haygood had won their confidence and provided him with the material for his story. He was so downcast, Haygood told the crowd, that he did not want to write it.

Reiss and Heard told him that seeing the story through would be the best tribute to Helene Allen, the model for the Oprah Winfrey character in the movie.

Post reporter Keith Alexander, one of the organizers, said Haygood became emotional and teary-eyed when he saw that Williams was present. “She spoke of how when she read the story she was ‘blown away’ by the narrative. She said she loved the reporting and the information, but she was also blown away by Wil’s writing style. She and her production partner said they immediately knew the story would be an incredible movie and they reached out to Wil,” Alexander recounted.

“Sadly, that kind of narrative writing is rare to see these days in journalism she said later.

“Williams said the movie is the only movie of 2013 to be No. 1 three weeks in a row at the box office and has grossed $120 million. That’s a $90 million profit.” Boldface name Vernon Jordan, the lawyer and onetime National Urban League president, was among the guests, as was Charles Allen, Eugene Allen’s son, current and former Post journalists and others.

Sports Columnist Monte Poole Leaves Joins Comcast Network

“Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (@CSNAuthentic), part of the NBC Sports Group and the online and on-air home of ‘Authentic Bay Area Sports,’ today named veteran sports journalist Monte Poole (@MontePooleCSN) the network’s Warriors Insider,” Comcast announced on Monday.

“In his new role, Poole will provide coverage of the Golden State Warriors across the network’s growing list of multiplatform outlets, including CSNBayArea.com’s ‘WarriorsTalk’ section and on-air for SportsNet Central, Yahoo! SportsTalk Live, Warriors Pregame Live, Warriors Postgame Live and other NBA related programming. He will make his debut during tonight’s Warriors-Kings preseason game on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area at 7:30 p.m. PDT. The announcement was made by Nancy Gay, Digital Managing Editor for CSNBayArea.com and CSNCalifornia.com.

“Said Gay: ‘Monte Poole is among the most respected, influential and accomplished sports journalists anywhere, on any platform. He is a tremendous storyteller, and credibility and passion are hallmarks of his work. Monte brings a broad, deeply rooted knowledge of the Golden State Warriors and we are thrilled to have him as part of our talented CSN Insider team.’

The release also said, “Poole, a native of Oakland, Calif., is one of the nation’s premier sports journalists, has been a fixture in Bay Area sports media for over two decades and is the foremost authority on the Oakland sports scene. He comes to the network from the Oakland Tribune/Bay Area News Group, where he began his career in 1985 covering high school sports; in 1991, he was promoted to sports columnist. He spent the next 22 years as an award-winning columnist covering a wide variety of events, including multiple Super Bowls, World Series, NBA Finals and championship fights. . . .”

• Monte Poole, Bay Area News Group: Thank you for reading all these years

Four Selected for Sports Department Management Training

Four sports journalists have been selected as Associated Press Sports Editors diversity fellows, a nine-month program to train mid-career women and journalists of color for sports department leadership positions now in its third year, APSE announced on Monday.

Selected were Emily Horos, sports editor for the Cherokee Tribune (Canton, Ga.); Johanna Huybers, sports editor at the Reno Gazette-Journal; Erik Horne, sports web editor at The Oklahoman; and Marcus Vanderberg, sports content editor at Yahoo!

Jorge Rojas of the Miami Herald, chairman of the APSE Diversity Committee, told Journal-isms that the organization received “a disappointing 10” applications this year, although more than 20 had expressed their intention to apply. “It’s a good group nevertheless,” he said.

The fourth bi-annual edition of the Associated Press Sports Editors Racial and Gender Report Card [PDF], evaluating diversity at more than 150 newspapers and websites, reported in March, “For 2012, the grade for racial hiring practices for APSE newspapers and websites remained at a C+, the same grade issued in the 2010 Study. The grade issued for gender hiring practices remained constant as well, recording the third consecutive F for gender hiring practices. The APSE newspapers have received a failing grade for gender since TIDES began issuing grades in the 2008 Report Card. . . . The combined grade for 2012 was a D+.”

Short Takes

• In Philadelphia, “William K. Marimow, editor of The Inquirer, was abruptly fired Monday morning by publisher Robert J. Hall because of what Hall said were ‘philosophical differences’ over the direction of the newspaper as it fights to maintain its print readership and establish a new digital presence,” Thomas Fitzgerald and David Sell reported for the Inquirer. “The owners of the company that publishes the newspaper were divided on the firing, sources familiar with the matter said. . . .”
• “Ron Sailor Sr., the pastor of Christ the King Baptist Church in Dacula and a former radio and television personality, died Sunday,” Michelle E. Shaw wrote Sunday for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Rodney Ho, also of the AJC, said Sailor was 61 and had a heart attack on the way to church. Shaw wrote, “His breakthrough came during the ‘Missing and Murdered Children’ case in the early 1980s. With Atlanta gripped by the killings of 29 African-American children and young men, Sailor co-hosted on WSB-TV a kind of must-watch local ‘Nightline.’ He was not yet 30. ‘At a time when the white community was horrified and the black community was traumatized, Ron Sailor was a reassuring and steadying voice,’ Rick Allen, a former political columnist, said in a 2008 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ‘That cemented his place in the media firmament here. He was the town crier in a time of dread and near panic.’ . . .”
• “One in every three black males born today can expect to go to prison at some point in their life, compared with one in every six Latino males, and one in every 17 white males, if current incarceration trends continue,” Saki Knafo reported Friday for the Huffington Post. “These are among the many pieces of evidence cited by the Sentencing Project, a Washington, D.C.-based group that advocates for prison reform, in a report on the staggering racial disparities that permeate the American criminal justice system. . . .”
• “The NYPD has identified at least a half-dozen bikers linked to a motorcycle mob’s brutal attack on a Manhattan dad — including the crazed creep who yanked him from his family’s SUV and beat him as his terrified family watched, sources said,” Rocco Parascandola, Joe Kemp and Larry Mcshane reported Thursday for the Daily News in New York. Emil Guillermo blogged about the case for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. “The [Alexian] Lien story is not a topic that would get a lot of play from columnists early on given the shutdown, and the Capitol shooting death,” he told Journal-isms. “And the lack of Asian American opinion writers. But once Lien was identified as the beating victim, and all the players emerged . . . it definitely became a story worth exploring for me and my mostly Asian American audience. This was a mob situation caught on tape, but was it race motivated?”
• AARP and Black Enterprise magazine announced the launch of the Black Enterprise Small Business University. “The four-week, online video course will offer expert advice to entrepreneurs looking to start and grow profitable small businesses,” a news release said. It also said, “Small Business University, sponsored by AARP, aims to assist entrepreneurs in three different stages of business development: the aspiring start-up, the part-time entrepreneur, and those with an already established enterprise. To register, visit .”
• “You know that UNC study last week that showed black or Hispanic motorists are 77 times more likely to be searched after a traffic stop than white motorists?” columnist Barry Saunders wrote Monday in the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. “I hope they didn’t spend a whole bunch of money on that: any dude I know who’s ever climbed behind the wheel could’ve told them that without analyzing 13.2 million traffic stops over 10 years.” Saunders described being caught in a drug-interdiction operation Thursday night on Interstate 85 in Spartanburg, S.C.
• “The NAACP, the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization and home of the prestigious NAACP Image Awards, has partnered with the TV One network in a new multi-media five year agreement,” TV One announced on Monday. ” Under the five-year contract, TV One becomes the television home for the association’s awards show, beginning with the live airing of the “45th NAACP Image Awards” in February 2014. . . .”
• “U.S. news organizations are invited to enroll in the Dow Jones News Fund’s 2014 summer internship programs in digital, sports and news editing and business reporting,” the fund announced. It also said, “Media who participate in the program agree to pay interns no less than $350 per week for at least 10 weeks of real newsroom work and to pay the Fund a grant to help underwrite the cost of the pre-internship training. The training grants are $1,000 for business reporting and digital interns and $1,200 for news and sports editors. Students who return to school after successful internships will receive $1,000 college scholarships provided by DJNF. . . .” Brochure here [PDF].
• “Experts in international law insist Kenya has no choice but to surrender a journalist wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), despite hints from officials that the national judiciary will make the final decision on whether he should be sent to The Hague,” Felix Olick and Simon Jennings wrote Sunday for the Institute for War & Peace Reporting. “On October 2, an ICC judge unsealed an arrest warrant against Walter Barasa, who is accused of bribing and attempting to corruptly influence witnesses in the case against Kenyan deputy president William Ruto. . . .” The Star in Nairobi, Kenya, reported that two weeks ago, Barasa denied the allegations. “I will spill the beans if need be so that I defend myself on this allegations,” he said.
• The International Federation of Journalists hailed an agreement reached by its affiliate in Palestine, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and employers as a momentous breakthrough for its journalists. “In order to guarantee basic journalists’ rights, the agreement acknowledges at its starting point (i) recognition of the right to Freedom of Association including the right of journalists to join and establish trade unions in these media houses, (ii) a commitment to issue secure employment contracts for journalists and (iii) the right to work in decent conditions that guarantee professional standards and editorial independence. . . .”

Follow Richard Prince on Twitter @princeeditor

Facebook users: “Like” “Richard Prince’s Journal-isms” on Facebook.