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Donald E. Graham, chairman and CEO of the Washington Post Co. speaks of the work of the
Distrrict of Columbia College Access Program, his pride and joy. (Video) |
Post Employees’ Tribute to Graham Includes Community Ties
Past and present employees of the Washington Post threw a tribute to Donald E. Graham Monday night, with 600 people — some reportedly coming as far away as Europe ? treated to Politico CEO John F. Harris’ impression of Graham, a brief review of the Graham family’s 80-year ownership of the Post, and roomful of talented people who in many cases hadn’t seen each other in decades.
There were Gwen Ifill of PBS, Michele Norris of NPR, auto columnist Warren Brown, USA Today publisher Larry Kramer, Ebony photographer Dudley Brooks, author Patrice Gaines and dozens more Post alums, along with the legendary editor Benjamin C. Bradlee, Watergate star Bob Woodward and others who were still work at the newspaper for which Jeff Bezos of Amazon assumed ownership this month.
Dorothy Gilliam, the first black woman hired to write at the Post, was present. And there was the city of Washington.
The District of Columbia played a starring role as Graham was cited for his ties to the majority-black in which he grew up. Four speakers were chosen to represent each decade that Graham worked at the paper, from reporter to sports editor to publisher to CEO and Chairman of the Washington Post Co.
Before working as a reporter, Graham, 68, spent time as a D.C. policeman. In that job, Graham has said, “you learned the grinding hardship of kinds born into poverty. Columnist Eugene Robinson, chosen to represent the first decade of the 2000s, spoke about performances at the Post of the Eastern High School choir, part of Graham’s effort to “reaffirm and cement the relationship between the newspaper and the city.”
Robinson spoke of the District of Columbia College Access Program, which Graham chairs, and which sends low-income people to college. “He has changed so many lives and so many families,” Robinson said.
Among the crowd, which gathered at the Post building in downtown Washington, were three Iraqis from the Post’s Baghdad bureau. Michael Getler, the PBS ombudsman who is a former Post foreign editor, recalled Graham paying for horses to take reporter Keith Richburg and photographer Lucien Perkins across the Afghan border, or financing a charter jet to get another reporter, Edward Cody, to Lockerbie, Scotland, where the bombed Pam Am Flight 103 crashed in 1988, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members.
“He never called us on the carpet for journalism that matters,” said Shirley Carswell, former deputy managing editor handling the newsroom budget, and a former treasurer of the Washington Association of Black Journalists.
Graham unwrapped a plaque from his former employees that read, “On this elevator, Don Graham greeted Post employees by name 8,583 times.” (rendition of the number is approximate.)
When the ceremony was over, though, Graham seemed to take at least as much pleasure in introducing attendees to one of the first beneficiaries of the Herbert H. Denton scholarship program, a former student at H.D. Woodson High School in Northeast Washington, far from the city’s tourist attractions. The program was named after a black journalist who served with Graham in Vietnam, attended Harvard with him and, as the New York Times noted when he died at 45 in 1989, “was one of the first blacks to reach a position of authority in the newsroom of the Post.“
Graham “almost singlehandedly kept the Herb Denton Scholarship going,” Getler said.
NAHJ Votes Tuesday on Whether to Leave Unity
The board of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists votes Tuesday on whether it leaves the Unity: Journalists for Diversity coalition after hearing from Unity President David Steinberg and Roland Martin, a lifetime member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
“As one of the four NAHJ representatives, which includes Mekahlo Medina, Yvonne Latty, and Maria Burns Ortiz on the UNITY board, I join them and NAHJ executive director Anna Lopez Buck in recommending NAHJ leave UNITY” President Hugo Balta wrote in a message to members on Monday.
“To those who simplify the crisis by saying, ‘go back to the negotiating table,’ and ‘how about one more chance?’ — I say how many chances do you need?”
Over the weekend, NABJ President Bob Butler challenged a statement by Michele Salcedo, immediate past NAHJ pesident, last week in a conference call with NAHJ members on the Unity question.
Salcedo said NABJ sustained a loss as of June 30 of $330,532.32, citing the member’s only section of the NABJ website. However, Butler responded in a Facebook posting, “Unfortunately there are people who want you to think NABJ is struggling. That is not true. The report on the members-only section of the NABJ website to which Michele Salcedo is referencing is the balance sheet for the period ending June 30, 2013. It shows a “Net Income From Operations” of $332,532.32, not a loss.”
The issue arose after Balta said he had begun discussions with NABJ about holding a joint convention in 2016. Salcedo cautioned wariness because of NABJ’s financial situation.
The NABJ board met in Boston over the weekend. Butler told Journal-isms he had replaced most members of the Finance Committee, which had been critical of the organization’s financial situation. Many of them participated in a website, www.nabjboardwatch.org.
Butler said he had not chosen a chair for the committee yet, but named John Yearwood, Jackie Greene, Shirley Carswell and Michelle Singletary as members.
Meanwhile, Joanna Hernandez, an NAHJ member who was president of Unity when NABJ left in 2011, citing financial and governance issues, told Journal-isms she would support whatever decision NAHJ made.
“What struck me most was Hugo’s concern about finances,” Hernandez said by email. “As you know, NAHJ was on the brink because of finances, and although the organization is doing better now financially than before, the economy is still shaky, and NAHJ is not out of the woods yet.
“It also struck me when Hugo said that emotions had to be taken out of any decision, because when I was president of UNITY, the board made many decisions based on emotions instead of basing it on due diligence.
“It’s Hugo job as president to look out for the good of NAHJ. And so far, he has done a phenomenal job.
“The majority of NAHJ members voted for Hugo to be president. And as the leader of NAHJ, he must be allowed to lead. That is my opinion.
“UNITY has been going through many changes, including having three presidents since January.
“This is certainly a new UNITY, and the NAHJ president, executive director and board members have the right to examine and decide whether our organization should be part of this new group. They have engaged the members, and they are listening. And I respect any decision that our NAHJ leaders make.”
N.Y. Post Writer Used N-Word to Describe Black Colleague
New York Post editors acknowledged that a white Post columnist called a black colleague “a token nigger,” according to a new book on Rupert Murdoch, whose company owns the Post.
Writing for Media Matters for America, Ben Dimiero and Matt Gerzen reported “5 Of The Most Interesting Stories From David Folkenflik’s Upcoming Murdoch Biography” Monday.
Dimiero and Gerzen wrote, “In a section focusing on the ‘frat house aura’ that has flourished at the New York Post under editor Col Allan, Folkenflik reports that former Post columnist Steve Dunleavy once called fellow columnist Robert George a ‘token nigger.’ According to Folkenflik, the sum total of Dunleavy’s punishment for having directed a slur at his black colleague was that he was ‘chastised’:”
They quote from the book:
“Under Allan, the Australian culture of mateship allowed a frat house aura to flourish at the New York Post. Sandra Guzman, a Latina journalist who had been fired as editor of a Post magazine section, accused Allan of sidling up to her and several other female employees to show them pictures of a man displaying his penis on his cell phone; she also alleged he rubbed himself lewdly against a female colleague, and that she herself was serenaded with ‘I Want to Be in America’ — an allusion to the Puerto Rican character who sang the musical number of that name in the musical West Side Story.
“The paper contested her charges. Yet under oath, Post editors admitted that Dunleavy had called conservative black columnist Robert George ‘a token nigger,’ saying he would never have his job at the paper if not for his race. The city editor, James Murdoch’s closest childhood friend Jesse Angelo, chastised Dunleavy. No other punishment was meted out. [Murdoch’s World, pg. 45].”
2 Stations Refuse to Air “Change the Mascot” Commercial
“As the debate over the name of Washington’s football team grows louder, one of the more vocal groups on the issue has found itself unexpectedly silenced,” Theresa Vargas reported Friday for the Washington Post.
“The Oneida Indian Nation learned Friday that the radio ad it had scheduled to run in Washington this weekend as part of its national ‘Change the Mascot’ campaign, will not air. A representative of CBS Radio Washington cited increased discussion around the name as the reason for pulling the ad from two of its stations, WJFK and WPGC.
“ ‘Based on the amount of on-air debate, adding paid commercials from one side is not something that we think is beneficial for this discussion and for our audience,’ Steve Swenson, senior vice president of CBS Radio Washington wrote in an e-mail that was provided by the Oneida Nation to The Post. . . .”
- Andrew Cohen, the Atlantic: ESPN: No Comment on Talent ‘Wearing the Native Equivalent of Black Face’
- Tim Giago, indianz.com: Native Americans are human beings and not mascots
TV Consolidation Called “Out of Control,” FCC Blamed
“Free Press Research Director Derek Turner wasn’t afraid to give away the ending, titling his analysis of media consolidation, ‘Cease to Resist: How the FCC’s Failure to Enforce its Rules Created a New Wave of Media Consolidation,’ ” John Eggerton wrote Monday for Broadcasting & Cable.
“According to Turner and Free Press, who are releasing the report Monday, local broadcast journalism has been suffering from the ‘rampant media consolidation’ of the past two decades, and it isn’t getting any better. He points a finger squarely at deregulatory FCC policies, saying that the FCC has been a ‘willing accomplice to this destruction of local journalism. . . .”
A news release added:
” ‘TV consolidation is out of control, and communities are paying the price,’ said Free Press Research Director and report author S. Derek Turner. ‘Companies are swallowing up stations at an alarming rate, often through deals that violate the law. If the FCC doesn’t start enforcing its rules, the damage to local competition and viewpoint diversity will be overwhelming and irreversible.’
“The report comes as Sinclair Broadcast Group spearheads one of the largest waves of TV consolidation in history. The report also looks at tactics used by Gannett, Media General, Nexstar and Tribune. . . .”
Mathes Leaving as GM of “Most-Listened-To” Public Station
In the nation’s capital, Caryn Mathes, general manager of NPR affiliate WAMU 88.5, is leaving what she called “the most listened-to public radio station nationally” at the end of the year to be the general manager of KUOW and president of Puget Sound Public Radio in Seattle, WAMU announced on Monday.
“Caryn has led the station since joining in 2005. She’s overseen growth of news coverage and original programming, as well as the expansion to new stations and Internet streams,” the announcement said.
“WAMU has grown into a $22 million operation from $9 million in 2005 when Mathes joined the station. The station’s contributor base has increased 58 percent to 56,000 members. Mathes worked closely with American University colleagues to acquire and renovate WAMU’s new media center and headquarters at 4401 Connecticut Ave., which became fully operational in September.”
In a memo to the staff, Mathes said, “This was not an easy decision! I am personally and professionally invested in WAMU and I’m proud of each and every one of you. What we have accomplished together over the past nine years is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Together we have created the most listened-to Washington, DC radio station and the most listened-to public radio station nationally with WAMU, a strong terrestrial and social media presence for Bluegrass Country [a second WAMU channel], and significant expansion of programming, news, and digital media.
“WAMU, and its new Media Center, are now among the national standards for high performing public media. It has been my joy to work with you to accomplish this.
“As you know, I am driven by and thrive on building public media organizations. My decision to leave is, in part, because I will have the opportunity to help KUOW build audience and programming. KUOW also offers a progressive model of governance and finance that will allow rapid deployment of resources to build the organization in a highly competitive public radio market. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. . . .”
Short Takes
- On Oct. 28, Univision’s “Despierta America” (“Wake Up America”) and ABC’s “Good Morning America” “fuse” for a day to celebrate the launch of Fusion, a news, pop culture and satire network from ABC and Univision, which launches that day at 6:57 p.m. Eastern time, the two networks announced Monday. “America’s #1 morning shows in English and Spanish will simulcast portions of their broadcasts to both television networks — a combined audience of over 6 million viewers. . . .”
- Rashod Ollison of the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va.; Juan Castillo of the Austin (Texas) American Statesman; Evelio Contreras, Moni Basu and Christal Presley of CNN.com; and Alexandra Garcia of the Washington Post were first-place winners in the Excellence in Writing contest of the Society of Features Journalism this month.
- “The horrifically profitable practice of slavery and the brutal inhumanity of Jim Crow loom large in ‘The African Americans’ (premiering Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET; check local listings), which, through its six hours, performs a neat trick: Its reach extends far beyond American shores, venturing through the Caribbean region and all the way to Africa, while deftly folding this sprawl of black history into the larger American story that, too often, has kept the role of black America shunted to the margins,” Frazier Moore wrote Monday for the Associated Press.
- “I covered the NFL over four decades dating back to 1972,” Leonard Shapiro wrote for Sunday’s editions of the WashingtonPost. Now semi-retired myself and five years removed from day-to-day football coverage, I have one main regret: not focusing more of my reporting and writing on the absolute brutality of the sport, particularly the painful post-football lives of so many players. Instead, like many other sports journalists, I spent much of my career writing positive pieces about the league and its players — puffy features and breathless accounts of thrilling victories and agonizing defeats. . . .”
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