Maynard Institute archives

Paterson Denounces N.Y. Times Report

by richard0553

Would-Be “Bombshell” Questions Aide’s Character

Black Caucus Foundation Calls Article “Tasteless”

Newhouse School Starts Newspaper for Neighborhood

Kathy Chu, Nina Bernstein Win in Awards Contests

“60 Minutes” Donates Award to Ed Bradley Scholarship

D.C. Black History Poster Honors Media Pioneers

2 Form Blog Network for Black Women Over 40

Black Women More Affected by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

Short Takes

A much-anticipated front-page story raised questions about the background and quick rise of David Johnson, described as top aide to New York Gov. David Paterson.

Would-Be “Bombshell” Questions Aide’s Character

After weeks of speculation that it was working on a salacious “bombshell”¬† that would seriously damage New York Gov. David Paterson, the New York Times Wednesday unveiled the story that was apparently the subject of the media rumor mill.

It wasn’t what the media frenzy had advertised. “Scandalous NYT David Paterson Story Not Even About David Paterson,” in the words of the media blog FishBowl NY. “David Paterson Bombshell More a Slight Water Balloon,” said theRoot.com.

Instead, the front-page story was about Paterson aide David Johnson, once “a young, ambitious intern from Harlem when Mr. Paterson was a state legislator. He rose to be Mr. Paterson’s driver, serving as a kind of protector and scheduler,” according to the story by Danny Hakim and William K. Rashbaum.

“In recent months, however, Mr. Johnson’s ascent has been striking: he is now one of the most senior people in the governor’s administration, paid $132,000. He is described as Mr. Paterson’s closest confidant, a man with a designated room for his overnight stays in the Executive Mansion, and a broadening role in areas like campaign strategy, government initiatives and the management of the governor’s staff.”

The summary paragraph of the story is that “more than four current or former officials expressed concern that Mr. Johnson and another aide, a former state trooper, had become the governor’s innermost circle and were simply not best equipped to help him tackle the multiple challenges facing him.”

However, the story focuses less on whether Johnson is up to the job and more on Johnson’s character.

“A review of Mr. Johnson’s rise and his history, undertaken after he emerged as perhaps the man closest to the state’s chief executive, shows that he was twice arrested on felony drug charges as a teenager, including a charge of selling cocaine to an undercover officer in Harlem,” it says.¬† It asserts that “Mr. Johnson, 37, has also on three occasions been involved in altercations with women, two of which led to calls to the police.”

By 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, the story had generated 336 readers’ comments.

“Hatchet job, plain and simple,” read the first. “Dredge up some teen arrests, bolster them with anonymous sources vaguely alleging disputes with women. Is this the Times’ Patterson bombshell? This is the most dirt they could find in the vicinity of the governor?”

The second said, “Let’s cut to the chase, it’s a lousy smear campaign against the governor. Nonetheless, I doubt most people can honestly say they’d feel 100% comfortable about their daughter, sister, or mother dating Mr. Johnson. So you’ve got to ask yourself if a guy this close to the governor were an anti-Semite, homophobe, or racist would you vote for him anyway? If the answer were no, then any other response by you to this article would be hypocritical, at best.”

Clark Hoyt, the Times’ public editor, told Journal-isms, “I have received some complaints about it – not a large number, fewer than a dozen – and you can see from the more than 300 comments online that some readers were unhappy with it, while others thought it was good journalism.” He said he had not yet focused on the piece.

Paterson issued as statement at 1 a.m. Wednesday, saying the Times had published information sealed by the state and that the conclusions about domestic violence “are not supported by the facts.

“The New York Times has chosen to splash his youthful offenses across the pages of its newspaper – even though the courts of our State have ordered them to be sealed. Mistakes committed during one’s youth are determined by law to be kept sealed for a reason – to give a young person a second chance at a productive life. I profoundly believe in this principle of redemption and giving young people a second chance,” Paterson said.

“The more recent allegations reported on by the Times would be extremely troubling if true – but the conclusions reached by the Times report are not supported by the facts. There is no independent evidence presented that would substantiate any claims of violence committed by David Johnson against a woman, a fact underscored by the absence of a single judicial finding that any such incident ever took place. I would caution others from making a similar rush to judgment.”

Paterson, the state’s first black governor, faces an uphill reelection battle, low approval ratings and a $1.4 billion deficit for the remainder of the fiscal year. After such headlines as the New York Post’s “I Did Not Have Sex With That Woman” – showing Paterson uttering the words made famous by former president Bill Clinton – Paterson demanded that the Times address the rumors about what it was working on. The newspaper refused to do so, saying it was not responsible for what others were reporting.

Black Caucus Foundation Calls Article “Tasteless”

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation has called “tasteless” an unflattering Sunday New York Times story about its spending priorities and purported susceptibility to lobbyists and asserted that “The Congressional Black Caucus has never controlled the CBCF.”

The Sunday story, by Eric Lipton and Eric Lichtblau, reported that “In 2008, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation spent more on the caterer for its signature legislative dinner and conference ‚Äî nearly $700,000 for an event one organizer called ‘Hollywood on the Potomac’ ‚Äî than it gave out in scholarships, federal tax records show.

” . . . And an examination by The Times shows what can happen when companies offer financial support to caucus members.

“For instance, Representative Danny K. Davis, Democrat of Illinois, once backed legislation that would have severely curtailed the rent-to-own industry, criticized in urban districts like his on the West Side of Chicago. But Mr. Davis last year co-sponsored legislation supported by the stores after they led a well-financed campaign to sway the caucus, including a promise to provide computers to a jobs program in Chicago named for him. He denies any connection between the industry‚Äôs generosity and his shift.”

The Foundation said in a list of “talking points” that “While some may confuse our organization with others of similar sounding names, we are a separate legal entity incorporated in 1976. The CBCF is proud of the stewardship we have provided over the funds entrusted to us, and we will continue to be guided by our vision to eliminate the disparities affecting the global black community.”

It said that the $693,000 it spent on catering costs for the 2008 legislative conference was spent “for all food items at the convention center during the entire four-day conference. During the conference, activities that included catering were dinner, the prayer breakfast, instant apprentice luncheon, networking luncheon, CBCF chairs reception, coffee breaks, food service for CBCF staff and volunteers, state legislators brunch, emerging leaders brunch and the Avoice luncheon.”

On National Public Radio’s “Tell Me More” on Wednesday, Lipton conceded that the Caucus and its foundation are legally separate, but noted that the chairman of the foundation board, Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., is a member of the caucus and said “there is certainly a relationship” between the two groups. He added that while other members of Congress belong to caucuses, none raises “nearly as much money” as the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

In a statement on its Web site about the “tasteless article,” the foundation assured its supporters, “Please know that we are aggressively responding to The New York Times’ article and vigorously defending both our work and our stewardship of the funds entrusted to the CBCF.”

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7x3i0Bs6sE]

The Stand, a new Syracuse community newspaper created by the Newhouse School, threw its launch party on Saturday. (Credit: The Stand staff videographer John Garcia)

Newhouse School Starts Newspaper for Neighborhood

"A newspaper devoted to a single Syracuse neighborhood — the South Side — will debut Saturday," Maureen Nolan wrote Thursday for the Syracuse (N.Y.) Post-Standard. "The free monthly paper is a project of the Newhouse School at Syracuse University in collaboration with a neighborhood group, the Southside Community Coalition."

Steve Davis, chairman of Newspaper and Online Journalism at the school, told Journal-isms, "The area our new paper and Web site covers is the 13205 ZIP code. It’s 60% minority (most of that African-American) and it is lower income (half of HOUSEHOLDS earn less than $25,000 annually)."

Nolan wrote, "The project‚Äôs roots go back a few years, to an assignment Newhouse Professor Steve Davis gave his class ‚Äî create a newspaper of stories about the South Side. Davis says that publication went over well and the next year, in 2006, he got the idea for ‘The Stand.’ Davis says it takes a magazine-like approach to coverage. At the same time Davis was thinking about a South Side newspaper, so was the Community Coalition. A partnership was born.

"The Stand has a Web site that’s been up and running for months — mysouthsidestand.com. The first edition will be 5,000 copies. The newspaper will hire high school students to distribute the product on the street and give papers out during its launch party, Davis said. . . .

"Newhouse students and staff wrote most of the first edition, but the plan is to recruit community members to supply stories, photos and videos for the paper and Web site. The Stand has offered workshops on photography, video and how to write a news story and several dozen people attended, Davis said.

". . . Davis said he wants eventually to turn the newspaper over either to someone in the community to run as a profit-making business or to a nonprofit neighborhood group, for instance the coalition. Newhouse staff and students would contribute to the paper. Its revenue would come from ads."

Kathy Chu, Nina Bernstein Win in Awards Contests

“Kathy Chu of USA Today has earned the George Polk Award for Business Reporting for a series of stories documenting how banks and credit unions have used steep fees and unscrupulous credit card practices to profit tens of billions of dollars each year off vulnerable customers,” Long Island University announced on Tuesday.

Kathy Chu, left, and Nina Bernstein“Ms. Chu‚Äôs revelations in ‘Credit Trap’ had a direct influence on at least two Congressional and regulatory measures to reform bank fees. Her reporting, which helped to educate Congress and American consumers on the inner workings of the financial services industry, led to a flurry of similar news coverage across the country. Consumer advocates have lauded Ms. Chu for playing such a pivotal role in uncovering the extent and impact of abusive credit practices.”

On Wednesday, the American Society of News Editors announced the winners of its annual awards for distinguished writing and photography.

Among them was Nina Bernstein of the New York Times, selected for the Freedom Forum/ASNE award for distinguished writing on diversity. Bernstein won “for thorough and tenacious reporting and compelling storytelling on the mistreatment of immigrants in federal custody, particularly her stories that revealed unreported deaths and efforts by officials to hide them from the public.” Maria Sacchetti of the Boston Globe was the runner-up.

Nicholas D. Kristof of the Times won the ASNE award for commentary/column writing, “for his provocative, erudite, courageous commentary, especially those columns that are the foundation of his ongoing crusade against the mistreatment of women and girls across the globe.”

“60 Minutes” Donates Award to Ed Bradley Scholarship

“The National Press Foundation presented 60 MINUTES with its Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism last night (16) at its annual awards dinner in Washington, D.C. 60 MINUTES Executive Producer Jeff Fager accepted the award, announcing that he will donate its $5,000 grant to the Ed Bradley Scholarship” administered by the Radio-Television Digital News Foundation,” CBS-TV announced on Wednesday.

“Building on the long-time support of Ed Bradley and his family, the grant from CBS News will allow the RTDNF 2010 Scholarship and Fellowship winners to travel to the RTDNA@NAB annual convention in Las Vegas this April,” RTNDF added.

“The RTDNA@NAB convention runs from April 11-14 and is a valuable opportunity for the scholarship winners to meet news directors and industry professionals who can direct them to their first jobs in radio, television or digital news.”

D.C. Black History Poster Honors Media Pioneers

John Russworm and Samuel Cornish, founders of Freedom’s Journal, which in 1827 became the first African American newspaper; Radio One founder Cathy Hughes; the late Calvin Rolark, founder of the weekly Washington Informer, and anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells-Barnett are featured on the poster “Tell It Like It Is: Black American Media Pioneers,” the 2010 black history poster from the District of Columbia’s Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board.

“In this age of information, the agency chose to honor pioneers in communications who often experienced great discrimination in pursuit of their craft. Their sacrifices paved the way for many of today’s media moguls,” Athena H. Hernandez, the board’s chief of communications, told Journal-isms.

The 25,000 copies of the poster are distributed free of charge to the city’s public schools, libraries, and to the general public. Hernandez said the agency does not mail them, however, so those outside the capital city must arrange for someone in Washington to pick them up.

“The public is invited to visit dclottery.com to request copies of the poster which are available in small and large quantities for pick-up at either the D.C. Lottery’s main office at 2101 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, S.E. or our Claim Center, 2000 14th Street, N.W. For larger orders, we ask that you fill out the online form to ensure your posters are ready for pick-up at the location of your choice,” the agency said.

The Hughes photo was taken by Jason Miccolo Johnson, who photographs events for the National Association of Black Journalists, among other groups.

2 Form Blog Network for Black Women Over 40

“In September, my business partner Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb and I started a blog network called We Are Black Women (www.weareblackwomen.com) for women over the age of 40,” Sherry Howard, formerly executive editor for special projects at Philadelphia Inquirer online, told Journal-isms.

“We started with four blogs ‚Äî auctions, faith, food and health, and the sandwich generation. We’ll add more blogs along the way and are looking for people to blog about their passions, especially those subjects of interest to our demographic.

“Yvonne & I both are former newspaper journalists: I left the Philadelphia Inquirer in March 2008 and she left The Washington Post the following August. In researching the web, we found that there was not much content for women our ages. Most of the websites and blogs were more celebrity and fashion-focused. There’s nothing wrong with that focus, but we as black women are much more than that,” she said via e-mail.

“With We Are Black Women, we wanted to show our complexity. Our other features include Mighty Black Women, stories of black women doing good; Melt the Middle, a health challenge between two of our bloggers determined to trim their waists, and aggregated news stories about black women. We are also planning a WABW Tech Camp in the fall to provide training for women over 40. Many have told us that they are lacking tech skills and want to learn the basics and more. You can see our handiwork at www.weareblackwomen.com.”

Black Women More Affected by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

“Black women with same-sex partners serve in the military at a greater rate than White women with same-sex partners (11% vs. 9%),” according to a 2004 study, “Black Same-Sex Households in the United States: A Report From the 2000 Census.” [PDF]

The study, from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute, said, “Since Black same-sex partners serve in the military at disproportionately higher rates than other groups, discriminatory military policies also affect the Black community at a disproportionate rate.

“For example, ‘Don‚Äôt Ask, Don‚Äôt Tell’ ‚Äî which bans openly lesbian, gay and bisexual people from serving ‚Äî has been used to kick Black women out of the military at a much higher rate than other groups. In fact, Black women are discharged under ‘Don‚Äôt Ask, Don‚Äôt Tell’ at three times the rate that they serve in the military. Although Black women make up less than one percent of servicemembers, they comprise 3.3% of those discharged under the policy.”

Short Takes

  • “The three main online news agencies in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, are struggling in the aftermath of the quake,” Jean Roland Chery reported Wednesday for the Committee to Protect Journalists. “Clarens Renois, the founding director of Haiti Press Network, addressed the outlet’s future frankly: ‘In three months, I will close the agency,’ he said. The newsroom staff of reporters and photographers is currently doing volunteer work, Renois said. There is not a penny to pay them, he stressed, adding that his agency is also facing serious technical difficulties.”
  • “Roughly 40 percent of Americans do not have high-speed Internet access at home, according to new Commerce Department figures that underscore the challenges facing policymakers who are trying to bring affordable broadband connections to all Americans,” the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.
  • Kathy Y. TimesKathy Y. Times, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, was honored [PDF] last month in a joint resolution of the Mississippi House and Senate as an “excellent black journalist and role model who is a leader in her community and state.” Times, an investigative reporter and co-anchor at WDBD-TV in Jackson, known as Fox 40 News, was commended and congratulated “upon her election as President of the National Association of Black Journalists” in August.
  • “A collection of 23 minority-targeted organizations have asked the Federal Communications Commission to get off the stick and vote on some of the ‘dozens’ of minority ownership proposals that have been put in front of it,” John Eggerton reported Tuesday for Multichannel News. Groups signing the letter [PDF] include UNITY: Journalists of Color.
  • Sheryl Huggins Salomon, who was laid off in November as managing editor of AOL Black Voices, has joined theRoot.com as deputy editor. Terence Samuel, who held that post, left to become Communications Director at the Washington office of Green For All.
  • Musa Saidykhan, the former editor-in-chief of the banned Independent Newspaper in Gambia who lives in exile in Grand Rapids, Mich., was due to testify in Abuja, Nigeria’s administrative capital, Wednesday along with his doctor. They were to appear before the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice, according to the Media Foundation for West Africa in Accra, Ghana. However, although the doctor was in court ready to testify, the case was adjourned until April 27 after the Gambian government said the day was a Gambian holiday, Saidykhan told Journal-isms.¬† Saidykhan “was among scores of victims who were illegally detained and suffered all manner of cruelty including torture at the hands of President Yahya Jammeh’s security agents in the aftermath of an alleged coup attempt in March 2006,” in the words of the Media Foundation for West Africa.
  • Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the senior editorial staff of the Al Jazeera network¬†during her tour of the Middle East this week. Brian Stelter reported for the New York Times. “The meeting was ‘quite frank’ as Al Jazeera managers ‘put their frustrations on the table,’ according to a network employee who was briefed on the meeting.”
  • Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services, will deliver the keynote address at the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual conference on Health Disparities, scheduled for March 4-6 at the Barbara Jordan Conference Center at the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, NABJ announced on Wednesday. The center is at 1330 G St. NW. Sebelius speaks March 4.
  • “The decades-old taboo that drama series with minority leads cannot work finally might be broken,” Nellie Andreeva wrote Tuesday for the Hollywood Reporter. “Halfway through the castings of broadcast drama pilots this season, the top-billed actors on four pilots are non-Caucasian. What’s more, the four projects are among the highest-profile drama pilots this year.”
  • Marcela Salazar joins CNN as senior editorial Producer for John King’s new show, effective Feb. 22, Veronica Villafa?±e reported Monday for her Media Moves site. “She leaves Univision, where she has been a Washington, D.C. producer for “Al Punto” for more than 2 years. Her last day is Feb. 19.”
  • Forty-one years after Dorothy Gaiter helped start “Blackout,” a publication by the Legion of Black Collegians at the University of Missouri at Columbia, “two MU seniors think black perspectives are still needed. Veronica Wells and Victoria Uwumarogie, both journalism majors, have revamped the original newsletter, which ended in 1971,” the Columbia Missourian¬†reported on Sunday. Gaiter left the Wall Street Journal in December after a career there and at the Miami Herald.
  • “An international NPR News Investigation took three correspondents across three continents to compile an in-depth portrait of the life, background and eventual radicalization of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a Northwest Flight on Christmas Day,” NPR announced on Tuesday. “The multipart series, ‘Going Radical,’ will begin airing Wednesday, February 17 on newsmagazines ‘Morning Edition’ and ‘All Things Considered.’ ‘Talk of the Nation’ will host a call-in program on the topic next Monday, February 22, and additional reporting about Abdulmutallab and a timeline detailing his radicalization will be featured at NPR.org.”
  • Gwen Thompkins, East Africa correspondent for National Public Radio, hosted “Weekend Edition Sunday” this week, substituting for Liane Hansen. [Updated Feb. 18]

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