Maynard Institute archives

Lester Holt: “It’s a Big Deal” to Be Able to Represent

by richard01111

New NBC Anchor Sensitive to Race, Tech, Western Issues

PBS Suspends Gates Series Over Ben Affleck Deletion

NABJ President Rebukes Don Lemon Over N-Word Stunt

Charleston Paper Puts Legislators on the Record on Flag

. . . “Confederacy Was Treason in Defense of a Deeper Crime”

Twice as Many Killed by Non-Muslim Extremists as Muslims

Washington Post, Univision to Partner for ’16 Coverage

Alessandra Stanley to Leave N.Y. Times TV Beat

Discussion of Capitalizing Race Names Is a Century Old

Short Takes

Lester Holt opened Monday’s “NBC Nightly News” with a report about the Confederate flag controversy. (video)

New NBC Anchor Sensitive to Race, Tech, Western Issues

Lester Holt says that he has “a strong sensitivity” about the story of race and that “It’s a story that, among others, we’ll be going at aggressively” as newly named permanent anchor of “NBC Nightly News.”

In a telephone interview as he began his role as the first African American solo anchor on a nightly network news program, Holt said that he hopes to use that coverage to provoke people to action, to “move beyond just the conversation.”

Holt, who succeeded Brian Williams as host of “NBC Nightly News” on Monday, also said he expects to pay more attention to how technology affects our lives, and that Asian American and Latino journalists are in the NBC pipeline who could one day follow him into the anchor chair.

As a Californian, Holt said he expects to bring a Western perspective to the newscast. Since he assumed the job, Holt said he has been touched by the number of people of color who have thanked him for “representing.” “Your shoulders are a little heavier with responsibility,” he said.

Following is an edited transcript of a telephone conversation held on Tuesday.

Q. The last time I saw you in person, you were working with students at a National Association of Black Journalists convention. Can you talk about that?

I am a product of some wonderful mentorship, I had a lot of people that took me under their wings. I have been thrust into some interesting positions in my life. My first newsroom was WINS [all-news radio] in New York City. I was 22 years old. I had come from several years in radio before that. Not that many, but [I found myself] suddenly being in the No. 1 market and No. 1 newsroom. I had technicians and reporters that kind of looked out for me and kept me out of trouble, and steered me in the right direction.

I was the benefit of that in a lot of the early part of my career, and so I believe it’s important that those of us who’ve been experienced lend our ear. I don’t do formal sit-downs, but I often do informational sit-downs with our interns and some of the folks in the entry level. I’m here in the Washington bureau today and had a few brief conversations with a couple of young, budding journalists who are just starting here, and I think it’s important that we extend ourselves.

In many ways, it’s kind of protecting the institution of journalism, and making sure that it’s going to be left in good hands.

Kristen Welker

Q. How do you view your position as a “first” — the first African American solo network anchor?

Like a lot of African Americans who’ve been in big positions, we often hear — I’ll tell you the same thing — “We don’t necessarily define ourselves by our color.” But you know, it’s a big deal.

To the extent that if only one kid turns on the TV and sees my name at the beginning and says, “Wow, I could do that” and “That guy looks like me,” that’s a great thing. I’m honored by that, but it’s not like there was a big sign that said, “Black anchors need not apply.”

The fact is, there are only three of these jobs, and as you and I know, they don’t open up very often, they’re usually held for a very long time. But the circumstances in this case, you know, allowed it. I feel like for my entire career I’ve been preparing myself for this moment. It’s not what I expected to happen, but that door suddenly swung wide open and I was standing.

Q. Will your background make any difference in how you approach the job?

As we’ve certainly seen, race has been a recurring theme especially somehow in the last year, it feels like.

That’s a story that, of course, everyone wants to cover. I guess it’s fair to say that I have a strong sensitivity to that story by virtue of my background. It’s a story that, among others, we’ll be going at aggressively and try to find new ways — because often, the problem with the race story is that, as you know, ultimately someone says, “we need to have a conversation.”

Well, I would argue that we need more than a conversation — we need action, we need something concrete, and to the extent that we can provoke, and tell that story, and move beyond just the conversation, I think is important. That’s not to suggest that others won’t be covering this story, but I do think it’s fair to say that it’s one that I have a sensitivity toward.

As you may know, I was down in Baltimore several times after the Freddie Gray death, talking to people in the neighborhood. That’s what I like to do, I like to connect with people. I was in North Charleston, and covered the shooting of Walter Scott, so this is important.

Q. What topics will get more air time on “Nightly News” now that you are the permanent anchor? Which topics aren’t getting enough air time now?

When you break it down in air time, that becomes difficult because every day is different, in terms of what the story is, and there are no hard and fast rules. But it’s fair to say there are certain kinds of stories, certain themes that have always resonated with me and that I’ll be covering. Not only race, I think tech stories are becoming a bigger part of our life. We’ll be covering some of those.

So much of our lives wraps around technology right now, and innovation and making our lives easier, I think those are important stories. It’s not just the newest app, the newest technology and how we get information, and so I’m trying to leverage that. I have our digital team kind of holding my hand, getting me onto Facebook, doing more little feature interviews with our correspondents, some of those stories we’re trying to do. We’ve experimented with Periscope [the live streaming video app], those sorts of things.

Q. Could you elaborate a little more on provoking action in covering racial stories?

Part of our job as journalists is to create awareness, and sometimes when creating awareness, we provoke action, in a good way sometimes. If people hear these stories and hear them from all sides, perhaps it will change lives and perhaps inspire. And I guess that’s what I mean. Maybe “provoke” is too strong a term, but I think that if it inspires people to become active, and recognize a problem or issue in society, and find a way to act, and perhaps change behavior, that’s a good thing.

Q. Who will be the “Lester Holt” for Lester Holt? Who will back you up?

That’s a really good question, and if I had the answer, I would tell you. I don’t know. This has all come upon so quickly, and [there are] so many things left to discuss, and I’m sure that’s on the list, but I haven’t even heard.

Q. Are you satisfied with the diversity in various editorial and managerial roles at NBC News?

I think we have strong diversity across the board. Certainly on air, you see that, and off air. I use the word “diversity,” I hope we’re talking about the same thing. I’m not only talking about racial diversity, but also cultural diversity, political diversity, regional diversity, all those things. You know, the more we bring to the table, because what we do is such a collaborative process.

We have these editorial meetings and, you know, 10, 20, 30 people in the room talking about the big stories of the day, and it’s interesting how people coming from a different place will have a different view. I am a Californian, and so I have a view of what it’s like in the West, and one of the things I’ve done in the broadcast is really push to take it out West.

I’ve broadcast from Los Angeles a number of times since I’ve been on, and we’re going to be doing a lot more of that because there are so many stories that are important to that part of our audience, and so I bring that sensitivity. That’s the very cool thing about a collaborative newsroom. You’ve got all these thoughts and different ways of looking at things.

Q. You’re the first African American solo anchor on the nightly news. What about Asian American and Latino journalists, who are also underrepresented? Do you think they will get their shot?

Well, I’m not sure I’m ready to give up this seat, you know, because I just got it … OK, we’re not giving my job away, that’s cool.

I do, and here’s why. When you get to these jobs, of course, that follows many years of experience, and exposure and all that, and I look at our lineup of correspondents. I hate to go through all the names, but we’ve got a multi, multicultural lineup of correspondents, and any one of them is on a trajectory that could easily land them in the anchor chair someday.

Miguel Almaguer

I didn’t even notice it — another reporter noticed — they said, “Your broadcast last night, your first two correspondents were African American.” I was like, what? You know what, you’re right. [It] didn’t even resonate that way. Looking at people like Kristen Welker and John Yang and Jacob Rascon and Miguel Almaguer, any number of these people are — these are our go-to, rock-star correspondents. Any one of them could be in line the next time that job opens up. [These are] three jobs that just don’t become available very often, but I think the pipeline is primed for more diversity in these roles.

Q. Do you have anything you want black journalists to know?

I’ve had so many people of color pull me aside and just say, “Thank you. Thank you for representing.” And you know, I think you can appreciate what that must mean. It really strikes a chord when someone looks you in the eye and says that. You do walk away and your shoulders are a little heavier with responsibility, but everyone’s been so supportive, and I’m grateful.

“This was not an easy start. As you know, it’s not necessarily the way that you want to get a job. But I’m ready, I’m proud and ready and confident and ready to engage.

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Henry Louis Gates Jr., left, tells Ben Affleck about Affleck’s ancestor Jesse Stanley, who served in the Continental Army.

PBS Suspends Gates Series Over Ben Affleck Deletion

“The third season of the ancestry-research program Finding Your Roots, hosted by Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., has been suspended by PBS after a determination that an episode of the program featuring actor Ben Affleck violated the network’s standards,” The Root reported on Wednesday.

“In a strongly worded statement, PBS announced that the network is ‘postponing the scheduling of the third season of FINDING YOUR ROOTS pending the production team’s implementation of staffing and other process changes that will significantly enhance the ability of PBS and WETA to oversee the editorial development of each episode on a timely basis, and to ensure that the problems that arose in episode #204 will be avoided in the future.’

“PBS also noted that a commitment to the fourth season of the program will be delayed until ‘we are satisfied that the editorial standards of the series have been successfully raised to a level in which we can have confidence.’

“Episode No. 204 featured the genealogy search of Affleck, who, it was later revealed, had requested that the program be edited to remove a reference to his slaveholding ancestor. This request was discovered, PBS notes in its statement, only after a series of emails were uncovered between Gates (who is also chairman of The Root) and Sony Chairman William Lynton. In those emails, Gates sought advice from Lynton about how to handle Affleck’s editing request.

“When the program ultimately aired in October, there was no mention of the Affleck slaveholding ancestor. PBS said that the revelation of these emails months later, after Sony was hacked by WikiLeaks, “marked the first time that either PBS or WNET learned of this [Affleck] request.’ . . .”

In a statement, Gates said, in part, “I sincerely regret not discussing my editing rationale with our partners at PBS and WNET and I apologize for putting PBS and its member stations in the position of having to defend the integrity of their programming. . . .”

Gates said in April, “Ben [Affleck’s] ancestor’s story just wasn’t as interesting as the other stories about slave-owners that we did use, such as those about the families of Ken Burns and Anderson Cooper. . . .”

NABJ President Rebukes Don Lemon Over N-Word Stunt

A stunt by CNN anchor Don Lemon in which he held up the ultimate racial slur and asked viewers whether they found it offensive has drawn a rare rebuke from the president of the National Association of Black Journalists, which only two years ago saw Lemon co-host one of its awards programs.

“On CNN Monday night, anchor Don Lemon jumped into the national fray when he held up the flag and asked if it offended people,” NABJ President Bob Butler wrote Wednesday in his “President’s Corner” message on the NABJ site. “It clearly does — especially African Americans, whom it reminds of the notion of white supremacy and a time when it was OK to enslave, lynch and discriminate against African Americans. It is so offensive that South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says it’s time for it to be removed from the state capitol.

“But during the same segment, Lemon held up a sign with ‘the N-word’ on it and asked viewers if they were offended. This comes in wake of the news that President Obama, often criticized for soft-pedaling on racial matters, had used the word on comedian Marc Maron’s podcast to make a point about how far we still have to go in this country as it pertains to race.

“The difference in Obama and Lemon’s use of the word is stark: The president was trying to make a valid point about the volatile nature of the country’s race relations; Lemon could have asked the question without showing the word on television.

“To use the N-word, perhaps the most vile word in the American vocabulary, to take an impromptu and unscientific survey about its maliciousness was an inappropriate stunt that distracts from what the country ought to be talking about — how we relate to one another. Instead, we are focusing on one word that only begins to peel away hundreds of years of racial hate and inequality in this country.

“As members of the news media we all have an obligation to do better.”

NABJ rarely rebukes its own members. Two years ago, Lemon co-hosted its “Salute to Excellence” awards with Cari Champion of ESPN. Engaging in happy talk during the evening, they mispronounced and garbled names (as Lemon warned that they might). At one point, Lemon declined to try to pronounce the name of Seniboye Tienabeso of ABC News, one of the winners. Lemon said Tienabeso’s name was too difficult to pronounce.

“Lemon’s gaffes this year offer a case study in how to choose words wisely — or not,” David Uberti wrote in December for Columbia Journalism Review, placing him on its widely quoted list of “The worst journalism of 2014.”

On Tuesday, Paul Farhi of the Washington Post began a piece about Lemon by asking, “Once again, Twitter is howling about Don Lemon. And that’s a bad thing?“

Farhi recalled the comments of CNN President Jeff Zucker in GQ in April. “Let me put it this way. There’s certainly a lot of interest in Don Lemon, and that’s a good thing for Don and for CNN. You know, Don is a little bit of a lightning rod. Frankly, we needed a little bit of lightning. . . . “

Charleston Paper Puts Legislators on the Record on Flag

“On Monday morning, 16 reporters at the Charleston-based Post and Courier newspaper began an ambitious assignment: Get all 170 state lawmakers to say whether they believe the Confederate flag should be removed from South Carolina’s statehouse grounds,” Michael Calderone reported Tuesday for the Huffington Post.

“The long-simmering flag debate gained traction after nine people were killed Wednesday night in a racially motivated shooting inside the city’s Emanuel A.M.E. Church. Still, many South Carolina lawmakers — not to mention Republican presidential hopefuls — appeared hesitant in the days that followed to voice a strong opinion on the flag debate, presumably out of concern that their stand could have political consequences.

“The reporters’ calls and emails, along with a real-time interactive tally of where each politician stood, likely added pressure to finally weigh in.

“While the Post and Courier’s editorial board argued on Tuesday’s front page for the flag’s removal, executive editor Mitch Pugh told The Huffington Post the newsroom wasn’t advocating a position by launching the effort to get each of South Carolina’s legislators on the record. The motivation, he said, stemmed from the belief that ‘lawmakers have an obligation to tell their constituents how they intend to vote or how they feel about this issue.’ . . .”

. . . “Confederacy Was Treason in Defense of a Deeper Crime”

“This blighted boy with red hate in his eyes but otherwise colorless curdled milk skin — this boy is a failure,” Sally Jenkins wrote Saturday for the Washington Post. “It takes more than a weak stick like him to start a race war.”

Jenkins is a sports columnist for the Post and co-author with John Stauffer of “The State of Jones,” about Unionists in Mississippi during the Civil War.

“Personally, I pray that the lives of nine Charleston, S.C., martyrs serve this purpose: Instead of hammering and whispering on racism, we finally reach a tone of agreement based in simple self-truth,” Jenkins continued.

“Surely we all can shake on the idea that the murder of preachers, teachers and librarians in the name of color demands that we examine how such an old, infectious poison got into the veins of a newborn American boy. And that requires admitting that we have been teaching fiction instead of American history. We have romanticized the roots of hate with crinoline and celluloid.

“If you went to Germany and saw a war memorial with a Nazi flag flying over it, what would you think of those people? You might think they were unrepentant. You might think they were in a lingering state of denial about their national atrocities.

“The Confederate battle flag is an American swastika, the relic of traitors and totalitarians, symbol of a brutal regime, not a republic. The Confederacy was treason in defense of a still deeper crime against humanity: slavery. If weaklings find racial hatred to be a romantic expression of American strength and purity, make no mistake that it begins by unwinding a red thread from that flag.

“Yet the governor of South Carolina found it easier to call for the execution of this milkweed boy than it was for her to finally call for the lowering of that banner. Why? . . .”

Washington Post, Univision to Partner for ’16 Coverage

“The Washington Post and Univision News will sponsor a Republican presidential candidates forum ahead of crucial primaries in March 2016 as part of a broader collaboration that will include groundbreaking polling, joint reporting projects and unprecedented coverage of Hispanic voters and the issues that matter most to this key demographic,” the Post announced Wednesday.

“The Republican forum will take place after the four early states have completed their contests and during the run-up to what could be a series of decisive events in major states. The March calendar includes primaries in Texas, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and Michigan, among others. The state of the race will determine the date and location of the Post-Univision forum and invitations to the leading candidates will be extended at that time.

” ‘Hispanics are the fastest-growing electorate in America today and will be crucial in deciding the next U.S. president,’ said Washington Post Managing Editor Kevin Merida. ‘We are thrilled to partner with Univision. Our goal is to produce together the most authoritative, innovative coverage of Hispanic voters ever seen during a presidential campaign cycle. We will delve into their lives, how they relate to the candidates and how the candidates relate to them.’

” ‘This important alliance with The Washington Post brings together two media giants with tremendous audience reach, leveraging Univision News’ undisputed leadership among the Spanish-speaking population and The Post’s unmatched political reporting and expertise,’ said Isaac Lee, President of News and Digital, UCI, and CEO of Fusion. . . .”

Alessandra Stanley to Leave N.Y. Times TV Beat

“The New York Times’ TV coverage has made significant advances since the paper hired former Vulture editorial director Gilbert Cruz to be its TV editor in February,” Sam Adams wrote Wednesday for Criticwire, “but there was still major one obstacle in the Grey Lady’s way: chief television critic Alessandra Stanley, who tended to treat covering the idiot box as if it was beneath her while simultaneously loading up her reviews with errors of both fact and judgment: Parsing Shonda Rhimes’ shows as the product of an ‘angry black woman‘ was one notorious example, but hardly the only one.

“BuzzFeed’s Anne Helen Petersen focused on Stanley in an article titled ‘Here’s Why the New York Times’ Television Criticism Is So Bad,’ and the Columbia Journalism Review reported in 2009 on her ‘long history of error.’ “

“Well, today there is joy in TV Land, as well as in the hearts of those who’ve long been hoping the Times’ TV coverage would rise to the level of its movie and pop music counterparts. Stanley’s reign of error is no more, as she has been reassigned to a new beat covering, in [executive] editor Dean Baquet’s words, ‘the richest of the rich.’ . . .”

Discussion of Capitalizing Race Names Is a Century Old

“The killings in Charleston, South Carolina, heartbreakingly elicit another focus on race,” Merrill Perlman wrote Tuesday for Columbia Journalism Review.

“In our case, not about race as a social construct, but race as it appears in print: Specifically, when to use capital letters or not for people who are identified with the label ‘black’ or ‘white.’

“A website originally registered to the man accused in the Charleston killings, Dylann Roof, capitalizes ‘White,’ but not ‘black,’ as do many other white supremacist sites. Publications aimed at blacks often capitalize ‘Black,’ but not ‘white,’ and there are strong feelings that ‘Black] should be capitalized. . . . “

“Most journalism-related style guides, like those of the Associated Press and New York Times, call for putting both ‘white’ and ‘black’ in all lowercase letters. Others, like The Chicago Manual of Style, allow capitalization if an author or publication prefers to do so. Dictionaries also allow both capitalization and lowercase versions. In other words, it’s fielder’s choice whether to capitalize ‘black’ and ‘white’ or not. . . .”

Perlman also wrote, “So why does it matter? Capital letters jump off a page, and signal an importance greater than that of the uncapitalized words. One reason partisans capitalize ‘White’ or ‘Black’ is to denote its Importance in messages, even subliminally, magnified by lowercasing the ‘other.’ . . .”

The discussion is not new. A century ago, Lester A. Walton, managing editor of the New York Age, argued to the Associated Press that “Negro” should be capitalized.

“Some of our race papers refer to us as ‘Afro-Americans,’ refusing to employ the term ‘Negro’ because of the disinclination of the white press to capitalize the ‘n’ in Negro [PDF],” Walton wrote to the AP on April 21, 1913.

“In the daily press you frequently read an article which is written something like this: ‘Every race was represented at the conference held in Carnegie Lyceum Tuesday evening. The Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, and negro were much in evidence.’ What a rank injustice to the Negro to use the lower case ‘n’ in this instance! . . . .”

Most of Walton’s letter discussed who could be considered “Negro” and who “black.” “Black Americans are becoming scarcer each year, and within one hundred years it will be difficult to find a real black Negro in this country,” Walton wrote.

Short Takes

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