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N.C. Democrats Cancel Plans for Debate

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Obama Won’t Agree to Matchup Sunday on CBS

On the eve of the Pennsylvania primary and in the wake of criticism that last week’s ABC-TV Democratic candidates debate spent too much time on "gotcha" questions at the expense of substance, the North Carolina Democratic Party announced Monday it has stopped trying to organize a debate in time for that state’s May 6 primary.

MSNBCSens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton at a January debate. With and without other candidates, the two faced off more than 20 times during the campaign.

"While there was great interest in the debate, there were also growing concerns about what another debate would do to party unity," a news release said.

Next Sunday’s debate would have been the first for CBS in this election cycle and the first moderated by the team of¬†Katie Couric¬†and¬†Bob Schieffer, as¬†Alex Weprin¬†reported¬†late Monday for Broadcasting & Cable.

"’Obviously, we’re disappointed,’ CBS News senior vice president¬†Paul Friedmansaid, adding that the network was still hopeful that Couric and Schieffer would get a chance to host a forum or debate in advance of the party conventions," Weprin wrote.

"The party and the CBS network had proposed a debate for April 27 at Raleigh’s RBC Center. Clinton had agreed to the event. Obama had not. Obama had proposed a debate for April 19, but party officials ruled out that date, citing the start of Passover,"¬†David Ingram¬†reported¬†for the Charlotte Observer.

"Democrats and media critics gave poor reviews to the ABC-sponsored debate Wednesday in Philadelphia, where the candidates – particularly Obama – faced questions about their associates and their character rather than about policy.

"Some Obama supporters chanted ‘No more debates!’ at a Raleigh event Thursday.

"Thousands had already requested tickets for the proposed Raleigh debate through the Democratic Party’s Web site. Democratic chairman¬†Jerry Meek¬†said last week that a debate could help the party raise as much as $300,000 through individual sponsorships of pre- and post-debate receptions.

"The party had publicly lobbied Obama to accept the April 27 date, organizing a letter-writing campaign with Gov. Mike Easley, former Gov. Jim Hunt and state legislative leaders.

"On Monday, the party did not blame Obama for causing the cancellation. The Clinton campaign did.

". . . Obama spokesman¬†Dan Leistikow¬†said N.C. voters will have ‘many more opportunities’ to hear Obama and ask him questions over the next two weeks. He blamed the Clinton campaign for not responding sooner to its April 19 proposal."

"Their attacks indicate they are really not looking for a debate but any forum to continue their negative, throw-the-kitchen-sink campaign," Leistikow said in the story.

In an interview for Tuesday’s Christian Science Monitor, Rep.¬†Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said his greatest concern is the tenor – not necessarily the extended length – of his party’s presidential primary campaign.

"It is the tone, not the time, that is the most important element. Now, obviously, there is a correlation. It appears that the longer it goes on, the worse the tone gets. It doesn’t have to be that way . . . but it does obviously seem to be trending in that direction. So in that sense, the earlier it is resolved, the better."

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Turner Broadcasting Named No. 1 for Blacks

Turner Broadcasting System was named the No. 1 company for blacks by the magazine DiversityInc. on Monday.

 

"Turner reports that 22 percent of its work force and 28 percent of all new hires were Black. The media company spends 25 percent of its advertising budget at media aimed at multicultural people, including Blacks," it said.

Turner Broadcasting, a Time Warner company, "creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world. Turner brands and businesses include CNN/U.S., CNN Headline News, CNN International and CNN.com; TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies, truTV, Peachtree TV and Turner Sports; Cartoon Network and Boomerang; and Adult Swim, GameTap and Super Deluxe," according to its news releases.

 

DiversityInc. said it planned to list the top 10 companies for Latinos on April 28, for Asians on May 5, and for executive women, people with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees on successive weeks.

 

Cox Communications, another media company, ranked No. 10. "The media company noted that 15 percent of its managers are Black and 16 percent of its management promotions went to Blacks. Of all its women managers, 19 percent were Black and 22 percent of promotions to women managers went to Black women," DiversityInc. said.

Turner ranked No. 28 on the publication’s¬†"Top 50 companies for diversity"¬†list; Cox was No. 6.

 

DiversityInc. said, "The top 10 companies for Blacks average 19 percent Blacks in their work forces, compared with a Top 50 average of 15 percent and a national average of 14 percent, according to the EEOC. There’s clearly progress being made. Blacks were 22 percent of new hires for these top 10 companies, compared with 18 percent for the Top 50."

 

Last year, CNN¬†received¬†the National Association of Black Journalists’ Best Practices award. In accepting that citation at the NABJ convention,¬†Johnita Due, who chairs CNN’s Diversity Council, said¬†Jim Walton, CNN Worldwide president, had become such a diversity advocate he had been referred to as "the first black CNN president."

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Florida Trainer of Latino Journalists in Cash Crunch

The journalism school at Florida International University, which "has trained eight Pulitzer-Prize winners and graduates more Hispanic journalists than any other such institution in the country each year," is "slated to lose 12.4 percent of its budget, or around $455,422, over three years, according to Lillian Kopenhaver, its dean," Elvis Ramirez wrote last Tuesday on the Miami New Times Web site.

 

"The school may be dismantled if it can’t absorb the cuts."

"FIU President Modesto Maidique spoke about priorities. He placed the schools of education, and journalism below the, yet to be open, school of medicine and the school of hospitality management.

"At the meeting yesterday, Maidique revealed that schools and centers within the university have been ranked, and that these ranks will determine how much each school will be expected to cut, priority one receiving the fewest cuts, and priority four receiving the most.

"The journalism school is ranked priority three."

"There has been nothing like this before," said Maidique, who has been president for 22 years, according to Oscar Corral, writing in the Miami Herald. "This is the worst budget year in our history."

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Obama’s Shoulder Gesture Goes Over Some Heads

CBS NewsSen. Barack Obama gestures Thursday in the manner of Jay-Z’s hit song, "Dirt Off Your Shoulder."

Some journalists got it; some did not.

 

"The move illustrated both a generational and a cultural gap: On MSNBC host¬†Joe Scarborough‘s show yesterday, The Washington Post’sRichard Cohen¬†said the shoulder shaking was ‘contemptuous and aloof’ and ‘not smart.’ Scarborough on Obama’s move: ‘We looked at each other and said, "What’s he doing?" ‘ "Teresa Wiltzreported¬†on Saturday in the Washington Post.

What was "it"?

"There’s¬†Barack Obama, fresh from Wednesday’s debate dust-up, beleaguered but still standing, acknowledging that he’s taken some hits from his opponent, some mighty hits, but you know, it’s okay, because that’s politics. Ultimately, you’ve got to . . ." Wiltz began her piece.

"And then he – pay attention now – brushes the dirt off his shoulders. Repeatedly.

"The crowd leaps to its feet, applauding and laughing.

"Talk about a major¬†Jay-Z¬†move. People, we’re talking about a seminal moment in the campaign, the merging of politics and pop culture: in which a presidential candidate -a self-confessed hip-hop head and Jay-Z fan – references a rap hit and a dance move.

"Within hours, there were video¬†mash-ups¬†on the Web depicting Obama dusting himself off as Jay-Z¬†urges, ‘If you feelin’ like a pimp . . . go and brush your shoulders off. . . . Get that dirt off your shoulder.’ (In one mash-up, the heads ofBill¬†and¬†Hillary Clinton,¬†Charlie Gibson¬†and¬†George Stephanopoulos¬†roll off the Illinois senator’s broad shoulders.)"

By Sunday, Stephanopoulos was referencing Jay-Z on his "This Week" talk show on ABC, and Maureen Dowd did as well in her New York Times column.

On theRoot.com,¬†Melissa Harris-Lacewell, a Princeton professor, was ecstatic. "Did you see it? Did you see Barack brush his shoulders off?" she¬†wrote. "Like every other hip-hop generation voter in America I went crazy when he did it. I almost couldn’t believe it. It was a perfect moment."

But while some were in ecstasy over Obama’s hip-hop connection, others have seen reason for alarm. Last Monday, the conservative magazine Human Events alerted its readers that, "Jeremiah Wright¬†is not the only supporter Barack Obama needs to explain.

"Although the media has finally exposed Barack Obama’s ties to the unhinged pastor his support from rappers who propagate equally pernicious nonsense has gone almost entirely unnoticed,"¬†Evan Gahr¬†wrote.

"The rappers have good reason to praise Obama. He has at times been an apologist for their ‘music.’ His complicity with rappers dates back to at least 2006."

 

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On ABC, Debate Critics Dismissed as Obama Fans

Donna Svennevik/ABCABC News’ Charles Gibson, left, and George Stephanopoulos prompted as much comment as the Democratic presidential candidates – if not more – over the questions they asked during Wednesday night’s debate in Philadelphia’s Constitution Center.

On¬†George Stephanopoulos‘ first Sunday "This Week" broadcast since the controversial debate he co-hosted last week, his fellow ABC journalists defended Stephanopoulos, with veteran¬†Sam Donaldsonattributing the criticism to "Senator Obama’s fans in and out of the media."

 

"I wish, George, that people who control elections in this country, let’s say the people in the middle, looked at the policy and thought about the capital gains tax," Donaldson told columnistGeorge Will, who said the most striking comments during the debate were about that tax.

"I think, though, over a good number of years, [I] have discovered they look at character, they look at, do I like this person, do I trust this person? All of those issues that were brought up in the first half of the debate. And I wish Senator Obama’s fans in and out of the media would concentrate on his answers and say he gave a good answer here, not that the question was off-base. When you attack the questioner, you attack the messenger. Look at his answers and defend them and say he gave good replies and that will satisfy people if you can."

Commentator¬†Cokie Roberts¬†added, speaking of Obama, "when he makes whatever mistake has been made, he gets very defensive about it and that was certainly true in that debate. I don’t think that he was very appealing in the way that he started to get irritated. And you know, the truth is, candidates are going to get these kinds of questions and if he doesn’t think – you know, I mean I know you and Charlie are taking some heat. But the fact is, you know, these are the kinds of questions that will come up in a general election." The reference was toCharles Gibson¬†the chief debate moderator who anchors "World News."

Despite those sentiments, criticism of the debate has come even from such Clinton supporters as Pennsylvania Gov.¬†Ed Rendell. In the New Yorker magazine dated April 28,¬†Hendrik Hertzberg¬†listed some of the questions asked and¬†said, "the problem wasn’t just the questions’ subject matter, or the fact that all but the last had been thoroughly raked over already; it was their moral and intellectual vacuity."

On the same "This Week," Stephanopoulos interviewed Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, who denounced William Ayers, "an unrepentant terrorist" who was a member of the Weather Underground group in the 1960s and with whom Obama serves on a charity board.

Stephanopoulos never mentioned, as have newspaper profiles of Ayers over the last week, that Ayers is today considered a model citizen. Nor was the word "Vietnam" uttered, which might have placed Ayers’ activities in the context of that divisive time.

"In Chicago . . . Ayers is considered so mainstream that Daley issued a statement on Thursday praising him as a ‘distinguished professor of education’ and a ‘valued member of the Chicago community,’ "¬†Peter J. Slevin¬†wrote¬†Friday in the Washington Post.

"’I don’t condone what he did 40 years ago, but I remember that period well,’ said Daley, an Obama supporter whose father,¬†Richard J. Daley, was a favorite target of the antiwar movement when he was mayor in the ’60s. ‘It was a difficult time, but those days are long over. I believe we have too many challenges in Chicago and our country to keep refighting 40-year-old battles,’" Slevin’s piece continued.

Meanwhile, on CBS’ "Face the Nation," host¬†Bob Schieffer¬†delivered thiscommentary¬†at the end of his show:

"I watched the ABC debate the other night when that question came up again about why Senator Obama doesn’t wear a flag pin in his lapel. . . . Patriotism is no more about signs or pins than religion is about reminding others about how pious we think we are. No, the proof in these puddings is not the signs we wear, but how we act. Wouldn’t that also be a better way to judge our presidential candidates than by the jewelry they wear?"

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Readers React to Piece on White Roommate

"Catherine Donnelly¬†and¬†Alice Brown¬†did something few of us are willing to do in a¬†story¬†in last Sunday’s AJC: talk openly about racial attitudes that are shaped in large part by how we are raised," public editor¬†Angela Tuck¬†wrote¬†Saturday in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

 

"Staff writer¬†Brian Feagans¬†stumbled on Donnelly’s story about rooming withMichelle Obama¬†at Princeton University while making political small talk during a real estate closing. Donnelly mentioned having Obama as a roommate. When contacted later, she talked about¬†Alice Brown‘s horror upon learning her daughter’s roommate was black.

"Readers have reacted strongly to the story, as have bloggers. Some have been critical of Donnelly and Brown’s attitudes. . . ."

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Writer Jelani Cobb Elected as Obama Delegate

William Jelani Cobb, a Spelman College professor and frequent commentator, won election Saturday as an Obama delegate from Atlanta to the Democratic National Convention.

 

 

William Jelani Cobb

"I do plan to write about it- I’ll probably blog from the convention floor in August," he told Journal-isms on Monday. "I’m also doing a piece for¬†Eric Easter¬†over at ebonyjet.com about the experience (and it was surreal . . . )

 

"I ran for a number of reasons, but primary among them was that I wanted the people of my district to be assured that there would be no foul play at the convention. I was alarmed when I heard¬†Hillary Clinton¬†say several weeks ago that ‘pledged’ delegates did not have to vote the way their districts did. I started having flashbacks to Florida 2000. I’m not a politician; I have no interest in cutting deals. I told people consistently that if they send me to Denver as an Obama delegate I will be coming back home to Georgia as an Obama delegate. I think that resonated with folk. (Also, a lot of people had read and still remembered the¬†article¬†I wrote about black leadership’s awkward relationship to Obama in the Washington Post back on January 13 and that helped.)"

Cobb distanced himself from a Feb. 6¬†piece¬†he wrote for theRoot.com, headlined "The McCain Option: If Limbaugh can register a protest vote for Hillary, why can’t we look at the GOP?"

"I have changed my mind regarding the McCain option," Cobb said. He said he wasn’t going to jump the gun "and start plotting what-ifs, but I definitely think there will be widespread disaffection among young and black voters and lower voter turnout in November if anything questionable happens at the convention."

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Columnist Sees Irony for Immigrants in Pope’s Visit

"’NO SE DEJEN vencer por el pesimismo (‘Do not allow yourselves to be defeated by pessimism),’ the Pope, speaking in Spanish, told the crowd that filled the brand-new Nationals Stadium in Washington,"¬†Albor Ruiz¬†wrote¬†on Sunday in the New York Daily News.

 

"His words were addressed to the thousands of undocumented immigrants who, hard as they try, cannot see any reason for optimism. People who, despite years of contributing to society with their hard work and ingenuity, now find themselves increasingly dehumanized and persecuted.

"The President and the Pope were all smiles and mutual praise during the visit of the leader of the Catholic Church to the White House. The occasion was a historic one, although for immigrants in the U.S., it was not devoid of irony.

"’At the same moment that Pope¬†Benedict XVI¬†was admonishing¬†President Bushthat the U.S. must treat immigrants with dignity and humanity,’ said¬†Douglas Rivlin¬†of the National Immigration Forum, ‘the Bush administration was rounding up immigrant workers in raids in at least five states across the country.’ . . .

"Do not be defeated by pessimism, the Pope said. Good advice, but hard to follow in these times of unremitting hostility towards immigrants."

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Short Takes

 

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Feedback: I Lost My Innocence About Objectivity

I have for several days let it pass regarding the ways the debates on ABC were handled because enough people were already complaining.

 

But I’ve decided to weigh in because I have not heard about my complaint.

I am middle class, active, married, over 50, with two children under age 10 and originally a Hillary supporter. I pride myself on being open to listening to all candidates to make a reasonably educated decision. I have progressively become a Barack supporter while still defending Hillary. I’m no longer interested in trying to play devil’s advocate for Hillary – she has lost my vote.

The news media have helped me lose my innocence about them being objective. My concerns about the recent debate were not so much about some of the stupid questions and how the moderator did not balance out the same types of questions fairly to both candidates. What annoyed me most was:

 

 

Cynthia Witcher
La Habra, Calif.
April 21, 2008

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Feedback: We’re Allowing Excuses for Journalism

Can this election cycle get more ridiculous? A shoulder-shake contretemps?Jeremiah Wright¬†sermon loop-de-loop? Arriving in Bosnia under sniper fire? Who’s the most elitist?

 

Can’t blame the candidates for this nonsense. The fault lies with so-called journalists and pundits who have abandoned the standards, principles and professional practices that are supposed to define their mission and public responsibility. We can also blame ourselves, we voters and media consumers who allow this frivolous approach to trying to sort out who might be the best person to deal with the extraordinarily critical issues facing this country. The upshot has been that triviality and idiotic redundancy have dominated the political process at one of the most vital junctures in American history.

In a democracy, we deserve the kind of leadership we allow. And – because we are allowing it-we deserve the kind of bush-league, dumbed-down, mediocre excuse for journalism we’re now getting, where glibness, "gotcha" and hairstyle trump substance and accuracy.

It may not matter who is elected in November. To quote Pogo Possum, a perceptive cartoon character from the past: "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

Joseph N. Boyce
Indianapolis
April 22, 2008
Boyce is a former Time magazine bureau chief and Wall Street Journal senior editor who retired in 1998 after 32 years in the business.

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