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Did Media Enable Black Men in Drinking Trump’s Kool-Aid?

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Disinformation, Lack of Media Literacy Play Roles 
L.A. Times Settles Bias Suit for $3 Million:
200+ Journalists of Color, Women Could Benefit
Escobar Named Editor of Philadelphia Inquirer
Military Vets Seeking J-Jobs Land Knight Grant

Short Takes

Homepage photo credit: M. Scott Mahaskey/Politico

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Biden campaign ad features Black men. (Credit: YouTube)

Disinformation, Lack of Media Literacy Play Roles 

No matter how many times one declares that “Black people are not a monolith,” the factoid that an estimated 18 percent of Black men voted for Donald Trump can’t easily be explained away. The question from this corner is that if so many drank the president’s Kool-Aid, how much can be attributed to the news media — and how much to a lack of media literacy?

To be clear, 80 percent of Black men supported Democratic President-elect Joe Biden. That figure is down slightly from Hillary Clinton’s 82 percent in 2016, but significantly below Barack Obama’s 95 percent in 2008 and 87 percent in 2012, according to Mara Ostfeld and Michelle Garcia of NBC News.

Tim Graves, 58, a Black man from Jacksonville, Fla., was among the 18 percent. NPR’s Noel King asked him Tuesday, “Give me an example of a moment where you heard President Trump speak and you really did feel included.”

Graves responded, “Yes, ma’am. No. 1 — after almost 40 years of promises from every president up to Donald Trump, historically Black colleges for the first time got long-term funding.

“No. 2 — the lowering of Black unemployment is absolutely incredible. Of course, we know that it is the top that it’s ever been in the country, prior to COVID. And No. 3 . . . I mean, what do we have to lose? I mean, from the point that [Lyndon] Johnson and the Democratic Party back in the late ’60s and early ’70s made policies that take Black men out of the house with welfare, and that’s been one of their goals since then is to make sure that Blacks in general remain on government assistance, and they can keep that vote.”

Contrast that with The Washington Post’s Oct. 23 fact-checking by Glenn Kessler, Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly. Trump boasted in the second presidential debate, “Nobody has done more for the Black community than Donald Trump. And if you look, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln, possible exception, but the exception of Abraham Lincoln, nobody has done what I’ve done.”

The Post reporters wrote, “Trump appears to base this assertion on pre-coronavirus employment figures and some relatively minor actions taken during his administration. Historians say this claim is ridiculous.

“Trump has taken few actions specifically on behalf of African Americans.”

Moreover, ProPublica wrote in August, “Black workers have been more likely to be unemployed in both the current downturn and in past recessions. Even when the economy is healthy, Black unemployment is dramatically higher — often double — that of white workers. The gap cannot be explained by gender, age or education level. (Were it not for the fact that Black workers are overrepresented in transit and service industry jobs currently deemed ‘essential,’ the rate of Black unemployment today would be even worse.)”

As for HBCUs, Inside Higher Ed’s Paul Fain reported in January, “the White House and the U.S. Department of Education can make legitimate points when touting their support for the sector.” But Fain also quoted HBCU administrators who told him “the administration’s overall record with HBCUs has been mixed. . . . The administration’s rhetoric also has at times angered students, faculty members and administrators at HBCUs.”

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway kneels on an Oval Office couch as she takes a picture of President Trump with leaders of historically black colleges and universities in the White House on Feb. 27, 2017. Images of Conway on the couch went viral. Credit: Pool photo by Aude Guerrucci/ EPA)

In general, the reasons given for Black men, particularly younger ones, bonding with Trump are an admiration for Trump’s bravado, their admiration of his persona on his reality television show “The Apprentice,” his endorsement by rappers such as Ice Cube, Kanye West, Lil Wayne (pictured below) and 50 Cent, and anger at Biden’s support of the 1994 crime bill. Critics have said the law contributed to mass incarceration.

Mike Webb, senior vice president of communications for the News Literacy Project, acknowledged that no one factor explains Trump’s support. He added disinformation to the mix.

Webb messaged Journal-isms, “As we discussed on our podcast interview with UNC’s Deen Freelon, during the 2016 campaign, agents from Russia’s Internet Research Agency attempted to disguise themselves as Black protestors to intensify the partisan divide and suppress the vote, and all indications are they meddled again in 2020. It’s too soon to tell how much there was, who did it, how it was done or if it was effective, but that’s one of the main reasons we put together this PSA campaign to combat election misinformation. We also know from several different news reports that there were efforts to create disinformation targeted to the Latino community this year.

“I think the best way to combat this problem is to ensure that everyone is news literate. People need to have the skills to be able to recognize the types of ploys that are used during elections and other times so that they can develop the ability to determine credible news sources and to stick to sharing information from fact-based news organizations. Otherwise we’ll remain vulnerable to the bad actors who are pushing misinformation during election season and our democracy will be in danger of being overrun with false information.”

This column provided more context to the crime bill discussion after the second presidential debate. Noted there was a comment from John A. Tures, who wrote for the Observer last year that “evidence shows that Trump’s own crime policies from that era, written in his book for his Reform Party campaign in 2000, were far tougher than anything Biden ever supported. Trump’s own support of criminal justice reform late last year reverses his prior hard core crime positions, but he’s got to battle his own party and administration on it.”

Moreover, the crime-bill narrative leaves out Trump’s 1989 call for the death penalty for the Black and brown men then known as the Central Park Five. They were later exonerated and Trump has never apologized.

Randal Pinkett speaks about the “Achilles heel” that Trump has had “all these years.” (Credit: Canadian Broadcasting Corp./ YouTube)

Concerning “The Apprentice,”  Randal Pinkett, a then-34-year-old African American who won season 4, has written of Trump, “He didn’t want to see an African American win his show, not outright.”

Democrats put forth their own point-by-point rebuttals to Trump’s assertions on racial issues in August.

The Black Trumpers’ common cause with rappers, whose characterization of “bitches and hos” has been indulged in by far too many, irked Michael Steele, the former Republican national chairman who joined the anti-Trump Lincoln Project.

Appearing with columnist and economist Julianne Malveaux Monday on Washington’s WPFW-FM, Steele called “astounding” “the number of Black men who still supported that level of misogyny and attack women.

“I love the way James Clyburn, the House majority whip, put it. He said, ‘I am the son of a Black woman, and the husband of a Black woman, I’m the father of a Black woman. To see Black men share his description of a Black woman [Vice President-elect Kamala Harris] as a monster, or a dog [Omarosa Manigault-Newman] as he has on other occasions, should think twice about their support .

Michael Steele: “If you don’t connect all those other pieces, when you get pulled over by that police officer you have to worry about the next 8 minutes and 46 seconds of your life.” (Credit: Matt McClain/Washington Post)

“I really took that to heart because it does go to a lot of things that, you know, we have to reconcile in the whole community. The fact that so many — about 18 percent of Black men supported the president, despite everything that he said about our community, where our ancestors have come from, the cities we live in, like Baltimore, and our women.”

Steele also scoffed at the so-called “Platinum Plan for Black America” put forth by Ice Cube, who said he would help the Trump campaign develop it. The actor and hip-hop artist said he had reached out to both the Trump and Biden campaigns and that only the Trump campaign had immediately engaged.

“We get that entrepreneurial part,” Steele said. “But what we also recognize is that there’s much more to it than just the entrepreneurism. You can put out an opportunity zone all day long, but if the educational system within that opportunity zone is failing my kids, or if the banks aren’t really lending the kind of money that they would otherwise, or if the crime on the streets or the relationship with the police is not right, all I’ve got is two words put together on a piece of paper, and so there’s got to be more to it.

“When I ran for lieutenant governor [in Maryland], and talked about these issues, we connected all the dots. In fact, I tied it back into our prison system, and looked at Eagle Street Academy, which was then the only high school prison in the country — where we have 13- and 14-year-old young men in the prison.

“So I just want to completely link all the dots, not just talk about — you can have a big house,  and you can have wealth, and you can [run] your own business, all of that’s great, and all of that’s part of the dream, but if you don’t connect all those other pieces, when you get pulled over by that police officer you have to worry about the next 8 minutes and 46 seconds of your life.”

That brings us back to the media.

Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist and commentator, was asked about the Black male Trumpers Saturday on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Finney told Michel Martin, “They are a group that was once again, as we saw in 2016, heavily targeted with misinformation and disinformation. I heard many on the radio saying things like ‘you’re going to, you know, legislate feminism,’ having no idea what something like that would come from. So I think we have to look at that.

“But we also have to look at what their concerns were and whether or not we do a good enough job reaching people where they are and having a conversation about the issues they care about. Obviously, in this campaign, I did a bunch of work for the Congressional Black Caucus and the DCCC.

“And combating racism, criminal justice reform and policing reforms were two of the top issues. And in some instances, voters weren’t aware, frankly, of the work that was already being done. And so I think we have to ask ourselves — we have a structural problem as well as, you know, making sure that people know the work that is being done.”

Some are trying. In May, Nsé Ufot (pictured), executive director of the New Georgia Project Action Fund, wrote for The New York Times, “We also need foundations, state and federal governments and the Democrats to help prevent and neutralize disinformation campaigns. Bad actors are online, sowing doubts about basic facts to undermine faith in the democratic process. To counter this, the industry ought to invest in trusted messengers to spread competing messages with good information, in addition to inspirational candidates who can alleviate voters’ concerns.

“My organization is doing its part. We’re building mobile video games to educate new and infrequent
voters and are launching programs to monitor social media and provide media literacy that will
compete for Black voters’s hearts, minds, attention and votes.”

Ufot added, “A vibrant, robust democracy is our greatest weapon against authoritarian rule. And Black people have been at the vanguard of fighting for that democracy. This year, more than ever, we need overwhelming participation in our elections to neutralize voter suppression and halt the rise of despotic, unaccountable leaders. Our liberty and our lives are at stake.”

L.A. Times Settles Bias Suit for $3 Million

Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong addresses the newsroom in June. (Credit: Laura J. Nelson/Instagram)

200+ Journalists of Color, Women Could Benefit

“The Los Angeles Times and Tribune Publishing have agreed to pay $3 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit brought by a multiethnic group of journalists who alleged that they were paid less than their white male counterparts,” Meg James reported Wednesday for the Times.

“The lawsuit, which alleged gender, race and ethnic discrimination, was filed in San Bernardino County Superior Court in June. Late last month, Judge David Cohn gave preliminary approval to the proposed settlement and certified a class of nearly 240 current and former reporters and editors who would be eligible for back pay.

“Under the settlement, all Black and Latino reporters, copy editors and line editors employed by The Times from Feb. 14, 2015, to Oct. 26, 2020, could receive a portion of the award. All women who worked as reporters or editors during that period would be covered. Cohn is expected to give final approval to the settlement at a March hearing.

The $3-million settlement would be paid by the two publishing companies and their insurance carriers. Chicago-based Tribune Publishing owned The Times until June 2018, when it was sold to Patrick and Michele Soon-Shiong, returning the paper to local control.

“The class-action lawsuit alleged The Times violated California’s Equal Pay Act and California’s Business and Professions Code.

“The two companies have denied the allegations. They did not admit any wrongdoing or any violations of state law.

“The claims date back a number of years to previous ownership,” Hillary Manning, spokeswoman for The Times, said in a statement. “We’re pleased that the judge gave preliminary approval to the settlement and that the matter is headed toward a resolution.”

“Tribune Publishing declined to comment.

“The dispute originated in early 2018, when the paper was owned by Tribune. Frustrated by years of mismanagement and stagnant pay, the newsroom voted to join the NewsGuild sector of the Communications Workers of America. The Times’ nascent guild demanded that Tribune provide salary data for newsroom employees.

“The data confirmed long-standing suspicions that the salaries of women and people of color lagged behind those of white male colleagues, said Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Bettina Boxall, who became the lead plaintiff in the class-action lawsuit.

“Boxall was joined by reporters Greg Braxton (photo) and Paloma Esquivel; (second photo), former reporter Angel Jennings (third photo); copy editor Angela Jamison (bottom photo); and Deputy Metro Editor Bobbie ‘B.J.’ Terhune. Boxall and Terhune are white; Esquivel is Latina; and Braxton, Jennings and Jamison are Black. . . .”

Gabriel Escobar announces a winner of the Vigoda, an internal journalism award at the Philadelphia Inquirer, on Sept. 17, 2019. (Credit: Tyger Williams/Philadelphia Inquirer)

Escobar Named Editor of Philadelphia Inquirer

“Gabriel Escobar, a longtime journalist who has helped manage a rapid and sometimes tumultuous transformation at The Philadelphia Inquirer, has been named its top editor, responsible for the news operation as it chronicles life across one of the country’s largest metropolitan areas during a period of historic disruption and profound change,” Anna Orso and Jesenia De Moya Correa reported Wednesday for the Inquirer.

“Escobar, 64, has served as editor and vice president — the second in command of the newsroom — since 2017 and has been a driving force in its digital-first strategy and award-winning investigations. A former foreign correspondent, he is respected inside and outside The Inquirer as a skilled journalist and an even-keeled manager, as well as a deep listener always armed with a notepad.

“Under the title senior vice president and editor, Escobar, who was born in Colombia, will be one of the highest-ranking Latinos at a U.S. news organization. He’ll lead the staff of roughly 210 reporters, photojournalists, editors, designers and producers as the company navigates a turbulent year and an uncertain financial future. . . .”

Stan Wischnowski resigned as Inquirer editor in June after staff discontent over an insensitive “Buildings Matter, Too” headline on a column about the impact of civil unrest after the police killing of George Floyd. In September, he was appointed executive editor and vice president of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Military Vets Seeking J-Jobs Land Knight Grant

“Today, on Veteran’s Day, Knight Foundation is announcing $250,000 in new support for Military Veterans in Journalism (MVJ), a new professional organization that aims to put more veterans in newsrooms by supporting their career growth, building community and advocating for diversifying newsrooms through hiring and promoting vets,” the foundation announced Wednesday.

“Their important work provides a pathway for veterans looking to continue their life of service as journalists.

“Our new support for MVJ will also help fill a gap in newsroom diversity: though 7% of Americans are military vets, the same group makes up only 2% of journalists. As American news leaders continue to push for newsrooms that reflect the communities they serve, it’s absolutely critical we take America’s veterans into account.”

Zack Baddorf (pictured), executive director of the group and a former Navy photojournalist, messaged Journal-isms that the organization has about 340 members.

“To try to play catch up, we asked our members who signed up before we included this info in our sign up form about their race/ethnicity,” Baddorf said, responding to a question about the group’s diversity. “New member and old member data combined, we have 44 people who provided their race/ethnicity to us.

“- 10/44 answered Yes to Are you of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?

“Then breakdown out of 44:
“- 6 Asian
“- 7 Black or African American
“- 1 Irish American
“- 2 Native American or Alaska Native
“- 1 Puerto Rican
“- 27 White
“- 1 no answer.”

A separate group, the Military Reporters & Editors Association (MRE), is for working journalists who regularly cover the United States military at home and abroad. Founded in 2002, it has about 500 members. “We don’t have a formal relationship with Military Reporters and Editors (MRE) but we know many of their Board members and they are supportive of [our] mission,” Baddorf said. “Likewise, we are supportive of theirs.”

Short Takes

Janelle Rodriguez, SVP of editorial for NBC News and executive-in-charge of NBC News NOW, made the announcement Tuesday. Thompson and Barrett were campaign embed reporters for NBC News; Gutierrez is a reporter with NBC LX, the digital news brand and streaming network geared toward Gen Z and millennial audiences.

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Richard Prince’s Journal-isms originates from Washington. It began in print before most of us knew what the internet was, and it would like to be referred to as a “column.” Any views expressed in the column are those of the person or organization quoted and not those of any other entity. Send tips, comments and concerns to Richard Prince at journal-isms-owner@yahoogroups.com

 

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