Does Both-Sides-ism Slight People of Color?

richard

5 years ago

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“Meet the Press” aired clips Sunday from a roundtable discussion on impeachment with six voters in Kent County, Mich.

Nonwhite Voters in Heartland Often Missing

Not everyone agrees that it’s the media’s duty to “cover both sides of the story,” Jon Allsop wrote Monday for Columbia Journalism Review.

“In the Trump era, ‘both sides’ (or ‘bothsidesism’) has become shorthand for a journalistic philosophy that many media critics consider to be broken, especially in its Democrat v. Republican iteration; its rules, critics say, make things that aren’t the same seem the same, and allow bad actors to launder disinformation. . . .”

Allsop also wrote, “Some coverage, it seems, can’t even do bothsidesism properly. Yesterday, Meet the Press courted online criticism of its own, after it aired clips from a roundtable discussion on impeachment with six voters in Kent County, Michigan, a competitive area of a competitive state. Every one of the voters was a Republican; they all appeared to be white.

“Host Chuck Todd disclosed their partisan affiliation, but not before he’d introduced them as ‘voters beyond the Beltway.’ The soundbites they gave were entirely predictable: ‘Have you recorded a football game but found out the final score before you watched it, and you just don’t even care?’; ‘I think a lot of people see it more as an infomercial, politically’; ‘Both sides…’

“Nor were they fully representative of public opinion. Jamil Smith, of Rolling Stone, noted on Twitter that ‘Nonwhite, liberal voters who also live outside of DC are hardly ever on these panels.’ Marcy Wheeler, a national-security blogger who lives in the area Meet the Press visited, said the roundtable didn’t even reflect white opinion in Kent County. (Wheeler says she visited the brewery where the segment was filmed and also interviewed six people there, at random. All six supported impeachment.)”

“Meet the Press” media spokespersons were not available on Monday.

Smith was joined in his observation by Nikole Hannah-Jones of the New York Times Magazine and its “1619 Project,” who tweeted Sunday, “You all will never tire of this tired framing will you? Republicans live in the beltway, black people live in the Midwest, and there is no such thing as ‘real Americans’ unless by that you mean all of us.”

Meanwhile, “Saturday Night Live” aired its own take on the political divisions in American households (video), with the black family having a decidedly different perspective.

Allsop continued, “When it comes to much impeachment coverage, bothsidesism isn’t the beginning and end of the problem, but part of our broader reflex to frame contentious political stories around the concept of partisanship. In parts of the press, a set of party-oriented impeachment narratives has taken hold that contains some truth, but also rests on a selective interpretation of available evidence. . . .”

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(Credit: Sharon Farmer/sfphotoworks)

While she might have appeared cool and collected when she met the news media, “Journalists didn’t know what we had to go through . . . Because I’d been up all night studying. We knew that you all were counting on us to tell you our best truth,” (Facebook) Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to former president Barack Obama, right, said at the 10th Annual Journal-isms Roundtable Holiday Party at the Newseum on Dec. 7. “We went out there thinking that it was our responsibility to be honest and candid with you. That was a huge responsibility, as it should be, right?” By contrast, the Trump administration has cut down on news conferences and the Washington Post has counted more than 13,000 false and misleading claims by Trump since the beginning of his term. Jarrett also said the lack of leaks in the Obama White House resulted from thorough vetting of issues among the White House and agency staffs so that all felt their voices were heard. At left is April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks, who interviewed Jarrett.(video)

“Friday marked the end of an era for broadcasting veteran Tom Joyner, who officially signed off his longtime radio show, culminating a near 50-year career,” Karu F. Daniels reported for the Daily News in New York. Daniels also wrote, “He is credited with registering a quarter of a million black voters ahead of the 1996 election and putting hundreds of students through historically black colleges and universities through his Tom Joyner Foundation scholarship program. . . . “

“CNN terminated Atlanta-based employee Dewayne Walker after deciding his story that his boss threatened him with his life was a fabrication, Rodney Ho reported Wednesday for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Walker, who had worked at the news operation for 16 years, had filed multiple lawsuits over the years against his employer claiming racial discrimination. All except the most recent lawsuits have been dismissed. . . .”

The Los Angeles Times is advertising for a sports editor after promoting Assistant Managing Editor Angel Rodriguez (pictured) to a new role as leader of the news desk, “working at the nexus of the production and distribution of our journalism ,” a Nov. 19 announcement said. Rodriguez led the sports staff for more than four years, and had been deputy editor for mobile innovation at the Washington Post and sports editor of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

“I have stepped back from the day-to-day professional world and am now a retiree!,” [PDF] Will J. Wright (pictured) has announced, the subscription-only NewsBlues site announced Wednesday. “I am retired from NBC News and MSNBC following more than 52 years in News.” According to his LinkedIn profile, “Wright is currently Manager of Diversity and News Editorial Projects for NBC News and MSNBC. He has served as Senior News Editor with theGrio and as manager of Digital Production for NBC News, tasked with helping to transform the workforce through training and corporate culture development.” He is “known as a diversity champion, a digital journalism advocate, and a staunch devotee of community inclusion. . . .”

“Robert L. Asher (pictured), a journalist who spent decades at The Washington Post writing editorials on issues of local and regional importance such as traffic congestion, the operation, construction and financing of the Metro rapid transit system, and the efficiency or inefficiency of snow removal, died Dec. 6 at a hospital in Bethesda, Md,,” Bart Barnes reported Dec. 8 for the Post. “He was 83. . . . For 30 years, Mr. Asher was also a part-time teacher of journalism and writing at Howard University, one of the few white faculty members at the predominantly black institution. . . .”

“Ronnie Ramos (pictured), who announced Dec. 2 he would step down as executive editor of The Indianapolis Star, will lead the digital-only Daily Memphian newsroom as executive editor beginning in early January, the digital outlet announced Dec. 9, updated Dec. 10. “The Daily Memphian celebrated its first anniversary in September with more than 10,000 digital subscribers. The nonprofit is structured as a 501(c)(3). Its business model is to be self-sustaining through a combination of paid subscriptions, advertising and community support,” the organization said.

The Detroit Free Press is promoting Nicole Avery Nichols (pictured) to senior content editor for current affairs and entertainment, the newspaper announced Sunday. Avery Nichols is a 20-year member of the Free Press staff and its former features editor.

“Romina Ruiz-Goiriena (pictured}, a freelance journalist based in Miami, will work on a three-month project with staff and editors of the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald,” the Herald announced Thursday. The assignment is part of an investigative reporting fellowship in partnership with the Fund for Investigative Journalism and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

“ In New Orleans in September 2018, columnist Jarvis DeBerry talks to Debra Touissant about why she and others gather every day beneath the shade trees. (Credit: David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune).

Jarvis DeBerry, “a longtime columnist for The Times-Picayune and NOLA.com, talked with our news partners at WWL-TV about his kidney illness,” NOLA.com reported Thursday. “DeBerry has been managing an ever-worsening kidney condition for the better part of a decade, unbeknown to many of his friends, co-workers and readers of the award-winning column he wrote for 22 years. . . .” A fund-raiser was planned for Saturday night.

John Yearwood is joining Politico Tuesday as deputy editor for agriculture and trade, working with P.J. Joshi, editor for trade and agriculture, the Washington-based news organization announced Dec. 6. Most recently, Yearwood was president of his own Yearwood Media, a media consultancy that specializes in emerging markets. Previously, he spent almost 13 years as the Miami Herald’s world editor, and was on the executive board of the Vienna-based International Press Institute and the National Association of Black Journalists.

“Sinclair Broadcast Group is dropping former Donald Trump aide Boris Epshteyn as a commentator, NBC News reported Wednesday,” Pam Vogel wrote Wednesday for Media Matters for America. “Since 2017, Media Matters has watched Epshteyn’s ‘must run’ segments and called out his worst moments, regularly prompting media coverage of the propaganda Sinclair was airing around the country. . . . “

“Fox News contributor Dan Bongino recently appeared in a campaign video for President Donald Trump and has been getting money from Republican groups to appear at fundraisers. Fox News has claimed that it does not condone ‘talent’ participating in campaign events, a policy that reportedly includes contributors,” Eric Hananoki reported Tuesday for Media Matters for America.

“Jordan Peele’s Us has been named this year’s Best Film by the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA),” Denise Petski reported Tuesday for Deadline. “The film, which earned over $255 million globally, received three total wins including Peele for Best Director and Lupita Nyong’o for Best Actress. . . . In other awards, Eddie Murphy received the organization’s Best Actor honor for Dolemite Is My Name. Supporting actor nods went to Jamie Foxx for Just Mercy and Da’Vine Joy Randolph for Dolemite Is My Name. . . .”

“Walt Disney Television is renewing syndicated talk show Tamron Hall for a second season, saying it has been cleared in more than 80% of the country,” Dade Hayes reported Thursday for Deadline. He also wrote, ” Stations carrying the show include those in the ABC Owned Television Stations Group and Hearst Television’s portfolio. . . .”

“The need for a new moral and cultural compass is why I and my co-founder Kimberly Griffin are announcing a new media project today called the Mississippi Free Press, which, like this newspaper, is named in homage to a Civil Rights Movement newspaper in Jackson produced and printed by a multiracial group from Medgar Evers to Hazel Brannon Smith,” Donna Ladd reported Dec. 3 for the Jackson (Miss.) Free Press, which she co-founded. “Medgar was killed for his efforts to defy the white status quo, and Hazel died penniless for it. But they did it anyway. . . . The Mississippi Free Press, launching in 2020, will be a new nonprofit website that supports deep, contextual, solutions journalism around the state. . . .”

Alex Tizon (Credit: Melissa Tizon)

Alex Tizon “reported for The Seattle Times for 17 years and served as the Los Angeles Times’ Seattle bureau chief for five more. He shared the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting with Seattle Times reporters Eric Nalder and Deborah Nelson for exposing corruption in a federal housing program for Native Americans,” Erica Browne Grivas wrote Dec. 6 for the Seattle Times. “He died of natural causes in 2017 at age 57. Tizon made his career writing stories often left untold, and last month, a collection of his published stories, ‘Invisible People: Stories of Lives at the Margins,’ compiled many of his most powerful narratives in one text. . . . Colleagues from across the industry introduce each piece in the collection. . . .”

“The name Muhammad has broken into a parenting website’s top 10 list of most popular baby boy names for the very first time,” Carol Kuruvilla reported Dec. 9 for HuffPost. “The name, which honors Islam’s final prophet, the Prophet Muhammad, crawled from 14th place in 2018 to 10th place in 2019, according to data collected from U.S. parents by BabyCenter. . . .”

“The 49ers have suspended Tim Ryan, their radio color analyst, over comments he made on a Bay Area sports talk radio show Monday in which he said Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is black, is exceptional at faking handoffs because of his ‘dark skin color with a dark football, ‘ ” Matthias Gafni and Lauren Hernández reported Dec. 5 for the San Francisco Chronicle. “He’s really good at that fake, Lamar Jackson, but when you consider his dark skin color with a dark football with a dark uniform, you could not see that thing,” Ryan said on air. “I mean, you literally could not see when he was in and out of the mesh point, and if you’re a half step slow on him in terms of your vision, forget about it, he’s out of the gate.”

“Chicago’s WTTW has launched an ambitious content initiative examining the devastating personal toll that gun violence takes from its victims,” Jill Goldsmith reported Nov. 27 for Current. “Firsthand: Gun Violence is anchored by documentary profiles of five Chicagoans: two grieving mothers, a traumatized high school student, a shooting survivor and a former gang member who now does outreach work with men at high risk of violence. . . .”

Julian Wyllie has joined Current, which reports on public media, as a reporter covering public television and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. “A former online news reporter for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, he has completed several editorial internships and fellowships in Washington, D.C.,” Karen Everhart reported for Current on Nov. 26. “In June 2017, Wyllie became a City Accelerator Journalism Fellow with Governing Magazine, and he went on to intern with The Chronicle of Higher Education and AARP. . . .”

In an interview with Esquire magazine, 82-year-old actor Billy Dee Williams said, “And you see, I say ‘himself’ and ‘herself,’ because I also see myself as feminine as well as masculine. I’m a very soft person. I’m not afraid to show that side of myself.” As Kelley L. Carter reported Dec. 4 for the Undefeated, “Media outlets — so many media outlets! — picked that quote up and ran with it. Williams, they reported, is gender fluid. People praised him. Oh, how they praised him. Thing is, Williams has no idea what that means. . . .”

“From the Yellow Vests in France to demonstrations in Lebanon, Gaza, Chile, Ecuador and Haiti, sustained movements all over the planet have taken to the street demanding change. Yet US corporate media have been disproportionately interested in only one: the Hong Kong protests,” Alan MacLeod wrote Dec. 6 for Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting. “As FAIR argued previously (FAIR.org, 10/26/19), this disparity in coverage can largely be explained by understanding who is protesting and what they are protesting against. . . .”

“The Washington Post today launched the first episode of ‘El Washington Post,’ its Spanish-language podcast that will explore the top stories shaping the world,” the Post announced Dec. 3. “Produced from The Washington Post newsroom, the podcast is hosted by Juan Carlos Iragorri, an Emmy Award-winning journalist and author with more than 30 years of experience in print, radio and television. . . .”

Michele Norris, who spent 13 years at NPR, including as co-host of “All Things Considered,” “has agreed to become a Post Opinions contributor and consultant [at the Washington Post], effective immediately,” the Post announced Dec. 3.

“The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Crivella, severed city hall’s relations with newspaper O Globo, the largest in the city and edited by Grupo Globo, the largest communication group in the country,” Júlio Lubianco reported Dec. 4 for the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. “As a practical effect, on Dec. 3, two journalists from the outlet were prevented from attending a press conference about the city’s New Year’s Eve party, which annually attracts millions of tourists from Brazil and around the world. . . .”

“Cuban authorities should stop barring journalist Luz Escobar from leaving her home, and cease harassing independent journalists in the country,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. “Beginning on November 16, authorities have repeatedly barred Escobar, a reporter for the independent Cuban news website 14yMedio, from leaving her home in Havana, according to news reports and tweets by Escobar. . . . Escobar told CPJ in a phone interview that authorities often prevent independent journalists from working on ‘significant dates’ either by detaining them or stopping them from exiting their homes. She called the practice ‘random house arrest, without any process,’ and said that she has not been made aware of any charges filed against her. . . .”

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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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