Articles Feature

Half of Black Journalists Surveyed Cite Racism

by richard0595

Issues: Lack of Advancement, Pitiful Diversity
New Roles for Capehart, Ayman — and Daniels
Politico Editor’s Farewell to Eugene Daniels
NPR Diversity Chief Retiring at Somber Moment

N.Y. Daily News Gives ‘Negro’ Back Its Capital ‘N’
Yankton Nakota, African-American and a Cowboy.’
Gayle King Chosen for Blue Origin Space Flight
Black Press Group Plans Focus on the Missing
Carla Hall Exits, Last on L.A. Times Board
Trump Policies Squeeze Journalists Seeking Refuge

Short Takes: The Black dandy; Lauretta Charlton; Zaydee Sanchez and Latria Graham; NAHJ meeting with members of Congress; Meta apologizes for “BlackPeopleBeingHurt,” other videos; Dorothy Gilliam; Don Lemon; Indigenous Journalists Association partners with The Oklahoman; Candace Owens;

Gulf of Mexico name-change attempt sounds familiar to South Africans; release of Cuban prisoners resumes; Sudanese journalist honored for fearlessness; Vietnamese journalist sentenced; Ghanaian journalists beaten; U.S. questions publication choices in Namibia.

Homepage photo: In 2024, Black Star News published its list of the Top 20 African American Journalists

Support Journal-isms

Donations are tax-deductible.

Many of these students, then part of the National Association of Black Journalists chapter at Syracuse University, are now in the field. In 2015, they hosted Jesse Williams of television’s “Grey’s Anatomy.” (Credit: NABJ Syracuse)

Issues: Lack of Advancement, Pitiful Diversity

Fifty percent of Black journalists surveyed say they have experienced racism at work, according to researchers who say their study “consists of the largest dataset of Black journalists found in the existing scholarly literature.”

“Integrated newsrooms: An examination of workplace satisfaction for Black journalists,” by Sharon Bramlett-Solomon of Arizona State University, Mia Moody of Baylor University and Gheni Platenburg of the University of Houston, was published in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. It found that the largest percentage of respondents, 44.7% (172), felt somewhat satisfied with their jobs. This was followed by very satisfied (22.6%) (87), dissatisfied, 22.1% (85) and very unhappy, the least reported category, at 10.4% (40).”

However, “50.4% (194) of the respondents reported experiencing racism, while 46.5% (179) did not. In addition, 3.1% (12) declined to answer the question.”

The survey was conducted among members of the National Association of Black Journalists from Aug. 8, 2019, to Feb. 28, 2020, via a SurveyMonkey questionnaire.

“Using the NABJ listserv of members, we targeted 3,710 journalists across regions,” the researchers wrote.

“Of those who received the survey, 1,360 (36.6%) opened it, while 393 (28.8%) took the last step and participated. The original sample consisted of 393 cases, but 8 were dropped because they identified as non-Black. Participants identifying as multiracial (i.e. Black and one or more races) were included. . . . the final sample size was 385 Black journalists.”

They also noted, “Other research on job satisfaction indicates that Black journalists are more likely to report being mistreated, with about a third of them (34%) stating that not everyone at their organization is treated fairly, regardless of race and ethnicity. This is followed by 29 percent of Asian journalists and 25 percent of Hispanic journalists — all higher than the 12% of white journalists who say the same (Gottfried et al, 2022) . . . . Power has always been held by White male newsroom executives, resulting in inequities that exclude Black journalists from esteem and status in the news industry (Mellinger, 2003).”

Broadcast/television news staffers, such as those pictured in 2020, were 34.5 percent of respondents, followed by print/newspaper staffers (20.5 percent), online/web/social media staffers (18.3 percent), public relations/advertising professionals (10.7 percent) and radio/podcast staffers (9.0 percent) (Credits: NBC News, MSNBC, CNN, ABC News,CBS News)

On Thursday, Nieman Lab summarized the results, which were published Feb, 2 behind a paywall in Sage Journal. Nieman Lab wrote, “one of the study’s main findings is that job satisfaction for Black journalists is linked to appreciation, competitive salaries, and newsroom innovation — not just diversity initiatives. The authors acknowledge that such factors for job satisfaction are likely to apply to journalists of all races and backgrounds, but that Black journalists may experience these things differently as well.

“And indeed, many respondents reported feeling isolated, facing exclusionary behaviors, and encountering structural limitations in career advancement. Overall, 50% of the journalists surveyed said they had experienced racism at work. As one respondent put it bluntly: ‘Newsrooms are still not diverse enough. … We are sitting at the table in greater numbers but are expected just to shut up and eat, so to speak.’

“Despite these challenges, the study also points to areas of progress: ‘Respondents mentioned the importance of feeling appreciated, receiving positive reinforcement, having competitive job salaries, experiencing empathetic management, fostering newsroom innovation, and investing in Black journalists to help them learn new digital-age skills.’ Ultimately, the authors conclude, the study offers hope that ‘journalists who are happy with their jobs are more likely to have higher-quality workplace productivity and retention rates.’ “

In Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, which is produced by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the researchers also reported:

“In the common experience category, respondents indicated a lack of compensation (salaries, benefits, and time off) as the most prominent concern, with slightly more than one-fourth of Black journalists reporting it as an issue for them at work.

“The next significant category identified was the need for advancement opportunities, as many [respondents] felt overlooked. Participants expressed the importance of being acknowledged when positions become available. They noted that the upper levels of their workplace were predominantly White, indicating that frequently, they were the only individuals of color in the company.

“Poor management (ranging from top executives to newsroom managers and supervisors) and ineffective organizational communication were other common complaints highlighted in the comments, with many respondents indicating that these issues exist at their place of employment. The next most prominent category was story enterprise and concerns over the inability to report on preferred topics, with some respondents indicating that this was a problem. Respondents also mentioned suffering from burnout for various reasons.

“The most common causes identified were a lack of teamwork, insufficient colleague support, and poor time management. In addition, some respondents pointed to a flawed business model, mentioning issues such as a negative image in the community, high turnover rates, and low ratings for the station.

“Factors such as a lack of proper equipment, insufficient communication and remote work all affected newsroom members, regardless of race or ethnicity, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic occurred and many had to work from home.

In 2021, Black journalists discussed work-related trauma at the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. (Illustration by Laura Nwogu)

“Looking at feedback regarding common issues, respondents revealed that while several issues led to low morale among them, complaints about low salaries and the absence of other financial benefits appeared repeatedly . . . . “

They also offered this caveat: “Although our study analyzes a broad range of Black journalists, the NABJ membership is limited, so the results cannot be generalized to all NABJ members or all Black journalists. Still, the study’s findings reveal interesting patterns regarding workplace perceptions and experiences. Knowledge of the industry’s most pressing issues has widespread implications for newsroom management and for identifying tangible areas for improvement and reform in the hiring, retaining and promoting of Black journalists.’

The authors referred to the academic concept of critical race theory, explained as a concept that “examines how messages in society depict underlying ideologies that reflect social relations of domination based on a pervasive yet unobstrusive racial hierarchy.”

They said, “As CRT theorists suggest, further studies are necessary to thoroughly examine the effects of Black job satisfaction in newsrooms. Future research should investigate the dynamics and thought processes of upper management in newsrooms, focusing on their strategies to address the concerns identified in our study.

“Future research might also focus on the management challenges and the unstable economic climate of the news industry. Our study presents a practical approach to understanding the barriers and pathways toward more inclusive and satisfying media work environments.

“This study offers hope. It reveals that journalists who are happy with their jobs are more likely to have higher-quality workplace productivity and retention rates. They are more content when they work in newsrooms that offer good salaries, a friendly environment, innovative storytelling approaches, professional development opportunities, and inclusion initiatives. As CRT scholars assert, we must continue working to understand and address workplace racism to cultivate diversity in the news industry.”

“This week, several headlines claimed that my show had been canceled and that I was leaving the network,” Ayman Mohyeldin said on his show Saturday . “And that incorrect news created a wave of commentary and criticism about which voices can be heard and which cannot on mainstream cable news — especially when it comes to coverage of the Middle East. And it is important for me that I set that record straight.”

New Roles for Capehart, Ayman — and Daniels

March 3 update: “Eugene Daniels confirmed this morning that he will be departing Politico to take a full-time role as MSNBC‘s senior Washington correspondent,” Ted Johnson reported Monday for Deadline.

“The announcement was made on Morning Joe this morning.

“Daniels also will be a co-host of The Weekend along with Jonathan Capehart, as the current hosts Symone Sanders-Townsend, Alicia Menendez and Michael Steele move to the 7 p.m. primetime slot. Another host of the morning edition of The Weekend is expected to be named. . . .”

———-

Jonathan Capehart and Ayman Mohyeldin might have lost their solo-hosted weekend shows on MSNBC, according to reports on the recent network shakeup, but the network says that perhaps lost amid the uproar, each will have his own new show.

In fact, “Mohyeldin called out media headlines which focused only on the cancellation of his show, and not the new expanded program on which he will serve as a co-host,” Joe DePaolo reported Sunday for Mediaite, referring to the “Ayman” Saturday broadcast.

Meanwhile, Eugene Daniels, the Politico reporter who is now president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, is said by MSNBC only to be in talks to co-host a show there, but Politico co-founder John Harris wrote his staff this week, ” I felt sure that a senior television reporting and anchoring role was in Eugene’s future, and this is now coming to pass.”

In addition, Joy Reid, who lost her “The ReidOut” to the outrage of many fans, told a crowd at the 2025 Essence Women in Hollywood Awards on Thursday that Black women are “living at a time of theft.”

To cheers, Zoe G. Phillips reported for The Hollywood Reporter, Reid continued: “Equity is important because we [Black women] come in knowing we have to be better, more educated, stronger, more prepared than anyone else when we walk into a room. And so we are. And so in each of the spaces that we exist, we tend to be the best. And that equity is not just equity for us, it’s equity for these companies and organizations that we serve. It makes their organizations better, and inclusion is just reality. There’s nothing you can do to reverse the tide that is making this a more diverse country.”

An MSNBC spokesman told Journal-isms, “The panel and trio format provide a unique on-set magic and the network is hoping to replicate that again in the mornings on the weekends at 7 a.m., expanding it to three hours, and launching an evening version at 6 p.m. One will be anchored by Capehart in the mornings (and, it’s been reported that Politico’s Eugene Daniels will be the other host though the network hasn’t confirmed yet) and the evening edition will be anchored around Ayman.”

The MSNBC changes have been fraught with racial and political dynamics. Star host Rachel Maddow said Monday it was “unnerving to see that on a network where we’ve got two — count ’em, two — nonwhite hosts in primetime, both of our nonwhite hosts in primetime are losing their shows. … And that feels worse than bad, no matter who replaces them. That feels indefensible, and I do not defend it.” The two are Reid and Alex Wagner, who is Asian American. Though Wagner will no longer have her own show, she will remain with the network.

Capehart, who is Black and gay, hosted “The Saturday Show” and “The Sunday Show,” both of which are disappearing. “I’m moving to ‘The Weekend,’ which will expand to three hours, 7am to 10am on Saturdays and Sundays. I will be joined by two co-hosts, who haven’t been announced,” he told Journal-isms this week.

Mohyeldin’s “Ayman” appears both Saturday and Sunday. The Arab and Muslim press noted Mohyeldin’s ethnicity and Muslim religion. The National, based in Abu Dhabi, wrote, “

“Mohyeldin, an Egyptian-born political commentator who has worked for Al Jazeera and CNN, received praise for his Gaza reporting in 2014, with critics saying it departed from pro-Israel coverage dominating mainstream US media.

“He hosted several shows at MSNBC before landing his eponymous programme Ayman in 2021, in a prime-time weekend evening slot. Mohyeldin will now take on the evening edition of The Weekend.”

The “Ayman” staff learned on Monday that its last episode is likely to air on Sunday, April 20.

But Mohyeldin said on air Saturday, ““This week, several headlines claimed that my show had been canceled and that I was leaving the network. And that incorrect news created a wave of commentary and criticism about which voices can be heard and which cannot on mainstream cable news — especially when it comes to coverage of the Middle East. And it is important for me that I set that record straight.

“I’m not leaving the network, in fact, quite the opposite. Despite the challenging and fearless ways we have covered stories on this show for more than two years, MSNBC has offered to extend my tenure at the company. It has also offered me to launch a new show that gives my voice, and others, more expanded hours of coverage on Saturday and Sunday.”

Politico Editor’s Farewell to Eugene Daniels

From John F. Harris, Editor-in-Chief (pictured):

Team,

I’m writing to share news that Eugene Daniels, an integral part of our Playbook and White House teams and a respected leader in our newsroom and our industry, will be leaving POLITICO to pursue an exciting new professional adventure that draws more directly on his many skills as a broadcaster.

This is almost the definition of bittersweet news. Eugene is a friend and valued colleague. At the same time, as I have watched his career develop, I felt sure that a senior television reporting and anchoring role was in Eugene’s future, and this is now coming to pass. He’ll have more details coming soon on this front.

Given Eugene’s commanding footprint at POLITICO — particularly his work as a Playbook co-author over the past four years — and his current role as president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, it’s easy to forget that he came here seven years ago as a video producer, still new to Washington, DC and relatively new to political reporting.

Eugene’s (pictured) ascent at POLITICO has been rapid, and his work to ensure the excellence of our flagship Playbook franchise has been critical. It’s been a pleasure to see Eugene grow as a journalist and become one of POLITICO’s most recognizable bylines and personalities.

I’m also grateful to Eugene for the important and always thoughtful and productive role he’s played over the years in conversations central to the cohesion and success of the newsroom and the future of the publication; his impact on his teammates and the broader newsroom will be lasting.

While we will miss Eugene, when he came to us a few days ago and told us a full-time opportunity as a television broadcaster was presenting itself, we shared his belief that this was a role uniquely made for Eugene, and we are thrilled he is able to pursue his dream. One reason POLITICO is special is that it is a place where talented young journalists come to sharpen their skills, develop their voices, and master the craft in a newsroom surrounded by other outstanding journalists. I am confident Eugene will carry what he has learned here to the next assignment.

On behalf of everyone at POLITICO, I want to extend our heartfelt thanks to Eugene for his dedication and outstanding contributions. Please join me and Goli [Sheikholeslami, chief executive officer of Politico Media Group] in wishing him all the best in his next chapter.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York hosted leaders of the Demand Diversity Roundtable at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday to discuss a joint legislative and advocacy strategy to fight back against the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. (Credit: Office of Hakeem Jeffries)

NPR Diversity Chief Retiring at Somber Moment

“NPR Chief Diversity Officer Keith Woods announced Wednesday that he would retire after a 46-year career in journalism and 15 years at the public broadcaster, even as the issue he has championed for decades takes center stage in political discourse,” David Folkenflik reported Wednesday for NPR.

“Woods (pictured), who is 66 years old, presented the decision as his own. He told colleagues he had started preparing for his retirement in 2023. He put it off after Hurricane Helene destroyed his home in Tampa, Florida last year.

” ‘After more than four decades in journalism, I’m happy to finally be able to say the words, “I’m retiring,” ‘ Woods said in a statement released by the network. ‘Though the attacks on the work of diversity, equity and inclusion have taken some of the joy out of this moment.’ “

Whitney Maddox, NPR vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, and her deputy, Jasmine Richards, will report to the network’s chief operating officer, the network said, but it was unclear who will perform the functions that did not fall under Maddox.

“Woods took pains to say at a staff meeting today that the timing of his departure had nothing to do with the political moment,” Folkenflik continued.

” ‘I might be doing virtual cartwheels right now, but for the context of my announcement,’ Woods said, citing ‘a withering assault on the values of diversity, equity, inclusion; corporate capitulation all around us; and the treatment of diversity, equity and inclusion as a virus whose carriers must be eradicated. It makes this look like something it is not.’ “

Meanwhile, a coalition of civic and civil rights groups advocating for diversity met Wednesday with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., as part of the group’s follow-up to the coalition’s Jan. 23 meeting in which it vowed to undertake “massive resistance” in the courts and elsewhere to counter the Trump administration’s demonizing of the DEI concept.

Jeffries said in a statement, “House Democrats believe in merit for everyone, based on what you know, not who you know. That’s what diversity, equity and inclusion helps to promote. They are American values based on the words of our Constitution and our national creed — out of many, one.

“The attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion are about denigrating excellence and elevating mediocrity. We look forward to partnering with the Demand Diversity Roundtable in the righteous struggle to push back against far right efforts to turn back the clock.”

On May 31, 1909, the National Negro Committee, an influential group of leaders for social change, held its first meeting in New York City. The organization would later become known as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). (Credit: Library of Congress)

N.Y. Daily News Gives ‘Negro’ Back Its Capital ‘N’

The New York Daily News has restored the capital “N” to the word “Negro,” for decades the go-to word to describe Black people before the 1960s Black Power movement pushed the word aside. (Photo: Daily News of Sept. 26, 2024)

The term that defines the United Negro College Fund, the Negro Leagues and the original “Negro History Week,” now “Black History Month,” appeared in the Daily News last week when Josephine Stratman and Chris Sommerfeldt reported, “Mayor Adams is facing backlash after invoking a comparison to Jesus and calling Black leaders who have urged him to resign ‘negroes’ who need forgiveness from God during a Black History Month event at Gracie Mansion on Tuesday.

“ ‘This is a biblical moment,’ Adams said during the evening event.

“When Jesus was on the cross, he said, ‘God forgive them for they know not what they do.’ All these negroes who are asking me to step down, God forgive them.”

Apparently unknown to the Daily News journalists who handled the story, capitalizing “Negro” — regardless of the opinion surrounding its use — was part of the movement for Black respect in the early 20th century.

David Levering Lewis wrote in his 2000 biography, “W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919-1963,” “As recently as November 1925, the New York Times had once again rejected his plea to capitalize Negro. Denial of upper-case existence in the newspaper of record merely affirmed symbolically the literal denial of the humanity of an entire race — token diminution that both reflected and sustained the cruelest beliefs and actions in the real world. The policy of the Times suited an era in which thirty-four ‘negroes’ were to be lynched in 1926.”
 
Finally, on March 7, 1930, the Times announced, “In our “style book” ‘Negro’ is now added to the list of words to be capitalized. It is not merely a typographical change; it is an act in recognition of racial self-respect for those who have been for generations in ‘the lower case.’ “

“Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Andrew Julien (pictured), Daily News editor-in-chief, messaged Journal-isms Friday. “As the term Negro is generally one we avoid, the question of capitalizing the N was not reviewed in this particular instance. We only used the word in this story because Mayor Adams’ use of it had touched off a controversy.

“I do appreciate you flagging this and I plan to circle back with my editors on this issue so we can address it going forward.”

On Saturday, Julien reported, “we have updated the story online.”

It was a Black History Month moment.

” When did the word Negro become socially unacceptable?” the Jim Crow History Museum in Big Rapids, Mich., asked itself online in 2010, a decade before still another change would prompt decisions to capitalize the word “Black.”  

“It started its decline in 1966 and was totally uncouth by the mid-1980s. The turning point came when Stokely Carmichael coined the phrase black power at a 1966 rally in Mississippi. Until then, Negro was how most black Americans described themselves. But in Carmichael’s speeches and in his landmark 1967 book, Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America, he persuasively argued that the term implied black inferiority. Among black activists, Negro soon became shorthand for a member of the establishment. Prominent black publications like Ebony switched from Negro to black at the end of the decade, and the masses soon followed.”

The U.S. Census followed suit: “The category names often changed in a reflection of current politics, science and public attitudes. For example, ‘colored’ became ‘black,’ with ‘Negro’ and ‘African American’ added later. The term ‘Negro’ was dropped for the 2020 census,” the Census Bureau told us in 2020.

(Credit: YouTube)

‘Yankton Nakota, African-American and a Cowboy.’

“In celebration of Black History Month, meet Lynn Hart,” ICT, formerly Indian Country Today, told readers Feb. 7, updated Feb. 15.

Among others taking note of the month:

“CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King will be joined by Katy Perry, Lauren Sánchez, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, and Kerianne Flynn on the historic all-women mission.

Gayle King Chosen for Blue Origin Space Flight

“For many people, going to space is a goal, though, for the vast majority of people, it feels entirely out of reach,” Panama Jackson wrote Thursday for TheGrio. “For starters — and without becoming an astronaut — how does one even begin the process of ‘going to space?’ Well Gayle King not only started that elusive process, but she’s going! Gayle, along with five other women, will embark on the 11th human flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepherd program. . . .

“Yes, Gayle King is about to get a front row (or window seat) to outer space as part of Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission along with former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen, pop music superstar Katy Perry, filmmaker Kerianne Flynn and award-winning journalist Lauren Sánchez. The flight is slated to launch later this spring.

“Previous crew members on flights to the edges of space include company founder Jeff Bezos, William Shatner, and Michael Strahan, among others; to date, 52 people in total have taken the flight on New Shepherd since its maiden flight in 2021.

“You might also be wondering if this is something that Gayle King has always wanted to do.

“ ‘This was never my dream. It was never my dream,’ said King to ‘CBS Mornings.’ ‘And somebody said, maybe you need to have new dreams, Gayle.’ Well, alright then!

“In deciding whether to take the opportunity — she was invited — she spoke to the folks who mattered most to her: her children and Oprah Winfrey (who surprisingly has yet to do this very thing), who told her, in a nutshell, to not live life with regrets. . . . “

Separately, Oliver Darcy raised ethical questions in his Status newsletter Thursday.

“No one will say who’s paying,” Darcy wrote. “Space tourism isn’t cheap. Some passengers have spent millions, and even joining the Blue Origin waitlist costs $150,000. CBS News has strict policies against accepting ‘gifts and freebies,’ yet one of its top anchors is getting a coveted seat on a high-profile mission while the network showers Blue Origin with glowing coverage. Doesn’t that seem like a conflict of interest?

“If a CBS journalist took a free luxury vacation in exchange for publicity, it would be a clear ethics violation that would land them in hot water with management. A spaceflight is on a much bigger scale. Which begs the question: Who did King clear this with? And why did they say yes?”

The CBS News account of the announcement did not address that issue. CBS spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment.

Black Press Group Plans Focus on the Missing

“The NNPA World News app has unveiled the Missing & Black 2025 Campaign, a nationwide initiative aimed at addressing the glaring disparities in media coverage and law enforcement response to missing Black individuals,” Stacy M. Brown wrote Friday for the National Newspaper Publishers Association.

“The campaign seeks to bring long-overdue visibility, resources, and justice to the thousands of missing Black children, women, and men whose cases are frequently overlooked. . . .

“Statistics from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) reveal that Black people make up nearly 40% of all missing persons cases in the United States, despite representing just 14.4% of the national population, according to the Pew Research Center. Research consistently shows that cases involving missing Black individuals receive substantially less media coverage, resulting in fewer search efforts, diminished resources, and a lower rate of case resolution.

“The NNPA said its Missing & Black 2025 Campaign plans to harness digital storytelling, social media outreach, and community partnerships to challenge implicit biases and elevate the urgency surrounding missing Black individuals. Supporters and interested participants can engage with the campaign by downloading the NNPA World News App, visiting BlackPressUSA.com, or following Black Press USA on social platforms using the hashtag #MissingandBlack2025.

“ ‘The Black community has to stop depending on mainstream white media to fairly and consistently report on missing Black children, women, and men.’ said Carolyn Davis, owner of CDAG International and the architect of the NNPA World News App and the Missing & Black 2025 Campaign. ‘It will never happen. We need to utilize our own resources and networks such as the NNPA to keep these missing individuals in the public eye so they will not be forgotten,’ Davis continued. ‘We need to show the world that you don’t have to be a blonde, thin, White woman to be valued by society.’

“Separate from this campaign, the Black and Missing Foundation, Inc. (BAMFI) — founded by Natalie Wilson and Derricka Wilson — continues its work to spotlight these cases. In collaboration with the Washington Association of Black Journalists (WABJ), BAMFI has launched a media task force to push for fair and balanced media coverage. . . .”

Carla Hall at a conference on homelessness in April 2021. (Credit: David Gaxiola)

Carla Hall Exits, Last on L.A. Times Board

“Carla Hall, the last remaining member of the Los Angeles Times editorial board, announced on Wednesday that she is taking a buyout, ending her thirty-two-year tenure at the paper,” Sewell Chan reported Wednesday for Columbia Journalism Review.

“ ‘I’m leaving because I did not know what the future was for a one-woman editorial board,’ Hall said in an interview. ‘I loved being an editorial writer, feeling that I had an impact on what’s going on in this city, county, and state. I feel passionately about the things I cover — particularly homelessness. I feel passionately about abortion rights. But at this point I was the last editorial writer on board.”

“Hall was the last editorial writer at the Times after owner Patrick Soon-Shiong’s decision to withhold publication of an endorsement of Kamala Harris in the run-up to last year’s presidential election triggered a staff exodus. . . .”

Other board members resigned or took positions in the newsroom.

“Over her years on the editorial board, Hall became known for her coverage of homelessness, as the city has struggled to build and maintain affordable housing while dealing with the acute needs of people living in substandard and overcrowded apartments, and of people struggling with addiction or mental illness. Hall has also written on topics ranging from the Oscars to the LA Zoo. . . .

“Hall joined the Los Angeles Times in 1993 as a metro reporter and was one of three reporters who broke the story, in 2003, that Arnold Schwarzenegger, then a candidate for governor, had faced allegations of groping by several women. (Schwarzenegger was elected governor days later, as voters recalled Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat; Schwarzenegger, a moderate Republican, served until 2011.)

“Hall is also the unit chair for the Los Angeles Times Guild, which reached a historic, first-ever contract in 2019 with the historically anti-union newspaper.”

In all, “More than 40 newsroom employees at the Los Angeles Times have taken the buyout offered by owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, an insider at the legacy newspaper told TheWrap on Thursday,” the website’s Sharon Knolle reported.

In 2023, Reporters Without Borders published this map showing the migratory flows of journalists who are forced to flee their countries for safety reasons, and those that host exile media. Most that provide refuge to threatened or persecuted journalists are located in Europe or North America. (Credit: Reporters Without Borders)

Trump Policies Squeeze Journalists Seeking Refuge

“Uncertainty. That’s the status for many journalists from Latin America living in the United States under different immigration processes, from asylum applications to approvals for entry under humanitarian parole,“ Silvia Higuera wrote Wednesday for LatAm Journalism Review.

“As part of President Donald Trump’s new immigration policies, his administration has eliminated programs such as Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for people from countries like Venezuela; halted humanitarian parole programs for citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela; and made it virtually impossible to petition for asylum on the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Additionally, the U.S. government’s financial aid cuts, through agencies such as USAID, have not only affected media outlets and journalists who received funding but also other projects that supported journalists seeking to leave their countries for safety reasons.

“ ‘There are already effects with Donald Trump’s arrival,’ Angélica Cárcamo, director of the Central American Journalists Network (RCP for its initials in Spanish), told LatAm Journalism Review (LJR). ‘One effect is that funds have been frozen. The International Organization for Migration, which I understand had many funds from USAID, had to freeze them, and people were left stranded.’

“Central American journalists who were selected for the Central American Ascend Scholarships, which also relied on USAID funds, have already been notified their scholarships were suspended or that they will no longer receive funding, Cárcamo said.

“Mariana Belloso, coordinator of the Latin American Journalism in Exile Network (Relpex) of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), also sees a direct effect of funding cuts on journalists seeking to migrate. Belloso said there were also programs funded by USAID aimed at providing legal assistance to journalists facing persecution.

“Political persecution is precisely one of the main reasons why Latin American journalists seek asylum outside their home country, including in the United States, Belloso told LJR.

“According to Relpex records, of the 170 members in the network, the United States is the second-largest host country for exiled journalists after Costa Rica. The countries that most frequently force journalists into exile, based on their records, are Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela and El Salvador. . . .

“Another concern for organizations working to protect press freedom is the cancellation of humanitarian parole. Nicaraguan journalists, in particular, who had used this mechanism not only to stay in the United States but also to reunite with their families, now face uncertainty. . . .”

Short Takes

  • “We have exciting news about Lauretta Charlton (pictured) — she is taking on a big role as our new Africa editor, leading a seasoned team of reporters covering a large and growing portion of the world’s population,” New York Times editors Phil Pan and Greg Winter wrote to staffers Feb. 10. It is likely one of the few times an African American has coordinated a major Western news organization’s Africa coverage. “She joined the National desk as an editor in 2018 and then the International desk in 2020. She was one of the first editors to land in Seoul, where she oversaw the Koreas and southeast Asia, deftly managing a sprawling portfolio with lots of big news and a dizzying number of elections. Under her guidance, we explored South Korea’s past exploitation of women for political and economic gain, as well as its more recent evolution into a cultural juggernaut. A personal favorite of hers was the article she edited on Chinese millennials defying Beijing by doing — well — nothing,” the editors said.
  • “A migrant farming community comes together to rebuild after a historic flooding. A group of transgender Latinx people find refuge and community in one another. An homage to the remarkable legacy of an all-Black caddie corps, whose members guided golf legends to victory while their own excellence was overlooked for generations. These are some of the stories brought to light by freelance journalists Zaydee Sanchez (pictured) and Latria Graham, the latest recipients of Heising-Simons Foundation’s American Mosaic Journalism Prize,” the foundation announced Feb. 10. “The American Mosaic Journalism Prize is awarded annually for excellence in long-form, narrative, or deep reporting about underrepresented and/or misrepresented groups in the United States. Each winner receives an unrestricted cash prize of $100,000.” Jesús Jank Curbelo profiled Sanchez for Palabra, publication of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
  • “In a briefing with House Democratic Caucus leadership and Congressional Hispanic Caucus members organized by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), senior congressional Democrats made clear that, along with Republican-authored Medicaid cuts, the next phase of the Trump administration’s mass deportations would be a focus of their opposition,” Adrian Carrasquillo wrote Friday for his Bulwark newsletter. “ ‘Communities are relying on us to fight back against extremism,’ Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said at the briefing. . . .”
  • Dorothy Gilliam (pictured), who in 1961 became the first Black female reporter at the Washington Post, has given her papers to the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University — where the second of her three daughters is BU President Melissa L. Gilliam, the university’s BU Today reported Feb. 21. “President Gilliam says that when she heard BU had asked her mother about housing her papers, it made perfect sense to her. ‘This University has a long history of championing an array of people committed to free expression, serious inquiry, humanity, and civil rights,’ Gilliam says. ‘My mother dedicated her life to developing the next generation of journalists. Our College of Communication is home to one of the country’s premier schools of journalism. Throughout her life she has strived to see the best in people and help them realize their potential. I have learned so much from her and I am glad that others will too.’ . . . ”
  • “Meta apologized Wednesday night for what it said was an ‘error’ that led to graphic and violent videos flooding the feeds of a vast number of Instagram users, including minors,” Meghan Bobrowsky and Jeff Horwitz reported Thursday for The Wall Street Journal. “A Wall Street Journal reporter’s account featured scores of videos of people being shot, mangled by machinery, and ejected from theme park rides, often back to back. The videos originated on pages that the reporter didn’t follow with names such as ‘BlackPeopleBeingHurt,’ ‘ShockingTragedies’ and ‘PeopleDyingHub.‘ . . . ”

(Credit: YouTube)

  • “Dom Bradley, a paralegal based in Kansas City, is obsessed with celebrity gossip,” E.J. Dickson reported Thursday for New York magazine’s The Cut. “Last December, when the New York Times published Blake Lively’s bombshell allegations of harassment and misconduct against It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni, it was like Christmas and New Year’s wrapped into one. . . . she came across a surprising name: Candace Owens (pictured), the far-right former Daily Wire host. . . . Since Owens started covering the Lively-Baldoni case, her YouTube channel has exploded in popularity, allowing her to attract a much larger fan base than the audience of hardcore conservatives she has amassed over the years. Each episode about Lively and Baldoni racks up at least 1.5 million views; in the past month alone, Owens has amassed more than 450,000 new subs on YouTube, and her total video views have quadrupled since this time last year, according to data from the analytics platform SocialBlade. Over the past three months, her audience on YouTube has also started skewing 65 percent female, according to data provided by a spokesperson — a marked shift from her past fan base. . . .”
  • Via Thursday’s newsletter from South Africa’s Daily Maverick: “After five centuries adorning world maps, the Gulf of Mexico received an unexpected makeover during Donald Trump’s Day One executive order spree. Now the Gulf of America (but only to Americans), this one was straight out of the playbook of South African politicians who have long changed names on maps, hoping they’ll change fortunes too.”
  • Sudanese journalist Durra Mohammed Gambo (pictured), who “has fearlessly reported on some of Sudan’s most defining moments, from the South Sudan referendum to civil unrest, exposing human rights violations and giving voice to those silenced by oppression,” has won the African Editors Forum’s 2025 Laureate of the Service to Journalism Award. “A founding member of the Sudanese Journalists Network and a pioneer of Al Ahdath newspaper, Durra has played a critical role in independent journalism in Sudan. Her work with international outlets such as Al Jazeera, BBC, and Sudan Bukra TV has provided the world with an unfiltered lens into the realities of war, displacement, and the struggle for democracy,” the group said Friday at the Africa Media Festival, hosted by Baraza Media Lab in Nairobi.
  • “A Vietnamese court on Thursday sentenced an independent journalist to 30 months in jail over Facebook posts that criticized the government, according to state media,” the Voice of America reported Thursday, including material from Agence France-Presse. International press freedom groups immediately protested. “The court in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, convicted Truong Huy San (pictured) of ‘ ‘abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state’ through posting 13 articles on Facebook, according to Vietnam News Agency. The trial lasted only a few hours. . . .” Truong Huy San, also known as Huy Duc, spent a year at Harvard University on a Nieman Fellowship in 2012. While abroad, he published “The Winning Side,” a book about life in Vietnam after the war with the United States ended.
  • “Namibian media outlets have reacted with anger and dismay after they were asked by the US embassy whether they were affiliated with western publications whose subscriptions have been cancelled by the US state department,” Rachel Savage reported Thursday for the Guardian. “On 11 February, the state department ordered its outposts to cancel ‘non-mission critical’ media subscriptions as part of the Trump administration’s drive to cut government costs.” An email to The Namibian said, “The embassy was asked not to subscribe to any media subscriptions that do not align with department’s goals, such as making America safer, stronger, and more prosperous, as well as ensuring the safety, security, and welfare of the workforce, and fulfilling statutory or treaty obligations.”

Support Journal-isms

To subscribe at no cost, please send an email to journal-isms+subscribe@groups.io and say who you are.

Facebook users: “Like” “Richard Prince’s Journal-isms” on Facebook.

Follow Richard Prince on Twitter @princeeditor

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@groups.io

About Richard Prince

View previous columns (after Feb. 13, 2016).

View previous columns (before Feb. 13, 2016)

Related posts

Defeated Black Mayor Blames Disinformation

richard

Gangs Kill Haitian Journalists Covering Story

richard

Surgeon General Wants End to ‘Criticism’

richard

Leave a Comment

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.