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Johnson Art Auction Sets Records

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Jack Johnson by Robin Harper (who now goes by the name Kwasi Seitu Asantu)

Journal-isms will appear infrequently until the end of February, while its author is on vacation.

Johnson Art Auction Sets Records:
Black Creations Net Twice the Anticipated Price
Facebook Aids Access to Student Journalists’ Info
AP to Expand Diversity Training After ‘Mistake’
Balta Named News Director at Chicago’s WTTW
Washington Post’s Wesley Lowery Joins CBS
​ . . . Lowery Threatened With Firing After Tweets
Petition Urges Sanction on TMZ Over Bryant Story
. . . Washington Post Reporter Cleared After Flap
L.A. Bureau Chief Vega Out at CBS News
Super Bowl Halftime Show Has Web Buzzing
CJR Examines Intersection of Faith, Journalism
Short Takes

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The top seller was “Moonrise by Kasbah,” a 1912 oil on canvas by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) that went for $365,000. (Credit: Swann Auction Galleries)

Black Creations Net Twice the Anticipated Price

“A collection of artwork that once adorned the offices of the legendary Johnson Publishing Company shattered records left and right yesterday at Swann Galleries,” Caroline Goldstein wrote from New York Friday for artnet News. “The sale marked a concluding chapter in the turbulent history of a much-admired institution that changed the landscape of American magazines with the publication of Ebony and Jet before declaring bankruptcy last year.

“Still, the power of the Johnson name — as well as a growing interest in African American artists who have often been pushed to the art-historical and art-market margins — combined to create what was, in the words of the auction house’s director of African American fine art Nigel Freeman, ‘a perfect storm of an auction.’ The white-glove sale — 100 percent of the 87 lots found buyers — racked up $2.7 million, more than doubling the expected high estimate. . . .”

The top seller was “Moonrise by Kasbah, (Morocco)” a 1912 oil on canvas by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859 – 1937) that went for $365,000. A gallery spokeswoman told Journal-isms, “Unfortunately, we’re not at liberty to release [the names of] any of the winning buyers.”

According to the catalog, “Tanner travelled to Tangier and other cities in Morocco in 1912. This painting shows figures outside the stark, steep exterior walls of a Moroccan kasbah.“

Carrie Mae Weems’ image of Union soldiers marching is a detail from the relief sculpture, a” Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment.” Weems’ “Untitled,” which included this image, was the second-highest seller. (Credit: Swann Auction Galleries)

The second-highest seller was Carrie Mae Weems’ (1953- ), “Untitled,” seven panels of framed chromogenic prints and sandblasted text on glass, 1996-97. “Untitled” went for $305,000.

The catalog states, “Weems sources a rich group of historical images for these panels. The image of the Union soldiers marching is a detail from a Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment, the 1884 bronze relief sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in Boston. The two images of foot washing ceremonies are taken from photogravures by Doris Ulmann in her and Julia Peterkin’s 1933 book Roll, Jordan, Roll.

“The processional image is from a 1941 photograph by Russell Lee [,] Part of the processional of an Episcopal Church, South Side of Chicago, Illinois. Lee was a white photographer who, like Gordon Parks in Washington, DC, was working for the Farm Security Administration documentary photography division. And finally, the central image is from a photograph circa 1915 entitled Portrait of the Morris family, a family which moved to Chicago during the Great Migration and lived on the South Side, in the collection of the Chicago History Museum.”

Goldstein also wrote, “Meanwhile, a portrait of boxing legend Jack Johnson by Robin Harper (who now goes by the name Kwasi Seitu Asantu) also knocked out expectations: the work sold [for] $185,000, 35 times its high estimate. The image ran on the cover of Ebony magazine in March 1978 for an issue dedicated to heavyweight champions. . . .”

Robert Channick reported Sunday for the Chicago Tribune, “The art auction proceeds will be used to pay back former CEO Desiree Rogers for $2.7 million in loans she made to Johnson Publishing and other secured claims against the company.”

Goldstein concluded, “Some may decry the fact that the entire collection will not end up in a museum (although some institutions were likely among the bidders for individuals objects).

“But at least part of Johnson’s legacy will be preserved for the public. Last summer, four foundations teamed up to buy the company’s historic archive for $30 million. They donated it to the National Museum of African American History [and] Culture in Washington, DC; the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles; and other cultural institutions.”

Authorities accuse several students at the University of Puerto Rico of breaking into a meeting of the university governing board in May 2017. Seven were arrested. (Credit: Primera Hora)

Facebook Aids Access to Student Journalists’ Info

As seven University of Puerto Rico students prepare to face trial Feb. 7 for participating in a nonviolent protest more than two years ago, “documents released to their defense attorneys reveal that Facebook granted the island’s Justice Department access to a trove of private information from student news publications,” Alleen Brown and Alice Speri reported Jan. 19 for the Intercept.

“The department’s sweeping search warrant was part of a hunt for crimes committed by members of the youth anti-austerity movement, and it has raised fears among civil liberties advocates of a return to a period of Puerto Rico’s history when police routinely targeted citizens for surveillance on the basis of their political interests. . . .”

Brown and Speri also wrote, “The documents released to defense attorneys provide further evidence of a broad and invasive hunt for prosecutable crimes related to the protests. An agent from the cybercrimes unit of Puerto Rico’s Justice Department sought a search warrant for the records of virtually every Facebook interaction over a 72-hour period with the three publications that livestreamed the protest. The agent obtained private messages with the publications’ followers and detailed information about the student journalists who managed the pages.

“’We consider this to be a violation of our rights as a free press,’ said Marisol Nazario Bonilla, who was Pulso Estudiantil’s director when the existence of the warrant came to light. [Pulso Estudiantil says of its mission, “We report on the events of the country’s universities from a student perspective.”] She told The Intercept that the warrant could have put confidential sources at risk. ‘If this happened to a student media outlet, it could happen to local, national newspapers, or news outlets in general.’ . . . ”

AP to Expand Diversity Training After ‘Mistake’

“A ‘terrible mistake’ in cropping an African climate activist out of a photo sent to customers of The Associated Press prompted soul-searching and some tense staff conversations over issues of racism and inclusion Monday at the news organization,” David Bauder reported Jan. 27 for the AP.

“The AP acknowledged that it aggravated the error through its initial response on Friday, and that it will expand diversity training worldwide as a result.

“ ‘My hope is that we can learn from this and be a better news organization going forward,’ Sally Buzbee, the news service’s executive editor and senior vice president, said Monday. “I realize I need to make clear from the very top, from me, that diversity and inclusion needs to be one of our highest priorities.”

“An AP photographer at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland took a picture Friday of five activists, including the well-known Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg and Ugandan Vanessa Nakate, who were there to discuss climate change. Preparing to send the image, the photographer cropped out Nakate, leaving a picture of four white women before a scenic mountain backdrop.

“The initial explanation for the cropping was that it enabled a close-up of Thunberg, and that it removed a distraction — a building behind where Nakate was standing.

“The image was sent to AP’s customers worldwide by an editor who was unaware that someone had been cropped out. After seeing a critical tweet about it, editors at the AP said they realized it was insensitive and a journalistic error.

“Other photos were sent out that included Nakate. The AP waited more than a day to take the original cropped shot out of circulation.

“A tearful Nakate posted a video on social media saying that when she saw the photo online, ‘it was the first time in my life that I understood the definition of the word “racism.’ She said she felt like her story had been erased.’ . . . “

Balta Named News Director at Chicago’s WTTW

Hugo Balta (pictured), president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and most recently senior producer at MSNBC, has joined Window To The World Communications, Inc., as news director for Chicago’s WTTW News effective Feb. 3, the company announced.

“Balta will have responsibility for leading, planning, reporting, producing, and editing news content and engagement across platforms and in the community, and will serve as Executive Producer of WTTW’s flagship news program Chicago Tonight,” the Jan. 27 announcement said. “Balta will report to President & CEO Sandra Cordova Micek and support the organization’s purpose to enrich lives, engage communities, and inspire exploration. . . .”

“In his previous role, Balta served as Senior Producer at MSNBC overseeing editorial and production of high visibility live television shows, and was a member of the NBC/MSNBC Editorial Board. Balta is a two-time president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), and the only president to serve a second term in the organization’s history.

“Balta was also the Publisher and Executive Editor of CTLatinoNews.com, the only English language news, information, and entertainment outlet dedicated to serving Hispanics/Latinos in Connecticut; and a talent development coach for The NWT Group, improving the presentation of on-air talent and assisting clients in identifying qualified and diverse candidates. Balta has also held production and editorial leadership positions at the Disney|ABC Television Group, ESPN, Telemundo, WCSB-TV in New York, and WTJV-TV in Miami. . . .”

Washington Post’s Wesley Lowery Joins CBS

“The Washington Post announced Tuesday that national correspondent Wesley Lowery (pictured) will leave the news organization to work for a new CBS News show on Quibi,” Andrew Beaujon reported Jan. 28 for Washingtonian magazine. “What’s Quibi, you ask? Here’s an excellent explainer.

 As its name suggests, the show, 60 in 6, will wedge 60 Minutes-style reporting into six-minute segments.

“The projects Lowery’s [best known] for at the Post have been huge data-driven affairs like a police shootings database (for which Lowery and the team on the project won a Pulitzer) and the Murder With Impunity series, a Pulitzer finalist. Lowery, 29, has been a TV talking head for a few . . . years, but when Washingtonian got him on the phone, I said I hadn’t realized he was interested in TV as a form of storytelling.

“ ‘I don’t know that I realized it, either,’ he says. ‘I like going on TV, and I did CNN as a contributor for a few years. But it’s more that my interest has always been finding the best way to tell stories. Because when you tell a big, complicated story on [TV] you have a lot of impact. . . .”

It was announced last month that Noticiero Univision anchor and special correspondent Enrique Acevedo (pictured) is joining the new show as its first on-air correspondent.

“Acevedo will split his duties between 60 in 6 and Noticiero Univision, where he anchors the network’s late evening news program, Noticiero Univision Edición Nocturna, along with Patricia Janiot,” A.J. Katz reported Jan. 7 for TVNewser.

“Acevedo will split his duties between 60 in 6 and Noticiero Univision, where he anchors the network’s late evening news program, Noticiero Univision Edición Nocturna, along with Patricia Janiot,” A.J. Katz reported Jan. 7 for TVNewser.

​ . . . Lowery Threatened With Firing After Tweets

“Multiple sources familiar with the events told The Daily Beast that last year, Post Executive Editor Marty Baron privately clashed with Lowery, a national correspondent who was part of the paper’s team that won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of police shootings,” Maxwell Tani reported Monday for the Daily Beast. “The subject in question: Lowery’s tweets.

“Last year, Lowery posted a series of tweets questioning why a New York Times retrospective about the Tea Party failed to note how the early-2010s conservative movement was ‘essentially a hysterical grassroots tantrum about the fact that a black guy was president?’ (The Times eventually added the racial context to its piece.)

“The tweets were apparently enough to set off Baron, who along with Managing Editor Tracy Grant told Lowery that his tweets violated the Post’s social-media rules and threatened the newspaper’s credibility. In a subsequent meeting, explained to The Daily Beast by two Post insiders, the top editor at the paper told Lowery that he had made overtly political statements about the Tea Party, and had maligned the Times in the process.

“The recourse, Baron suggested, would be for Lowery to become an opinion writer, or work for an advocacy organization. The top editor also threatened to fire Lowery if he violated the social-media policy again. The Washington Post declined to comment.

“Lowery, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Daily Beast, also announced this week that he is leaving for a job at CBS News. Following the initial publication of this article, Lowery tweeted: ‘Should go without saying: reporters of color shouldn’t have their jobs threatened for speaking out about mainstream media failures to properly cover and contextualize issues of race. What’s the point of bringing diverse experiences and voices into a room only to muzzle them?’ . . .”

Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna take in the U.S. women’s national soccer team game against China in San Diego in 2014. (Credit: K.C. Alfred /San Diego Union-Tribune)

Petition Urges Sanction on TMZ Over Bryant Story

An online petition calls on Fox Television Stations to cancel TMZ in wake of a tragic helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others, several news organizations reported Thursday.

“The petition comes after the website leaked the news of Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s deaths this past weekend before authorities say they were able to notify the family.

“As of Thursday afternoon, the petition collected more than 500,000 signatures. . . .

“In an update Thursday, the petition says ‘TMZ’s founder Harvey Levin said that he was in communication with Kobe Bryant’s representatives before publishing the story.’ . . .”

. . . Washington Post Reporter Cleared After Flap

“The Washington Post reporter who referred to a sexual assault charge against Kobe Bryant on Twitter in the hours after his death has been cleared to go back to work,” Rachel Abrams and Marc Tracy reported Jan. 28 for the New York Times.

“The newspaper had put the reporter, Felicia Sonmez (pictured), on paid administrative leave Sunday, saying her Twitter posts ‘displayed poor judgment.’ More than 300 of her colleagues rallied to her defense on Monday, adding their names to a letter addressed to The Post’s executive editor, Martin Baron, and its managing editor, Tracy Grant. In the petition, they argued that Ms. Sonmez had not violated the newspaper’s social media guidelines, a set of rules asking Post journalists not to share opinions online.

“On Tuesday, the paper issued a statement from Ms. Grant saying that, after a review, it had concluded that Ms. Sonmez ‘was not in clear and direct violation of our social media policy.’

“The statement also referred to her tweets as ‘ill-timed’ and continued: ‘We consistently urge restraint, which is particularly important when there are tragic deaths. We regret having spoken publicly about a personnel matter.’ . . .”

L.A. Bureau Chief Vega Out at CBS News

“Word is that CBS staffers are puzzled after finding out that longtime LA  Bureau Chief Eleanore Vega is gone from the company,” Scott Jones reported Friday for FTVLive.

“Many CBS staffers learned of Vega’s fate when they emailed her and got this auto-response in return:

Vega wrote on her LinkedIn profile that she had been bureau chief for 14 years:

“In 2006 I was promoted to West Coast Bureau Chief from Deputy Bureau Chief. I am responsible for a territory that includes eleven states west of the Rockies. I oversee a staff of 50 people in the Los Angeles Bureau and also manage a second bureau in San Francisco.

“I have [led] the coverage of numerous breaking news stories on the [West Coast]: Kobe Bryant’s fatal helicopter crash, Paradise Fires, San Bernardino Mass Shooting, Las Vegas Shooting Massacre, Hawaii Volcano Eruptions, Whitney Houston Death, Michael Jackson death, numerous California Wildfires, mudslides and floods, Napa Earthquake, Thousand Oaks Mass Shooting, and Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers championships. . . .”

Vega joined the Diversity Committee of the Society of Professional Journalists last year. Rebecca Aguilar, who chairs the committee, tweeted, “She was 2nd highest-ranking #Hispanic @CBS.“

CBS News did not respond to a request for comment.

Super Bowl Halftime Show Has Web Buzzing

“Jennifer Lopez and Shakira had social media buzzing Sunday night,” Charles Trepany reported Sunday, updated Monday, for USA Today.

“During Sunday’s Pepsi Super Bowl LIV halftime show in Miami Gardens, Florida, the two stars delivered a set complete with pole-dancing, a children’s choir and a meme-able tongue moment.

“Online, the performance sparked debate: Was it empowering to watch two women of color over 40 performing in a provocative way? Or had we reverted back to a pre-#MeToo moment of objectifying women?

” ‘The @SuperBowl halftime show was just a bad strip show,’ tweeted @AUBeard. ‘We have had so much positive discussion about not treating women like sexual objects, then they go & do this. You can’t cry that women need to be treated better then support this display of sexual objectifying’.

” ‘I’m no prude, but watching it with my 7yo daughter and 11yo son was really uncomfortable,’ @JLMezz wrote.

“User @kevindelong added: ‘I am embarrassed for my kids to watch this halftime show… what the hell,’ he wrote. ‘Stripper poles, crotch, and rear end shots…. no dignity. #SuperBowl #HalftimeShow shame on you Jennifer Lopez & Shakira’

“Others, like @catherineshakes, argued it was ‘OK for grown women to be sexual and fabulous.’ . . .”

CJR Examines Intersection of Faith, Journalism

“This week, CJR has a series of features on faith and its intersection with journalism,” Jon Allsop wrote Monday for Columbia Journalism Review. (scroll down)

“First up this morning, Adam Piore explores the contradictions of Salem, an evangelical-founded media group with a stable of Christian radio stations. ‘This is not a group of folksy Ned Flanders types; the savvy of the men—they are almost all men — running Salem is impressive to behold,’ Piore writes. ‘Which helps explain how it is possible to run a programming network that champions Jesus Christ, eternal salvation, and Donald Trump, all at once.’ To see what’s coming up in our faith series, click here.

The editors add, “A Muslim reporter, finding that sources want to make his religion the story, decides to examine himself. A Christian radio empire reconciles evangelical morality and Donald Trump in order to guide a political movement. In competing outlets, Jews disagree with one another. Atheists get ignored. . . .”

Short Takes

The Freedom Forum’s Power Shift Summit: The Power of Allies (Credit: YouTube)

A scene from Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” the breakthrough film nominated for six Oscars including best picture, director, original screenplay and international feature. (Credit: Neon)
In the last year, Elizabeth Montague has seen four of her cartoons published in the New Yorker, which receives thousands of submissions each week and selects only 10 to 20 cartoons per issue. (Credit: Sarah L. Voisin/ Washington Post)

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