Articles Feature

Native Americans Win — Santorum Out at CNN

by richard03523

‘None of the Anchors Wanted to Book Him’

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‘None of the Anchors Wanted to Book Him’

“CNN has terminated its contract with senior political commentator Rick Santorum after racist, inaccurate remarks he made about Native Americans, HuffPost has learned,” Jennifer Bendery reported for HuffPost on Saturday.

“Santorum, a former Republican senator and two-time failed GOP presidential candidate, sparked outrage last month after claiming there was ‘nothing’ in America before white colonizers arrived and that Native people haven’t contributed much to American culture, anyway. . . .”

It was a rare victory for Native Americans in media, and it comes amid a debate over how much American history is being told and portrayed accurately, specifically concerning people of color.

Fawn Sharp, president of the National Congress of American Indians, said in a statement that CNN’s decision upholds the network’s profound responsibility to cover racial discourse equitably and responsibly.

“I am thrilled that CNN is ensuring that justice is served,” President Sharp said. ‘This was never a matter of if a decision would be made; it was only a matter of when. I look forward to continuing to be a resource for CNN as the network works to combat racist and inaccurate narratives’

“President Sharp emphasized the importance of partnerships with American Indian tribes, journalists, and media to develop creative solutions that address inaccurate portrayals of Indigenous peoples and Native erasure in the media,” the statement said.

Bendery continued, ” ‘We birthed a nation from nothing. I mean, there was nothing here,’ Santorum told students during remarks at a Young America’s Foundation event. ‘I mean, yes, we have Native Americans, but candidly, there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture.’

“Prominent Indigenous-led organizations including the National Congress of American Indians and Illuminative have spent weeks demanding that CNN fire Santorum over his remarks. National civil rights groups have also called for his firing. CNN has stayed silent on the matter.

“But on Saturday, a CNN senior executive told HuffPost that the network quietly ended its contract with Santorum this week. This executive, who requested anonymity to speak openly, said the decision to cut ties with Santorum came after he went on one of the network’s shows, ‘Cuomo Prime Time,’ to explain himself shortly after he made his racist comments. He blew it, said this executive, and after that, nobody at the network wanted to keep him around.

“ ‘Leadership wasn’t particularly satisfied with that appearance. None of the anchors wanted to book him,’ said the executive. ‘So he was essentially benched anyway.’ . . .”

Backing for Hannah-Jones Steamrolls

May 20, 2021

Friday Update: Hedge Fund Takeover of Tribune Publishing Approved

Knight Foundation Is an ‘Enthusiastic Supporter’
A Look at Stories ‘Excluded From History Books’
. . . NBC News to Focus on 1921 Tulsa Riots
AP Fires Jewish Writer Who Was Pro-Palestinian
Fox News Ties Black Lives Matter, Hamas
In U.S. and in Haiti, Publisher Is Leaving His Mark

Updated May 21

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Friday Update: Hedge Fund Takeover of Tribune Publishing Approved

“Tribune Publishing shareholders voted Friday to approve hedge fund Alden Global Capital’s $633 million purchase of the Chicago-based newspaper chain” Robert Channick reported for the Chicago Tribune.

“The deal, which is expected to close by June 30, will take Tribune Publishing private and add the Chicago Tribune and other major dailies to the Alden portfolio, making the New York-based hedge fund the second-largest newspaper owner in the U.S. behind Gannett. . . .

“In addition to the Chicago Tribune, Tribune Publishing owns The Baltimore Sun; the Hartford (Connecticut) Courant; the Orlando (Florida) Sentinel; the South Florida Sun Sentinel; the New York Daily News; the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland; The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania; the Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia; and The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia. . . .”

The Orlando Sentinel editorialized last month, “Alden’s history with newspaper ownership is akin to a biblical plague of locusts — it devours newsroom resources to maximize profits, leaving ruin in its wake.“

The University of North Carolina trustees met at 9 a.m. Thursday.(Credit: @ESMcIntyre, Twitter)

Knight Foundation Is an ‘Enthusiastic Supporter’

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which funds the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to be filled by Nikole Hannah-Jones, is urging university trustees to reconsider their decision to bow to conservative pressure and deny Hannah-Jones tenure.

The foundation thus joins students, journalists and faculty members at UNC and elsewhere in questioning the trustees’ decision.

Hannah-Jones (pictured) is the prime force behind “The 1619 Project,” which has become the focus of a culture-war debate over the framing of American history. Last year, the UNC alumna was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the judges said, “For a sweeping, provocative and personal essay for the ground-breaking 1619 Project, which seeks to place the enslavement of Africans at the center of America’s story, prompting public conversation about the nation’s founding and evolution.”

Joe Killian and Kyle Ingram of NC Policy Watch reported Wednesday that “following political pressure from conservatives who object to her work on ‘The 1619 Project’ for The New York Times Magazine, the school changed its plan to offer her tenure — which amounts to a career-long appointment. Instead, she will start July 1 for a fixed five-year term as Professor of the Practice, with the option of being reviewed for tenure at the end of that time period.”

As Martha Quillin and Kate Murphy of the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., reported Thursday, “The outrage from faculty, students and professional journalists stems from the fact that previous Knight Chairs have always been tenured positions at UNC’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

Responding to an inquiry from Journal-isms, Alberto Ibargüen (pictured), president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, issued this statement Thursday:

“The Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of North Carolina started as a professorship in 1984 to teach advertising. It was subsequently converted to the Knight Chair in Digital Advertising and Marketing, and then to the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Reporting. Each change was proposed by UNC/Journalism and agreed to by Knight Foundation.

“Respecting the academic independence of each school where Knight Foundation has funded endowed chairs, the foundation has no role in the appointment of a given individual. The foundation, however, has a continuing interest in ensuring that the chair bearing our founders’ names is held by someone distinguished in a field relevant in the judgment of the journalism school, and that the chair is accorded an appropriate rank by the university.

“In this instance, UNC Hussman proposed the area of study for the chair be changed to focus on race and investigative journalism. We agreed. When UNC Hussman informed us that Nikole Hannah-Jones would hold the chair, we were – and continue to be – enthusiastic supporters. Hannah-Jones has had a distinguished career in journalism at the highest professional levels and has been recognized as a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship ‘Genius Grant.’

“Knight Foundation’s agreement with UNC calls for a five-year appointment, with tenure review within that period. It is not our place to tell UNC or UNC/Hussman whom they should appoint or give tenure to. It is, however, clear to us that Hannah-Jones is eminently qualified for the appointment, and we would urge the trustees of the University of North Carolina to reconsider their decision within the timeframe of our agreement.”

More than three dozen students, faculty and community members stood outside the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees meeting Thursday to protest the board for not granting tenure to acclaimed journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones. (Credit: WTVD, Raleigh-Durham, N.C.)

In the Daily Tar Heel, the student newspaper, Kayleigh Carpenter and Trevor Moore reported Thursday that around 50 people, including UNC faculty and students and Chapel Hill community members, gathered at 8:15 a.m. Thursday to show their support for Hannah-Jones before a 9 a.m. UNC Board of Trustees meeting.

“The rally was organized by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP and the Carolina Black Caucus in response to the Board of Trustees’ choice to not take action on approving Hannah-Jones’ tenure as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism for the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, which was first reported by NC Policy Watch,” they wrote.

“People lined the entrance of the inn holding signs reading ‘Support Genius not Ignorance,’ “I can give you 1619 reasons why Hannah-Jones should be tenured’ and ‘Nikole Hannah-Jones is all of us #ProtectBlackFaculty.’

“Chapel Hill buses, a cement truck, cars and other vehicles honked their horns in a show of support as they drove past. . . .

“Earlier that morning, UNC student leaders and advocates, some of whom were at the BOT meeting, wrote an open letter to Hannah-Jones that said they cannot ask her to come to UNC, where academics of color, especially Black women, receive minimal respect and a lot of criticism. . . .”

According to the News & Observer story, “During a brief press conference after the trustees meeting, Board Chairman Richard Stevens (pictured) said Hannah-Jones was part of a slate of tenure candidates proposed by Provost Bob Blouin to be considered at the January 2021 board meeting. The board’s University Affairs Committee vets candidates on behalf of the board before the full vote for approval.

“Before that January meeting, trustee Chuck Duckett, who chairs that committee, contacted Blouin with questions about Hannah-Jones. Duckett suggested they have more time to ‘postpone the review and consider those questions in her overall application,’ which is not unusual, Stevens said. . . .

“When asked, Stevens said he did not recall if any other candidates were brought into question. . . .”

A statement from journalism faculty around the country, organized by Jeff Jarvis (pictured), blogger and professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, said that, “the board’s decision is an attack on academic freedom as well as journalistic integrity. It is an act of blatant partisanship and racism in the academy.

“It undermines the authority of the Hussman School dean and faculty and of the University chancellor. It is a personal attack on a journalist we, as journalists and journalism academics ourselves, hold in the highest esteem. It is an act of political cowardice.”

The faculty at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media said in a separate statement, “We demand explanations from the university’s leadership at all levels. Nikole Hannah-Jones does necessary and transformative work on America’s racial history. The national politicization of universities, journalism, and the social sciences undermines the integrity of and academic freedom within the whole University of North Carolina system.”

In a statement Thursday from the National Association of Black Journalists, President Dorothy Tucker (pictured) said, “NABJ has reached out to the university to determine their reason for failing to grant tenure to Nikole. If the speculations are true, then we denounce any decision to deny a distinguished journalist tenure because she simply did her job by reporting facts about slavery in America.

“The university would be sending a message to its students that it does not support press freedom and that seeking the truth and reporting it is not a pillar it believes should be a part of our profession, and that the work of Black journalists, or any journalist, to expose the ills of slavery and its impact on America is unmerited.”

“An Alabama state trooper shot Jimmie Lee Jackson #OTD in 1965,” writes the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. “He’s been called ‘the first martyr’ of the Selma voting rights struggle, and his death inspired activists to march.”
That march became Bloody Sunday,” which led to the Voting Rights Act. (Twitter)

A Look at Stories ‘Excluded From History Books’

. . . Separately, USA Today announced Thursday that “The story of Jimmie Lee Jackson, whose killing by an Alabama state trooper on February 18, 1965 sparked the Selma to Montgomery marches for Black voting rights, kicks off ‘Never Been Told: The Lost History of People of Color,’ which seeks to elevate, through deeply reported investigative and explanatory journalism, the people, places and ideas that are often excluded from history books.

“The project highlights unseen, unheard, unheralded and forgotten stories with newly found records, documents, research and eyewitness accounts. With support from Gannett’s more than 250 local news sites in 46 states and Guam, USA TODAY will publish an in-depth story each month with accompanying video, historical photographs and graphics.

“For the first story of the project published today, USA TODAY’s Javonte Anderson, enterprise reporter for racism and history, traveled to Alabama in April to shine a light on Jimmie Lee Jackson’s legacy. . . .

“Anderson writes, ‘The parallels between [George] Floyd and Jackson were tragic and striking. Both were ordinary Black men who were killed by police. Both of their deaths prompted seismic movements that led to major political change. But there was one major difference. George Floyd’s name and image were everywhere. Rightfully so. People knew about the injustice Floyd suffered, but no one remembered Jackson. Jimmie Lee deserved to have his story told.”

“Unearthing Tulsa: 100 Years Later,” a conversation with New York Times editorial writer Brent Staples, photojournalist Fred Conrad and author and historian Scott Ellsworth was streamed Monday by the University of Michigan’s Museum of Art and the Wallace House.

. . . NBC News to Focus on 1921 Tulsa Riots

“As the country marks 100 years since the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, NBCUniversal News Group will feature extensive coverage of what historians have called the single worst event of racial violence in American history,” NBC announced by email on Thursday. “The cross-platform series Tulsa: The Massacre & the Movement begins on Thursday, May 27 across TODAY, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, NBCNews.com, MSNBC, NBC News NOW,CNBC and Peacock.

MSNBC correspondent Trymaine Lee hosts a digital documentary Blood on Black Wall Street: The Legacy of the Tulsa Massacre, which examines how the violence inflicted on a once thriving economic hub has impacted generations of Black Tulsans. Lee will speak with descendants still struggling financially and emotionally, while they push the city to recognize the role it played. The doc will stream Friday, May 28 on NBCNews.com and NBC News NOW, and will also be available Sunday, May 30 on Peacock on demand.

“Additionally, Lee hosts a special two-part episode of MSNBC’s Into America podcast that traces the century-long financial impact of the massacre through the story of two Black families, as well as the efforts of white Tulsa residents as they face their families’ past. The first episode will be available on Thursday, May 27 and the subsequent one on Thursday, June 3. . . .”

On “NBC Nightly News,” anchor Lester Holt is to report on the ongoing efforts to unearth possible victims of the massacre.

Among other commemorations, the History Channel is airing a documentary starting May 30.

“Executive produced by NBA superstar and philanthropist Russell Westbrook, and directed by Peabody and Emmy-Award® winning director Stanley Nelson (‘Freedom Riders’) and Peabody and duPont-Award winner Marco Williams (‘Two Towns of Jasper’), the documentary commemorates the 100th anniversary of the horrific Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, one of the worst acts of racial violence in American history, and calls attention to the previously ignored but necessary repair of a town once devastated,” the channel announced.

Gazan photojournalist Momen Faiz Quraiqea sits in front of the remains of his media agency office, which was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on May 14. (Credit: Courtesy of Mohammed Quraiqea/Idea Media via The Intercept.)

AP Fires Jewish Writer Who Was Pro-Palestinian

“Emily Wilder (pictured, below), a journalist and 2020 graduate of Stanford University, started a new job as an Associated Press news associate based in Maricopa County, Arizona, on May 3,” Eric Ting reported Thursday for sfgate.com.

“Two weeks later, she was unceremoniously fired by the news outlet after conservatives resurfaced old social media posts that drew attention from Republicans as prominent as Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton. In Wilder’s eyes, her firing is the latest example of right-wing cancel culture.

” ‘There’s no question I was just canceled,’ Wilder told SFGATE by phone Thursday afternoon. ‘This is exactly the issue with the rhetoric around “cancel culture.” To Republicans, cancel culture is usually seen as teens or young people online advocating that people be held accountable over accusations of racism or whatever it may be, but when it comes down to who actually has to deal with the lifelong ramifications of the selective enforcement of cancel culture — specifically over the issue of Israel and Palestine — it’s always the same side.’

“Wilder, who worked with the Arizona Republic upon graduation until this May, became a national news story after the Stanford College Republicans wrote a Twitter thread Monday highlighting Wilder’s pro-Palestine activism in college as well as some of her old Facebook posts. In one post, Wilder referred to the late Sheldon Adelson — who was a Jewish billionaire, Republican mega-donor and staunch defender of Israel — as a ‘naked mole rat.’

“Wilder, who is Jewish, said she would not have used such language today. Not long after the thread started to gain steam on Twitter, Wilder says an Associated Press editor called her and said she would not get in trouble for her past activism and social media activity.

” ‘The editor said I was not going to get in any trouble because everyone had opinions in college,’ Wilder said. ‘Then came the rest of the week.’ “

However, in a conversation later Thursday with Jeremy Barr of The Washington Post, Wilder indicated that the AP was displeased with more recent tweets.

“ ‘It’s really devastating,’ she told The Washington Post in a phone interview on Thursday evening,” Barr wrote.

“Wilder was not told which of her social media posts had violated company policy, she said, just that ‘I had showed clear bias.’ A spokesperson for the wire service confirmed that ‘she was dismissed for violations of AP’s social media policy during her time at AP.’

“But the termination appears to be connected to tweets of hers referencing her advocacy for the Palestinian people and opposition to the actions of the Israeli government.

“Wilder, who is Jewish, said she was an active member of the pro-Palestinian groups Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine at Stanford University, from which she graduated in 2020,” Barr wrote.

“On Sunday, she posted on Twitter her criticism of how the news media describes the situation in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem that has seen deadly conflicts between Israeli settlers, Palestinian civilians and the Israeli military. ‘ “Objectivity” feels fickle when the basic terms we use to report news implicitly stake a claim,’ she wrote. ‘Using “israel” but never “palestine,” or “war” but not ‘”siege and occupation” are political choices — yet media make those exact choices all the time without being flagged as biased.’ “

SF Gate’s Ting also wrote, “An Associated Press spokesperson confirmed to SFGATE that Wilder ‘was dismissed for violations of AP’s social media policy during her time at AP,’ but did not address any other issue Wilder raised, stating that the AP generally does not comment on personnel matters.’ . . .”

A June 6, 2020, demonstration in Dallas over the police killings of George Floyd and Breanna Taylor. (Credit: Juan Figueroa/Dallas Morning News)

Fox News Ties Black Lives Matter, Hamas

“It was irresistible for Fox: ‘Black Lives Matter Says it stands with Hamas terrorists in Israeli conflict,’ ” Brian Stelter wrote Wednesday for CNN’s “Reliable Sources” newsletter. “The problem? It was too good to be true. The non-profit org Black Lives Matter had actually tweeted that it ‘stands in solidarity with Palestinians,’ not Hamas.

“Fox stealth-edited the significant error out of its piece, and only attached a weak editor’s note to the article after I reached out for comment on why it hadn’t done so already. The editor’s note said the headline ‘was updated to more closely reflect the Black Lives Matter tweet.’

“But, as Timothy Burke pointed out, the correction had been made after the article ‘had been syndicated to thousands of affiliates who subsequently made no attempt to correct it.’ Plus, the phrase BLM signals to most people a civil rights movement, not a non-profit group, but Fox’s coverage often ignores that reality…”

(Credit: YouTube)

In U.S. and in Haiti, Publisher Is Leaving His Mark

“Raymond Alcide Joseph is arguably one of the most remarkable news publishers in our industry today,” Editor and Publisher wrote on Tuesday. “In 1971, while working as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, he founded, with his brother Léo, the Haiti Observateur, a weekly newspaper and [now a] 24/7 website that publishes in three languages (Haitian Creole, French, and English). Today, it remains the free voice of the Haitian people.

“For five years, Joseph served as Haiti’s ambassador to the U.S., and during the massive 2010 earthquake, he was essentially the functioning government since the capitol, Port au Prince, was substantially damaged, and the country’s elected leadership could not be reached.

“Joseph is credited by The American Bible Society as the original translator of the New Testament with the Psalms from original languages and French to Haitian Creole. His autobiographical book, ‘For Whom the Dogs Spy,’ reveals Joseph’s insider’s account — having served under four presidents — of Haiti’s struggle to build a democracy during the tyrannical reign of dictator François ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier, who used the legend of voodoo to bewitch the country into fearing him.

“In this segment of ‘E&P Reports,’ publisher Mike Blinder goes one-on-one with Joseph on topics that range from the start of his newspaper and how he influenced change during a cruel dictatorship to his opinions on the importance of a free press, not just in Haiti but here in the U.S. as well.”

Lightfoot Limits One-on-One Interviews to People of Color

May 19, 2021

Says She’s Spotlighting Whiteness of Press Corps
Conservatives Bar Tenure for Hannah-Jones
Univision to Start 24-Hour Live News Service
Kid Reporter Who Interviewed Obama Dies at 23

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Homepage photo by Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot wrote, “The Chicago media leadership must evolve with the times.” (Credit: City of Chicago)

Says She’s Spotlighting Whiteness of Press Corps

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is granting one-on-one interviews only to journalists of color, writing Wednesday, “In looking at the absence of diversity across the City Hall press corps and other newsrooms, sadly it does not appear that many of the media institutions of Chicago have caught on and truly have not embraced this moment.“

Lightfoot added, “I have been struck since my first day on the campaign trail back in 2018 by the overwhelming whiteness and maleness of Chicago media outlets, editorial boards, the political press corps, and yes, the City Hall press corps specifically.”

The mayor also wrote, “There is almost no one in the editorial board rooms or the City Hall press corps who has themselves lived the experience of a woman of color in the City of Chicago. The Crain’s Chicago Business editorial board is entirely white. There are zero women of color on the Chicago Tribune editorial board. Almost all the major television networks in Chicago covering City Hall are led by white News directors.”

The award-winning Black website The Triibe tweeted, “Black Chicago, what questions y’all got?’

But Gregory Pratt, president of the Chicago Tribune Guild, tweeted, “I am a Latino reporter @chicagotribune whose interview request was granted for today. However, I asked the mayor’s office to lift its condition on others and when they said no, we respectfully canceled. Politicians don’t get to choose who covers them.”

Craig Dellimore, a Black reporter who covers politics for WBBM Radio, replied, “I’m afraid I take a different view. I am not disputing the point that ‘Politicians don’t get to choose who covers them’ & I support Greg. But, I think the Mayor’s gesture is doing exactly what it was designed to do. It’s sparking a needed discussion on Diversity among the Media.”

Fox News was among the first to report the development.

Joseph A. Wulfsohn reported late Tuesday night, “NBC 5 Chicago political reporter Mary Ann Ahern took to Twitter on Tuesday to mark the ‘midway point’ of Lightfoot’s first term in office and apparently acknowledged her failed effort to land an interview.

” ‘As ⁦@chicagosmayor reaches her two year midway point as mayor, her spokeswoman says Lightfoot is granting 1 on 1 interviews — only to Black or Brown journalists,’ Ahern tweeted.

“And apparently, Ahern wasn’t the only one.

” ‘I was told the same thing,’ WTTW Chicago Tonight anchor and correspondent Paris Schutz reacted to Ahern’s tweet.

” ‘I can confirm,’ Chicago politics reporter Heather Cherone similarly tweeted. . . .

“Lightfoot was slammed on social media, facing allegations of racism for choosing to speak with journalists solely on the color of their skin. . . .”

Conservatives Bar Tenure for Hannah-Jones

“In her career in journalism, Nikole Hannah-Jones has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize and a MacArthur Fellowship ‘Genius Grant.’ But despite support from the UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor and faculty, she won’t be getting a tenured teaching position at her alma mater. At least not yet,” Joe Killian and Kyle Ingram reported Wednesday for N.C. Policy Watch.

“As Policy Watch reported last week, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media pursued Hannah-Jones for its Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism, a tenured professorship. But following political pressure from conservatives who object to her work on ‘The 1619 Project’ for The New York Times Magazine, the school changed its plan to offer her tenure — which amounts to a career-long appointment. Instead, she will start July 1 for a fixed five-year term as Professor of the Practice, with the option of being reviewed for tenure at the end of that time period.

“ ‘It’s disappointing, it’s not what we wanted and I am afraid it will have a chilling effect,’ said Susan King, dean of UNC Hussman.

“ ‘The 1619 Project’ is a long-form journalism undertaking that, as the Pulitzer Center put it, ‘challenges us to reframe U.S. history by marking the year when the first enslaved Africans arrived on Virginia soil as our nation’s foundational date.’ Hannah-Jones, who is Black, conceived of the project and was among multiple staff writers, photographers and editors who put it together.’ . . .”

When the announcement of Hannah-Jones appointment was made April 26, Hannah-Jones tweeted that she would simultaneously remain at The New York Times.

Univision made its announcement about the news streaming service as it also announced the telenovelas ‘La Desalmada’, ‘Vencer El Past’ and ‘Amor Prohibido’ (Credit: Univision)

Univision to Start 24-Hour Live News Service

“Univision will launch a new direct-to-consumer 24-hour live news service, reaching Hispanics via its new Prende TV free, premium streaming service,“ Erik Pedersen reported Tuesday for Deadline.

“The new channel will offer live news and breaking stories in digital-friendly formats and snackable storytelling content across platforms.”

Pederson also wrote, “Univision expanded its portfolio this year with the launch of PrendeTV, the only streaming service created exclusively for the U.S. Hispanic audience featuring free, premium Spanish-language programming. The service has 1 million active users who spend an average of two hours a week, and it’s on pace for 5 million users by year’s end, the network said.”

Reuters added, “Univision Communications, the largest Spanish-language media company in the US, says advertisers have overlooked Hispanic American audiences for far too long . . .

“To help advertisers target ads to Hispanic audiences, Univision will build an ‘audience data graph’ that uses viewer data from its digital properties and other sources to help brands more effectively target ads to Hispanic viewers, Donna Speciale, president of ad sales and marketing at Univision, said in an interview. . . .”

Damon Weaver returns from the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009 and tells his class what he has learned (video). (Credit: Lannis Waters and Christina Denardo, Palm Beach Post)

Kid Reporter Who Interviewed Obama Dies at 23

“As an intrepid student reporter whose dreams carried him all the way to an interview in the White House with President Barack Obama, Damon Weaver found himself in the national spotlight at a young age,” Julius Whigham II reported Friday, updated Tuesday, for the Palm Beach (Fla.) Post. “It was the Pahokee native’s dream to tell the stories of others as a professional journalist.

“Weaver, who in 2009 became the youngest person to conduct an interview with a sitting president, died May 1 at age 23, his sister, Candace Hardy, confirmed Thursday. She said his death was due to natural causes.

“Weaver was just 11 years old and a student at Canal Point Elementary School when he met with President Obama for about 10 minutes in the White House Diplomatic Room on Aug. 13, 2009, asking 12 questions that focused primarily on education and schools.

“Among their topics: bullying, school lunches, conflict resolution and how to succeed. Weaver finished by inviting Obama to visit his school and asked him to be his ‘homeboy,’ noting that Vice President Joe Biden already had taken him up on the offer.

” ‘Absolutely,’ Obama said with a smile, shaking Weaver’s hand. . . .”

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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@groups.io

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