Articles Feature

Neo-Nazis Said to Target Journalists

by richard04143

Arrest Could Be Linked to ‘Swatting’ of Pitts
Photos of Black Candidates at Issue in Flint
Given Racism, Royal Move Shouldn’t Surprise
Fox Debuts ‘Fox Soul’ Streaming Channel . . .
. . . Princell Hair Helps Black News Channel
Marathon Surgery After Reporter Hit by Truck
Pioneer Meteorologist Bacon-Bercey Dies at 90
S.F. Reporter Vic Lee Retiring After 50 Years
Short Takes

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John William Kirby Kelley, 19, appeared in federal court Friday in Alexandria, Va., and was charged with conspiracy. (Credit: WTTG-TV)

Arrest Could Be Linked to ‘Swatting’ of Pitts

Federal investigators on Friday arrested a Virginia man accused of being part of a neo-Nazi group that targeted hundreds of people, including journalists, in “swatting” attacks, wherein fake bomb threats, hostage situations and other violent scenarios are phoned in to authorities to get a large police response, drawing SWAT teams into possibly dangerous situations.

Syndicated Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. was subject to one such attack last year, though he is not named in the affidavit filed Thursday by an FBI agent in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va.

However, in July, cybersecurity columnist Brian Krebs, a former Washington Post reporter, detailed “the activities of a loose-knit group of individuals who had targeted hundreds of individuals for swatting attacks, including federal judges, corporate executives and almost three-dozen journalists (myself included).”

Krebs wrote then, “At issue is a site called the ‘Doxbin,’ which hosts the names, addresses, phone number and often known IP addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and other sensitive information on hundreds of people — and in some cases the personal information of the target’s friends and family.

“A significant number of the 400+ entries on the Doxbin are for journalists (32 at last count . . . ), although the curators of Doxbin have targeted everyone from federal judges to executives at major corporations. In January 2019, the group behind Doxbin claimed responsibility for doxing and swatting a top Facebook executive.

“At least two of the journalists listed on the Doxbin have been swatted in the past six months, including Pulitzer prize winning columnist Leonard G. Pitts Jr. (pictured).

“In some cases, as in the entries for reporters from CNN, Politico, ProPublica and Vox, no reason is mentioned for their inclusion. But in many others, the explanation seems connected to stories the journalist has published dealing with race or the anti-fascist (antifa) movement.

“ ‘Anti-white race/politics writer,’ reads the note next to Pitts’ entry in the Doxbin. . . .”

Pitts described his experience in a July 2 column in the Herald.

“Sunday morning at 4:48, I was awakened by a call from the police department in Bowie, the D.C. suburb where I live.

“It seems a 911 caller told them I had murdered my wife and vowed to kill police when they responded. My ‘murdered’ wife sat up in confusion as the caller ordered me to stay on the phone and exit the house. I opened my front door into blinding spotlights and an amplified voice instructing me to drop my phone and walk forward, hands away from my body, then go down on my knees, whereupon I was cuffed and taken to stand behind a police cruiser.

“It took maybe half an hour for them to clear the rest of my family from the house and satisfy themselves there was no crime here. No, the only crime was the fake 911 call itself, the latest in a trend called ‘swatting’ — as in a police Special Weapons and Tactics or SWAT team — where officers are sent to the door of some unsuspecting person. It’s happened to Rihanna, Simon Cowell and Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg. Now it’s happened to me. . . .”

Pitts messaged Journal-isms Tuesday, “I have not a clue” whether the arrest of John William Kirby Kelley is related to his case. “Saw my name in the WaPo piece, but wasn’t sure how seriously to take it. The police haven’t really kept me in the loop. I didn’t even know about the arrest until a TV reporter told me about it.”

John Nesky, police chief of Bowie, Md., whose police Pitts has praised, said by telephone of the investigation, “We took it as far as we could” and turned over what his police had found to the U.S. Secret Service. That agency in turn shared its information with the FBI as domestic terrorism, Nesky said. He added that he did not know how much the Pitts case figured in the larger federal investigation.

An FBI spokesperson messaged, “We will not be able to comment as it is an on-going matter.”  

The charge against Kelley: “Conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, that is, to transmit in interstate commerce communications containing threats to injury the person or another.” If found guilty, Kelley could face up to five years’ imprisonment.

Stephanie Ramirez reported Monday for WTTG-TV in Washington, “The FBI says the investigation into Kelley began when the Old Dominion University Police Department received a swatting call on November 29, 2018. Investigators say Kelley attended the university.

“The criminal complaint says someone claimed to be armed with an AR-15. The caller also claimed to have placed multiple pipe bombs around the building. Campus police connected this call to another, where someone called-in to apologize for making an accidental phone call. . . .

“In another incident, someone called to make a bomb threat against the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria [during Saturday evening services] on November 3, 2018. The caller claimed they placed three pipe bombs at the location and wanted to ‘blow it up.’ Investigators say there was also mention of a shooting. . . .”

The church, which features four services over the weekend to serve its 9,739 members, who include several black journalists, weathered the crisis by keeping everyone indoors, singing familiar hymns. At one point all went up to the altar and prayed, holding hands.

The right-wing Daily Caller prepared this unflattering video of Flint, Mich., House candidates.

Photos of Black Candidates at Issue in Flint


“Controversy struck following MLive.com-The Flint Journal’s recent coverage surrounding the arrests and convictions of three Michigan House of Representatives candidates – mainly because of the use of candidate mugshots in two of three stories that ran on Jan. 2, 2020,” Ramona Watson reported Jan. 7 for Flint Beat in Michigan.

“While MLive did not remove the mugshots, they did include campaign photos of 34th District State Rep. candidates Sean Croudy and Vincent Lang in response to the backlash. A story was also written about candidate, Michael Clack, but the news agency used a courtesy photograph of Clack instead of a mugshot.

“The issue caused community outcry on social media and moved the Flint/Saginaw Association of Black Journalists (FSABJ) to issue a press statement and reach out to MLive leaders in the Flint office. The statement said the use of mugshots and content of the stories on the past arrests of black, male candidates is of concern.

“ ‘Newsrooms have a moral responsibility to report accurately using ethical standards and reporting fairly without bias,’ said FSABJ President Ebony Stith in a press statement issued on Friday, Jan. 3, 2020. ‘I am glad I was able to talk with Flint Journal’s news leadership to open the dialogue on how we can better serve the Flint and Saginaw community in reporting stories that matter. Stith said she spoke with MLive leaders the day following the incident. . . .”

“If the media paid more attention to Britain’s communities of color, perhaps it would find the announcement far less surprising,” author Afua Hirsch wrote in the New York Times.

Given Racism, Royal Move Shouldn’t Surprise

“The British press has succeeded in its apparent project of hounding Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, out of Britain,” Afua Hirsch, author of “Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging,” wrote Thursday in the New York Times. “The part it perhaps didn’t bargain for, however, is the loss of Prince Harry — a much loved royal and a key part of the family’s global brand.

“In a statement released this week, the couple said they wanted to ‘carve out a progressive new role’ within the royal family and would ‘step back as “senior” members, and work to become financially independent.’

“The British press reacted with surprise at the ‘shock move abroad,’ described variously as ‘seismic,’ ‘selfish,’ ‘rogue’ and ‘an atrocious lapse of judgment.’

“If the media paid more attention to Britain’s communities of color, perhaps it would find the announcement far less surprising. With a new prime minister whose track record includes overtly racist statements, some of which would make even Donald Trump blush, a Brexit project linked to native nationalism and a desire to rid Britain of large numbers of immigrants, and an ever thickening loom of imperial nostalgia, many of us are also thinking about moving. . . .”

​​
Fox Debuts ‘Fox Soul’ Streaming Channel . . .

“Fox Television Stations (FTS) today debuted Fox Soul, a live, interactive and advertisement-supported OTT [over the top] streaming channel, positioned for the African American viewer,’ Mark K. Miller reported Monday for TVNewsCheck.

“The channel’s programs aim to ‘celebrate black culture and highlight the real topics that affect the everyday lives of the African American community through frank and insightful dialogue with local and national influencers.’ ”

. . . Princell Hair Helps Black News Channel

Meanwhile, Gary Wordlaw, vice president of news and programming for the soon-to-launch Black News Channel, told Journal-isms “unequivocally” by telephone Wednesday that “we’re going to launch the network on Feb. 10” and confirmed that Princell Hair, veteran news executive most recently with NBC Sports Boston, is joining him temporarily to help him undertake the launch.

Wordlaw was asked to comment on a report from FTVLive’s Scott James, who, quoting “sources,” wrote Tuesday about the “number of issues” the network decided to push back its launch date “yet again,” to Feb. 10.

 “Sources tell FTVLive that Princell Hair (pictured) has been brought in to steady the ship. Hair is the former President of CNN and has spent years in the business,” Jones wrote.

“According to one inside source, there are a number of issues, including, equipment wasn’t ordered on-time. Vendors haven’t been able to train staff properly because systems weren’t in place. Currently, there is not a graphics package and the launch on February 10th is not an option as they’ve had lots of penalty payments for delays already. The main studio in Tallahassee, Florida is a mess and only uses robotic cameras. The floors are already bubbling and it has been worked on several times since it was completed. . . .”

Wordlaw replied, “I am one person . . . it’s impossible for me to be in all places all the time. If someone at FTV Live had taken the time” to call, “they would have gotten a much better story.”  

Hair, who was with Wordlaw in his Tallahassee, Fla., office, said he left NBC at the end of the year. He was senior vice president and general manager for NBC Sports Boston. Hair has also been senior vice president and general manager of CSN New England, the NBC Sports Regional Network that is “serving New England’s passionate fan base that stretches across six states,” according to a news release.

Before that, Hair was senior vice president of news and talent for NBC Sports Group, senior vice president of news operations and studio programming for Comcast SportsNet, and held senior news programming positions with Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS) and Viacom.

Hair served as senior vice president of Turner Broadcasting’s Strategic Planning Group, senior vice president of program and talent development for CNN Worldwide, and executive vice president and general manager of CNN/U.S., “where he was responsible for the network’s day-to-day news operation, encompassing all aspects of programming and production, including oversight of CNN.com’s U.S.-based operations,” according to a Comcast news release when he joined that company in 2008. Comcast owns NBC.
​

Brandon Walker, reporter at KPRC-TV in Houston, says family and friends “Delivered smoothies. Changed my socks when I couldn’t move. Gave me water. Sat and talked. Loved me.” (Screenshot from Facebook)

​​

Marathon Surgery After Reporter Hit by Truck


“KPRC 2 reporter Brandon Walker shared on social media that he was hit by a truck last week in Houston,” Danny Hermosillo reported Friday for Chron.com and the Houston Chronicle. “Now he’s thankful to be alive to tell his story, he stated on his Facebook page:

” ‘Last week, a truck hit me as I walked within a crosswalk. I don’t remember much: lights out, the sound of a siren, and a voice, which explained, “You’re on your way to Ben Taub Hospital. A truck hit you.”

” ‘Walker said doctors performed a marathon surgery to reassemble his fractured face. He said he also suffered broken ribs. He was discharged Thursday. . . .”

Hermosillo also wrote, “Walker wrote that thankfully he can now walk, talk and feel.

” ‘I’ll be off the air recovering for the next few months,’ Walker told his fans.  ‘My jaw is partially shut, as doctors had to reset it, and I’ve a temporary palate tacked to the roof of my mouth, which was split. I broke my nose, fractured cheekbones, and my forehead.’

” ‘Despite the road ahead, I cannot stress how thankful I am to be alive,’ Walker wrote. ‘Better yet, I cannot stress how thankful I am to live.’ “

​

(Credit: KSN-TV)

Pioneer Meteorologist Bacon-Bercey Dies at 90

“June Bacon-Bercey, who by many accounts became the first African-American woman to deliver the weather on television as a trained meteorologist, died on July 3 at a care facility in Burlingame, Calif., her family announced recently,“ Daniel E. Slotnik reported Jan. 7 for the New York Times. “She was 90.

“Her daughter Dail St. Claire said the cause was frontotemporal dementia.

“Ms. Bacon-Bercey had worked as a meteorologist at WRC-TV in Washington — though without delivering weather forecasts on the air — when she was hired in 1971 to be a reporter for an NBC affiliate in Buffalo, N.Y., WGR-TV (today WGRZ).

“She became an on-air meteorologist a year later, after the station’s weather anchor was arrested and charged with robbing a bank to pay off gambling debts.

“ ‘All hell broke loose at the station when our weather guy robbed the bank, and they needed someone who was there to fill in for the day,’ Ms. Bacon-Bercey was quoted as saying by The San Francisco Chronicle in 2000. ‘I already knew from my calculations that there was going to be a heat wave. When the heat wave hit the next day, the job was mine.’

“Other black women, among them Dianne White Clatto and Trudy Haynes, had delivered weather reports on television almost a decade before Ms. Bacon-Bercey did. But she was the first black woman to do so who was also a trained meteorologist, according to various sources. . . .”

Slotnik also wrote, “Dorothy Tucker, the president of the National Association of Black Journalists and an investigative reporter for CBS News in Chicago, wrote in an email that ‘June Bacon-Bercey was the personification of the word trailblazer’ and that she had ‘opened doors for not just people of color but women in meteorology and broadcast.’ ”

Vic Lee’s series on the hidden health hazards in Silicon Valley’s semiconductor industry earned him the George Polk Award for best local TV reporting. A story on the exploitation of Japanese tourists in San Francisco prompted state and federal criminal investigations. (Credit: KGO-TV)

S.F. Reporter Vic Lee Retiring After 50 Years

“One of the first Asian Americans in the nation to appear on television as a reporter has retired after 50 years,” Randall Yip posted Thursday for AsAmNews.

“Vic Lee is well known in the San Francisco Bay Area, but his impact has been felt nationwide.

“Lee has worked for the New York Times, KRON-TV and for the last 15 years, ABC7. He is known for his quick wit and hard hitting reports. He has broken many stories in the city and earned the respect of both police and city leaders for his fair reports and tough questions.

“ ‘I have been watching Vic Lee on television since I was a kid, And he has always been just [straightforward], providing the information, giving the news and you could always trust his reporting,‘ said San Francisco Mayor London Breed to ABC7 News. . . .

“Vic who grew up in Japan and speaks fluent Cantonese has made it his mission to cover the Chinese community. He credited affirmative action for giving his career a boost and said he entered journalism at a time viewers didn’t see a lot of Asian faces, particularly Asian American men. . . .”

Short Takes

  • “USA Today is looking to make deeper connections with Spanish speakers by launching a new series in English and Spanish,” Kayleigh Barber reported Jan. 7 for Digiday. “The project, called Hecho en USA, will tell stories about the lives of Spanish-speaking Americans. Right now, USA Today’s national enterprise editor Cristina Silva, said the project will aim to publish a baseline of two long form reported pieces each month, which will cover topics including Latinos being the only growing demographic of students going to college and this demographic representing only 1% of elected officials in the U.S. . . .”
  • At a celebration Thursday of Will Sutton’s joining the New Orleans Advocate/NOLA.com as a columnist, “We announced what we believe is the first high school NABJ student group!” Sutton, a former president of the National Association of Black Journalists, messaged Journal-isms Saturday. “It’ll be at my high school, St. Augustine High School, and there will be 25 student members. I’ll advise and serve as a general mentor, working with St. Aug alums and others in the media. New Orleans ABJ and Loyola NABJ chapters will help.” Sutton said later that the group cannot be an official chapter yet but is working with NABJ leaders on “next steps.”
  • “Joaqlin Estus and Dalton Walker will join Indian Country Today as national correspondents,” Aliyah Chavez reported Friday for the publication. “Estus, Tlingit, will report from Indian Country Today’s Alaska bureau located at Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage. . . . Estus is coming out of retirement to accept the job as national correspondent. . . . .Walker, Red Lake Anishinaabe, will report from Phoenix. Indian Country Today located at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. . . .”
  • With redesign of journal-isms.com accomplished, Journal-isms is seeking someone to maintain the site. Must be familiar with WordPress. Those interested may make contact via < https://www.journal-isms.com/contact/>.

  • “Netflix will make its presence felt at the 51st NAACP Image Awards next month,” the Associated Press reported Thursday. “The streaming giant on Thursday garnered the most nominations with 42, including for Ava DuVernay’s limited series ‘Whey They See Us’ and the Eddie Murphy-led film ‘Dolemite is My Name.’ Thirty of Netflix’s nominations came in television categories and the rest were for its film releases. . . . The awards honoring entertainers and writers of color will be held Feb. 22 in Pasadena, California. The show will be televised for the first time on BET. . . .”
  • Dred Scott Keyes (pictured), longtime journalist and producer for WBAI-FM in New York, died Dec. 18 at 68, “Democracy, Now” reported Dec. 31. “He won multiple awards from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters for his radio documentaries ‘The Gospel Truth: The Sam Cooke Story,’ ‘Sweet Soul Music: The Roots of Southern Soul Music’ and ‘Malcolm X Speaks to the Midnight Ravers.’ Keyes also engineered and mixed the George Polk Award-winning documentary ‘Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria’s Oil Dictatorship.’ At WBAI, he was known for mentoring fellow journalists and producers. . . .”
  • “Manuel Smith returns to his hometown as Managing Editor for CBS’ KYW,” the subscription-only NewsBlues reported Jan. 8, refering to Philadelphia. “He was an assignment editor at WCAU there before leaving in August to work on the assignment desk at the NBC bureau in New York. . . .” Smith is also president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists.
  • Reporters Without Borders said Friday it was “appalled by the increasingly deadly environment for local reporters covering the political situation in Iraq, where two more journalists were shot dead after covering anti-government protests in the southeastern city of Basra on 10 January.” Ahmad Abdelsamad, a reporter for the Iraqi TV channel Dijlah TV, and his cameraman, Safaa Ghali, were shot in their car by unidentified gunmen.
  • “Authorities released Venezuelan freelance photographer Jesús Medina Ezaine from Ramo Verde military prison late in the evening of Jan. 6,” Teresa Mioli reported Jan. 7 for the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. “He must appear before the courts every eight days and cannot leave the country, according to the National Association of Journalists in Caracas.” Mioli also quoted the Committee to Protect Journalists. ” ‘Jesús Medina should not have spent one night in prison. It is inexcusable that Venezuelan authorities held him for sixteen months without a trial,’ Natalie Southwick, CPJ Central and South America Program Coordinator, said via a press release. ‘Authorities must immediately drop all charges against Medina and stop detaining critical journalists.’ . . . ”

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