Updated June 13

Expert Calls ISIS a ‘Cult,’ Not Legitimately Muslim

#OrlandoShooting 50 dead, 53 injured. Chief John Mina agrees this is the worst Mass Shooting in U.S. History pic.twitter.com/M4Ak6XdceO

— MSU Spokesman News (@TheMSUSpokesman) June 12, 2016

Expert Calls ISIS a ‘Cult,’ Not Legitimately Muslim

The mass nightclub shooting in Orlando early Sunday that killed 50 people and injured 53 others has some journalists and politicians pointing to the dead gunman’s purported connection to the Islamic State, which in some references is being labeled “radical Islam,” a loaded term that a counterterrorism expert has said mischaracterizes both ISIS and Islam.

As reported in this space in April, the Islamic State is an “apocalyptic cult” that is distinct from legitimate Muslims and promotes a bogus ideology, according to Malcolm Nance, an author and longtime intelligence officer who has followed terrorism for more than 34 years.

Nance, a counterterrorism expert for MSNBC and author of “Defeating Isis: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe,” said the news media had failed to emphasize the repudiation of the group by mainstream Muslims, who have bluntly declared that “ISIS is the enemy of Islam.”

Amaq News, a Syrian news agency with close ties to the Islamic State, reported Sunday, “The armed attack that targeted a gay night club in the city of Orlando in the American state of Florida which left over 100 people dead or injured was carried out by an Islamic State fighter,” RT News reported.

Christal Hayes, Gal Tziperman Lotan, Elyssa Cherney and Naseem S. Miller reported for the Orlando Sentinel, “Omar Mateen — the lone gunman who opened fire inside a gay Orlando nightclub, killing 50 in U.S. history’s deadliest shooting — called 911 moments before the attack and pledged his allegiance to Islamic State, a federal law enforcement official said, confirming earlier reports. . . .”

The Sentinel reporters also wrote, “Imam Muhammad Musri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, urged people to pray on what he called ‘a heart-breaking morning.’ . . .”

In addition, “The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement that said, ‘We condemn this monstrous attack and offer our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of all those killed or injured. The Muslim community joins our fellow Americans in repudiating anyone or any group that would claim to justify or excuse such an appalling act of violence. . . .” Jessica Durando reported for USA Today.

Meanwhile, the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association issued an advisory that said:

“Don’t assume someone’s sexual orientation. If it’s germane to the story (likely, in covering the Orlando shooting), ask how the person identifies.

“Don’t assume someone’s gender identity. If it’s germane to the story (possibly, in covering the Orlando shooting), ask how the person identifies.

“Don’t use gay to include lesbian, bisexual or transgender. It’s OK to use ‘gay’ in headlines for space, but make sure to explain it further in the story.

“Don’t use ‘homosexual’ unless it’s a medical context. Use gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or whatever term the person uses to self-identify. . . .”

Pete Williams, Tracy Connor and Erik Ortiz reported for NBC News, “Because of his name and heritage, there were immediate questions about Mateen’s possible ties to Islamic fundamentalism — but his father said it may have been a recent incident involving two men showing each other affection that set the gunman off.

” ‘We were in Downtown Miami, Bayside, people were playing music. And he saw two men kissing each other in front of his wife and kid and he got very angry,’ Mir Seddique, told NBC News on Sunday. ‘They were kissing each other and touching each other and he said, “Look at that. In front of my son they are doing that.” And then we were in the men’s bathroom and men were kissing each other.’

” ‘We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident,’ Seddique said. ‘We weren’t aware of any action he is taking. We are in shock like the whole country.’

“Seddique added, ‘This had nothing to do with religion.’ . . .”

Republicans on the Sunday talk shows criticized the Obama administration for not using the terms “Islamic terrorism,” “radical Islam” or “Islamic extremism.”

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told CNN that the gay club could have been targeted “because of views that exist in the radical Islamic community,” Lisa Irizarry reported for Newsday.

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump tweeted at 12:43 p.m. ET, “Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!”

“That man’s crazy,” Nance, a self-described “troubleshooter for terrorism,” said of Trump at an April meeting of the Journalists Roundtable, a Washington group. In fact, Nance said, “This is not a terrorist group, it’s a cult” that “doesn’t believe Islam is valid any more. They step back into the 7th century,” believing they should re-enact battles of that era leading to a clash of civilizations. To them, “all 1.6 billion Muslims are apostates.”

In August 2014, Michael Gryboski of the Christian Post reported, “Saudi Arabia’s top religious official has recently denounced the Islamic State terrorist organization, better known as ISIS.

“Following the words of other Muslim leaders, Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh issued a statement Tuesday that was released by the Saudi Press Agency.

” ‘Extremist and militant ideas and terrorism which spread decay on earth, destroying human civilization,’ said al-Sheikh, ‘are not in any way part of Islam, but are enemy number one of Islam, and Muslims are their first victims.’

“The Saudi Grand Mufti’s comments were the latest of several Muslim leaders both religious and secular, from Indonesia to Egypt, condemning the actions and views of ISIS. . . .”

• Hal Boedeker, Orlando Sentinel: Orlando shooting: National TV responds
• Ken Dilanian, NBC News: Why Won’t Obama Say Radical Islam? (June 13)
• Alex Griswold, Mediaite:  Donald Trump Not-So-Subtly Implies President Obama Is a Secret Muslim (June 13)
• Jonathan Martin, New York Times: Donald Trump Seizes on Orlando Shooting and Repeats Call for Temporary Ban on Muslim Migration

Reporter Punched on Live TV; Woman Held

June 10, 2016
‘Excuse Me,’ and Then Two Quick Wallops

Cable News Goes Live for 3-Hour Ali Celebration

Wrongly Jailed, He Sees ‘a Case of Privilege’

Hundreds Tell USA Today Trump Owes Them

Emails Illuminate Questionable Clinton Choice

Rays Sideline Reporter Out After Racial Remarks

More Than 50% of Blacks Now Say O.J. Guilty

The Other Refugees in Europe: African Children

Short Takes

‘Excuse Me,’ and Then Two Quick Wallops

A Philadelphia woman has been arrested after a reporter for the local Telemundo station was assaulted while she delivered a live report Wednesday outside City Hall, police told Journal-isms on Friday.

“Telemundo 62 reporter Iris Delgado was wrapping up her live hit from outside of City Hall in Center City during the 11 p.m. news when a woman approached her, tapped her on the shoulder and said, ‘Excuse me,’ “ (video) Darrell Moody reported Friday for WDBO-FM.

“Delgado, ever the professional, did not flinch. She finished her report, sending it back to the studio.

“As the broadcast cut away to a two-screen shot of Delgado and the anchor, the woman takes two quick swings at the reporter.

“The anchor reacted by saying, ‘Ay Dios Mio,’ ” Moody reported.

Delgado is “fine,” a spokeswoman for the NBC-owned Telemundo said, adding that she did not want to be identified. The spokeswoman also would not comment on why a story about the incident was pulled from the website of WCAU-TV, the Telemundo 62 sister station, or whether the station would press charges.

Police issued this statement on Friday:

“On Wednesday, June 8, 2016, at approximately 11:00 PM, a 27 year old female complainant, who is a reporter for NBC Universal was conducting a live shot at 1500 John F. Kennedy Boulevard when an unknown Black female approached the complainant and immediately grabbed her hair. The female then punched the complainant three times on the right side of her head and pulled her to the ground. The complainant’s news crew then pushed the female away and followed the female to the 1600 block of John F. Kennedy Boulevard, where she was identified and arrested by 9th District Officers.

“The complainant has a complaint of pain to the right side of her head and will seek treatment at a later time.

“Offender: Waheedah Wilson, 37 year old female from the 300 block of S. Broad Street; she is charged with Simple Assault and Recklessly Endangering another Person.”

She was in custody Friday night, Mari A. Schaefer reported for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

A police spokeswoman said she did not know the assailant’s motive.

“Let’s face it…reporters/crews who are set up for live broadcasts in public areas are all too often targets for assaults — both physical and verbal,” Mike Cavender, executive director of the Radio Television Digital News Association, told Journal-isms by email Friday.

“The causes, no doubt, are myriad. Whether it be from someone who is mentally unstable to another who thinks he/she can have a ‘moment of fame’ on live TV by doing something like this. Crews have even been attacked by criminals seeking to steal equipment or other valuables.

“That’s why it’s more important than ever that a field crew be acutely aware of their surroundings. And they should not hesitate to break down and/or go elsewhere if they feel potentially threatened or even uncomfortable. Some stations, especially in larger cities and rough neighborhoods have begun to deploy an extra person or even a trained security guard to keep watch over the crew.

“I don’t know that the attacks are necessarily increasing in number. It’s just that, via social media especially, those that do occur get more exposure now than ever before.”

Last October, after a disgruntled former employee gunned down a reporter and photographer as they were broadcasting live at WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, Va., Virginia Black and Christian Sheckler wrote for the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune:

“Over the years, consultants have stressed how much viewers like their TV live. Technology has rendered setting up live reports in TV newscasts nearly as easy as flipping on a camera, lending an energy and unpredictability both viewers and producers say they like.

” ‘There’s been a perception that we do — and management hates to hear it — but that we do live shots that are considered useless or boring,’ said WDBJ chief photographer Lynn Eller, who is in his 32nd year as a TV news photographer. ‘You can ask any photographer, here, South Bend, wherever, probably 50 percent of the live shots we do, they’re not worth it.’

“[Kelly] Zuber [then WDBJ news director,] said she spoke with a consultant recently who noted that, despite the general wisdom that prizes the live shot, focus groups can’t always identify which parts of a newscast are actually live. . . .”

• Scott Jones, ftvlive.com: Philly Reporter Attacked on Live Shot — The Video (video)

Celebrate the life & legacy of #MuhammadAli TODAY at 2pm on air or go to https://t.co/oGrFyLgWyB #TVOneHonorsAli pic.twitter.com/8fK4nHyhTu

— TV One (@tvonetv) June 10, 2016

Cable News Goes Live for 3-Hour Ali Celebration

Cable stations made it easy to watch the service for Muhammad Ali in Louisville, Ky., on Friday, as BET, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ESPN, C-SPAN and TV One — in addition to Bounce TV, which operates on a broadcast digital channel — all went live for a three-hour service that showcased Ali’s global, ecumenical influence.

Ali died at 74 on June 3.

Broadcast network affiliates generally kept to their regular programming, saving their coverage for the nightly news programs and afterward.

When the service ended, Rochelle Riley, a Detroit Free Press columnist, posted an excerpt on Facebook from her upcoming essay on her time covering Ali 20 years ago. “This Ali Funeral is more than memorial,” Riley wrote.

“This is Muhammad Ali’s latest attempt at peace and healing, and he is winning. He has brought together people from all walks of life, all religions, all emotions to appreciate each other, to appreciate blackness, to understand that we must do better. He challenges us to love each other and be who WE want to be, not who someone else demands that we try to be.”

That message squared with the takeaway from Marc Lamont Hill and Goldie Taylor on BET. “He wanted to invite us into his space and his world. He was a man who embraced his blackness” and demanded that others did, too, Taylor said. She said the service demonstrated that Ali exemplified the line in Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” about walking with kings but keeping the common touch.

Black commentators led the coverage on BET and TV One, African American-oriented networks. TV One’s presentation, anchored by Roland Martin, included a panel discussion with Christy Winters Scott, television sports analyst; Greg Carr, chair of the Howard University Department of Afro American Studies; radio host Coach James “Butch” McAdams; and Barry Hunter.

“More than 100,000 people lined the streets of Louisville on Friday to watch a 17-car procession drive Muhammad Ali’s body to Cave Hill Cemetery,” pushing back the memorial service from  its scheduled 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the 15,000-seat KFC Yum! Center, Louisville’s WHAS-TV and the Associated Press reported.

Representatives of Muslims, Jews, Christians, Native Americans and even Buddhist monks participated in the service, along with former president Bill Clinton, comedian and Ali friend Billy Crystal, presidential aide Valerie Jarrett and others, including Attallah Shabazz, a daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz who said, “Muhammad Ali was the last of a fraternity of amazing men bequeathed to me from my dad.”

Bryant Gumbel of HBO’s “Real Sports” and onetime “Today” host was the sole news media representative.

“Some of us like him took pride in being black, bold and brash, and because we were so unapologetic we were in the eyes of many way too uppity, we were way too arrogant. Yet, we reveled in being like him,” Gumbel said. “By stretching society’s boundaries as he did, he gave us levels of strength and courage we didn’t even know we had.”

And yet, Gumbel said, Ali “always symbolized the best  of Islam, to offset the hatred born of fear. And the world needs a champion. Inclusion for all. Hating people because of their color is wrong. Ali said it, and it doesn’t matter which color. It’s just plain wrong.”

• BK Nation: Muhammad Ali: A Special Multimedia Tribute
• Jerry Brewer, Washington Post: Muhammad Ali was world-famous, but Louisville knew him in a special way
• Gregory Clay, InsideSources: Whites and Blacks Revere Ali for Different Reason
• Mariama Diallo, Voice of America: Congolese in DRC, US Remember Muhammad Ali 
• Lewis Diuguid, Kansas City Star: Muhammad Ali seen as hero by many black people
• Pat Forde, Yahoo Sports: One last time, Muhammad Ali came to the people
• Sam Fulwood III, Center for American Progress: The Greatest of All Time
• Jackelyn Jorgensen, WHAS-TV, Louisville, Ky.: Gumbel recalls personal relationship with Ali during eulogy
• Marty Lederman, SCOTUS blog: Muhammad Ali, conscientious objection, and the Supreme Court’s struggle to understand “jihad” and “holy war”: The story of Cassius Clay v. United States
• Derek McGinty, the Undefeated: Ali: Lightning in a bottle
• Mary Mitchell, Chicago Sun-Times: Muhammad Ali gave black people a powerful voice
• Askia Muhammad, Washington Informer: Elijah Muhammad and the Making of Muhammad Ali
• New York Times, In Their Own Words: Eulogies for Muhammad Ali
• Sheldon S. Shafer, Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.: Memorable quotes from Ali funeral service

Wrongly Jailed, He Sees ‘a Case of Privilege’

“Brian Banks, a promising high school football player who had committed to play at Southern Cal, was an innocent man accused of rape,” columnist Gary Myers wrote Monday in the Daily News of New York.

“He remembers sitting at the defendant’s table 13 years ago and not one person in the courtroom would look at him or talk to him or acknowledge him.

” ‘It was like I was not even in the room,’ he said Monday. ‘I felt like I wasn’t a human being. I was a number.’

“He naturally has been paying close attention to the rape case of Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, 20, who was convicted on three felony counts related to a 2015 sexual assault on an unconscious and intoxicated woman, who is now 23.

“Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner on Friday to just six months in county jail — he could get it reduced to three months with good behavior.

“Banks, who works in the NFL’s Los Angeles office, was 16 years old when he was accused of rape and tried as an adult. He was sent to juvenile hall for a year before his case came up. He faced 41 years to life in prison and first turned down plea deals for 25, 18 and nine years. Why? He didn’t do it. He finally agreed to undergo 90 days of observation in Chico State Prison with assurances from his attorney that he would then get probation. It was a better option, he was told, than a young black kid facing an all-white jury.

“Instead, Banks received six years from the judge.

” ‘It was like he was ordering McDonald’s at a drive-thru window,’ Banks said. ‘It was like he was ordering food and took off.’

“Persky elected not to send Turner to state prison and came up way short on the maximum 14 years he could have handed down. He will have to register as a sex offender. ‘A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him,’ the judge said. ‘I think he will not be a danger to others.’

“As if a prison sentence and living among hardened criminals twice his age didn’t have a severe impact on Banks.

” ‘I would say it’s a case of privilege,’ Banks said. ‘It seems like the judge based his decision on lifestyle. He’s lived such a good life and has never experienced anything serious in his life that would prepare him for prison. He was sheltered so much he wouldn’t be able to survive prison.

” ‘What about the kid who has nothing, he struggles to eat, struggles to get a fair education? What about the kid who has no choice who he is born to and has drug-addicted parents or a non-parent household? Where is the consideration for them when they commit a crime?’ . . .”

• Paul Butler, William G. Otis, Tracey L. Meares, Kevin Cole, New York Times “Room for Debate”: Should an Unpopular Sentence in the Stanford Rape Case Cost a Judge His Job?
• Editorial, Los Angeles Times: Stanford sexual assault case: When is it right for voters to oust a judge?
• Mark Joyella, TVNewser: CNN to Air Town Hall on Stanford Rape Case
• Tracey Kaplan, Bay Area News Group: Brock Turner case fallout: Prospective jurors refuse to serve under judge
• Shaun King, Daily News, New York: Here’s what to do to prevent another case like Brock Turner
• Dante Ramos, Boston Globe: Stanford rape uproar’s lost lesson: Call the cops
• Veronica Rocha and Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times: Stanford swimmer convicted of
  sex assault lied about never partying, documents show
• Mary Sanchez, Kansas City Star: Stanford sexual assault case, like so many others, could have easily gone unnoticed

Hundreds Tell USA Today Trump Owes Them

“Donald Trump often portrays himself as a savior of the working class who will ‘protect your job,’ ” Steve Reilly reported Thursday for USA Today.

“But a USA TODAY NETWORK analysis found he has been involved in more than 3,500 lawsuits over the past three decades — and a large number of those involve ordinary Americans . . . who say Trump or his companies have refused to pay them.

“At least 60 lawsuits, along with hundreds of liens, judgments, and other government filings reviewed by the USA TODAY NETWORK, document people who have accused Trump and his businesses of failing to pay them for their work.

“Among them: a dishwasher in Florida. A glass company in New Jersey. A carpet company. A plumber. Painters. Forty-eight waiters. Dozens of bartenders and other hourly workers at his resorts and clubs, coast to coast. Real estate brokers who sold his properties. And, ironically, several law firms that once represented him in these suits and others.

“Trump’s companies have also been cited for 24 violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act since 2005 for failing to pay overtime or minimum wage, according to U.S. Department of Labor data. That includes 21 citations against the defunct Trump Plaza in Atlantic City and three against the also out-of-business Trump Mortgage LLC in New York. Both cases were resolved by the companies agreeing to pay back wages.

“In addition to the lawsuits, the review found more than 200 mechanic’s liens — filed by contractors and employees against Trump, his companies or his properties claiming they were owed money for their work — since the 1980s. . . .”

Meanwhile, Miami Herald columnist Andrés Oppenheimer reported Thursday that “If Donald Trump becomes the next U.S. president, he will have a hard time assembling a team of experienced foreign policy advisers, especially when it comes to Latin American experts: Key Republican specialists in the region are running away from him as fast as they can.

” ‘That’s the impression I got when I talked with several former Latin America policymakers who served in recent Republican administrations. Several of them told me they couldn’t work for somebody who has insulted Mexico and Latinos, and who doesn’t listen. . . .”

He also wrote, “In March, 121 former senior foreign policy officials in Republican administrations — including former Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff and former Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick — signed a letter warning about the dangers of a Trump presidency to U.S. national security. . . .”

Oppenheimer quoted Roger Noriega, former head of the State Department’s Latin American department in the George W. Bush administration, and Otto Reich, another former State Department Latin America chief.

• Russ Buettner and Charles V. Bagli, New York Times: How Donald Trump Bankrupted His Atlantic City Casinos, but Still Earned Millions (June 11)
• Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post: Why folks are losing their minds over Paul Ryan’s stance on Donald Trump
• Lewis Diuguid, Kansas City Star: Trump continues a long string of bigotry in attack on federal judge
• Cristina Lopez, Media Matters for America: No, Conservative Media, That’s Not What “La Raza” Means In Spanish
• Jim Mitchell, Dallas Morning News: Trump’s disrespect for the federal judiciary is astounding (June 3)
• Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The pretzel logic of Trump’s GOP pals
• Emily Peck, Huffington Post: Donald Trump’s Racism Actually Makes It Impossible For Him To Get The Working-Class Vote
• Eugene Robinson, Washington Post: You can’t be for and against Trump
• Theodore Schleifer, CNN: Romney says Trump will change America with ‘trickle-down racism’
• Sarah Smith, ProPublica: The Absolute Best, Most Terrific Reporting on Trump University

Emails Illuminate Questionable Clinton Choice

“A new batch of Clinton e-mails out this morning raising questions about a donor to the Clinton Foundation and how he ended up on a government intelligence advisory board” (video and transcript), ABC News reported on Friday.

The network reported on the questionable appointment in 2012 but said Friday that emails show that the addition of the donor to the board could be traced to Clinton aide Cheryl Mills.

From the transcript:

“ABC’s Brian Ross is here with more. Good morning.

“Reporter: Good morning, Amy. The newly released State Department e-mails being made public here this morning reveal how undersecretary of state made someone part of an advisory board even though he had no known experience in the area.

“Members of the State Department’s International Security Advisory Board include some of the country’s most prominent people on nuclear strategy with top secret clearances, but in 2011, the Clinton State Department also added this man, Rajiv Fernando, a commodities broker with no known connection to the national security world. . . .

“Reporter: What he was known for before and after was raising and giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democratic campaigns and as much as $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation.

” ‘ABC News, do you have a second to talk?’

“Reporter: . .. we approached him — How did you get appointed . . . Can you talk about that?

” ‘How do you know my name?’ He became upset and we were threatened with arrest. . . . For asking questions of this man? . . . ”

The story also said, “When ABC began asking questions about the appointment of Fernando in 2011, top Clinton aide Cheryl Mills asked the press officer to stall for 24 hours. The very next day Fernando submitted his resignation from the prestigious board. . . .

” As for Fernando he has continued to raise big dollars for the Clinton campaign and has given more than a million dollars to the Clinton foundation. In fact he’ll be one of her superdelegates. . . .”

• Mary C. Curtis, Roll Call: Obama and Clinton Made History, No Matter How You Feel About Either One 
• Lewis Diuguid, Kansas City Star: Clinton’s political climb has been a Mount Everest-like triumph for women in the United States
• Editorial, Dallas Morning News: Clinton’s clinching of the nomination a momentous step for U.S.
• Editorial, Philadelphia Inquirer: So say you lost a revolution
• Marcela García, Boston Globe: Sorry, Elizabeth Warren. Hillary needs a Latino Veep
• Rochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press: This Hillary Clinton milestone deserves a moment of silence, respect
• Adreana Young, Editor & Publisher: USA Today Network Dominates Election Coverage Through its Local Newspapers

Rays Sideline Reporter Out After Racial Remarks

“Emily Austen, a sideline reporter on Rays television broadcasts, will no longer appear on Fox Sports Sun because of questionable comments the Tampa native made on the Facebook Live page for Barstool Sports, a sports website,” Tom Jones reported Friday for the Tampa Bay Times.

“During a 35-minute video with three men, Austen made several controversial comments, among them:

• “That she ‘didn’t even know that Mexicans were that smart.’
• “How the “Chinese guy is always the smartest guy in math class.’
• “About how she ‘used to talk to Jews in Boca” when she was a server, saying one customer was ‘stingy” because he complained about how she poured his beer and that ‘they would complain and b—- about everything.”

“Austen, 27, also referred to Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player Kevin Love as a ‘little b – – – -.’

“Austen was a sideline reporter on Rays and Magic games, and she hosted such programs as Inside the Rays. A contract employee, meaning she worked and was paid per event. Austen worked for Fox Sports Florida and Fox Sports Sun. She was not employed or paid by the Rays. . . . ”

More Than 50% of Blacks Now Say O.J. Guilty

“A striking poll finding was cited often in coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder trial in 1994 and 1995: Most white people thought the former football star was guilty of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, while roughly the same proportion of black people thought Simpson was innocent,” Carl Bialik reported Thursday for fivethirtyeight.com.

“The racial gap in public opinion was one of many elements of the case — along with a long history of conflict between the Los Angeles Police Department and the city’s black residents, and racist statements made by LAPD Detective Mark Fuhrman — that showed race was as important as glove size and forensic evidence.

“In the two decades since Simpson was acquitted by a majority-black jury, the racial gap has narrowed significantly. In two recent polls, more than 50 percent of black respondents said they thought Simpson was guilty — up from about 20 percent in most polls before, during and right after the trial. . . .”

• Jarvis DeBerry, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune: Is there enough to O.J. Simpson for a 5-part ESPN documentary?
• Adam Howard, NBCBLK: ‘O.J.: Made in America’ Is About The Ex-NFL Star And Its Audience (May 23)
• Will Leitch, New York: ESPN’s Eight-Hour O.J. Documentary Is a Masterpiece (May 3)
• Brian Lowry, CNN Money: ESPN’s ‘O.J.: Made in America’ a master class on race, sports and media (May 20)

The Other Refugees in Europe: African Children

“Last year, the news media focused intensely on the European refugee crisis,” Ashley Gilbertson, an Australian photographer, wrote Friday for the New York Times.

“Some 800,000 people crossed the Mediterranean to Greece, many fleeing wars we had a hand in creating, in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Each segment of their journey was carefully documented by thousands of reporters and photographers.

“But there is another humanitarian crisis in Europe we have heard much less about: the roughly 200,000 migrants and refugees who left Africa for Italy since last year. This year alone, some 2,000 have died while making the voyage.

“No one gets excited by an epidemic of despair. Some African refugees — largely from Nigeria, Gambia, Somalia, Ivory Coast and Guinea — are escaping wars, but others are fleeing despots, corruption and poverty, a tapestry of problems that have plagued the Continent for generations. When they arrive here in Sicily, they face an overloaded system that is unable to meet their needs.

“In May, I spent a week in Sicily with a team from Unicef taking photographs and interviewing those who have made the journey. . . .”

Short Takes

• “The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that 35% of state prisoners are white, 38% are black, and 21% are Hispanic,” [PDF] the Sentencing Project reported this week. “In twelve states more than half of the prison population is African American. Though the reliability of data on ethnicity is not as strong as it is for race estimates, the Hispanic population in state prisons is as high as 61% in New Mexico and 42% in both Arizona and California. . . .”
• “Last week ProPublica kicked off its first-ever Summer Data Institute, a free, 10-day workshop on using data, design and code for journalism,” Cynthia Gordy, marketing director for ProPublica, told Journal-isms on Friday. “The 12 outstanding journalists attending the Data Institute (which runs through June 15) were selected from nearly 700 applicants. . . . In keeping with ProPublica’s active commitment to diversity in data and investigative journalism, nine of the 12 Data Institute participants are women. All are journalists of color. . . . “

• “Racial diversity is not just about bringing a different set of life experiences to the table,” India-born Hari Sreenivasan, an anchor on “PBS NewsHour Weekend,” told Matt Schiavenza of Asia Society in a Q-and-A on Tuesday. “It can also bat down preconceived notions and stereotypes that all humans, including storytelling humans, have. Someone at the table has to say ‘What you just said is accurate for one slice of the population, but from where I live, where I grew up, we saw this event or this series of events, this person, or this institution, very differently.’ . . .”
• “With Chicago headed toward a summer from hell, with gang murders breaking out just about everywhere and the total number of homicides headed toward the highest level in many years, what has new Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson just done?” Greg Hinz asked Thursday for Crain’s Chicago Business. “Answer: Hire a batch of high-priced aides, notably including a well-known former TV news anchor, at a cool $150,000 a year. Could I make that up? That’s right, folks — officially joining the staff of the Chicago Police Department next week in a newly created slot as special adviser for community affairs is Robin Robinson, who worked for 26 years as an anchor for Fox-owned WFLD-TV/Channel 32’s 9 p.m. newscast. . . .”
• “Motivos — a bilingual magazine staffed and produced by college and graduating high school-age journalists and headquartered West Poplar Community Center in Fairmount — just received notice of preliminary credentialing to cover the Democratic National Convention,” Sabrina Vourvoulias wrote Thursday for Philadelphia magazine. “Unexpected. And unexpectedly inclusive. . . .”
• “A ‘rising star’ in the broadcast industry has been picked to lead Austin’s ABC affiliate,” Gary Dinges reported Thursday for the Austin American-Statesman. “Tegna Media, the owner of KVUE-TV, said this week that Kristie Gonzales is the station’s new president and general manager. Gonzales arrives from ABC-owned WABC-TV, the No. 1-rated TV station in New York City, the nation’s largest TV market. At WABC, she served as promotion and digital brand manager. . . .”
• “Anchorman: The Legend of Don Lemon,” an April 20, 2015, profile by Taffy Brodesser-Akner in GQ magazine, won a Mirror Award for media reporting in the profile category, Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, announced on Thursday.
• “Joel Dreyfuss has joined the Global Opinions initiative as a contributing columnist,” the Washington Post announced on Thursday. “This is a homecoming of sorts. Joel worked for The Post years ago, and more recently was managing editor of our sister publication, TheRoot.com. He also has been editor-in-chief of technology magazines Red Herring and Information Week, editor of PC Magazine and executive editor of Black Enterprise. He was a co-founder of the National Association of Black Journalists . . . “
• In a video published Thursday by the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., “The chief justice of the state Supreme Court, Raleigh’s mayor and four other prominent Triangle citizens talk about Orage Quarles III, who retired last week as president and publisher of The News and Observer.” (video)
• “While it was great seeing a prominent Dallas structure named after the city’s first black mayor, Saturday’s dedication of the Ronald Kirk Bridge was also a reminder of an unsettling reality: Way too few landmarks in the heart of Dallas bear the names of notable black and Latino figures,” the Dallas Morning News editorialized on Wednesday (updated Thursday).
• “I’ve spent much of my career as a reporter chronicling rampant school segregation in every region of the country, and the ways that segregated schools harm black and Latino children,” Nikole Hannah-Jones writes in the cover story for Sunday’s New York Times Magazine. Hannah-Jones and her husband were at odds when Hannah-Jones decided that she wanted to enroll their child in “a segregated, low-income school.”
• The “Lens” blog of the New York Times features “members of the Bronx Junior Photo League, an after-school program run by the Bronx Documentary Center. Working with professional photographers, they learn not only picture-taking, but also how to do interviews and write stories,” David Gonzalez reported for the blog on Thursday. “The work of some two dozen photographers is on display through June 19 at the center, where they are showing everything from daily scenes and cultural celebrations to portraits and spot-on street photos, all with a sense of composition and color that belies their ages. . . .”
• On C-SPAN3’s American History TV, “Georgetown University [associate] professor Maurice Jackson teaches a class on the philosophy of W.E.B. Du Bois, an influential African American sociologist, author and civil rights activist in the late-19th and early 20th centuries. He describes Du Bois’ early life, his role as an educator, and his relationship with other activists,” C-SPAN announces. The session on Du Bois, who edited the NAACP magazine The Crisis, airs Saturday at 8 p.m. and midnight ET.