Articles Feature

Press Freedom Groups Want More From Biden

by richard02138

Israeli Killings, Alleged Targeting of Journalists Cited
King Would Have Called Out Trump as ‘Moral Fraud’
Trump Must Pay N.Y. Times, Reporters $400K
Hundreds Applaud Merida as He Leaves L.A. Times
Don Lemon Joins X; Musk Tweets Falsehoods About DEI

Smith Lets Whitlock Have It, and Then Some
Journalists Stunned by Firings at Houston Startup
Racial Groups Diverge on Racism, Immigration
Why Is True Crime Genre So White? Author Asks

Short Takes: $100 million donation to UNCF; Ta-Nehisi Coates and sexual violence prevention; new “inclusion list” for broadcast, cable and streaming; new radio format for Blacks in central Illinois; Autumn Jones; Word In Black; Black-press publishers group and “digital transformation”; Michael Strahan, daughter and brain cancer; Patsy Loris; Pam Oliver; Ruthanne Salido; Garrison Hayes; Jon Funabiki, George Lee and “Ten Times Better”; undercovered Vietnamese community; Ishena Robinson and URL Media;

Ukrainian journalists in Russian captivity; Myanmar photojournalist released, but 64 still in custody; Kenya journalists assaulted by bouncers; Zambia moves toward more openness; criminals interrupt TV broadcast in Peru; government spying on Peruvian journalists; South African photographer Peter Magubane.

Homepage photo credit: “PBS NewsHour”

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The South African Broadcasting Corp. posted this video of South Africans’ news conference Friday at the International Court of Justice in the Hague. They presented their case Thursday for a ruling that Israel commited genocide. “You know that Israel killed more than 112 Palestinian journalists and those [were] not militants absolutely and some of them lost even all of their families and homes,” one said. (Credit: YouTube)

Israeli Killings, Alleged Targeting of Journalists Cited

As the number of journalists and media workers killed in the Israel-Hamas War climbed to at least 79, “Leading press freedom groups and human rights organisations have called on Joe Biden to do more to pressure Israel to ‘abide by international law’ amid accusations that its military is targeting journalists in the Gaza war, and to hold it to account for the killings of reporters,” Chris McGreal reported Thursday for the Guardian.

The letter was signed by Committee to Protect Journalists, Freedom House, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, Human Rights Watch, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and Reporters Without Borders.

“The U.S. State Department spokesperson recently said that the United States has not seen any evidence that Israel is intentionally targeting journalists. Yet credible reports by human rights and media organizations indicate that the IDF strikes in southern Lebanon on October 13 that killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and injured six other journalists from Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Agence France-Presse were unlawful and apparently deliberate,” the letter said.

“The IDF has also acknowledged deliberately targeting a car in which journalists were traveling on January 7, killing two journalists and seriously injuring a third. In at least two other cases, journalists reported receiving threats from Israeli officials and IDF officers before their family members were killed in Gaza.

“Of course, the targeted or indiscriminate killing of journalists, if committed deliberately or recklessly, is a war crime, and the International Criminal Court has said that it will investigate reports of war crimes committed against journalists in Gaza.”

Separately, Western journalists who worked in the region were mourning the death of Mohammed Dawwas, described as a “great translator/fixer and a gentle guy,” and Amnesty International sounded an alarm about two Palestinian journalists who it says were “forcibly disappeared.”

Moreover, Reporters Without Borders announced, “Following the two last complaints filed by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) with the International Criminal Court (ICC), the office of prosecutor Karim Khan has assured the organisation that crimes against journalists are included in its investigation into Palestine. Back in 2018, RSF played a decisive role in getting the ICC to investigate crimes against journalists.”

“Israel has accused South Africa of presenting a ‘profoundly distorted’ view of hostilities, ‘barely distinguishable from that of Hamas, as it presented its defence at the international court of justice in The Hague against accusations of genocide,” Haroon Siddique reported Friday for the Guardian. (Credit: YouTube)

As of Jan. 12, preliminary investigations from the Committee to Protect Journalists showed at least 79 journalists and media workers among the more than 24,000 killed since the war began on Oct. 7 — with more than 23,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza and the West Bank and 1,200 deaths in Israel.

They were mostly Palestinians and almost all at the hands of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), although four Israeli reporters were killed in the Hamas cross-border attack. . . . “

In its last public statement about the missing Palestinian journalists, Amnesty said Dec. 20, “Nidal al-Waheidi and Haitham Abdelwahed are journalists from the occupied Gaza Strip. Both were detained by Israeli forces on 7 October while they were reporting the Hamas-led attack and are held in conditions constituting enforced disappearance.

“Since then, Israeli authorities have refused to disclose their whereabouts or the legal grounds and reasons for their arrest. Two and a half months since their disappearance, and no information has been shared about their whereabouts, not even confirmation that they are still alive. Israeli authorities must immediately disclose their whereabouts and the legal grounds for their arrest, grant them access to legal representation and ensure their humane treatment. Unless charged with an internationally recognized criminal offence, they must be immediately released.”

In London, The Independent headlined its Dec. 27 story about Dawwas, “The death of a beloved father illustrates the savage cost of war in Gaza: ‘The ambulance couldn’t come’ “

The subhead: “Mohammed Dawwas, a highly skilled journalist and fixer, worked for The Independent and with Kim Sengupta for years. He is one of 15 members of the extended Dawwas family to have been killed in 12 weeks, with the health of one of Mohammed’s daughters also deteriorating alarmingly. His family believe he would have survived if medical facilities in Gaza hadn’t been devastated by this conflict.” Sengupta is world affairs editor for The Independent.

The story continued, “Mohammed was already partially paralysed following a stroke he suffered five years ago. He had another stroke, brought about, say his family, by the stress of the situation inside Gaza. He did not survive this time.

“Ambulances could not get through to the area where the family were staying because of the bombing. The family had run out of the medicine Mohammed was taking, and no further supplies were available in the chaotic conditions. One of the few neighbours who had stayed behind in Gaza City went to the Dawwas family’s home to see if any of Mohammed’s drugs had been left behind in the rush to leave. They found that the building had been destroyed.

“Fifteen members of the extended Dawwas family have been killed in the war so far. Mohammed’s wife Tahani, three daughters, and a five-year-old granddaughter, Sophie, have been granted asylum in Australia, but remain trapped in southern Gaza, deeply worried about what might befall them as the fighting closes in around them. . . .”

Saad Dawwas of Melbourne, Australia, applied to have his cousins, Suzie, Hala and Mariam Dawwas, left to right, come to Australia to escape the war in Gaza. (Credit: /Seven Network, Australia)

Yasmin Dawwas, one of Mohammed’s daughters, now a doctor living abroad, said in a GoFundMe appeal, “Living in Gaza has become a daily threat, as we have already lost more than 20 relatives to the war. This fundraiser aims to cover the expenses of exiting Gaza and their relocation to Australia, providing them with a chance for a safer and more stable life. Your support, regardless of the amount, can make a significant impact on their lives and help honor the memory of our late father.”

Yasmin Dawwas also said, “our mom, three sisters, and our 5-year-old niece Sophie are in urgent need of assistance. We have been granted visas to Australia, where they can find safety, and our sister Hala can continue her vital medical treatment. Hala, a survivor of a traumatic car accident at the age of 5, faces a significant threat to her health condition each day in Gaza.”

On Wednesday, Yasmin Dawwas added that Hala “was admitted to the hospital in Egypt and underwent an exploratory surgery. The medical team conducted necessary interventions to prepare her for the more complex surgery that is anticipated in Australia.

“This significant step was made possible through your generous help and donations. Your support has played a vital role in ensuring Hala receives the urgent medical care she needs. As we navigate through this challenging time, your contributions are making a profound impact on Hala’s health and well-being. . . .”

On “The Sunday Show,” host Jonathan Capehart asked Clarence Jones, “What do you think he would say to President Biden, if he had a chance to, if President Biden had a chance to sit down with Martin Luther King?” (Credit: MSNBC)

King Would Have Called Out Trump as ‘Moral Fraud’

In an interview on “The Sunday Show,” MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart spoke with Clarence Jones, who served as Martin Luther King Jr.’s speechwriter and counsel. They spoke about the current political climate, how Dr. King would react to the stakes of the 2024 presidential election and more.

Capehart asked what King would think of Donald Trump and his campaign for another term in the White House.

“I think he would go back to basics and say that he didn’t believe that any sinner was beyond redemption,” Jones replied. “And that would include Donald Trump. Having said that, he would call him out for what he is. He would be less restrained, I think, than other people, because he would call, he would characterize Donald Trump.

“I don’t want to put words in Dr. King’s mouth, but having been close to him and been one of his advisers. I think the word he would probably use that would be most comfortable with him would be ‘fraud.’ I think he would use the words ‘He is a moral fraud.’ “

Jones added, “Opportunist. Without anchor.”

Capehart asked, “What would he make of his policies?”

Jones replied, “Opportunist. Without anchor. Opportunist. His politics are ‘What’s In It For Me first?’ ”

On what Jones believes King would tell President Biden ahead of the upcoming election: “I think he would say, ‘Mr. President, be very careful. You have a very treacherous snake. And you have to be on guard 24/7. And this snake has the ability regrettably of being able to hide his true characteristics and appeal to some people.”

Meanwhile, William Turton wrote Friday for Wired about Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and cofounder of Turning Point USA, founded in 2012 by an 18-year-old Kirk to organize conservative students on college campuses. That organization has grown into an ideological force in right-wing politics Turton wrote under the headline “How Charlie Kirk Plans to Discredit Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Act.”

“Kirk argues that the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination on the basis of race, ushered in a ‘permanent DEI-type bureaucracy,’ referring to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“He illustrated how the law has gone wrong when responding to a question from a student who said they became the subject of a Title IX investigation after posting an Instagram story mocking transgender people. Title IX, which was passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, bans schools that receive federal funding from discriminating on the basis of sex. King was assassinated four years prior, in 1968.”

Barry Blitt’s “Back to the Future” cover for The New Yorker “depicts a goose-stepping Donald Trump, determined to march back into political relevance.“

Trump Must Pay N.Y. Times, Reporters $400K

“Former President Donald Trump was ordered Friday to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to The New York Times and three investigative reporters after he sued them unsuccessfully over a Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 story about his family’s wealth and tax practices,” Michael R. Sisak reported for the Associated Press.

“The newspaper and reporters Susanne Craig, David Barstow and Russell Buettner were dismissed from the lawsuit in May.

“Trump’s claim against his estranged niece, Mary Trump, that she breached a prior settlement agreement by giving tax records to the reporters is still pending.

“New York Judge Robert Reed said that given the ‘complexity of the issues’ in the case and other factors, it was reasonable that Donald Trump be forced to pay lawyers for the Times and the reporters a total of $392,638 in legal fees.

“ ‘Today’s decision shows that the state’s newly amended anti-SLAPP statute can be a powerful force for protecting press freedom,’ Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoads Ha said, referring to a New York law that bars baseless lawsuits designed to silence critics. Such lawsuits are known as SLAPPs or strategic lawsuits against public participation.

“ ‘The court has sent a message to those who want to misuse the judicial system to try to silence journalists,’ Rhoads Ha said.

“Donald Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, said they remain disappointed that the Times and its reporters were dropped from the case. She said they are pleased that the court has ‘once again affirmed the strength of our claims against Mary and is denying her attempt to avoid accountability.’

“ ‘We look forward to proceeding with our claims against her,’ Habba said.

“Donald Trump’s lawsuit, filed in 2021, accused the Times and its reporters of relentlessly seeking out Mary Trump as a source of information and convincing her to turn over confidential tax records. He claimed the reporters were aware her prior settlement agreement barred her from disclosing the documents, which she’d received in a dispute over family patriarch Fred Trump’s estate.

“The Times’ reporting challenged Donald Trump’s claims of self-made wealth by documenting how his father, Fred Trump, had given him at least $413 million over the decades, including through tax avoidance schemes.

  • Upcoming Journal-isms Roundtable Jan. 22: Dictator on ‘Day One’: “How Journalists Can Counter the Growing Threat of Authoritarianism” Details here.
Kevin Merida with Angel Jennings, assistant managing editor for culture and talent, on Merida’s final day as executive editor. (Credit: Los Angeles Times staffer)

Hundreds Applaud Merida as He Leaves L.A. Times

“Well, putting the finishing touches on this chapter,” Kevin Merida wrote on Facebook Friday, garnering more than 800 “likes” and comments as of Monday.

“Today is my last day at the Los Angeles Times. It’s been a hard 2 1/2 years, if we’re being honest. But also a rewarding 2 1/2 years. Grateful to the tremendous collection of journalists I got to work with. And to all my other colleagues in the company who did their best to make the place better.

“My decision to leave had many dimensions to it. And I won’t try to unspool them here. Today, I just want to be thankful. Thankful for the opportunity to take on the challenge of leading this great news organization. Thankful for the outpouring of love I’ve received from my newsroom and elsewhere in the journalism world. Thankful to have some time to relax, refresh, read, think, watch, enjoy.

“The last couple of days have been so gratifying — talking to some of our journalists, encouraging them. Had a little cake ceremony yesterday. Been taking some snaps.

“And now, it’s goodbye.

“But not forever. I’ll be back at some point, doing something new.”

[Jan. 16 update: Sharon Waxman reported Jan. 16 for The Wrap: “In interviews with a half-dozen individuals close to the LA Times news operation, it became clear that Merida’s relationship with [Publisher Patrick] Soon-Shiong — though never close — had broken down irreparably by the end of last year over the owner’s interference in newsroom decisions, a lack of support for Merida’s independence as editorial leader and ongoing financial losses with no apparent plan to reverse them.”]

Lemon Joins X; Musk Tweets Falsehoods About DEI

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon announced Tuesday he is launching a show on X, formerly Twitter, touting the platform as “the biggest space for free speech in the world.” Less than 24 hours later, X Owner Elon Musk (pictured, below) asked in that space, “Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritized DEI hiring over your safety? That is actually happening.”

“He offered no evidence for the claim, and one of his replies directed attention to a post by someone else speculating about the IQ of Black airline employees,” David Ingram reported for NBC News.

“Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, said Musk’s statements were ‘abhorrent and pathetic.’ He noted that Tesla, where Musk is CEO, is being sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for alleged abuse of Black employees, including claims of racial slurs and nooses found in the workplace.

“ ‘Musk’s company not only refused to investigate complaints or take any steps to end the abuse, it viciously retaliated against employees who complained or opposed the abuse,’ Morial said in a statement to NBC News, citing allegations from the suit.

“ ‘The only thing anyone needs to hear from Musk about diversity in the workplace is an apology,’ he said.

“NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson responded to Musk on X, saying the actual danger comes from Musk’s own social media site.

“ ‘Reminder to @elonmusk: providing a home for the proliferation of hate speech and white supremacist conspiracy theories kills people. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion cultivates a more inclusive society,’ Johnson wrote.

“ ‘They are not the same. We are not the same,’ he added. . . .”

Reporting on Lemon (pictured), Eric Bazail-Eimil wrote for Politico, “Lemon was axed from CNN in April 2023 after a series of panned on-air remarks and a report from Variety that recounted an alleged pattern of misogynistic behavior toward colleagues at the network dating back at least 15 years. A spokesperson for Lemon at the time blasted the report in a statement to Yahoo News as ‘patently false’ and ‘based on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old anonymous gossip.’

“ ‘I’ve heard you … and today I am back bigger, bolder, freer!’ Lemon said in a post on X Tuesday. ‘My new media company’s first project is The Don Lemon Show. It will be available to everyone, easily, whenever you want it, streaming on the platforms where the conversations are happening.’

“He’s not the first media personality to turn to X as a landing ground: Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who was fired the same day as Lemon, also launched a show on the social media platform titled ‘Tucker on X’ in June of last year.

“Carlson celebrated Lemon’s arrival to the platform Tuesday, posting on X: ‘Congratulations. It’s a new world. Welcome.’ ”

Smith Lets Whitlock Have It, and Then Some

“Jason Whitlock is a disgusting human being and a disgrace to the Black race,” Monique Judge wrote Thursday in an opinion piece for theGrio.

“He adds absolutely nothing to the culture or the community, and every time you see his name in headlines or trending on social media, it’s because he’s yet again done something coonish or buffoonish.

“He is an attention-seeker, a click-baiter and the kind of dude you would love to see get his ass kicked publicly as many times as possible because he deserves it.

“Wednesday night, that ass-kicking showed up in a video rant, and the person kicking his ass was none other than Stephen A. Smith.

“In case you missed it, the ESPN commentator and ‘First Take’ host spent nearly 40 minutes on his YouTube podcast, ‘The Stephen A. Smith Show,’ flame-broiling [Whitlock] — who he referred to as ‘a fat bastard that has gotten away for far too long talking his bullshit.’ . . .

“ ‘You wanted some? Fine. I’m happy to give it to you, you piece of shit,’ Smith said in the opening of his show.

“Smith was responding to a column Whitlock published on a right-wing website last week in which he accused Smith of being an industry plant that Disney and ESPN installed ‘at the top of sports media because his inadequacies as a journalist make him easy to control.’

“Whitlock also alleged that Smith did not write his own 2023 memoir, ‘Straight Shooter’ and directly accused Smith of making up some of the stories in his book, including one about how he got a basketball scholarship to Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina.

“I’m not going to give a play-by-play of what Smith said because in those 40 minutes, he said so much, and it was all delicious, so I highly recommend you check it out for yourself because it is well-worth the watch. . . .”

Whitlock responded in an interview Friday with conservative commentator Megyn Kelly on her Sirius XM show, saying of Smith, “I just started like raising questions about the facts and the truth of his memoir.” (video)

Whitlock also said, “I’m holding Stephen A. Smith to the same standards that I held Mitch Albom to, again, great sportswriter in the ’80s, ’90s, 2000, white guy, Jewish; Joe Posnanski, white guy, Polish, terrific, had a great reputation as a sportswriter.

“I’m holding Stephen A. Smith to the same standard as them — that’s ‘racist’ and, again, it’s like when you become accustomed to preferential treatment, equal treatment feels like oppression.

“That’s what’s going on with Stephen A. Smith and a lot of Black people in the media; these Black elites, they don’t want equal treatment, they want preferential treatment, and if you don’t give them preferential treatment, and if I don’t give them preferential treatment, we’re evil and wicked.”

Houston Landing investigative reporter Alex Stuckey working at her cubicle in the Houston Landing offices in March. (Credit: Marie D. De Jesús/Houston Landing)

Journalists Stunned by Firings at Houston Startup

“When they heard the rumors of turmoil at the top, the journalists of the Houston Landing gathered in the newsroom on Monday,” Will Sommer reported Friday for The Washington Post.

“There, they listened through a door as the CEO fired their beloved editor. Then, a star reporter was fired too.

“Later, some cried in the hallway or confronted the executive about a decision none saw coming. Many wondered how things could have gone bad so fast at a well-funded, experimental nonprofit publication they hoped would be shielded from the market forces that have clobbered the rest of the media industry.

“ ‘This was supposed to be the lighthouse,’ said one Houston Landing reporter who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern for their job.

“The sudden turmoil at Houston Landing — a seven-month-old news site backed with a hefty $20 million in foundation funding — is raising questions about whether the scores of nonprofit outlets attempting to save journalism in communities across the country will end up mired in the same woes as their languishing corporate rivals, from muddled transitions to digital formats to executive decisions that often come without a clear rationale.

“Until this week, reporters thought CEO Peter Bhatia (pictured, above) was happy with their site’s performance. Backed by wealthy local donors and two national journalism heavyweights — the Knight Foundation and the American Journalism Project — the Landing exceeded its traffic goals and expanded to a staff of roughly 45. Many had joined the Landing to work with its founding editor in chief, former Houston Chronicle senior editor Mizanur Rahman (pictured, below). In less than a year, they had published high-impact work: A mentally ill prisoner featured in a story was taken off death row, while a developer accused of predatory lending in an investigation on the site now faces a Justice Department lawsuit.

“But on Monday, Bhatia fired both Rahman and Alex Stuckey, an investigative reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017.

“After the firing, aggrieved staffers described themselves as ‘blindsided’ in a letter to the Houston Landing’s board. But for now, it seems as if Bhatia’s decisions will stand. The board said Wednesday in a letter to the staff that board members have ‘full confidence’ in the CEO. . . . “

Racial Groups Diverge on Racism, Immigration

“Americans of various racial backgrounds largely agree that the government should focus on the economy and foreign policy issues in 2024, but recent polling shows that views among racial groups diverge on some high-profile topics, including racism and immigration,” Matt Brown and Linley Sanders reported Wednesday for the Associated Press.

“About 7 in 10 U.S. adults across racial backgrounds — including white, Black, Hispanic and Asian adults — name issues related to the economy in an open-ended question that asks people to share up to five topics they would like the government to prioritize in 2024, making it the most commonly mentioned issue for each group, as well as for U.S. adults overall at 76%. . . .

“The data on U.S. adults overall — including Black, Hispanic and white adults — comes from an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in December. The data on AAPI communities comes from an AAPI Data/AP-NORC poll that aims to improve the survey data available about Asian American communities in the U.S., which are often underrepresented in public opinion research. . . .

“Immigration was named as a top priority for government action by 43% of Hispanic adults, 36% of white adults and 29% of Asians and Pacific Islanders, but only 19% of Black adults. Black and AAPI adults are less likely than white and Hispanic adults to mention involvement in overseas conflicts and other U.S. involvement internationally. About one quarter of white and Hispanic adults mention this as an issue to prioritize, compared to 7% for both Black and AAPI adults. . . .

“White adults were more likely than adults from other racial and ethnic groups to name politics as an important issue for the upcoming year. Four in 10 white adults name politics as a necessary focal point for the government, compared to 2 in 10 Black or AAPI adults. About one-third of Hispanic adults consider politics an important focus. White adults are also more likely than non-white adults to be concerned about government spending, government corruption and taxes.

“Non-white adults are more likely than white adults to highlight racism or racial inequality among the topics for the government to address. About 2 in 10 Black adults highlight racial issues, compared to 13% of Hispanic adults and 12% of AAPI adults. Each of these groups is more likely than white adults, at 7%, to mention it. Non-white adults also mention employment issues at a higher rate than white adults do, including job availability and the minimum wage. . . .”

A trailer for “Love & Muder: Atlanta Playboy,” which aired in two parts on BET. (Credit: YouTube)

Why Is True Crime Genre So White? Author Asks

“Before true crime had its recent resurgence in American popular culture, I began investigating the murder of Lance Herndon, a Black man,” Ron Stodghill (pictured, below), a professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, wrote Thursday for the Los Angeles Times.

“In the spring of 2001, I was working as a magazine writer in New York City when some 900 miles south in Atlanta, an explosive murder trial made headlines. The case was riveting: A high-rolling, 41-year-old tech entrepreneur was found nude and bludgeoned to death in his mansion. The suspects included a slew of spurned mistresses and business rivals.

“I caught a flight to Atlanta and began to probe the mysterious death of Herndon, a Gatsby-esque figure in a world of Black nouveau riche strivers. The experience of getting the book to print — and then last September, seeing its onscreen adaptation starring Taye Diggs — showed me what has and hasn’t changed for the genre.”

Stodghill also wrote, “Critics of the genre warn that the homogeneity of true crime stories not only reflects racial biases — it exacerbates them, too, negatively influencing policing and public perception of victims. In a blistering 2020 essay for the Appeal called ‘The Enduring, Pernicious Whiteness of True Crime,’ journalist Elon Green puts it this way: ‘It’s hard to overstate how inaccurate and damaging the results and perceptions created by so much whiteness has been.

” ‘Generations of readers have been led to believe that murder victims most often are women killed by men and that Black serial murderers are rare. Neither assertion is true.’ Green cites FBI statistics showing that most homicide victims are men killed by other men, and that the race of serial killers matches up with the racial makeup of the U.S. as a whole.

“It’s no surprise that instead of covering this diverse reality, true crime has gained a reputation for focusing on white women victims. Journalist Gwen Ifill famously [popularized] the phrase ‘missing white women syndrome’ to describe the media obsession with that demographic, contrasted with relative negligence toward missing women of color. The data have borne that out: A 2017 study found that white women accounted for almost half of missing persons news coverage, despite their making up a smaller proportion of total cases, while Black people were ‘significantly underrepresented’ in coverage. . . . “

Short Takes

  • “The United Negro College Fund announced a donation of $100 million from the Lilly Endowment Inc., the single largest unrestricted gift to the organization since its founding 80 years ago,” Annie Ma reported Thursday for the Associated Press. “The gift announced Thursday will go toward a pooled endowment for the 37 historically Black colleges and universities that form UNCF’s membership, with the goal of boosting the schools’ long-term financial stability. . . . ” Many of the HBCUs have journalism or communications units.
  • Stacy L. Smith, USC associate professor of communication; the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and the Adobe Foundation Thursday announced The Inclusion List, “a first-ever data-driven ranking system that honors the most inclusive series across broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms. . . . The top broadcast, and cable series honors went to Queen Sugar (OWN), The Baby (HBO), Naomi (CW), All American: Homecoming (CW), Twenties (BET), Queens (ABC), The Kings of Napa (OWN), 4400 (CW), Sistas (BET), and P-Valley (Starz). On the streaming side, the top 10 most inclusive series were Raising Dion (Netflix), Gentefied (Netflix), The Garcias (Max), The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray (AppleTV+), Reasonable Doubt (Hulu), Now and Then (Apple TV+), Rap Sh!t (Max), With Love (Amazon Prime), First Kill (Netflix), and Swarm (Amazon Prime).”
  • Ten of the nation’s Black publishers, who as Word In Black “have worked hard over the past three years to grow Word In Black into a national news site focused on solutions to racial inequities in America,” have officially incorporated as a public benefit company, effective Jan. 1, the company announced Jan. 9. The 10 publishers are: AFRO News, The Atlanta Voice, Dallas Weekly, Houston Defender, Michigan Chronicle, New York Amsterdam News, The Sacramento Observer, The Seattle Medium, The St. Louis American and The Washington Informer.
  • “Michael Strahan’s 19-year-old daughter, Isabella Strahan, is battling a brain tumor. The dad and daughter duo shared the news together on Thursday in a joint interview with Robin Roberts for Good Morning America,” Sophie Schillaci reported Thursday for ET Online. “The announcement comes nearly two months after the 52-year-old GMA co-host made his return to the ABC morning show and to his NFL analyst job for Fox NFL after a mysterious weeks-long absence. . . . According to estimates published in the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, Medulloblastoma accounts for about 20 percent of all childhood brain tumors with about 500 children diagnosed each year. Video
  • “Patsy Loris (pictured), who assumed the role of Executive Vice President of News for Telemundo network on January 1, 2022, succeeding Luis Fernández following his retirement, has left the company,“ Veronica Villafañe reported Thursday for her Media Moves site. “A Telemundo spokesperson confirmed her last day was Monday, January 8, with no interim or permanent replacement at this time. Loris, after a 30-year career at Univision, crossed over to Telemundo in 2019 to become SVP of Elections 2020 and Special Projects. During her tenure at Telemundo, she oversaw coverage of the 2020 presidential election and January 6 Capitol attack, in addition to supervising the revamp and launch of the network’s morning show “hoyDía,” prior to stepping into the top network news manager role. . . .”
  • “Aside from cuisine and smattering of events,” Boston’s Vietnamese community “has been largely invisible in the local news. Coverage has been lacking on pressing social issues and is often misrepresentative of the rich cultural experiences of the people who call the area home,” Boston University students Mitch Fink, Frankie Puleo, Audrey Tumbarello and Ella Willis, participants in the Fall 2023 Race and Gender in the Media Class in the College of Communications, reported for Sampan, based in the city. “In fact, news reports center mostly on the food, with little depth on the Vietnamese-American people who have transformed that area, according to an analysis of media reports and interviews with Asian-American civic and political leaders.”
  • “Ishena Robinson (pictured), formerly the editorial director for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, has joined URL Media as its Editorial Director,” co-founders S. Mitra Kalita and Sara M. Lomax announced Jan. 8. “Robinson will oversee the URL network’s political coverage in this presidential election year as one of her primary responsibilities. In her role, she will also amplify the content across URL’s consortium of 27 Black and Brown-owned media organizations and its collective audience of 27 million users.”
  • “Over 25 Ukrainian journalists remain in Russian captivity, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, the newly appointed head of the Ukrainian parliament’s Committee on Freedom of Speech, said in an online event on Jan. 10,” Dinara Khalilova reported Thursday for the Kiev Independent in Ukraine. ” ‘These are not combatants, these are journalists who were doing their job, and according to the civilized rules of warfare, should not have been captured in principle, but the fact is the fact. We understand how uncivilized Russia has trampled on any human rights,’ Yurchyshyn said. . . .”

(Credit: Capital News, Kenya)

  • The Vienna-based International Press Institute welcomed enactment of an access to information law by the Zambian government. “This follows the adoption by the Zambian parliament of the law in early December 2023 after over two decades of tireless advocacy by civil society. . . . Access to information laws are critical as they enable investigative journalists and citizens alike to request information from public institutions, which are obliged to provide such information within reasonable timelines. Such laws, when effectively implemented, promote transparency and government accountability,” IPI explained Jan. 9.
Higuayagua tribal dancers gather at the 2023 Narragansett Pow Wow on the Narragansett Reservation in Rhode Island. Kasike (Chief) Jorge Baracutay Estevez, who is working with his tribe to rebuild the Taino language once spoken by his people, is on the back row, second from the right, holding a blue maraka, or rattle, that is filled with Kaletukuya (white stones) representing the hebeyo’no, or ancestors. His wife, Valerie Tureiyari Vargas, is standing next to him, third from the right, in a blue headdress. (Photo courtesy of Jorge Baracutay Estevez)
  • Eight journalists, social communicators and photographers have been selected as part of a new scholarship program in the Peruvian Amazon from Salud con Lupa, a digital media outlet that focuses on public health reporting, Florencia Pagola reported Dec. 19 for LatAm Journalism Review. “As part of the program, Salud con Lupa also created a training program and launched the first network of Indigenous health communicators and journalists in the region. The objective of the program, which is supported by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, is to strengthen coverage of the main public health challenges facing Indigenous populations who live in the area. . . .”
  • “Ecuador is reeling from a fresh wave of violence that has shaken the South American nation, with President Daniel Noboa launching a military crackdown on gangs after criminal groups took more than 100 prison staff hostage and armed men dramatically interrupted a live television broadcast,” Julia Symmes Cobb reported Jan. 10 for Reuters. Andres Oppenheimer wrote in the Miami Herald, “The explosion of drug-related violence in Ecuador should be a stark reminder for Mexico, Colombia and other Latin American countries that making peace deals with organized crime groups rarely works. On the contrary, it most often emboldens the drug gangs and allows them to become formidable criminal armies. . . .”
  • “The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) condemned the espionage of journalists in Peru, ordered by the authority of the Attorney General’s Office with the intention of criminalizing the press, according to reports published in the local press,” the IAPA said Jan. 8. “[…] Journalist and editor with La República newspaper, César Romero, and his family, as well as columnist and director of the Sudaca website, Juan Carlos Tafur, were under investigation, video surveillance, and police monitoring between April 5 and November 23, on the orders of prosecutor Andy Rodríguez, during the tenure of suspended Attorney General Patricia Benavides Vargas, as revealed by La República.”

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