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Prince Sought Ties With Black Media

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‘Vital to Him That We Were Part of the Mix’

No Guarantees at Free Press After Fellowships

5 Journalists of Color Among JSK Stanford Fellows

Freed Iranian Hostage Among 12 U.S. Nieman Fellows

Comcast-NBC Merger Led to Latino Stereotypes

Writer Sees Economic Gulf Between Press, Public

World Bows Down for Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’

Print vs. Digital: Which Makes Writer Think Twice?

Short Takes

Tavis Smiley, right, says of Prince, “I’ve never met a more curious mind. . . .” (Credit: J. Van Evers/Tavis Smiley Media)

‘Vital to Him That We Were Part of the Mix’

The outpouring of pixels, print and video memorializing Prince continued unabated on Monday with testimony about the superstar’s allegiance to the black community and especially to black media.

In an interview published Sunday with Shenequa Golding of Vibe magazine, publicist Terrie Williams described how she met Prince, who died at 57 on Thursday, through the late jazz legend Miles Davis.

“This had to be a good — I started [the agency] in’88 and Miles and Eddie Murphy were my first two clients and Miles and I sort of became friends. We were in LA and we went to something, to some club, I don’t remember what it was and Prince was there and that’s how I met him,” Williams said. “This was definitely in the late 80s, like ’88 or something like that, and that was where I first met him. The second time that I met him was when the agency was retained to secure urban outreach for Prince’s Welcome To America tour, which was at Madison Square Garden and New Jersey.

“I’m sorry Terrie. When you said you were trying to secure urban outreach, you were trying to secure black publications?” Golding asked.

“Yes, and that was just really it because I had this kinship with him. What I know is that there are people who have a tendency to disrespect black media.

“Right.

“Like, for example, I always just say same ‘bougie negroes’ who will never even pick up a black newspaper. Black media is the heartbeat of our community and to exclude us in anyway is not cool. But that was something that I was pleasantly surprised to just know that he felt passionately about.

“Why were you surprised?”

“Because I didn’t know him know him, you know what I’m saying? I’ve represented a lot of people and sometimes over the years, I’ve had to convince clients about the significance of black media. So it was just a pleasant surprise to know he cared and that it was vital to him that we were part of the mix and that just spoke volumes. . . .”

On Friday, talk show host Tavis Smiley described how Prince called him for a one-hour lunch that turned out to be a four-hour conversation. “About what? Everything,” Smiley said.

“Little did I know that although I was the talk show host, Prince was actually interviewing me! He’d decided that he was ready to talk on a live TV show and I was his choice. Later I realized that he wanted to spend time getting to know me, to decide whether or not I was worthy of the kind of conversation in which he was ready to engage. A frank talk about his music, the word ‘slave’ we’d seen on his face, artists’ rights, his world view and then some.

“After a few more chats to get better acquainted, I guess I passed the test, because one day he called and asked if I’d have him as a guest on my talk show. . . .”

The bond grew so close that the musician would grill Smiley afterward about “State of the Black Union,” the annual forum he hosted on C-SPAN for 10 years.

“We would feature the best and brightest minds in Black America, trying to wrestle intellectually with our unique challenges, and offer solutions to make Black America better,” Smiley said.

“Like most iconic artists, Prince was not mildly, but wildly curious. He’d sit at home and watch these live sessions all day every year. And each year, I awaited the phone call that I knew was forthcoming when the sessions concluded. He’d taken copious notes and wanted me to continue the conversation over at his house. He wanted in. And, he wanted me to bring certain panelists over to the house with me for a sort of academic after party.

“I’d always oblige, and everybody from Cornel West to Dick Gregory would sit around his table dissecting the political, economic, social and cultural issues confronting the black community in particular, the nation and the world. I’ve never met a more curious mind.. . .”

On The Root on Monday, Harriette Cole recalled her time as creative director and editor-in-chief of Ebony magazine. “Our team had worked hard to secure an interview and photo shoot with Prince, just ’cause. We wanted to know how his mind was ticking at that that time. We knew that whatever he was thinking was worth knowing, and so we stalked him until he agreed to let us photograph and interview him.

“Our connector was Tavis Smiley, his unlikely ace. Tavis was slated to do the interview. After Prince and I met and immediately dove deep into talking about God, spirituality, the cosmos and politics, he decided I was going to do the honors.

“Never mind that interviewing Prince meant hand scribbling notes, attempting to capture his transcendent funk poetry because his paranoid a** refused to let me record anything electronically.

“We made magic during our brief time together. He did what he did best. He mesmerized us with his sense of self, with his specificity, with his good manners, with his musical artistry, with all that made Prince, Prince. He liked us, the Ebony team, and kept us with him well into the night, even performing with a few band members on his sound stage, some songs he had been working out only hours earlier. . . .”

On Facebook, Paula Madison, former diversity executive at NBCUniversal whose family owns the Africa Channel, wrote, “He was a brother who knew that his fellow Black folks needed help. He insisted that the overwhelming majority of ticket prices for his 21 Nights Tour at The LA Forum be only $25!!!

“We spent days and days into nights discussing the ownership of the US’ airwaves and how Black folks are disadvantaged in that realm. He decided he wanted to grant The Africa Channel access to his LA tour and that’s how we came to produce the special 30-minute on The Africa Channel.

“He was not only a musical genius but was a learned man who read voraciously and studied movies and TV. Just know that we lost a truly Down Brother. . . .”

The special, “PRINCE! Behind the Symbol,” aired in 2011 and is being streamed on the Africa Channel.

No Guarantees at Free Press After Fellowships

As if journalism fellowship programs don’t face enough obstacles in attracting more applicants of color, some news organizations are scaring away potential fellowship applicants by refusing to guarantee the journalists their jobs when the fellowship ends.

Suzette Hackney

“It’s true; the Free Press does not hold the job — or any position for that matter — for folks who accept fellowships,” Suzette Hackney, formerly with the Detroit Free Press, told Journal-isms by email on Monday.

Hackney was the sole U.S. journalist of color in the Knight-Wallace Fellows program at the University of Michigan for the 2012-13 academic year. In January 2014, she joined the Blade in her hometown of Toledo, Ohio, as an editorial writer and columnist.

Last June, she moved to the Indianapolis Star as community engagement editor and columnist.

“If you accept, you do so with the understanding that you won’t have a job post fellowship,” Hackney continued. “That’s a very scary proposition for many; I was willing to take the risk in 2012, when I left the Freep for the KWF,” or Knight-Wallace Fellowships.

Free Press Editor Robert Huschka did not respond to requests for comment. Fellowships provide the means for journalists to take a break from the daily grind and explore a project of their choosing.

Last week, Lynette Clemetson, a veteran journalist and a news executive at NPR who on April 5 was named director of the Knight-Wallace Fellowships and Livingston Awards at the University of Michigan, told the Journalists Roundtable in Washington that many journalists of color are afraid to apply for fellowships.

“Even the Detroit Free Press, so close to Ann Arbor, no longer guarantees employees a leave of absence to accept a journalism fellowship,” Clemetson told the group.

The first journalist of color to head one of the major fellowship programs, Clemetson said at her appointment, “In this changing media landscape, many journalists are concerned that if they take time out to apply for or accept a fellowship they may lose their jobs.

“I think this is especially true for journalists of color, who have been especially hard hit in past years of media downsizing. The Wallace House programs, with their international outlook and regional character, support diversity of all sorts. As director, I want to work to make media organizations see the value in supporting these programs. And I will be working hard to encourage journalists from a range of backgrounds to apply.”

Clemetson said that the Free Press was not alone in its policy and that she planned to speak to editors about the value of fellowships to the newsroom. The Michigan program plans to emphasize more digital journalism and multimedia storytelling, she said.

2016-17 U.S. JSK Fellowship class at Stanford University

5 Journalists of Color Among JSK Stanford Fellows

The John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University on Monday announced its 2016-17 fellowship class, which includes two Latinas, two African Americans and an Asian American among its 12 U.S. fellows. Eight are women and four are men.

JSK Managing Director Dawn Garcia said in the announcement, “This year’s JSK Fellows represent journalism’s best risk takers — innovators in established newspapers and broadcast organizations like The Los Angeles Times, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune and Seattle’s KPLU Radio, as well as those practicing journalism at newer journalism ventures such as BuzzFeed News, Radio Ambulante and Project Facet.”

Garcia was recently named director of the program to succeed James Bettinger, who is retiring after 27 years leading the fellowship program as director and deputy director. She will become director on Sept. 1.

The journalists of color and their projects:

Jason Rezaian

Freed Iranian Hostage Among 12 U.S. Nieman Fellows

Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post reporter who was released in January after spending 18 months in an Iranian prison, is one of 12 American journalists awarded a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University in the class of 2017, the program announced on Tuesday.

Rezaian, the paper’s former Tehran bureau chief, is to study “what the new arc of U.S.-Iran relations means for American foreign policy in the Middle East. Drawing on his unique experiences in Iran, he will examine the possibilities and the challenges of this diplomatic opening.”

Unlike the other major fellowship programs and previous Nieman administrations, the program is not providing information about the diversity of the class.

“I’m afraid we can’t release that information due to stringent FERPA laws,” Ellen Tuttle, communications officer, told Journal-isms last year, referring to the U.S. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. “Harvard considers all application information confidential, so we can’t release the information.”

However, the announcement includes this information about the fellows’ study plans:

Comcast-NBC Merger Led to Latino Stereotypes

The news industry was abuzz Monday with the announcement of the Gannett Co.’s unsolicited bid to acquire Tribune Publishing, owner of such news organizations as the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. But Latino researchers reported  on Friday that media mergers such as that of Comcast and NBCUniversal lead to more stereotyping of Latinos.

“Overall, we found that even with a slight rise in the percentage of Latinos on screen, the number of stereotypes skyrocketed after the merger,” Frances Negrón-Muntaner and Chelsea Abbas wrote Friday for Fox News Latino. “Although Latinos — who are currently 55 million strong, contribute to every field and profession, and comprise 18 percent of the U.S. population — are extraordinarily diverse, they are increasingly playing four kinds of roles: criminals, police officers, blue-collar workers or ‘sexy’ Latinas. . . .”

They also wrote, “Even more stunning, news is worse than fiction. Our analysis of the influential NBC Nightly News show from 2012 to 2014 revealed that U.S. Latino stories accounted for a dismal 1.8 percent of over 9,000 broadcast segments, and the combination of U.S. Latino and Latin American stories together was only marginally better at 3 percent.

“Likewise, while 4.3 percent of non-Latino U.S. news related to crime, a whopping 64 percent of the Latino-themed segments were about criminal activity and illegal immigration. . . .”

Should Gannett acquire Tribune Publishing, there would almost certainly be cuts, Sydney Ember and Leslie Picker reported for the New York Times.

“The unsolicited bid is a rare move in the newspaper industry, but it underscores the industry’s rising desperation,” they wrote. “In the last several years, publishers have rushed to consolidate as newspaper prices have fallen. Many see these moves as a way to cut costs and build scale as they struggle with declining circulation and dwindling print advertising revenue. . . .

“Gannett could also cut costs by eliminating duplicate departments and management positions,” Ember and Picker wrote, quoting Bob Dickey, CEO and president of Gannett. “He estimated these savings at $50 million, a number that some experts saw as a bit low. . . .”

Writer Sees Economic Gulf Between Press, Public

“So here is the situation: A country that is increasingly younger, darker and half female is being reported on by a press corps that is older, whiter and more male,“ Neal Gabler wrote Sunday for Moyers & Company, examining why “the self-important, pontificating political reporters and pundits who dominate our press, got it all wrong about Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.”

“A gaping demographic gulf separates the press from the people — a gulf that undoubtedly affects the kinds of stories chosen and the way in which they are covered,” Gabler wrote.

However, he continued, “the widest gulf between the press and the people is probably not politics (over 50 percent of reporters call themselves independents, so they aren’t pitched at the political poles) or race or ethnicity or geography or even the culture that is forged by a combination of these — though all are important and all contribute to a press corps that neither resembles America nor, in many respects, thinks like most Americans.

“Rather, the widest gulf may be economic. It is very possible that reporters — especially the Big Feet — dismissed Trump and Sanders because journalists couldn’t possibly fathom the deep, seething, often unspoken economic discontent that afflicts so many Americans and that has helped fuel both the Trump and Sanders movements. They couldn’t fathom it, perhaps, because they haven’t experienced it. I know because I have.

“When you put their geographical proximity together with their class solidarity, it is entirely likely that MSM reporters will huddle, the way most geographic and economic cohorts do.

“They are more likely to see the same things, attend the same parties and events, mingle with the same people, draw on the same sources and send their children to the same schools, which adds up to their seeing the world in similar ways and reporting the same stories in the same ways. In short, the MSM is not only an elite, it is a kind of economic and cultural clique. And that clique is not us. . . .”

Beyoncé debuted her hour-long visual album “Lemonade” Saturday on HBO. (Credit: HBO)

World Bows Down for Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’

“The wait is officially over,” Lilly Workneh wrote Sunday for HuffPost BlackVoices.

“On Saturday, Beyoncé released ‘Lemonade’ on HBO, which turned out to be a captivating 12-track visual album that immediately made the world graciously bow down.

“The hourlong premiere featured a series of music videos creatively strung together through spoken word, stunning imagery and searing lyrics that only Beyoncé could deliver so beautifully. But perhaps what makes it most beautiful is that the album’s visuals are almost entirely carried by various images of black women.

“It is a powerful move from Bey, who uses her latest work to validate the experiences of black women everywhere.

“Oh, did we mention it also comes with a pretty dope dance scene with Serena Williams, who slays in a bodysuit?

On Public Radio International’s “Marketplace,” on Monday, Kai Ryssdal told listeners, “Serona Elton teaches music business at the University of Miami and I asked her, on a scale of economic and cultural power right now, where is Beyonce?”

Elton replied, “Well I’d have to say, what’s the top number of that scale, because that’s pretty much where she sits right now. She is a force, and she’s very much a self-made woman, now she’s got her hand in just about every aspect of the entertainment business and she’s really in control of all of it.”

On the “PBS NewsHour,” Salamishah Tillett of the University of Pennsylvania said of the effort, “Well, I think it’s Beyonce pulling a Beyonce.

“And by that, I mean, she is an artist who has — this is her second consecutive visual album that was dropped unexpectedly. I think it’s akin to Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ premiere on MTV in 1983, and, of course — and this may be controversial, but to — it’s comparable to Dylan going electric at the Newport Folk Festival in ’65, meaning that you have an artist who’s at their peak who is conjuring and converging with the sound technologies and the political demands of the moment.

“So, it’s unexpected and it’s a surprise, but only Beyonce could do this in this magnificent of a fashion. . . .”

Print vs. Digital: Which Makes Writer Think Twice?

In an interview published Monday with a London art and design school, the Washington Post’s Robin Givhan answered questions about her role as a fashion critic, including whether she felt that digital and print offer different approaches for a journalist.

Robin Givhan

“I really consider them different versions of the same thing, in the sense that, to me, the same rules of writing, journalism, reporting, and fact-finding apply,” Givhan told Sarah Moroz of Central Saint Martin at the University of the Arts London.

“Increasingly, there are certainly publications that are digital-only, but I don’t know if there’s any publication that is print only. So you have to be nimble, and you have to understand how to work in the digital realm. At this stage of the game, to say you want to pursue print is a little bit like saying I want to pursue horse and buggies. It’s charming, but their days are numbered. You have to be able to move back-and-forth between both.

“That said, I think there are things that are to be learned from print that are helpful in digital. There is a permanency to print that I think makes you much more cautious, and much more concerned that you’re getting it right the first time. You can’t go into a glossy publication that’s been published. You can’t go into a newspaper and update it. Once it’s there, it’s there.

“And I think, having that sense that it’s on the permanent record makes you much more circumspect in how you describe things. I often feel that with digital, there is this wonderful aspect of immediate gratification. You can write it, and there it is.

“One colleague joked that online, there’s no such thing as a ‘correction,’ it’s just an update. But the reality is that the mistake is out there. You can update it, but you can’t take it back. Once you put out bad information, the bad information lives on. The problem with that doesn’t come through as vividly as it should, when people are accustomed to working only in a digital environment.

“To me, a mistake online is as horrifying and egregious as one in print. Every journalist that I know is horrified in the pit of their stomach if they make a mistake. The sense of ramifications should be there.

“With print, it’s more expensive; the barrier to entry is higher. And as a result, most print publications are corporately owned. The complaint, of course, is that that squelches independent voices. But, the good thing about that is that it means there is an entity that is responsible. So that if there is a mistake, or someone feels they have been mistreated, there is this recourse of a lawsuit. There’s an entity that you can sue that has money you could get. And as a result, they do tend to be more careful!

“And I think the danger with digital is that it’s so much more democratic — that possibility of reach is so enormous that a single person can do tremendous damage. The person who’s damaged has no recourse. And the person who does the damage doesn’t have any kind of warning flag, or something reminding them of the damage that they can do. . . .”

Short Takes

Sabrina Vourvoulias
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