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Reporters Say V.P. Pick Walz Earned Blacks’ Trust

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An ‘Old White Guy’Sides With the Marginalized
What Was It Like to Cover Kamala Harris?
Merida to Chronicle LeBron for WaPo Opinions
Roy Wood Jr. to Host CNN Panel Show
AAJA Limits Media Coverage; Just 1 Signs Up
Axios Lays Off 50, ‘Painful but Necessary’
ABC’s Pierre Thomas Visits Home of Enslaved Ancestors

Short Takes: Louisiana curbs press access; census and Afro-Latinos; big grant to Student Press Law Center; Charles Barkley; Oliver Darcy; Robin Wilson-Glover; Kennan Oliphant; Ismaeel Naar; Venezuela journalists attacked; Larry Madowo; attacks on journalists in Kenya, Nigeria

Homepage photo: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signs into law a sweeping package of police accountability measures on July 23, 2020. They included a ban on neck restraints and chokeholds and fear-based or “warrior-style” training, which critics say promotes excessive force. (Credit: Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune, Minneapolis)

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After the conviction of Derek Chauvin and the shooting death of Daunte Wright, KARE-TV in Minneapolis reports on April 30, 2021, on Gov. Tim Walz’s push for statewide police reform. (Credit: YouTube)

An ‘Old White Guy’ Sides With the Marginalized

“Though Kamala Harris’ vice presidential running mate, Tim Walz, may be seen as an ‘old white guy’ – a phrase the Minnesota governor used in jest during his first campaign rally on Tuesday – those familiar with his record say he has always been on the side of Black and marginalized communities,” Gerren Keith Gaynor wrote Wednesday for The Grio.

Brandon Tensley, writing Tuesday in Capital B, another Black online publication, reported much the same. “Walz, who armed Democrats with powerful messaging when he described Republicans as ‘just weird,’ will likely have broad appeal, given his positions on key issues affecting Black communities,” Tensley wrote.

Other journalists interviewed Minnesota’s Black attorney general, Keith Ellison, who recalled that Walz personally asked him to be lead prosecutor in the case of the George Floyd murder. After Ellison won that case, Vice President Kamala Harris phoned him with a congratulatory message.

[“The brother of the man who was at the center of the crisis says he’s putting his full support behind Walz,” Olivia Rubin reported Friday for ABC News.

[” ‘What I took from him was a good man,’ George Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, said in a phone interview with ABC News. ‘You don’t meet a lot of people like him.’ “]

“Tim Walz and I were elected to Congress together in 2006 and statewide office together in 2018,” Ellison said in a statement. “We have worked alongside one another for almost 20 years, so I can say with confidence that there is no better choice for Vice President of the United States of America. Tim has the courage of a veteran, the compassion of a school teacher, the grit of a football coach, and the experience of both a congressman and governor.”

Tensley continued, “Walz has been in the vanguard of protecting the sanctity of the ballot box. In May, he signed the Minnesota Voting Rights Act. The legislation revives private enforcement after an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last year limited who can sue under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, weakening a centerpiece of the Civil Rights Movement.

“Additionally, the legislation makes it easier for college students to vote and eliminates prison gerrymandering by using an incarcerated person’s previous address instead of the address of their place of imprisonment for census counting. . . .”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a former schoolteacher, spoke with third graders at an event encouraging children to read. His former students said he was inspiring in the classroom. (Credit: Star Tribune)

Moreover, Walz has advocated for a number of other causes that especially help Black communities, Tensley wrote. “In July, he signed the African American Family Preservation Act to grant greater protections to families confronted with separation in the foster care system. In . . . 2023, he signed the CROWN Act to combat the discrimination Black and brown people face in the workplace and at school because of their hair texture or style. And in 2021, he established the Missing and Murdered African American Women’s Task Force [PDF] to address the violence plaguing Black women.

“Propelled by the killing of George Floyd in 2020, Walz enacted police reforms after a lengthy struggle to get a bill through the state’s divided government. . . .”

Gaynor quoted Fred Redmond, secretary-treasurer at AFL-CIO and the highest-ranking Black American in labor movement history, who said Walz “has proven to be a friend of the Black community. . . Just by virtue of some of the legislation that he passed as governor, some of the bills that he supported while he was a member of Congress … I think our community will really get behind his candidacy.”

In the Spokesman-Recorder, the Black-owned Minnesota newspaper, Al Brown wrote Tuesday of Walz, “In 2020, he stood in solidarity with peaceful protestors, advocating for police reform while simultaneously addressing state concerns about public safety. This balanced approach resonated with voters following the tragedy that shook the nation, showcasing his ability to listen and respond to the will of the people.

“Moreover, the national discourse around police accountability and civil rights will undoubtedly remain at the forefront of the upcoming election. Walz’s experience navigating these issues gives Harris’s campaign a potent asset. His participation in various public forums discussing police reform demonstrated his commitment to finding solutions that embrace justice while respecting community needs, making him a compelling choice in a time hastened by demands for change. . . .”

Perhaps receiving even more media attention, in March 2023, Walz signed a bill to provide free school meals — both breakfast and lunch —for Minnesota students at participating schools, regardless of their family’s income.

A new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll shows Kamala Harris with a three-point lead over Donald Trump nationally, within the poll’s margin of error, Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett reported Tuesday for the “PBS News Hour.” “We have seen a 20-point jump among Black voters, 25-point jump among white college-educated women, and 28-point jump among independent women,” said Domenico Montanaro, senior political editor and correspondent for NPR. (Credit: PBS News Hour/YouTube)

What Was It Like to Cover Kamala Harris?

“Kamala Harris’s name first appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1994 and, since then, outlets across the state have tracked her political ascent,” Kevin Lind reported Tuesday for Columbia Journalism Review. “The California journalists who have followed her from her days as the district attorney of San Francisco know her as few in the press do.

“Erika D. Smith (pictured) — formerly at the Sacramento Bee, now a columnist at Bloomberg — could sense, early on, the scale of Harris’s ambition: ‘It always just seemed like she was destined to do something else,’ she said. ‘The question was just what?’ “

Vic Lee (pictured), a longtime broadcast journalist with KRON and KGO-TV in the San Francisco Bay Area, observed, after visiting Harris at home: “Boy, Kamala takes a lot after her mom.”

“Recently,” Lind wrote, “I spoke with these and other journalists who have wisdom to share about covering Harris from their experience in local newsrooms. . . .”

Lee told Lind, “She was always reachable, available, and very gracious with her time. Never dodged me. I think she was that way with most reporters. She took a lot after her mother. Her mother was gracious and very kind. I thought Harris was a good district attorney. She had some problems — she was district attorney when the crime lab scandal happened. That’s the only negative I remember during her tenure. . . . “

Smith said, in part, “The reality is the more she trusts people, the more she’s willing to open up. I’m not saying that I’ve interviewed her enough to break that down, but I do know of reporters who have, where she’ll share recipes or other things. I don’t think that she’s not willing to talk about herself. She’s not going to talk about herself to everybody.

“I think that most Americans have never had a Black woman boss. They may not even know that many Black women beyond characters they see on TV. They may not even know anybody who’s from California, either. In some ways, she’s defining this territory. People are glomming expectations onto her, rightly or wrongly, based on their own experience. That’s something that complicates this whole conversation. But the thing about it is, when I talk to her, when I have interacted with her, she’s exceedingly normal.”

Also interviewed: Joe Eskenazi, managing editor of Mission Local, former columnist for SF Weekly; Carla Marinucci, political journalist, formerly with Politico and the San Francisco Chronicle; Kevin Fagan, reporter, San Francisco Chronicle; and Dan Morain, author of “Kamala’s Way,” a former Los Angeles Times columnist and editorial page editor at the Sacramento Bee.

Separately, former president Donald Trump Thursday re-committed to a debate with Harris on ABC on Sept. 10, after backing out last week.

Kevin Merida posted on LinkedIn in May, “Haven’t done much of this since I left the LA Times, but enjoyed chopping it up with my friend and former ESPN/The Undefeated (now Andscape) colleague Mark W. Wright, who hosts the hashtag#PressPausePodcast. We had fun talking about everything from newspapers and the future of journalism to the NBA and how it can improve its All-Star Weekend. Here’s a link if you want to take a listen on your next walk or hike.”

Merida to Chronicle LeBron for WaPo Opinions

Kevin Merida is a sports fan who was senior vice president at ESPN and editor-in-chief of The Undefeated (now Andscape), and remained so during his nearly 23 years at The Washington Post and almost three more as executive editor of the Los Angeles Times. Now he is returning to the Post for a project that builds on those experiences.

“I am going to take on a yearlong project for The Post Opinions section as a contributor,” Merida messaged Journal-isms Tuesday.

“Not as a Post staffer. So keeping my independence out in the marketplace. But happy to be writing again. And will do other things as well. This project is part of a David Shipley/Post Opinions initiative — they’ve asked some writers to take in an idea for a year.

“Anne Lamott, for instance, took in aging. I’m gonna take on LeBron, greatness, transition. And try to write for a general audience — more assessment, perspective and contemplation (rather than reporting and daily chronicling) of one of the most successful human beings on the planet. Completely dominant in his field for 20 years. But more on that later. The form will be columns/essays, but also other storytelling devices.”

The references are to Post Opinions editor David Shipley and of course to LeBron James, who as a star on the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team fought back from a 13-point deficit Thursday to beat Serbia in a thrilling men’s basketball semi-final (video).

Roy Wood Jr. hosted the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (video) in 2023. (Credit: NBC News screenshot)

Roy Wood Jr. to Host CNN Panel Show

“Roy Wood Jr. is getting back into the news-and-comedy game,” Rick Porter reported Thursday for the Hollywood Reporter.

“The comedian and Daily Show alum has been named the host of Have I Got News for You at CNN. The cable news outlet will debut its version of the long-running BBC panel show on Sept. 14.

“Have I Got News for You is a BBC staple, having been on the air since 1990. The show features two teams of panelists answering questions about the week’s news, with a heavy dose of humor. CNN announced in May that it was developing its own version of the show with Hat Trick Productions, producer of the BBC show.

“ ‘For far too long immigrants have been coming to America and taking Black jobs, kudos to CNN and the immigrants at Hat Trick Productions for bringing a Black job to the States,” Wood said in a statement. ‘It is an honor to be a part of such a hallowed British institution to help make sense of the American institutions of chaos, name calling, disinformation, reality television and the 8-hour news cycle.’ ”

AAJA says, “We want the convention to be as accessible as possible to as many members as possible; as you may know, AAJA conventions have sold out the past two years. This is why we limit press passes to one day.” (Credit: Richard Prince)

AAJA Limits Media Coverage; Just 1 Signs Up

A new policy requires journalists covering the Asian American Journalists Association convention to spend up to $675 to register for the conference if they want to report on it for more than one day.

The response: Only one journalist — this columnist — applied for press credentials, and did not accept the offer to register.

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists adopted the same policy last month at its conference in Hollywood, Calif. It did slightly better. Two people applied for press credentials — this columnist and a representative of a local station that had an anchor on one of its panels, according to Andrew Sherry, who manages public relations for both associations.

The response was reflected in the coverage, or lack of it. Though both organizations seemingly want to publicize their work and get their advocacy messages out, search engines show only one story in the mainstream media about the NAHJ conference. That was in De Los, the Spanish-interest section of the Los Angeles Times.

There has been no coverage so far of the AAJA conference, which began Wednesday in Austin, Texas, save for reporting of a news release.

By contrast, the National Association of Black Journalists, which has no such one-day-only requirement, issued press credentials to at least 70 journalists, and that was before the news of Donald Trump’s then-impending appearance was announced. The onslaught of coverage is now one for the record books.

Some journalists, told of the AAJA and NAHJ policies responded with “Wow, that’s crazy,” “they’re being penny wise and pound foolish,” or “seems contradictory for a media organization to restrict media access.”

As Sherry explained the policy, there is no difference between a reporter whose beat has been media diversity for decades and a weather reporter in Anytown, USA.

“The reason for the policy is that virtually all convention attendees are working journalists engaging with the sessions in a professional capacity, and their registration fees directly support the convention,” he said. “A one-day pass allows coverage of a specific session by a journalist who might not be interested in the whole conference.”

Ai Uchida, AAJA deputy director and director of operations, put it this way in an email: “AAJA has a one-day media policy for approved press at our convention. That is how we have been doing it since post-COVID. We do it this way because we want the convention to be as accessible as possible to as many members as possible; as you may know, AAJA conventions have sold out the past two years. This is why we limit press passes to one day.”

NABJ has a different take on the “everybody is a journalist” view: Its application form says, “Media representatives will be required to submit documentation from their supervisor of approval to cover the convention, and possibly a copy of their work ID upon completion of the credentials form.”

As of Friday, AAJA had 1,489 registrants, according to Sherry. NAHJ said Friday it hosted 1,840 journalists, media executives and exhibitors; NABJ 4,364 and the Indigenous Journalists Association 402 this year.

For this conference, AAJA announced a revision of its style guide and headlined another release, “First-of-its-kind analysis shows Asian American broadcasters face significant gaps, especially on gender.“

The style guide is “not meant to be a dictionary or encyclopedia on all things Asian but an actionable and practical guide by AAPI journalists to add context and guidance to terms that are being used or that should be avoided in the news,” according to the announcement.

“For example, it reminds journalists that ‘illegal’ can be used to describe an action, but applying it to an immigrant is inaccurate and dehumanizes the person described. The term ‘kamikaze drone’ is an inaccurate and insensitive way to describe an exploding unmanned aircraft. And the 120,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals detained in the U.S. during WWII were ‘incarcerated,’ not ‘interned.’ ”

On the broadcasters, the release says, ” ‘Both female and male AANHPI [Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander] broadcast journalists face career challenges, but often in different ways that aren’t widely understood, which is particularly challenging given stereotypes and biases towards AANHPIs.’ says Naomi Tacuyan Underwood, AAJA Executive Director. ‘For instance, data shows that despite improvements in recent years, AANHPI men are far from reaching full representation, while AANHPI women are seldom given full-time roles. ‘ “

As with all of the journalists-of-color conventions, attendees said they were most looking forward to seeing old friends and colleagues. Job seekers visited the career fair. Panel discussions included such topics as “Asian Americans in Texas,” “Elevating Diverse Stories: Why It’s Important and How to Get Them on the Air,” “From Crisis to Coverage: How to Be Safe and Report,” “Get Camera Ready in 15 Minutes,” “Reporting on Asian American Muslims,” “Championing Press Freedom: Our Commitment in the US and Globally,” artificial intelligence and skills training.

A “mini film fest” featured “A Great Divide,” written by journalist Jeff Yang.

The closing Gala Scholarship & Awards Banquet Saturday is to feature pioneering broadcaster Connie Chung and Viet Thanh Nguyen, noted Vietnamese American novelist and a professor.

No membership meeting is scheduled; “The Board wants to make it more inclusive by hosting it online, so people who aren’t at the conference can participate. We’ll announce the (early fall) date soon,” Sherry said.

Axios Lays Off 50, ‘Painful but Necessary’

At least four journalists of color are leaving Axios as the media outlet eliminates 50 positions to “get ahead of tectonic shifts in the media, technology, and reader needs/habits,” in the words of CEO Jim VandeHei.

“This is a painful but necessary move to tighten our strategic focus and shift investment to our core growth areas,” VandeHei wrote, Natalie Korach reported Tuesday for The Wrap. “We’re making some difficult changes to adapt fast to a rapidly changing media landscape.”

Simran Parwani, a data visualization journalist wrote on X, “Guess it’s my last week
@axios
 , still a bit shocked and sad that half our team was laid off, but grateful to have learned so much from my kind, brilliant
@AxiosVisuals. coworkers”

Wilborn P. Nobles III of Axios Atlanta wrote, “Trying to handle my new situation with levity, but yeah. Taking an internet break, but let’s stay in touch fam. God bless.”

Sam Robinson tweeted, “I’m losing my job Friday! Oh well. If you’re a staffer I’ve been working with: Please send all campaign stuff/press releases” to [his personal email address]. When Robinson posted some political news, laid-off colleague Selene San Felice, who worked for Axios in Tampa Bay, wrote, “You can take the reporter out of the job, but you can’t take the job out of the reporter. Or something.” Robinson replied, “The f— else am I gonna do?


(Credit: YouTube)

ABC’s Thomas Visits Home of Enslaved Ancestors

“Genealogists and researchers spearhead the ’10 Million Names’ project, an ambitious initiative to identify every enslaved Black American by name,” Doc Louallen and Terri Martin wrote Wednesday for ABC News. “It led ABC News Senior Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas to discover the West Virginia plantation where his ancestors were born into slavery.

“ABC News is the exclusive media partner of the historic ’10 Million Names’ project, a moonshot endeavor that aims to use ancestry research to put a name to each enslaved person to not only acknowledge their dignity, but to connect their living descendants with their family history. . . .”

“It’s hard for me to be here, it’s a challenge,” Thomas says as he visits the Jenkins Plantation, the ancestral home of his great-great-grandmother. While there are statues of Albert Gallatin Jenkins, the slaveholder, Harvard graduate, two-term congressman and Confederate general,” Thomas wonders what his own ancestors looked like.

Vincent Brown, Harvard University professor and “10 Million Names” scholar, reminds Thomas, “We have more pictures of enslavers than we have of the enslaved people.”

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Richard Prince’s Journal-isms originates from Washington. It began in print before most of us knew what the internet was, and it would like to be referred to as a “column.” Any views expressed in the column are those of the person or organization quoted and not those of any other entity. Send tips, comments and concerns to Richard Prince at journal-isms+owner@groups.io

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