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Sportswriter Fired After Anti-Japanese Tweet

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Terry Frei ‘Uncomfortable’ With Indy 500 Winner

Woods Arrest a Gift for New Sports Columnist

Lantigua-Williams Leaving NPR ‘Code Switch’

Europeans Say They Find Trump Unstable

Trump Budget Would Gut Civil Rights Programs

In Monuments Debate, What About the Indians?

At ESPN, ‘Role Was Changing Seemingly Every Year’

Reporter’s Scary Ride Nets a Million Views

Nominate a J-Educator Who Promotes Diversity

Ecuador’s Journalists Hope for Easier Time

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Terry Frei ‘Uncomfortable’ With Indy 500 Winner

“The Denver Post has fired writer Terry Frei after he tweeted that he was ‘very uncomfortable with a Japanese driver winning the Indianapolis 500 during Memorial Day weekend,’ “ Tim Molloy reported Monday for TheWrap.

Terry Frei

“After Takuma Sato won the Indy 500 on Sunday, writer Frei expressed his discomfort while clarifying that it was ‘nothing specifically personal.’ A huge backlash ensued, as many people took the comment extremely personally.

“Frei deleted the tweet, apologized and said in a lengthy apology that his father, former University of Oregon coach Gerald L. ‘Jerry’ Frei, had fought against the Japanese in World War II, flying 67 missions in all. . . .”

“The Post issued tweeted Monday that Frei was ‘no longer an employee.’

“ ‘We apologize for the disrespectful and unacceptable tweet that was sent out by one of our reporters,’ the paper said. [. . . ]’The tweet doesn’t represent what we believe nor what we stand for.’ . . .”

In Indianapolis, meanwhile, Dakota Crawford wrote Sunday for the Indianapolis Star, “Japanese commentators were rightfully ecstatic as Sato became the first Asian driver to win the Indy 500 on Sunday. It was only his second career win, but don’t tell these guys that.

“As Sato rounded Turn 4 and slowly clinched a win over Helio Castroneves, these guys get more and more excited. Their voices, exclaiming words we can’t translate (but don’t really need to), slowly climb octave after octave and eventually evolve into succinct shouts. . . .”

Woods Arrest a Gift for New Sports Columnist

Tuesday’s Daily News cover

Tiger Woods’ arrest Monday on suspicion of driving under the influence provided the subject for Carron J. Phillips’ debut sports column in the Daily News in New York.

In one iteration, it was headlined, “Tiger Woods’ arrest latest example of why Black America still won’t invite him to the cookout.”

Phillips, who is African American, wrote, “If we’re being totally honest, Tiger Woods was never built for this.

“He did try to warn us, but only a few of us listened.

“ ‘Growing up, I came up with this name: I’m a “Cablinasian.” ‘The term was something Woods created to describe his heritage, which was a blend of Caucasian, Black, Indian and Asian.

Carron J. Phillips

“But it is apparent that what Tiger Woods didn’t know then, he still hasn’t quite figured out. That he is a Black man in America. . . .”

In a statement to USA Today, Woods denied he had been drinking.

“I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved. What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications. I didn’t realize the mix of medications had affected me so strongly. . . .”

Eric Barrow, sports editor of the News, wrote staffers Friday that Phillips “joins us from the News Journal in Delaware where he served on the editorial board.

“He’s a Morehouse and Newhouse graduate who will be writing columns and features where sports, social issues and pop culture intersect.

“He’s also covered the NBA and NFL and college hoops. . .”

Phillips, a 2006 Morehouse graduate, was engagement editor at the News Journal in Wilmington, where he also was enterprise sports reporter.

Lantigua-Williams Leaving NPR ‘Code Switch’

Juleyka Lantigua-Williams, hired in December to great fanfare as senior supervising producer and editor of NPR’s “Code Switch” team reporting on race relations, is leaving NPR later this week, Journal-isms has learned.

“You can say that I am leaving to create my own thing,” Lantigua-Williams said Tuesday by email. “I’m so grateful for my time at NPR, where I learned so much—especially about the type of work I want to be doing at this point in my career and who I’d like the work to reach. So I’m really excited about my next steps, which will build on my 17 years as a journalist, writer, and editor.”

Steve Drummond, senior education editor, will oversee “Code Switch” as a national search for a new supervising editor starts, NPR spokeswoman Isabel Lara told Journal-isms by email on Tuesday .

Juleyka Lantigua-Williams

Keith Woods, then vice president for diversity in news and operations (his duties have since expanded), wrote of Lantigua-Williams in a Dec. 19 message to the NPR staff, “She comes to us from Atlantic Media, where she was Managing Editor of the Next America team for the National Journal and, more recently, a staff writer covering criminal justice for The Atlantic.

Woods also wrote, “We chose Juleyka because of her leadership style and managerial experience, her subject-matter expertise, and her editorial imagination. She is an immigrant (the Dominican Republic) who grew up in The Bronx and lives . . . with her husband and two children.

“I’m confident that her caffeinated enthusiasm will ignite ideas in everyone around her, and her laugh will make you laugh. Juleyka’s connection to NPR began in Miami in 2000 when she was getting her first graduate degree and she joined Shereen Marisol Meraji in the inaugural Next Generation bootcamp with Doug Mitchell. . . .”

Protesters in Brussels rally against President Trump during his visit to the city Wednesday to attend the NATO summit. (Credit: Miguel Discart/Creative Commons)

Europeans Say They Find Trump Unstable

“I have been searching for months for a word to describe America in the Age of Trump and found it on a train in Sweden from Malmo to Gothenburg,” Rochelle Riley wrote Sunday for the Detroit Free Press.

“Actually, it was given to me by a nurse headed home after work.

“In the days I have spent in Germany, Denmark and Sweden, President Donald Trump’s name has been on the lips of every stranger, whether they were journalist, custodian or barista, whether we were in a hotel lobby, train station or restaurant. Trump would actually like that, or at least he might until he heard what the lips were saying.

John Yearwood

“ ‘I feel sorry for your president,’ a bathroom attendant said in a city building water closet as I washed my hands. She wiped down the sinks after each visitor, the fatigue visible in her eyes, her white hair pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck.

” ‘Why?’ I asked her.

” ‘Because he is stupid.’ It was so matter-of-fact, said without any hint of animus or humor. . . .”

Riley also wrote that the nurse said, “President Obama was calm. Things now are uncertain, unstable. There is fear. And there it was: I’ve used many words to describe our situation since last November’s election: chaos, circus.

“But I should have looked at adjectives because ‘unstable’ is the right word. . . .”

Riley was in Hamburg for the 66th annual General Assembly conference of the International Press Institute, a Vienna-based press freedom group.

There, members of IPI’s Executive Board re-elected John Yearwood, former world editor of the Miami Herald, as the board’s chair.

Trump Budget Would Gut Civil Rights Programs

“The Trump administration is planning to disband the Labor Department division that has policed discrimination among federal contractors for four decades, according to the White House’s newly proposed budget, part of wider efforts to rein in government programs that promote civil rights,” Juliet Eilperin, Emma Brown and Darryl Fears reported Monday for the Washington Post.

“As outlined in Labor’s fiscal 2018 plan, the move would fold the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, now home to 600 employees, into another government agency in the name of cost-cutting.

“The proposal to dismantle the compliance office comes at a time when the Trump administration is reducing the role of the federal government in fighting discrimination and protecting minorities by cutting budgets, dissolving programs and appointing officials unsympathetic to previous practices.

“The new leadership at the Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, has proposed eliminating its environmental justice program, which addresses pollution that poses health threats specifically concentrated in minority communities. . . .”

(Credit: JD Crowe, Alabama Media Group, AL.com)

In Monuments Debate, What About the Indians?

“I am certain that the sight of Confederate monuments in New Orleans being removed by a crane from their undeserving pedestals is both beautiful and historic,” Carolina Castoreno wrote Monday for Indian Country Today.

“I am certain that the sound of the statues scraping those foundations as they are uprooted and carried off sends chills of strange comfort through the veins of onlookers.

“But in all their dutiful and noble glory, the removal ceremonies have missed a valuable opportunity — to include Natives in the conversation. That’s because injustice against American Indians is still sanctioned by the government and either accepted or ignored by the public. . . .”

Castoreno also wrote, “Natives are not considered in the reconciliation process because to do so would mean that the promise of freedom and prosperity is a hustle. We will not be able to reflect upon the past because for the United States we remain fixtures of the past — because it is easier to say Indians WERE noble savages than it is to say Indians ARE modern human beings.

“New Orleans is asking the country to embrace the truth of history while Natives are still expected to just ‘get over it.’ Can we use this significant step forward to set a precedent for future healing ceremonies? Can we next tackle Mount Rushmore and bring justice to the Native people of this land? I’ll be more than willing to chip away the first stone.”

At ESPN, ‘Role Was Changing Seemingly Every Year’

Jean-Jacques Taylor

“Obviously no one is immune to layoffs, but did you believe your association with the [Dallas] Cowboys would have provided some employment safety for you?” Richard Deitsch asked Jean-Jacques Taylor Sunday for Deitsch’s Sports Illustrated column, headlined, “Why were three top-notch reporters laid off from covering America’s most popular team?”

The other reporters Deitsch had in mind were Ed Werder and Charean Williams, also laid off from news organizationsand also interviewed.

Taylor replied, “I vacillated over that throughout my last year at ESPN because I could never, ever get a handle on it. I mean, I knew the Cowboys had more page views than any other team except the Patriots, but I also knew every time you looked around somebody was coming to town to do a story whether it was from [ESPN] The Magazine or Undefeated or Bill Barnwell, Mike Sando or Kevin Seifert, all talented dudes who have a unique perspective on the NFL.

“So you’re trying to figure out your value because, maybe, they think they can get enough from Todd Archer, who’s terrific, and all of the supplemental coverage that they don’t need me, per se.

“Even though I had more institutional knowledge on the beat than virtually anybody else, you wonder how much it’s respected or if people even care. Plus, my role was changing seemingly every year because that’s the ESPN way.

“I have no problem with change because it can be good and it forces you to grow, but when you change as often as ESPN changes it’s difficult to get a good feel for whether you’re giving your bosses exactly what they want.

“Plus, the Cowboys beat is the only one that had two reporters last year. If you’re trying to cut costs, it makes sense pragmatically to cut the beat that has two reporters.”

Reporter’s Scary Ride Nets a Million Views

“KFSN reporter, Cory James, got a pre-holiday assignment just about any reporter would be into,” Stephanie Tsoflias Siegel reported Friday for TVSpy.

“The Fresno reporter was sent to California Adventure to get an ‘inside look’ of the Guardians of the Galaxy ride opening this weekend.

“Not only did he give viewers a tour, he went live while taking a ride.

“James’ reaction is so giggle-worthy it’s received over one million views on Facebook. . . .”

Georgia News Lab students at WSB-TV in Atlanta, 2015. Director David G. Armstrong, 2106 Bingham award winner, is fifth from left. (Credit: Georgia News Lab)

Nominate a J-Educator Who Promotes Diversity

Beginning in 1990, the Association of Opinion Journalists, formerly the National Conference of Editorial Writers, annually granted a Barry Bingham Sr. Fellowship — actually an award — “in recognition of an educator’s outstanding efforts to encourage minority students in the field of journalism.”

AOJ merged last year into the American Society of News Editors, which is continuing the Bingham award tradition.

Since 2000, the recipient has been awarded an honorarium of $1,000 to be used to “further work in progress or begin a new project.”

Past winners include James Hawkins, Florida A&M University (1990); Larry Kaggwa, Howard University (1992); Ben Holman, University of Maryland (1996); Linda Jones, Roosevelt University, Chicago (1998); Ramon Chavez, University of Colorado, Boulder (1999); Erna Smith, San Francisco State (2000); Joseph Selden, Penn State University (2001); Cheryl Smith, Paul Quinn College (2002); Rose Richard, Marquette University (2003).

Also, Leara D. Rhodes, University of Georgia (2004); Denny McAuliffe, University of Montana (2005); Pearl Stewart, Black College Wire (2006); Valerie White, Florida A&M University (2007); Phillip Dixon, Howard University (2008); Bruce DePyssler, North Carolina Central University (2009); Sree Sreenivasan, Columbia University (2010); Yvonne Latty, New York University (2011); Michelle Johnson, Boston University (2012); Vanessa Shelton, University of Iowa (2013); William Drummond, University of California at Berkeley (2014); Julian Rodriguez of the University of Texas at Arlington (2015) (video); and David G. Armstrong, Georgia State University (2016) (video).

Nominations may be emailed to Richard Prince, ASNE Opinion Journalism committee, richardprince (at) hotmail.com. The deadline is June 23. Please use that address only for ASNE matters.

Ecuador’s Journalists Hope for Easier Time

Lenin Moreno

“After the inauguration this month of Ecuador’s first new president in a decade, the country’s beleaguered journalists will be looking to see if Lenin Moreno is any more tolerant of the press than his notoriously confrontational predecessor,” Dan Collyns and Jonathan Watts reported Monday for Britain’s Guardian.

“Moreno has hinted that he will reform the communication law, which was introduced in 2013 by former president Rafael Correa as a means of exerting control over a largely critical private media.

“Hundreds of lawsuits have been launched as a result of the legislation, cowing editors, undermining the financial base of newspapers and even forcing cartoonists to ‘rectify’ their images. Police have raided newsrooms, publications have been shut down and at least one journalist has been forced into exile.

“Local journalists have frequently complained that censorship inside Ecuador under Correa belied the government’s claim to be a champion of free speech when it accepted the asylum request of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

“Moreno has promised a new approach. . . .”

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera, citing news services, reported Monday that Moreno has criticized Assange as a ‘hacker’, but stressed his government will allow the WikiLeaks founder to remain at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

“Moreno, who took office this month, has broken with his predecessor Rafael Correa, who had said Ecuador had ‘done its duty’ by granting the Australian asylum in 2012.

” ‘Mr Assange is a hacker,’ Moreno told journalists on Monday. ‘That’s something we reject, and I personally reject.’

“He added: ‘But I respect the situation he is in, which calls for respect of his human rights, but we also ask that he respects the situation he is in.’ . . .”

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