Articles Feature

Streep Inspires Donations for Feisty, Free Press

by richard02270

More Than 1,000 Contribute After Golden Globes

Worried Univision Leaders Meet With Trump

U.S. Muslims Already in Databases, Reporters Find

Trump Team Promises Black Press a First

NABJ Leaders Meet With Cubans in Havana

Black Downward Mobility Makes for “Fascinating” TV

“Know Anyone?” Not a Strategy for Hiring Diversity

23 to Leave Seattle Times Newsroom

Holt to Interview Obama on Air Force One

Short Takes

Homepage photo credit: Paul Drinkwater/NBC

More Than 1,000 Contribute After Golden Globes

The Committee to Protect Journalists has received more than 1,200 donations totaling more than $200,000 after Meryl Streep called on the “famously well-heeled Hollywood Foreign Press” to support the press-freedom group during Sunday night’s Golden Globe Awards.

Courtney Radsch, advocacy director at CPJ, provided Journal-isms with that figure shortly after noon on Tuesday.

“We’re going to need them,” Streep said of CPJ in her speech calling out President-elect Donald J. Trump, “and they’ll need us to safeguard the truth.” On a normal Sunday night, the committee receives about a handful of donations.

Benjamin Mullin reported Monday for the Poynter Institute, “The Committee to Protect Journalists doesn’t yet have a final tally from Sunday night, Radsch said. But a cursory look shows that the contributions were fairly modest.

” ‘Most of them were small, individual donations coming from people who appear to have been inspired by her speech,’ Radsch said.

“Although Streep’s speech was made in the context of Donald Trump’s tumultuous relationship with the media, Radsch noted that there are huge challenges facing journalists abroad. Last year was the worst on record for journalist imprisonment around the world, with Turkey alone jailing 81. . . .”

Callum Borchers wrote Monday for the Washington Post, “Streep ripped Trump for his obvious mockery of a journalist’s physical disability in late 2015, and Trump responded by once again denying that he meant to make fun of the reporter’s condition.

“Trump has previously claimed he was not aware that the reporter, Serge Kovaleski of the New York Times, has an impairment that visibly affects the flexibility and movement of his arms,” Borchers added. He also wrote, “As I’ve written before, Trump’s defense simply isn’t believable. . . .” [Updated Jan. 10]

TMZ created this graphic in 2015 after Univision pulled the plug on Donald Trump's Miss USA pageant and Trump said he would sue.the network for hundreds of millions of dollars. Trump wrote a letter to the president of Univision, saying "Please be advised that under no circumstances is any officer or representative of Univision allowed to use TRUMP NATIONAL DORAL, MIAMI — its golf courses or any of its facilities."
TMZ.com created this graphic in 2015 after Univision pulled the plug on Donald Trump’s Miss USA pageant and Trump said he would sue the network for hundreds of millions of dollars. Trump wrote the president of Univision that “under no circumstances is any officer or representative of Univision allowed to use TRUMP NATIONAL DORAL, MIAMI — its golf courses or any of its facilities.”

Worried Univision Leaders Meet With Trump

“Univision says that it will ‘continue to cover the Trump administration with the rigor that we have brought to the coverage of every administration that preceded it,’ after a meeting today with the President-elect — one of several he has had lately with some of his most vigorous media opponents,” David Lieberman reported Monday for Deadline Hollywood.

Donald J. Trump met in New York with Univision CEO Randy Falco and Isaac Lee, chief news, entertainment & digital officer for Univision Communications Inc.

As Chris Ariens reported for TV Newser, “Trump and Univision have a contentious history. Not long after he announced his candidacy in 2015, during which he made derogatory remarks about Mexicans, Univision cut its business ties with Trump. Trump then sued the network for $500 million.

“A few months later, Trump kicked Univision News anchor Jorge Ramos out of a news event. In February, the two sides settled and Trump even promised an interview to Ramos (which never materialized). . . .”

Lieberman continued, “In a statement, Univision says that it had ‘a productive meeting’ with Trump ‘about issues facing Hispanic and multicultural communities in America. . . .’ ”

The story is different behind the scenes at Univision, Adrian Carrasquillo wrote Sunday for BuzzFeed. Under the headline, “Why President Trump Is ‘A Nightmare For Univision ,’ ” Carrasquillo wrote, “Current and former executives, talent and employees paint a picture of a network that went all-in on a Hillary Clinton victory and vanquishing the man they painted as a real-life villain for a year and a half — a network wholly unprepared for the possibility that he might win. One former executive said there was no plan B. ‘The hubris was so large they were sure they were going to win,’ they said.

“ ‘It’s a nightmare for Univision,’ one top talent said. ‘The network chose and Ramos himself chose to be Trump’s main antagonist.’

“Employees say that conversations have been had at the highest levels of the news department including Univision head Isaac Lee, [Daniel] Coronell [president of news], and Ramos, where leadership has been introspective, wondering if they understand the Hispanic audience as well as they say they do and whether it’s more conservative than they previously thought after Trump won a higher than expected percentage of the Latino vote. But the same source said there wasn’t enough responsibility being taken. . . .”

U.S. Muslims Already in Databases, Reporters Find

“While major tech firms such as Apple, Facebook and Google have joined over 2,800 individual tech workers in pledging not to assist the incoming Trump administration with the construction of a mandatory registry of Muslims, there is one small problem,” Aaron Sankin reported Wednesday for the Center for Investigative Reporting.

“Such a database already exists, and anyone can buy it for less than $20,000.

Sankin also wrote, “Dylan Lehotsky, vice president of business development sales at Exact Data, one of the firms offering a list of American Muslims, told Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting that the complete list could be purchased for around $17,000. A representative from another broker, Sprint Data Solutions, which has a list it says comprises 95 percent of the Muslims living in the United States, said the pricing on a list of more than 1 million names would cost $0.014 per record. . . .”

Benjamin C. Chavis Jr., shown at a September meeting of the Journalists Roundtable in Washington, was promised the first post-Inauguration interview with Donald J. Trump. (Credit: George Tolbert IV)
Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., shown at a September meeting of the Journalists Roundtable in Washington, was promised the first post-Inauguration interview with Donald J. Trump. Chavis is president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, representing publishers of black community newspapers. (Credit: George Tolbert IV)

Trump Team Promises Black Press a First

“Omarosa Manigault, recently named assistant to the president and director of communications in the Office of Public Liaison for the Trump Administration, has promised the first press interview with President Trump to Benjamin Chavis, president/CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, according to sources who attended a private meeting with the Trump transition team last week,” Hazel Trice Edney reported Tuesday for her TriceEdneyW‏ire.

“Manigault’s promise of the interview was disclosed after a representative of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) stressed the importance of Black reporters interfacing with the president. Both Chavis and NABJ representatives participated in the closed door meeting held Jan. 4 at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in North West DC.

“ ‘When NABJ said we need to make sure that somebody Black interviews the President first, [Omarosa] said, ‘Oh no. Ben Chavis and I have already spoken and he’s going to be the first interview,’” recounted veteran civil rights leader Barbara Arnwine, president/CEO of the Transformative Justice Coalition, in an interview this week. Arnwine said Chavis then ‘acknowledged that that was correct — that they had already been in touch with him about it.’ . . .” [Added Jan. 10]

DeWayne Wickham, with arms outstretched, planned the trip of about 20 members of the National Association of Black Journalists, filmmaker/actor Tim Reid and representatives from Morgan State University to Cuba. Wickham is a past NABJ president and dean of the Morgan State University's School of Global Journalism and Communication.
DeWayne Wickham, with arms outstretched, planned the trip to Cuba by about 20 members of the National Association of Black Journalists, filmmaker/actor Tim Reid and representatives from Morgan State University. Wickham is a past NABJ president and dean of the Morgan State School of Global Journalism and Communication. The current NABJ president, Sarah Glover, is at rear, right. (Credit: NABJ)

NABJ Leaders Meet With Cubans in Havana

“NABJ President Sarah Glover, NABJ Founder and Former NABJ President DeWayne Wickham and Global Journalism Task Force Co-Chair Rochelle Riley met with Inés Ford Fernández, Ambassador for the Republic of Cuba Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the United States, in Havana, Cuba on Friday,” the National Association of Black Journalists announced on Monday.

” ‘It is noteworthy that NABJ sits at the table with one of the highest ranking Cuban officials who’s charged with U.S.-Cuba relations at this time of political change. NABJ members should be an integral part of telling the stories surrounding political implications as White House administrations change,’ said NABJ President Sarah Glover. ‘We learned that Cuba is a gateway to Latin American relations and could be seen in the warm welcome we received by the Cuban people along our travels.’

“The group is traveling with a delegation of about 20 people, including NABJ members, filmmaker/actor Tim Reid and representatives from Morgan State University. . . .”

Zazie Beetz and Donald Glover in “Atlanta.” (Credit Quantrell Colbert/FX)
Zazie Beetz and Donald Glover in “Atlanta.” (Credit: Quantrell Colbert/FX)

Black Downward Mobility Makes for “Fascinating” TV

“Some of the most fascinating conversations about class anxiety aren’t happening on cable news networks these days but on a more unexpected place on television: shows like ‘Atlanta,’ ‘black-ish’ and ‘Insecure,’ which have explored a profound, if largely ignored, economic issue — black downward mobility,” Salamishah Tillet reported Friday for the New York Times.

Tiffany Smith-Anoa'i (Credit: Francis Cavanaugh/CBS)
Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i (Credit: Francis Cavanaugh/CBS)

Tillet also wrote, “ ‘Comedy in the black community is almost always about struggle,’ said Mary Pattillo, author of ‘Black Picket Fences: Privilege and Peril Among the Black Middle Class.’

” ‘And while exploring class differences is not new for black sitcoms, it is important that these themes are reproduced and restaged for each generation. The specifics might be different, but every generation returns to this theme because the precarity of the black middle class has not disappeared.’ . . . ”

Meanwhile, Jane Porter, writing in Time magazine, conducted a question-and-answer session Jan. 3 with Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i , senior vice president at CBS Entertainment.

“Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i spent two years pitching the higher-ups at CBS Entertainment a diversity and inclusion department and convincing them that she was the one to oversee it. Now she focuses on making sure that the network’s shows reflect the real world. Smith-Anoa’i, 46, spoke with Real Simple about bold proposals and sweet victories. . . .”

Real Simple is a Time Inc. property.

“Know Anyone?” Not a Strategy for Hiring Diversity

“I’ve now had the privilege of directly hiring a lot of people in various countries and for different companies, and have contributed to the hiring of many more, Stacy-Marie Ishmael, managing editor for mobile at BuzzFeed News and 2016–17 fellow in the John S. Knight Fellowships program at Stanford University, wrote Sunday for medium.com.

“Many of the people I’ve hired or helped get hired have come from backgrounds and demographics not traditionally represented in media and technology.

“Finding those people took work, and lots of it. But most people don’t want to do that work. I know that because at least once a week I get an email or a DM or a text along the lines of, ‘not getting any diverse candidates for this job, know anyone?’

“This is not a strategy, and it is infuriating how often hiring managers do this and then pat themselves on the back for their ‘outreach’.

“As Shani Hilton has written, building a diverse organization is work.

“Are you ready to do the work?

  • “Recruiting is an ongoing process. . . .
  • “Job descriptions matter. . . .
  • “Where you post your job descriptions matters even more. . . .
  • “What your organization currently looks like can help, or hurt, your hiring. . . .
  • “Train and hold accountable everyone involved in the hiring process. . . .
  • “You will also need to formalize the hiring process. . . .
  • “Don’t close the job until you have a representative set of candidates in the final round.  . . .”
Seattle Times building (Credit: Ken Lambert/Seattle Times)
Seattle Times building (Credit: Ken Lambert/Seattle Times)

23 to Leave Seattle Times Newsroom

“In a combination of buyouts, layoffs, and voluntary departures, 23 people will soon leave the Seattle Times newsroom as the paper faces falling ad revenue and attempts to restructure its newsroom,” Heidi Groover reported Saturday for the Stranger, an alternative publication in Seattle.

Five of those staffers are non-union employees who took buyouts or were laid off. “According to an email to staff from editor Don Shelton, some of those are editors who’ve been at the Times for decades.

  • “Kathleen Goodfellow, executive assistant to the editor
  • “Andrew MacRae, senior product manager in audience development
  • “Greg Rasa, news editor (Rasa has been at the paper 30 years, according to his LinkedIn page.)
  • “Whitney Stensrud, assistant managing editor in visuals
  • “Mark Watanabe, technology editor (Watanabe has also been at the paper nearly 30 years, according to LinkedIn.) . . .”

Holt to Interview Obama on Air Force One

“President Barack Obama will sit down with ‘NBC Nightly News’ anchor Lester Holt for an in-depth and intimate interview in Chicago this Tuesday, ahead of the president’s farewell address to the nation,” NBC News announced Sunday. obama-nbc-promo-1-13-17

“Holt will have rare access, traveling on Air Force One with President Obama on his final trip to Chicago — the birthplace of his campaign — as Commander in Chief. The two will also visit a restaurant in Hyde Park to discuss how the president believes he delivered on the promises made eight years ago and his hope for the nation moving forward. . . .”

Obama will deliver his farewell address at 9 p.m. ET at McCormick Place in Chicago, just a few miles from where he gave his victory speech in November 2008, according to CBS News.

The television networks are adjusting their schedules to accommodate the speech, Daniel Bubbeo reported Saturday for Newsday.

NBC also said, “The one-hour ‘Dateline NBC’ special, ‘Barack Obama: The Reality of Hope,’ airs Friday, January 13 at 10p/9c. Portions of the interview will also be featured on the platforms of NBC News and MSNBC, including TODAY, NBC Nightly News and NBCNews.com. . . . ”

Short Takes

Joep Bertrams (Pays-Bas) - Cartooning for Peace
Joep Bertrams (Pays-Bas) — Cartooning for Peace

geneva-overholser-courtesy-usc-annenberg

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— Geneva Overholser, senior fellow at the Democracy Fund and former director of the USC Annenberg School of Journalism.

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