‘Keefe D’ Made Incriminating Statements in Media
A ‘Broke’ SPJ Cancels 2024 Conference:
Rise of More Targeted J-Groups a Factor
Absence of Latinos in Key News Jobs Detailed
Right Wing Angered by Calderón’s Debate Questions
1,000 Apply for Beyonce and Taylor Swift Beats
Reuters Reports Mass Killings of So-Called ‘Slaves’
Saving Journalism With a 30-Second Video

Short Takes: Alicia Menendez; Hasan Minhaj; Chris Nguyen; Deborah Roberts; Muscogee freedmen; James Blount

Homepage photo: A mural in Bellflower, in Los Angeles County, Calif., honors such local legends as Kobe Bryant, Vin Scully, Snoop Dogg, Oscar de la Hoya, Tupac Shakur and Danny Trejo.

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A clip from “Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Murders,” was posted on YouTube in 2016.

‘Keefe D’ Made Incriminating Statements in Media

The suspect arrested Friday in the fatal drive-by shooting of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur in 1996 sealed his doom by bragging in the media, including in his own book, that he was complicit, authorities said.

Marc DiGiacomo, a chief deputy district attorney in Clark County, Nev., which includes Las Vegas, said in court Friday that Duane Keith Davis, known as “Keefe D“or “Keffe D” and now 60, was the “on-ground, on-site commander” who “ordered the death” of Shakur and the attempted murder of Marion Knight, the rap mogul known as Suge, who was driving the car holding the rapper, Joe Coscarelli and Julia Jacobs reported for The New York Times.

“Shakur was 25 when he was gunned down in a drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip on the night of Sept. 7, 1996,” as the Associated Press reported. “The rapper was in a BMW driven by Death Row Records founder Marion ‘Suge’ Knight in a convoy of about 10 cars. They were waiting at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them and gunfire erupted.

“Shakur was shot multiple times and died a week later.”

Davis, or Keefe D, wrote of the shooting, “I stand firm on the point that Tupac, Suge Knight and the rest of those niggas didn’t have any business putting their hands on my beloved nephew, Baby Lane. Period,” according to Daniel Kreps, reporting Friday for Rolling Stone. “Them jumping on my nephew gave us the ultimate green light to do something to their ass. Tupac chose the wrong game to play.

“For us, Vegas was another day at the office. It may sound cold-hearted, but from a street perspective the killings of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls would be considered nothing more than collateral damage. As a result, the hip-hop world has lost two of its most talented and revered musical artists and icons. At this point in my life, I can say I have a deep sense of remorse for what happened to Tupac. He was a talented artist with tons of potential to impact the world. I hate that Tupac’s family, friends and fans, especially his mother, Afeni Shakur, had to go through the pain of losing her son. It’s terrible losing people like that; I know the pain too well.”

Kenan Draughorne added in the Los Angeles Times, “In his memoir ‘Compton Street Legend,’ published in 2019, Davis said he and his crew were in Vegas with plans to watch Mike Tyson fight Bruce Seldon. After Tyson knocked Seldon out in the first round, Davis and his group planned to go out on the Strip, before they learned Davis’ cousin Orlando ‘Baby Lane’ Anderson had been jumped by members of the Death Row Records camp while walking in the lobby of the MGM Grand.

“With revenge on their minds, Davis and crew set out in search of Knight and Shakur. Davis wrote in the book that he tossed the gun he’d been given into the backseat of the white Cadillac in which Anderson and DeAndre Smith sat. Hours later, they spotted the Death Row caravan stopped at a red light, with Tupac waving to fans while hanging out of the window of a BMW.

“ ‘The next few seconds all happened so quickly,’ Davis wrote. ‘Tupac made an erratic move and began to reach down beneath the seat … and that’s when the fireworks started. One of my guys from the back seat grabbed the Glock and started bustin’ back.’

“ ‘The first shot skinned Suge in the head,’ he continued. ‘I thought the m—f— was dead. I heard stories that Suge supposedly used Tupac as a shield when the bullets started flying. But that’s some bulls—. Suge was already wounded. … As the rounds continued flying, I ducked down so that I wouldn’t get hit.’ “

(Draughorne also wrote, “Davis has said in his book ‘Compton Street Legend’ that one of his ancestors was Nat Turner, an enslaved preacher who led the deadliest slave rebellion in U.S. history in 1831.”)

Prosecutor DiGiacomo “said that the ‘broad outline of facts’ surrounding Shakur’s killing has been known to police since 1996,” Katelyn Newberg reported Friday for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “but that authorities lacked ‘admissible evidence’ until Davis began making public statements in recent years, and published a book in 2019 claiming he is connected to the shooting.

“ ‘He admitted within that book that he did acquire the firearm with the intent to go hunt down Mr. Shakur and Mr. Knight,’ DiGiacomo said. ‘He admitted to being the front-right passenger in the white Cadillac.’ ”

Fans were outraged when Davis made his statements on BET.

“During the interview, Keffe D claims he was in the car when his nephew Orlando Anderson fired the fatal shots at Tupac Shakur,” Gabby Hart reported in 2018 for Las Vegas television station KSNV.

“Keffe D said his nephew was upset after Tupac and his entourage assaulted him in the lobby of the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas strip.

“He also said the only reason he is coming forward now is that he is dying of cancer.

“Anderson died in 1998, but upset fans want LVMPD to charge Keffe D as an accessory to murder. . . .

“LVMPD sent the following release, saying . . . Tupac’s murder is still an open investigation:

” ‘We are aware of the statements made in the BET interview regarding the Tupac case. As a result of those statements we have spent the last several months reviewing the case in its entirety. Various reports that an arrest warrant is about to be submitted are inaccurate. This case still remains an open homicide case.’ . . .”

In 2019, KSNV reported that, “In 2009, now-retired LAPD Detective Greg Kading made a major break in the cold case murder.

“Kading secured a recorded confession from Duane Davis, also known by his street name Keffe D. He gave his initial statement under what’s known as a proffer session.

” ‘He can confess to crimes, but those confessions can’t be used against him, but that doesn’t mean he’s immune from prosecution,’ Kading explained.

“With that limited immunity, Keffe D. told authorities that he was in the car when his nephew Orlando Anderson shot and killed Tupac. He even says he passed him the gun.

“That recorded confession was used in a 2015 documentary called ‘Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac murders’.

“The production was created by filmmaker Mike Dorsey.

“Since then, Keffe D. has done several other interviews in which he repeated his confession. He even has a new book about it for sale on Amazon. . . .”

“What he’s done publicly, all the confessions he’s made since on BET, VLAD T.V. and these other platforms … those don’t fall under the protection of his agreement,” Kading said.

The New York Times Friday cited “reporting across nearly three decades,” and called Shakur “one of the most popular artists of the 1990s, with tracks that brought poetic gravitas to confrontational gangster rap. But talk of the case was revived in July, when the Las Vegas police executed a search warrant at a home in Henderson, Nev., connected to Mr. Davis.

The Associated Press reported on its own efforts as it said, “On the night of July 17, Las Vegas police quietly surrounded the home where Davis lives with his wife, Paula Clemons. Police lapel video obtained by The Associated Press showed SWAT officers detaining a man and his wife outside the home lit up by a swirl of red and blue lights after announcing their presence on a bullhorn. The couple’s faces are blurred in the videos.

“Police reported collecting multiple computers, a cellphone and hard drive, a Vibe magazine that featured Shakur, several .40-caliber bullets, two ‘tubs containing photographs’ and a copy of Davis’ memoir.”

The AP was first to report Friday that Davis was arrested early in the day “while on a walk near his home on the outskirts of Las Vegas, hours before prosecutors announced in court that a Nevada grand jury had indicted the self-described ‘gangster’ on one count of murder with a deadly weapon.”

In July, NBC obtained a warrant showing that authorities searched Davis’ home, specifically looking at desktops and other electronic storage devices, including thumb drives, CDs, external hard drives, and audio recordings.

It was must-have story in the hip-hop media.

XXL declared, “Tupac Shakur is widely regarded as one of the greatest artists to ever live. He was prolific, educated and poetic both on and off the mic.“

One of its sidebars was headlined, “SEE RAPPERS WHO BEAT MAJOR LEGAL CASES AND WALKED AWAY WITH A VICTORY

“Hip-hop came out with a win in some way in these cases.”

• djvlad, VLADTV: Keefe D: If I Go to Jail for 2Pac, Reggie Wright Should Go for BIG Murder (video) (July 20)

• Shawn Grant, The Source: Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis Arrested in Connection to the 1996 Shooting of Tupac

• Tomás Mier and Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone: Man Charged With Murder in Connection to Tupac Shakur’s Killing

• Dean Richards and Robin Baumgarten, WGN, Chicago: Kevin Powell reflects on decades of writing about Tupac and the history of Hip Hop (March 31)

A ‘Broke’ SPJ Cancels 2024 Conference

Rise of More Targeted J-Groups a Factor

“The Society of Professional Journalists board voted Wednesday to suspend the annual 2024 journalism conference, a move that SPJ President Claire Regan confirmed was made as a cost-cutting measure,” Chinanu Okoli, James Naylor, Laura De la Garza Garcia, Rachel Andriacchi and Tianrui Huang reported Thursday for SPJ News, news organ of the organization’s 2023 convention that began Thursday in Las Vegas.

The organization’s Florida chapter sent out an email Wednesday about the situation, with “SPJ is Broke” as the subject line.

The financial crisis has become an issue in the SPJ elections.

Founded in 1909, SPJ calls itself “the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior.” It has about 6,000 members.

The SPJ News continued, “Incoming President Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins said it is no secret that SPJ is struggling financially.

“ ‘We are trying to come up with different solutions to right the ship. One of those solutions is to take a year off from conventions,’ Blaize-Hopkins said.

“According to Regan, SPJ’s nine-member board members voted 7-1 Wednesday to cancel next year’s conference, with one member absent.

“SPJ will instead focus on fundraising, programming and advocacy in lieu of holding the annual conference. Blaize-Hopkins said she hopes this break could help alleviate some of the financial burdens the organization is experiencing and that it can reconvene in a joint conference with Associated College Press and College Media Association in Washington D.C. in 2025.

“ ‘This is really a way to make sure we are moving in the right direction when it comes to our finances,’ she said.”

At other organizations, conventions are the vehicle to make money, not to lose it.

The National Association of Black Journalists made $301,817 from its 2022 joint convention with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists in Las Vegas, NABJ Executive Director Drew Berry said during the 2023 convention. In 2021, without NAHJ, NABJ made $1,712,579, he said.

Before the Unity: Journalists for Diversity coalition voted to dissolve in 2018, the coalition had decided to abandon national conventions in favor of smaller gatherings. But in so doing, it eliminated its prime revenue source, leading to the dissolution, Neal Justin, the final Unity president, said at the time.

However, as Sara Scire reported Thursday for Nieman Lab, “The 2022 convention resulted in a deficit after ‘every revenue line…came in below what was projected‘ and [fewer] than 500 people registered for the 2023 conference happening now in Las Vegas.

“Add it all up and the SPJ is on track to end the year $391,000 in the red, according to an audit prepared by an external accountant and dated August 2023. The audit found ‘complete, serious focus needs to be on increasing revenue, reducing expenses, and implementing efficiencies.’ ”

Scire added, “To that end, the board voted 7-1 Wednesday to cancel its 2024 conference in Indianapolis and acknowledged more cuts were likely in the 2024 budget. The staff, which was 13 full-time employees pre-Covid, has already been reduced to seven as the organization has left some vacated roles unfilled to cut expenses, said interim executive director Jennifer Royer. . . .”

SPJ treasurer J. Israel Balderas told Scrire that journalism organizations with a more targeted membership, such as the journalists-of-color organizations and press-freedom groups, also reduce the SPJ membership.  

Last November, Blaize-Hopkins, a journalism professor at Santa Monica College, was elected SPJ vice president, putting her on the ladder to become president.

“I’m now the first Black woman ever to be elected Vice President of the Society of Professional Journalists” (scroll down), Blaize-Hopkins tweeted then. She described herself as “an Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer, educator, author, higher education equity consultant and public relations expert with more than a decade of experience.”

“#RepresentationMatters and I’m proud to be a part of @spj_tweets, an organization that centers diversity, equity and inclusion,” she tweeted Oct 10. “If elected Vice President of #SPJ, I will continue this focus in the initiatives we plan, the programs we produce and the journalists we support.”

• Michael Koretzky, SPJrefresh.com: SPJ’s Budget Crisis: 3 Things to Know

Absence of Latinos in Key News Jobs Detailed

“Despite comprising nearly 20% of the U.S. population, there are zero Latino executive producers at major broadcast networks, including CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, and syndicated networks,” the Latino Donor Collaborative, a nonprofit organization and think tank, reported Thursday in collaboration with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

“In cable news, there are zero Latino anchors in single anchor shows and no executive producers at the major network families of FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery.

“Across 22 major print newspapers, there are few Latino managing editors and executive editors, and zero Latino CEOs/presidents and publishers.

“Across 22 major digital news sites, there are zero Latino editors-in-chief and zero Latino executive editors.

“The data in the report makes clear that, with some exceptions, the percentage of Latinos working at the highest level of the U.S. journalism industry does not match the national market parity of U.S. Latinos. The report also features data-driven case studies analyzing the benefits of equal Latino representation in U.S. news media, the detriments of a lack of Latino leadership in the industry, and the consequences of BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] groupings in achieving Latino representation.

“ ‘This first-of-its-kind report reveals the blind spot of resource allocators in this industry’ said Ana Valdez, CEO and President, LDC. ‘The U.S. Latino cohort is where the growth is coming from but the lack of Latino journalists and, therefore, the lack of U.S. Latino news is shocking. Disparities in Latino representation vs. population are evident across all sectors examined, including Broadcast News, Cable News, Print Newspapers, and Digital News Sites.’ . . .

” ‘U.S. Latino population is simply being underserved by the media,’ said Yvette Cabrera, president of NAHJ’s board of directors. ‘Through the first edition of this report, we intend to spread awareness and catalyze change to ensure that the voices who deliver our news represent the everyday Americans who read, watch, and absorb it.’ . . .”

• Jill Barshay, Hechinger Report: PROOF POINTS: New higher ed data by race and ethnicity (Feb. 20)

• Christy Pena, Hollywood Reporter: After Years of Increased Latin Presence in TV, Film, New Study Finds Representation Is Declining

• Mike Roe, The Wrap: Lead Roles for Latinos Have Seen ‘No Significant Increase’ in Film and TV, New Report Says

• Mc Nelly Torres, Poynter Institute: Latinos are missing from newsroom investigative teams across the country (Sept. 7)

“The moment when pre-candidates interrupt the debate to not talk about immigration,” Univision said. (Credit: Univision/YouTube)

Right Wing Angered by Calderón’s Debate Questions

“She asked about the prevalence of hate crimes against L.G.B.T.Q. Americans, pressed candidates on their past anti-immigration remarks and waded into a dispute in Florida over public school teaching standards that suggested slaves had “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” Michael M. Grynbaum reported Thursday for the New York Times.

“Ilia Calderón, one of the three moderators of Wednesday’s Republican presidential primary debate, may not have been familiar to some viewers who tuned in to the Fox News and Fox Business channels. But her questions appeared to catch some candidates off-guard and touched on viewpoints that are not regularly expressed by leading Republican politicians or Fox’s conservative prime-time hosts.

“Ms. Calderón, 51, is a co-anchor of the nightly newscast of Univision, which co-hosted the debate with Fox News Media and broadcast the proceedings in Spanish. Univision producers retained editorial control over Ms. Calderón’s questions. . . .

“Some conservatives watching along took umbrage. ‘Another weird question,’ a reporter for the conservative Daily Signal wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, after Ms. Calderón asked former Vice President Mike Pence about violent hate crimes against L.G.B.T.Q. people. . . . “

Oliver Darcy added Friday for CNN: “unlike what is typical on Fox News, Calderón declined to frame her questions in a manner favorable for the Republican candidates. Instead of setting them up with softball-style prompts to tee off, Calderón pressed the would-be presidents for substantive answers on an array of important subjects. The candidates struggled to respond directly, and in some cases tried to duck the questions entirely.”

• Shirley Gómez, hola.com: Ilia Calderón Journey: From Pioneer Afro-Latina Anchor to Presidential Debate Host

• Matt Laslo, Raw Story: Tim Scott pandered to ‘Sambo section of the Black community’ during GOP debate: Rep. Jamaal Bowman

• Kiko Martinez, remezcla: Spanish-Speaking Moderator at Republican Debate Angers People — & That’s Racism, Folks

• Alejandra Molina, Los Angeles Times: Ilia Calderón will be co-moderating tonight’s 2024 Republican presidential debate

• Tereza Shkurtaj, US Sun: YIN & YANG Who is Ilia Calderón’s husband, Eugene Jang?

• Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker: The Latino Question at the Second Republican Debate

• Jazmine Ulloa, New York Times: Latino Republicans Call Debate a Missed Opportunity to Reach Voters

• Juan Williams, The Hill: Ignore and inflame: the Vivek Ramaswamy approach to racism (Sept. 4)

1,000 Apply for Beyonce and Taylor Swift Beats

“USA Today parent Gannett made headlines earlier this month when it posted two unusual jobs: Taylor Swift and Beyoncé reporters,” Alexandra Bruell and Ann-Marie Alcántara reported Thursday for The Wall Street Journal. “In about two weeks, the publisher received close to 1,000 applications for the jobs — including from Emmy-award winning journalists, an influencer whose Beverly Hills agent reached out about the job and a reporter who currently works at the White House.

“Both job listings require applicants to provide a video cover letter, and plenty decided to get creative to stand out from the crowd. Fans flocked to social-media platforms to make their case for the gigs, promote the postings to followers and see how this one ends. . . .

“The Taylor Swift/Beyoncé postings provoked eyerolls in some corners of social media, with some even wondering if the jobs were real. They also drew plenty of ire, especially from local journalists whose industry has been gashed by layoffs. Gannett, the country’s largest local-news publisher with hundreds of newspapers, laid off around 600 employees last year alone. . . .

“Gannett said the new roles were no gimmick, but part of a core strategy to rethink coverage, including dedicating whole jobs to covering big personalities and topics that appeal to national audiences and drive revenue.

“Kristin Roberts, who recently became Gannett Media’s chief content officer, said the publisher has hired 260 journalists and is filling more than 100 open roles since she took over. She also said the Taylor Swift/Beyoncé jobs are expected to generate revenue for the broader business, including local newsrooms.

“ ‘This is how we save local journalism,’ Roberts said. ‘This is what we need to do.’ If successful, Gannett may create similar roles covering other personalities and popular topics, she said. . . . “

• Jon Allsop, Columbia Journalism Review: In defense of the Taylor Swift and Beyoncé beats (Oct. 2)

“More than 5 million people in Sudan have been displaced by a power struggle between the military and an offshoot paramilitary group,” the “PBS NewsHour” reported on Sept. 7. “More than 200,000 from the Darfur region have fled into Chad, where the U.N. is sending humanitarian assistance. Nick Schifrin spoke with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield about the humanitarian crisis and U.S. policy toward Sudan.” (Credit: PBS/YouTube)

Reuters Reports Mass Killings of So-Called ‘Slaves’

“They were determined to bury their dead – even if the snipers on the surrounding rooftops meant they were risking their lives to do so,” Maggie Michael and Ryan McNeill reported for Reuters Sept. 22 from the border of Chad and Sudan.

“To give themselves cover, they buried the dead at night, putting multiple bodies in the same hastily dug graves. They worked quickly, forced to dispense with much of Islamic burial practice, as they placed fathers, mothers, sons, daughters and neighbors in the ground. The bodies revealed the brutal way their lives had ended. Some were burned beyond recognition. Some were missing limbs. Others had gashes across the throat.

“The flow of corpses was constant. . . .

“Reuters interviewed more than 120 people who fled El Geneina,” the capital of West Darfur, to Chad, where hundreds of thousands of other refugees are now living in camps. Survivors, many in tears as they spoke, described children being shot, women and girls raped, people picked off by snipers in the streets, and others slaughtered inside mosques where they had sought shelter.

“Through their accounts, supported by an analysis of satellite imagery, photographs, social media footage and lists of the dead compiled by local rights activists, Reuters has assembled the first comprehensive chronicle of the violence that consumed El Geneina earlier this year.

“It was a rolling ethnic killing campaign that lasted for weeks. The target: the city’s darker-skinned Masalit tribe, for whom West Darfur is their historical homeland. The Arab attackers, multiple survivors said, often referred to the Masalit as ‘anbai,’ meaning slave.

“The killings, dozens of witnesses recounted, included executions of El Geneina residents who were identified as Masalit, sometimes after being interrogated by RSF and Arab militia fighters. The militiamen, survivors said, were particularly focused on killing Masalit men and boys, seen as potential fighters. Desperate to save their sons, mothers described dressing them in girl’s clothing, hiding them under beds or beneath their flowing robes, or shoving them out of windows so they could escape before RSF and Janjaweed fighters arrived. . . .”

Saving Journalism With a 30-Second Video

“Kelsey Russell, a 23-year-old grad student at Columbia, has been single-handedly resuscitating the lost art of newspaper reading, with a particular emphasis on making it trendy for her Gen Z peer,” Paola de Varona wrote Monday for Slate. “ ‘I’m just your media-literate hottie that’s gonna help you decide what print media you want to get invested in,’ she tells the camera in one of her videos before diving into a copy of New York magazine.

“Recently, Russell created a TikTok series chronicling what she learns each day from reading the New York Times’ physical newspaper. For her 23rd birthday, she asked her family for a subscription and made her first video about what she gleaned from the paper’s Sunday edition. ‘I didn’t know these kids were just stepping on bombs,’ she exclaimed, walking viewers through a Times piece about the 12-year conflict in Syria that’s left behind unexploded artillery shells throughout the country.

“Russell’s passionate, easy-to-understand news retellings have grown in popularity, with some videos garnering thousands, even millions of views. Sensing her star power, other papers like the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have equipped her with subscriptions in the hopes that she’ll feature their stories, too. As one commenter on her videos put it: ‘All of us in journalism trying to figure out how to get people to care about news and she just saved journalism in like a 30 second video. . . .”

Separately, “Despite newsroom layoffs, declining public trust in the media and concerns about the impact of technology, the next generation of journalists is optimistic about the future of their profession, with 72% holding a positive outlook for journalism,” according to ” Next-Gen Journalists: Navigating Misinformation, AI & The Future of Journalism,” a new study released Wednesday by strategic communications firm Greentarget.  

Short Takes

• Alicia Menendez (pictured) opened her MSNBC show Saturday announcing that she will not be reporting on the indictment of her father Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. “This past week, dozens of members of his own party have demanded his resignation,” she said. “I have been watching along with all of you as a citizen, and also as his daughter. I will not be reporting on the legal case. That being, said my colleagues across MSNBC and NBC News have aggressively covered this story and will continue to do so. As they should.”

• “Comedy Central is going back to square one in its efforts to find a new host for ‘“The Daily Show,’ ” Brian Steinberg reported Wednesday for Variety. “The Paramount Global cable network is considering a wider array of candidates to take the reins of the program from previous emcee Trevor Noah, according to people familiar with the matter, after having previously identified Hasan Minhaj (pictured) as a leading possibility. The decision appears to come in the wake of a recent report in The New Yorker in which some of the supposedly autobiographical stories that Minhaj has used in his routines were found to be embellished. . . .”

• “Allen Media Group CEO/founder/chairman Byron Allen (pictured) reaffirmed his interest Wednesday in bidding $10 billion for TV brands from Disney, citing his experience with similar assets in his own portfolio, Andrew Wallenstein reported for Variety. “Allen, who spoke passionately about how successful his acquisition of Weather Channel has been since he made it in 2018, told interviewer CNBC correspondent Julia Boorstin that he has an advantage over potential bidders from other sectors that are likely to draw interest that federal regulators would likely scrutinize. ‘D.C. is not impressed by the way private equity and hedge funds handled newspapers and deacccelerated their demise,’ he said. ‘So good luck buying platforms that deliver 80-90% of the news to America without someone like me. I don’t see tech companies, they need to stay off the radar. . . . ‘ ”

“Former CNN correspondent Chris Nguyen (pictured) is joining the Scripps News Network as a news anchor,” AsAmNews reported Wednesday. “Nguyen will become one of the few Asian American male news anchors on television and only one of a handful on national television.” Others include Richard Lui on MSNBC and John Yang on “PBS News Weekend”.

• Fresh off guest-hosting “The View” last week, Deborah Roberts has been named new co-anchor of ABC’s “20/20,” Karu F. Daniels reported Tuesday for the Daily News in New York. “ABC News president Kim Godwin said Tuesday that the multiple Emmy and Peabody Award winner will join David Muir (pictured, with Roberts) as a permanent co-anchor on the long-running newsmagazine series, which will return for a 46th season Friday. . . . Roberts replaces Amy Robach, who exited the network in January following a controversial affair with her ‘GMA3’ co-host T.J. Holmes.

• “A judge for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma ruled in favor of citizenship for two descendants of Black slaves once owned by tribal members, potentially paving the way for hundreds of other descendants known as freedmen,” Sean Murphy reported Thursday for the Associated Press. “District Judge Denette Mouser, based in the tribe’s headquarters in Okmulgee, ruled late Wednesday in favor of two Black Muscogee Nation freedmen, Rhonda Grayson and Jeff Kennedy, who had sued the tribe’s citizenship board for denying their applications. . . .” In 2021, the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court ruled that the tribal nation remove the phrase “by blood” from its constitution and other tribal laws. “That change formally acknowledges that the descendants of Black people once enslaved by the tribe — known as the Cherokee Freedmen — have the right to tribal citizenship, which means they are eligible to run for tribal office and access resources such as tribal health care,” Harmeet Kaur reported then for CNN. Boston journalist Kenneth Cooper and Washington reporter Sam Ford of WJLA-TV have been active in fighting for the rights of Cherokee Freedmen descendants like themselves.

• “A pioneer among Black journalists and entrepreneurs in Rochester and across the country has died,” Randy Gorbman reported Friday for WXXI-TV in the Western New York city. “James Blount (pictured), who with his wife Carolyne published About…Time magazine for more than 50 years, died Thursday. He was 80 years old. “An immediate cause of death was not provided. . . . Walter Cooper, a longtime researcher, educator and activist knew Blount well, and said what Blount provided through the magazine was key for the Rochester area. ‘It’s a huge loss to the community, which needs to be better informed,’ said Cooper. ‘The community is at a low ebb when it comes to being informed by events among African Americans in this country and in the world. . . .” Rochester Association of Black Journalists statement (Facebook)

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