The Booking Mug Isn’t Confused With the ‘Glam Shot’

When Is Using the Arrest Photo the Right Call?

Native Journalists Had ‘Tiny’ Role in ‘Redskins’ Poll

Condé Nast Names Its Second Black Editor

Sam Davis Rises to M.E. at Baltimore Sun

‘Glaring . . . Pay Disparity’ at Washington Post

One Woman’s Diversity Is Another’s . . .

Shareholders Call Discovery ‘Outlier’ on Diversity

Newsroom Diversity Has Progressed Since 1968

Sportswriters Weigh In on ‘Cleaning Up Quotes’

When Is Using the Arrest Photo the Right Call?

A well-known person in the community — a journalist, say — is arrested. You have your choice of photos: an on-the-job pose, showing the person as most readers and viewers know him or her, or the police booking photo, showing the person in stark contrast to the public image. Or you can show both photos.

In the last few days, news outlets have had to make that decision in at least three cases involving black subjects. They arrived at different outcomes.

When Symone Nicole Marshall, a young single mother of a 3-year-old, died in police custody this month in the Walker County Jail in Texas, family members who set up a GoFundMe page for her funeral expenses showed sympathetic photos of a well-groomed mother with her child. So did a column by Shaun King in the Daily News of New York, which broke the story. The GoFundMe page has raised more than $8,700, exceeding its $5,000 goal.

For its story Friday, however, the Houston Chronicle ran a mugshot from Marshall’s booking, showing her looking disheveled and wearing prison orange.

When Phoenix television reporter Jonathan Lowe was fired on Friday after being arrested for public defecation, Phoenix New Times used a large on-air shot, placed in a photo illustration in which editors had fun with the offense for which Lowe was charged.

Farther down in the story were front and side views of Lowe’s arrest mugshots. A mugshot was the only photo in New Times’ first-day story the previous Wednesday.

On Friday came reports of the arrest of Rikki Cheese, an anchor at KTNV-TV in Las Vegas, on charges of driving under the influence. Her station and the Las Vegas Review-Journal ran large unflattering photos of Cheese being booked, while the Las Vegas Sun published a photo of Cheese in her more familiar, polished on-air look.

On Monday, the NewsBlues subscription-only website ran the on-air and the booking photos side by side.

Journal-isms asked news executives at both Las Vegas papers how they arrived at their choices. “The R-J routinely uses booking photos,” J. Keith Moyer, recently named editor-in-chief and senior vice president for content at the Review-Journal, said by email.

“Here are five recent examples:

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/chumlee-pawn-stars-arrested-drug-gun-charges

http://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/legacy-high-teacher-arrested-charges-kidnapping-sex-acts-student

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/amorous-couples-ride-the-high-roller-ends-felony-arrest

http://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/shootings/las-vegas-police-arrest-man-after-shots-are-fired-inside-rtc-bus

http://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/stabbings/arrest-made-connection-january-stabbing-death

“It’s a real-time and current and newsy photo of the person in question. Don’t think we should set a standard that certain people of celebrity, be treated differently than others, if that’s your supposition,” Moyer concluded.

At the Las Vegas Sun, Managing Editor Ric Anderson said by telephone that “when we published that [on-air] photo, the mugshot wasn’t available.” Moreover, he said, “That’s how most people would recognize her.”

Informed that one news outlet chose to use both photos, and reminded that a police mug shot shows a person at his or her worst, Anderson said, “That’s not a conversation that we’ve had in our newsroom, but it’s definitely an issue” that should be discussed.

These examples come with a context: The depiction of people of color in crime news has long been a sore point with many.

Media Matters for America found in 2014 that New York television stations WCBS, WNBC, WABC, and WNYW used their late-night broadcasts to report on murder, theft and assault cases with black suspects at much higher rates than black suspects were actually arrested for those crimes.

“This type of overrepresentation sends a message that it’s okay and it’s justified to fear black folks. It sends a message about who black people are that is harmful and hurtful,” Rashad Robinson, executive director of the civil rights group ColorOfChange, said at the time.

In 2012, the Native Sun News in Rapid City, S.D., complained that “the local television stations still, nearly every night of the week, point their cameras at long lines of Native Americans wearing prison garb and shackled hand and foot in order to point out one person. In the interim, many Native Americans in the parade are clearly identifiable. Most have not been tried before a judge as yet, and many of them are innocent of the crimes for which they may have been charged.”

Mark Walter, operations manager of KNBN-TV, the NBC affiliate, told Journal-isms then that “The only opportunity that TV stations have to shoot video is when they march these people from one building to another.”

In Cincinnati last year, national news outlets juxtaposed an image of white murder suspect Ray Tensing, a University of Cincinnati police officer, with his black shooting victim, Samuel DuBose. Tensing was in front of a flag, while DuBose was shown smiling in a police mugshot.

On The Root, the top trending story for some of that day was headlined “News Outlets Prove, Once Again, Their Photo Bias When It Comes to Black People Being Killed.”

Michael McCarter, the interim editor then and a black journalist, told Journal-isms at the time, “A conversation did take place in our newsroom . . . I, along with a few of our editors, made the decision to NOT use a booking mug. It was irrelevant to this story and DuBose was the victim. You have to understand the power of images in situations like this.”

In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last year, an uproar ensued when the Gazette, the city’s major daily, depicted two sets of suspects. The black ones were in their mugshots, and their white counterparts were wearing coats and ties. Zack Kucharski, executive editor of the Gazette, explained that the news organization was following its policy of using “the best available photo” and it backfired.

“I expect we’re going to make changes” in the mug shot policy, Kucharski said at the time. “The lesson for us is to have this conversation. . . .”

Native Journalists Had ‘Tiny’ Role in ‘Redskins’ Poll

The Washington Post’s poll on the use of the term “Redskins” by the Washington NFL team was conducted with only minimal involvement by the Native Americans on its staff.

Denny McAuliffe, Osage, a copy editor, told Journal-isms by email that his only participation was to “message in the correct spelling of a tribe — Blackfeet sted Blackfoot — on web after story already pubbed.”

Dana Hedgpeth, Haliwa-Saponi, a reporter, said by telephone that she had a “tiny role” in the wording of a question.

“It didn’t take long after the Washington Post published a report declaring that nine out of 10 Native Americans do not find the name of the team offensive before prominent Native American leaders and activists began calling it ‘flawed’ and ‘irresponsible,’ Simon Moya-Smith wrote on Friday for Indian Country Today Media Network. The Native American Journalists Association was among them.

On Thursday, the Post said it polled 504 “ordinary Indians” throughout the United States and found that “more than 7 in 10 said they did not feel the word ‘Redskin’ was disrespectful to Indians. An even higher number — 8 in 10 — said they would not be offended if a non-native called them that name.”

The Post has since produced a wealth of column inches on the topic, including reaffirmation by the editorial board of its opposition to the name and a column by Robert McCartney, who had opposed the term, declaring, “We should drop the cause, even if we privately dislike the moniker.”

“But Native Americans say the study is flawed for primarily two reasons,” Moya-Smith wrote. “First, that it does not take into account the empirical research that found words like ‘redskin’ and ‘savage’ harm the mental health of Native American youths; and secondly, that more than half — 56-percent — of the respondents self-identify as Native American.

“Self-identification can include people whose evidence of indigenous parentage is based on rumors or family lore (think Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren’s claim that she is Native American) or those who are provenly not Native American, but claim to be Native American anyway (think Rachel Dolezal identifying herself as black, though she is incontrovertibly white).

“Last June, the Pew Research Center found that half of all adults in the U.S. who claim to be multiracial self-identify as white and American Indian.

” ‘The self-identification standard is flawed in so many ways,’ activist and Native American leader Suzan Shown Harjo, Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee, told ICTMN. ‘The article cherry picks people to highlight, framing them as representative of the ’90-percent.’

” ‘When someone claims to be ‘part-fill in the Native nation,’ it may or may not be true. It may or may not be the same as having an informed opinion. It doesn’t mean anything about the citizenship of a Native nation or the membership of a Native organization. A Native person might be part-French or part-Irish, but it does not mean that [they are] representative of the position of France or Ireland, or a substantial composite of the French or Irish.’ . . . .”

In an explanation of the polling methodology, Post pollsters Scott Clement and Emily Guskin wrote Thursday, “Tribal members represented 36 percent of interviews conducted and accounted for 44 percent of the final weighted sample, which matches the Census Bureau’s data on demographic and geographic characteristics.”

Harjo’s elaboration on the issue for Journal-isms appears in the Comments section.

Condé Nast Names Its Second Black Editor

“A historic change-up at Condé Nast: Teen Vogue’s Amy Astley will be leaving her post after serving as the magazine’s Editor in Chief since its inception in January 2003, the media group announced Thursday,” Aris Folley reported Friday for NBCBLK.

In “An unprecedented move for the company, Elaine Welteroth will lead the magazine, joined by Digital Editorial Director Phillip Picardi and Creative Director Marie Suter in a leadership team that will take place of the Editor in Chief role found traditionally in magazine structures.

“Having served as Teen Vogue’s first African-American beauty director since 2012, this news does not mark the first time Welteroth has made headlines.

“Only the second Black editor at large in the history of Condé Nast, Welteroth’s experience traces back to Glamour magazine from 2011 to 2012, where she advanced from Beauty writer to Senior Beauty Editor, and her role as the Beauty and Style editor of Ebony magazine from 2008 to 2011. . . .”

Sam Davis Rises to M.E. at Baltimore Sun

“Sam Davis, a Baltimore native who climbed the ranks of The Baltimore Sun since starting as a clerk 36 years ago, is the publication’s new managing editor,” Natalie Sherman reported Monday for the Sun.

“Trif Alatzas, The Sun’s publisher and editor-in-chief, made the announcement in an email to staff Monday.

“Davis will be the first African-American to hold the position in the newspaper’s 179-year history. He has been an assistant managing editor for the past three years. In his new role as managing editor of The Baltimore Sun Media Group, Davis will oversee day-to-day coverage by The Sun, as well as other publications, including weekly community papers.

“The promotion clarifies internal lines of authority since a reorganization in March, when Alatzas became both publisher and editor-in-chief, combining what had been separate positions. . . .”

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‘Glaring . . . Pay Disparity’ at Washington Post

“One of the findings in a just-released salary analysis by the Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild could lift an eyebrow or two in journalistic circles: White male reporters at The Post out-earn all other reporters by an average of 20 percent,” Erik Wemple reported Monday for the Washington Post.

“That chart [not shown here] outlines one of what the union terms ‘glaring examples of pay disparity’ in the ranks of The Post, as reflected in numbers stemming from the 2014-2015 collective bargaining process. During those negotiations, the guild — whose bargaining unit includes approximately 850 employees in the newsroom and commercial sides of the paper — received salary data for every employee covered under its contract.

“It broke down the data by positions and drew comparisons on gender and race terms. Overall, the analysis discovered that men earn on average $89,932, to $76,804 for women. So women make about 86 percent of what men make, according to the guild’s numbers.

“Based on a Wall Street Journal analysis of gender pay gaps across many industries, that 86 percent number makes The Post look very average. Women working as ‘news analysts, correspondents and reporters,’ found a Journal study, earn 86 percent of what their male counterparts earn in this industry. Percentages aside, men make a median income of $56,430 and women $48,597, according to the Journal. Census Bureau figures show that women working full time in the United States make 79 percent of what men make — a gap that results from an array of factors.

“Here are some other findings from the Post guild analysis:

“*Men out-earn women in 8 of 12 job titles;

“*Male columnists rake in $23,000 more than female columnists;

“*White employees out-earn nonwhite employees in 9 of 12 job titles;

“*Vis-a-vis their white counterparts, a nonwhite assistant editor makes about 15 percent less; a nonwhite columnist 13 percent less; a nonwhite producer 14 percent less; and a nonwhite editorial aide 25 percent less. . . .”

Notice anything about this @HuffingtonPost editors meeting? ?????? pic.twitter.com/7sg4SyraPa

— Liz Heron (@lheron) May 20, 2016

One Woman’s Diversity Is Another’s . . .

“Yesterday, Huffington Post’s executive editor, Liz Heron, posted the following photo to Twitter,” Lindsey Ellefson reported Saturday for Mediaite:

“Like many things, this photo, featuring a meeting brimming with white women, made people on the Internet very angry. The women clearly thought they were representative of a diverse workplace, though they seem to have forgotten to hire any people of color for their top spots. Following the prescribed pattern that has worked for angry people online in the past, those who saw this picture started tweeting. . . .”

A Huffington Post spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.

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Shareholders Call Discovery ‘Outlier’ on Diversity

“Discovery Communications over the years has taken steps to appeal to female and minority audiences, expanding its lineup to include Discovery Familia, the Oprah Winfrey Network and Investigation Discovery, which focuses on domestic violence and civil-rights issues,” Abha Bhattarai wrote Sunday for the Washington Post.

“But the Silver Spring, Md.-based company still has an all-white, all-male board of directors — and shareholders are increasingly speaking up.

“Last week, during an annual meeting at Discovery’s headquarters, shareholders presented and voted on a proposal urging the company to outline the steps it has taken to ‘foster greater diversity on the board.’ Discovery reported Friday that shareholders rejected the request by more than a 4-to-1” ratio.

“ ‘Discovery is lagging its peers on this issue,’ said Susan Baker, vice president of shareholder advocacy at Trillium Asset Management, which co-authored the proposal and holds 357,000 shares of Discovery in client portfolios. ‘The list of publicly traded companies with zero women on their boards is shrinking, and Discovery continues to be an outlier.’ . . .”

Newsroom Diversity Has Progressed Since 1968

New York Public Radio station WNYC-FM streamed a discussion Monday of “how the lack of diversity in our newsrooms affects what we read, hear and see about the presidential candidates in 2016,“ (video) but it began with a false comparison that left the impression that there had been no progress in newsroom diversity since 1968.

In a statement repeated Monday by Keli Goff, WNYC’s panel moderator, Mona Chalabi reported on April 28 for the Guardian, “In 1968, analyzing protests about the treatment of racial minorities, the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders claimed that ‘the media report and write from the standpoint of a white man’s world,’ adding ‘fewer than 5% of the people employed by the news business in editorial jobs in the United States today are Negroes.’

“That figure has barely changed. In 2015, 4.7% of newsroom employees were African American according to statistics from the American Society of News Editors (ASNE). . . .”

However, that figure from the advisory commission, known as the Kerner Commission, was about “the news business,” not just newspapers. The ASNE figures are only for newspapers and online outlets.

The television news workforce was 10.8 percent African American in 2015, according to the Radio Television Digital News Association.

Even in newspapers, no one could persuasively argue that the situation is the same as it was in 1968.

Goff’s panel included Jake Horowitz, editor-at-large and co-founder of mic.com; Carol Jenkins, founding president of the Women’s Media Center; Kevin Merida, editor-in-chief of ESPN’s the Undefeated‎ and former managing editor of the Washington Post; Rashad Robinson, executive director of ColorofChange, and Jose Antonio Vargas, journalist and founder of Define American and #EmergingUS.

Robinson said that in 2014, he was scheduled for an MSNBC program to discuss his advocacy of net neutrality, or the concept that the Internet would not have “fast” and “slow” lanes. But Robinson, who had just written an op-ed on the topic for the New York Times, said his appearance was canceled. Instead, “a woman representing ‘industry press’ ” attempted to debunk his op-ed piece on the show and a statement was read from Comcast, MSNBC’s parent company, opposing net neutrality.

Although he eventually appeared on MSNBC defending net neutrality after President Obama announced his support of the concept, “I was explaining the complications of only relying on mainstream media to tell our stories,” Robinson messaged Journal-isms after the WNYC show.

Answering a question about the lack of progress on diversity, Merida recalled that the Post had an opportunity to hire 100 people in a year. “You find out that [those who hire] go to the people that they’re around and ask, ‘who do you know?’ So you have a newsroom of friends, but that’s not so great if you’re trying to cover the world.”

The concept of diversity has to be “baked into the core of the institution,” he said.

The WNYC show can be viewed online on demand.

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Sportswriters Weigh In on ‘Cleaning Up Quotes’

“Last week the ESPN commentator and writer J.A. Adande wrote an interesting piece for The Undefeated website that examined the journalistic tradition of ‘cleaning up’ quotes, or making small fixes to align grammar and pronunciation with conventional English,” Richard Deitsch wrote Monday for Sports Illustrated.

“Adande argued it is a tradition that needs to go.

“The news hook to his piece was criticism of the Houston Chronicle for quoting Dominican-born Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez verbatim, which Gomez perceived as ridicule by highlighting the native Spanish speaker’s grammatical inaccuracies.

Houston Chronicle editor Nancy Barnes apologized, telling Richard Prince of the Journal-isms website: ‘With regards to quoting Carlos Gomez: We sincerely apologize for any offense that was taken. Our writers are encouraged to adhere to AP style rules…I reviewed the rules myself after this arose and found the guidelines on quotes to be less than adequate for a community like ours, full of immigrants from all over the world, and for whom English is often a second language.

” ‘I’ve asked some top editors to review this policy, research best practices, and recommend guidance for all of our writers in the future. We always want to be respectful of those we are interviewing.’

“It’s an interesting question for sports media members: Should (and do) you make any fixes to quotes to align grammar and pronunciation with conventional English and why?

“I polled a group of reporters with diverse backgrounds for some feedback . . .”

Follow Richard Prince on Twitter @princeeditor

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