A Creator of BET’s ‘Teen Summit,’ ‘Obama in Ghana’
Tony Regusters said, “Black Americans of the 21st century, especially parents of young children who are destined to be citizens of the world of tomorrow, have the unique opportunity today to reboot Black life in America.” (Credit: George Dalton Tolbert IV, Journal-isms Roundtable, Sept. 8, 2015)
A Creator of BET’s ‘Teen Summit,’ ‘Obama in Ghana’
Tony Regusters, a self-described “Afrofuturist intellectual, published SYFY writer” and documentary producer best known for co-creating the early BET show “Teen Summit” and producing a film of then-president Barack Obama’s highly symbolic 2009 visit to Ghana, died in his Baltimore home Wednesday after feeling ill, his son, Miles Alexander Regusters, told Journal-isms.
Howard Anthony (“Tony”) Regusters would have been 77 on June 6.
“He was loved and admired and celebrated,” Miles Regusters said. “Spread that light so that other generations can feel it.” The son said the cause of death had not been determined.
The elder Regusters wrote on LinkedIn, “My several decades of experience began as an advertising account executive at Essence Magazine until transitioning into television news production with positions at WTTG-TV5, WUSA-TV9 and CNN’s Capitol Hill Bureau,” all in Washington.
Tony Regusters talks about Obama in Ghana from Melvin MCCRAY on Vimeo.
“I also worked for Black Entertainment Television where I created the award-winning Teen Summit program, creating innovative and engaging content focusing on the issues affecting and of interest to African American teens. My professional worldview resonates with audiences of all demographics, including audiences and markets in the Caribbean, in Brazil, and Africa, where I was a field producer for CNN International, an experience that allowed me to create a contact base that supported my award-winning documentary film ‘Obama in Ghana: The Untold Story’.
“At present (2023), I consult on media related projects for clients and write science fiction with an Afrofuturistic and metaphysical twist. It’s 2023 and I am now preparing to produce a science fiction feature film in the Republic of Haiti.”
The “Teen Summit” show, airing from 1989 to 2003, when BET was known chiefly for nonstop music videos, was seen as a bright light in its programming.
In an oral history of the show, Ural Garrett wrote for BET in 2022 that Deborah Tang, creator of BET’s news division, “recruited veteran news producer and mentee Tony Regusters to serve as the series’ co-creator. Beyond his previous roles working with affiliate networks ranging from CBS to Fox, Regusters was also a press secretary and speech writer for California Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Regusters was also more than perfect for the role considering his work on a weekly ‘80s series titled News Bag, where kids produced and delivered news from their viewpoint on Saturday mornings.
“ ‘Sheila Johnson,” Bob Johnson’s then-wife and BET chief operating officer, “wanted to do something for our kids, and she was the driver of the concept,’ explained Regusters. ‘She was the one that promoted it and convinced Bob that this was something that the network needed. It could be entertaining and educational. It could also showcase the intellectual capability and global world view of Black kids.’
“Getting the position following interviews with Tang and Sheila Johnson alongside a three-hour lunch with Bob Johnson, Regusters went to work. This started by reaching out to school boards across the DMV [District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia] area, who sent him information about kids they thought would be appropriate to help build the series.
“ ‘I began meeting and talking with kids at BET for pizza and soda,’ Regusters said. ‘I asked them what they would like to see [in] a show focusing on them to look like alongside programming concepts and ideas. So I asked them to help me design the show.’ ”
“Teen Summit” was part of a worldview that stressed positivity for Black youth. In videos, Regusters can be seen defining manhood and articulating the difference between big minds and small ones.
And he challenged others of his generation. “I believe Black Americans of the 21st century have reached a ‘fork in the road,‘ he wrote in an undated essay for the Harlem Times.
“Those of us born in the 20th century who are still in positions to promote positive change, are also still thinking with 20th century mentalities, doing things the same way we always did them, which conjures up an image in my mind of the puppy spinning round chasing its tail, then, catching it, bites down hard and yelps. The odd part is that instead of realizing [it’s] bitten its own tail, the puppy spins round, catches and bites it again!?!
“That is not progress and I think it qualifies as a cosmic-level ‘Duh’!
“Black Americans of the 21st century, especially parents of young children who are destined to be citizens of the world of tomorrow, have the unique opportunity today to reboot Black life in America by helping our kids make a transformational contribution to the future by promoting their exposure and interest in STEM, which is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. . . .”
Similarly, his “Obama in Ghana” documentary, chronicling the visit by the first African American president, was part of a pan-African quest that took Regusters to the Caribbean, Brazil and Africa. He created a Facebook page that included a focus on “Afrocentricity in media, music and movies.”
Regusters was a graduate of the School of Communications at Howard University, and “a US Army veteran of the Vietnam War Era,” he wrote on his LinkedIn page. “In addition, I was a general manager at DC’s WPFW-FM, where I helped launch Democracy Now with Amy Goodman. . . . “
Regusters did much of his work in Washington, D.C., but yet-to-be-scheduled funeral services will be in Philadelphia, where he was a 1965 graduate of West Philadelphia Catholic Boys High, and his ashes will be spread in Egypt, as was his wish, his son said.
In addition to Miles, survivors include a sister Scheherazade, and another son, Antonio. (updated March 30)
Cuba Says It’s Willing to Discuss Human Rights
March 24, 2024
Offer, Amid Unrest, Could Include Press Freedom
MSNBC Backs Down on Hiring Ex-GOP Chair
White Ex-Deputies Sentenced in ‘Goon Squad’ Beatings
Jake Tapper Helps Deliver Justice in Philly
Sarah-Ann Shaw Dies at 90, ‘Didn’t Suffer Fools’
Israelis Release Beaten Al Jazeera Journalist
Black Kids Can Help Make Newsday ‘Cool Again’
Columnists Urge Athletes to Stand Up for Diversity
Short Takes: Hispanic news consumption; Jennifer Cunningham; Don Lemon; Telemundo ratings; Manny Garcia, Angel Rodriguez and the Houston Landing; Asian American Journalists Association and NBC News; polling Asian Americans; Sahan Journal;
Stephen A. Smith; LeBron James; Adelle Banks; Sudan’s isolation; freed Congolese journalist Stanis Bujakera;
Emme Tomimbang Burns; Candace Owens; New York Times’ “State of the Times”; disability journalism fellowship; NAACP chapter lauds Sinclair station; Mark J. Rochester; Steve Bien-Aimé; Herman Wong;
Asylum for Emilio Gutierrez Soto; diversity in British news organizations; journalism and mental health; Costa Rica’s unexpected turn; disappeared Nigerian journalist.
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Offer, Amid Unrest, Could Include Press Freedom
“Cuban officials are pushing every button at their disposal to get the Biden administration’s attention, offering talks on previously off-the-table issues such as human rights amid internal protests over the country’s worst economic crisis since the end of the Cold War,” Rafael Bernal wrote for The Hill. Cubans staged street protests in at least five cities, according to the Wall Street Journal, demanding an end to blackouts and food shortages.
“Freedom of the press is included among the reforms Congressman Castro would like to see in Cuba,” a spokesperson for Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, the top Democrat in the House Foreign Affairs Western Hemisphere subcommittee, told Journal-isms.
“The Cuban government is the most repressive regime in the Western Hemisphere. If it is genuine about engaging in talks with the United States on its human rights record, without preconditions, I believe that is a positive development that the Biden administration should capitalize on,” Castro said.
Cuban embassy spokespeople in Washington did not respond to requests from Journal-isms for elaboration.
Human Rights Watch reported in December in a year-end summary, “The government continues to repress and punish virtually all forms of dissent and public criticism, as Cubans endure a dire economic crisis affecting their rights.
“Hundreds of critics and protesters, including many who took to the streets in July 2021, remain arbitrarily detained. Demonstrations continued in 2023, triggered by blackouts, shortages, and the deterioration of living conditions. Cubans continued to leave the country in unprecedented numbers.
“The United States continued a failed policy of isolation towards Cuba, including a decades-long embargo.
“The government continued to employ arbitrary detention to harass and intimidate critics, independent activists, political opponents, and others.
“Two years after the July 2021 protests, the largest since the Cuban revolution, rights groups counted over 700 people, including over 70 women, still behind bars in connection with them. Many were periodically held incommunicado. Some suffered ill-treatment and in some cases torture.
“The government said over 380 people, including several children, were serving sentences. Some stood trial in military courts, contravening international law. Some stood trial in ordinary courts on ‘sedition’ charges, accused of violence such as rock-throwing and received disproportionate prison terms of up to 25 years. Many received only summary trials on vaguely defined charges such as ‘public disorder’ or ‘contempt.’
“Prosecutors framed as criminal behavior actions such as criticizing the government on social media or protesting peacefully, which are lawful exercises of freedoms of expression and association. Prosecutors and judges used unreliable or uncorroborated evidence.”
In addition, the watch group said, “The government controls virtually all media in Cuba, restricts access to outside information, and periodically censors critics and independent journalists.
“Increased access to the internet has enabled activists to communicate, report on abuses, and organize protests. Some journalists and bloggers publish articles, videos, and news on websites and social media, including X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook.
“Authorities routinely block access to many news websites within Cuba and repeatedly impose targeted, and at times widespread, restrictions on critics’ access to mobile phone data. . . .”
The Hill’s Bernal added Monday, “The communist government, once hopeful President Biden would reverse some of former President Trump’s most stringent restrictions on Cuba — namely the state sponsor of terror designation — is now playing formerly withheld cards, but Cuban officials say the U.S. is not picking up the phone.
“ ‘There’s not a lack of interest; what’s lacking is political will. And further, even on the issues that the U.S. government says are their priorities toward Cuba, I can responsibly tell you that there have been public and private offerings from Cuba: “Let’s sit down and discuss topics that they say are their priorities, like the issue of human rights,” ‘ Johana Tablada, the Cuban Foreign Ministry’s top official in the General Division for the United States, told The Hill in a recent interview.
“ ‘But when we say, “Let’s go, we’ll sit down this week in Havana, in Washington or wherever and you can explain to us your concerns,” there is no answer. There is no answer.’
“Cuban officials are receiving plenty of input, however, from Florida Republicans such as Rep. María Elvira Salazar [R-Fla.] who openly call for regime change, the remaining red line for Cuban officials to sit at the table.
“ ‘The Cuban regime has no interest in talking genuinely about human rights. Only the regime has it in its own power to restore human rights to the Cuban people — the United States cannot give rights to anyone in Cuba. I hope this crisis and the protests in Santiago de Cuba expose the failures of communism and lead to an end of the dictatorship,’ Salazar told The Hill.”
- Article 19: Cuba: resistance against censorship
- Cibercuba: Protests in Cuba (roundup)
- Journal-isms: The Embargo Made Them Do It (Dec. 6)
Chuck Todd, at right, blasts NBC News for hiring Ronna McDaniel on “Meet The Press” Sunday.
MSNBC Backs Down on Hiring Ex-GOP Chair
- Update: Alex Weprin, Kim Masters, Hollywood Reporter: NBC News Ousts Ronna McDaniel After Staff Uproar, CAA Drops Ex-RNC Chair (March 26)
“MSNBC has no plans to have former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel on the cable network, its president told employees as backlash to her hiring grows within the wider NBC News organization,” Joe Flint and Isabella Simonetti reported Sunday for The Wall Street Journal.
“Adding to the internal backlash, Chuck Todd, NBC News’s chief political analyst, blasted the network on-air after McDaniel’s ‘Meet the Press’ interview with Kristen Welker on Sunday over the hiring.
“ ‘I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation,’ he said to Welker. ‘There’s a reason why there’s a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with this, because many of our professional dealings with the RNC over the last six years have been met with gaslighting.’
“The backlash follows NBC News’s internal announcement Friday that it had hired McDaniel as a contributor. In that internal memo, the political chief, Carrie Budoff Brown, said McDaniel would contribute ‘across all NBC News platforms,’ causing turmoil among several of the network’s on-air hosts and staffers, people familiar with the matter said. MSNBC is part of the NBC News division.
“
“Jones told employees the cable network has no plans to have McDaniel on the channel, according to people familiar with the conversations. A number of MSNBC anchors and producers have voiced concern internally about McDaniel’s ties to former President Donald Trump and the RNC’s role in his efforts to challenge the 2020 election results.
“A representative for McDaniel didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.
“The tensions at NBC News demonstrate how tricky it can be for news networks to hire former politicians and Washington insiders as contributors — a common practice. While many hires provide insights into the inner workings of the government, there has been concern about the revolving door between news channels and politicos as well as partisan politics that creeps into analysis.
“For MSNBC, besides the risk of upsetting talent, there is also concern that having McDaniel on could alienate its liberal audience. MSNBC is currently the No. 2 cable news network, trailing Fox News but ahead of CNN. . . .”
(MSNBC announced in December that its “programming attracts the most diverse cable audience in America. In 2023, MSNBC was the #1 network across all of cable among Black viewers for the 6th consecutive year and in Asian viewers. Among Hispanic viewers, MSNBC was #1 across cable news and #2 across all of cable [behind ESPN].”)
White Ex-Deputies Sentenced in ‘Goon Squad’ Beatings
In a case in which reporting by news organizations played a significant role, “A federal judge on Thursday finished handing down prison terms of about 10 to 40 years to six white former Mississippi law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty to breaking into a home without a warrant and torturing two Black men in an hourslong attack that included beatings, repeated uses of stun guns and assaults with a sex toy before one of the victims was shot in the mouth,” Michael Goldberg and Emily Wagster Pettus reported for the Associated Press.
“U.S. District Judge Tom Lee called the culprits’ actions ‘egregious and despicable’ and gave sentences near the top of federal guidelines to five of the six men who attacked Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker in January 2023.”
The AP’s Goldberg and Pettus also wrote, “In March 2023, months before federal prosecutors announced charges in August, an investigation by The Associated Press linked some of the deputies to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019 that left two dead and another with lasting injuries.
“The officers invented false charges against the victims, planting a gun and drugs at the scene of their crime, and stuck to their cover story for months until finally admitting that they tortured Jenkins and Parker. Elward admitted to shoving a gun into Jenkins’ mouth and firing it in what federal prosecutors said was meant to be a ‘mock execution.’ . . .”
“An investigation by Mississippi Today and The New York Times last year exposed a decades-long reign of terror by nearly two dozen Rankin County deputies, several of them high-ranking investigators who reported directly to the Rankin County Sheriff,” Bryan Bailey,” Brian Howey and Nate Rosenfield wrote Thursday for Mississippi Today.
“In pursuit of drug arrests, the deputies shoved a stick down one man’s throat until he vomited, dripped molten metal onto another man’s skin and held people down and beat them until they were bloody and bruised, according to dozens who said they had witnessed or experienced the raids.”
“More than 20 people said they were tortured during warrantless raids and violent interrogations by deputies, most of whom have not yet been charged with a crime and some of whom still work for the sheriff’s department. . . .,” Howey and Rosenfield wrote Wednesday.
Howey and Rosenfield are examining the power of sheriffs’ offices in Mississippi as part of The New York Times’ Local Investigations Fellowship.
- Aallyah Wright and Christina Carrega, Capital B: ‘I Was on My Knees, Handcuffed’: Black Man Shot By Mississippi Police Tells His Story (Feb. 17, 2023)
CNN’s Jake Tapper talks with C.J. Rice, who is now legally innocent of the crime that led to his conviction in 2013 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. (Credit: YouTube)
Jake Tapper Helps Deliver Justice in Philly
“After his 12 years of incarceration, advocates for C.J. Rice said that justice was delivered Monday when Philadelphia prosecutors declined to retry Rice on attempted murder charges, calling his 2013 conviction ‘unjust,’ Jesse Bunch reported Monday for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“On his journey through the legal system, Rice had one outsized supporter: CNN’s Jake Tapper.
“The television anchor and Philadelphia native has long been interested in Rice, beginning after his father, a local pediatrician who treated Rice for previous gunshot injuries, testified that the then-teenaged Rice couldn’t have walked — let alone run and flee the scene — that September 2011 day when four people were shot and injured in South Philadelphia.
“Tapper published an article in The Atlantic in 2022 asserting Rice’s innocence, and on Monday, attended Rice’s hearing in Common Pleas court to celebrate the decision of the District Attorney’s Office alongside his doctor father and criminal justice advocates who worked for Rice’s release.
“In an interview with The Inquirer, lightly edited for clarity, Tapper elaborated on his relationship with Rice, details about the attorney who mishandled Rice’s case, and being one of the biggest Eagles fans in Washington, D.C. . . .”
- Jesse Bunch, Philadelphia Inquirer: Prosecutors drop case against C.J. Rice, subject of Jake Tapper cover story in The Atlantic
- Jeremy Herb, CNN: Why the CJ Rice case is all too common — and his exoneration an anomaly
- Jake Tapper, the Atlantic: Finally, Justice
- Jake Tapper, CNN: Philadelphia man incarcerated as a teen is freed after more than a dozen years in prison
- GoFundMe: Help an innocent man rebuild his life
Sarah-Ann Shaw Dies at 90, ‘Didn’t Suffer Fools’
Sarah-Ann Shaw, who would serve as a guidepost for a generation of younger journalists, died in her Boston home Thursday,” Joseph P. Kahn reported Thursday for the Boston Globe. “She was 90.”
“Ms. Shaw, who retired from [WBZ-TV] in 2000, specialized in covering stories neglected or marginalized by other media sources. From Dorchester housing hearings and discriminatory banking practices to welfare rights, homelessness, and a women’s rights movement rapidly transforming work and home life, she gravitated toward issues that mattered deeply to Boston’s communities of color.
“In the 1970s, during the school busing crisis, she became one of the few Black journalists reporting from the front lines. More important to her than stories of conflict and crisis, though, were ones that challenged stereotypical assumptions.
“ ‘I tried to do stories that showed positive events in the Black community,’ Ms. Shaw said in a 2007 interview. ‘I thought it was important particularly for young Black kids to see themselves not on television for fighting, for doing drugs, et cetera, but for doing something positive.’
“Equally important, she added, was letting white suburban viewers see that families in urban neighborhoods were ‘just as concerned about achieving the American Dream as they were.’ In that spirit, she was sharply critical of local news trends that emphasized negatives such as crime and violence.
“Liz Walker, a former WBZ-TV colleague and the first Black woman to co-anchor a local newscast, recalled Ms. Shaw as ‘unapologetically an advocate journalist.’
“ ‘She wanted to cover education, not shootings,’ said Walker, who left TV news in 2001 to earn a divinity degree and become a Presbyterian pastor. ‘She did not suffer fools lightly, either. Sarah was not about small talk.’
“At the same time, Walker noted, Ms. Shaw took pride in mentoring other young journalists of color, herself included. Said Walker, ‘Sarah educated you, whether you wanted to be educated or not.’
“Ms. Shaw ‘never, ever, ever let up,’ Callie Crossley, host of GBH’s ‘Under the Radar,’ and former longtime host of ‘Basic Black,’ told the Globe in February.
“ ‘She focused on the kinds of things that needed to be addressed, whether people wanted to hear it or not, Crossley said.’ . . .”
Al Jazeera said the “targeting” of Ismail al-Ghoul, pictured, is part of a series of “systematic attacks on Al Jazeera”, including the killings of veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Samer Abu Daqqa and Hamza Dahdouh, as well as the bombing of its office in Gaza. (Credit: Al Jazeera)
Israelis Release Beaten Al Jazeera Journalist
“Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul has been released after being arrested for 12 hours and severely beaten by Israeli forces in Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital,” Al Jazeera reported Monday.
“Al-Ghoul was there early on Monday with his crew and other reporters to cover the Israeli army’s fourth raid into the hospital, where thousands of civilians are trapped, including medical staff, patients and displaced families.
“Witnesses said the Al Jazeera reporter was dragged away by Israeli forces, who also destroyed the broadcasting vehicles of news crews at the medical facility. He has since been freed after 12 hours in Israeli custody.
“Al-Ghoul told Al Jazeera after his release that Israeli forces destroyed media equipment and arrested journalists gathered in a room used by media teams. He said the journalists were stripped of their clothes and forced to lie on their stomachs as they were blindfolded and their hands tied. . . .”
The Committee to Protect Journalists reported separately, “On Monday, March 18, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a new offensive on the Al-Shifa hospital complex, arresting scores of Palestinians. An unspecified number of journalists, including Mahmoud Elewa, a freelance correspondent for Al-Jazeera TV, and Mohamad Arab, a freelance journalist with Al-Araby TV, were among those held.
“Arab and Elewa were among the first to report on the hospital raid and the arrest of Al-Jazeera reporter Ismail Al-Ghoul on Monday. Al-Ghoul was released after about 12 hours in Israeli custody following earlier U.S. State Department inquiries about his detention and calls for his release by organizations, including CPJ and Al-Jazeera. . . .”
As of March 21, “CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 95 journalists and media workers were among the more than 32,000 killed since the war began on October 7—with more than 31,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza and the West Bank and 1,200 deaths in Israel,” the organization said.
- Louisa Loveluck, Imogen Piper, Sarah Cahlan, Hajar Harb and Hazem Balousha, Washington Post: Drone footage raises questions about Israeli justification for deadly strike on Gaza journalists
- Reporters Without Borders: In response to Gaza war, RSF opens regional press freedom centre in Beirut
- Robert Satloff, Washington Institute for Near East Policy: Sadly, WaPost Admits No Error in Story Filled with Them
- Charlotte Tobitt, Press Gazette, Britain: 8,000 complaints made about BBC’s Gaza coverage since Israel-Hamas war began
Newsday Editor Don Hudson speaks to students in the Hub during a recent tour. (Credit: Newsday)
Black Kids Can Help Make Newsday ‘Cool Again’
Newsday is winning kudos for a program to “make Newsday cool again,” in the words of the Poynter Institute’s Kristin Hare, by bringing fifth graders to the newspaper with “Newsday in Education,” a program that combines field trips with free digital access to all school districts on Long Island, as Hare wrote March 14.
But Long Island, N.Y., Newsday’s circulation area, is “one of the most segregated in America,” as Newsday itself reported in 2019, and the photos accompanying Hare’s story showed no visibly Black students.
Here is Newsday’s response:
“Newsday sent invitations to Long Island’s school districts in 2023 to participate in its ‘Newsday in Education’ program. Newsday has hosted 17 schools through this month, including students from Brentwood and Jericho, two of the Island’s most diverse districts. Other districts, including Hempstead and Uniondale, are scheduled to visit Newsday’s Melville, New York, facilities before this school year ends. Newsday has a state-of-the-art multimedia operation, including a TV studio and newsroom HUB, where editors from various platforms work in collaboration.
“ ‘I’ve seen a lot of smart kids come through here who, by the end of the day tell us they’re excited about journalism,’ Brown said. ‘They’ve never been in a multimedia newsroom before.’
“While at Newsday, students participate in interactive experiences, explore multimedia spaces, and meet journalists. Students and school administrators also receive complimentary access to newsday.com and Newsday’s e-edition while on school grounds.”
Left unsaid: As Newsday reported in 2019, “Half of Long Island’s black population lives in just 11 of the Island’s 291 communities, and 90 percent lives in just 62 of them, according to 2017 census estimates.” Just as Newsday must be sure to invite those diverse school districts into the program, those districts have an obligation to respond.
Students take part in interactive experiences during Newsday in Education field trips. (Credit: Newsday)
In the March 5 edition of “Roland Martin Unfiltered,” Martin calls on former players, top high school ballers to stand with football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith in supporting diversity, equity and inclusion. “When the University of Florida eliminated its DEI office, largely due to a law signed in 2023 by Gov. Ron DeSantis that banned state universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Smith responded with harsh criticism,” Ken Makin reported for Andscape.
Columnists Urge Athletes to Stand Up for Diversity
Black columnists are urging athletes to take a stand against the growing number of measures against diversity, equity and inclusion programs by taking their services only to places that endorse DEI — and at least one voice is saying they should use the same tactic against efforts to limit abortions.
“Black coaches, and every Black parent or guardian of a Black college football or basketball recruit, can let wishful college coaches know those boys-to-men aren’t going to work” — which is what playing college sports is — at places where people of color, women and other marginalized folks are not otherwise supported,” Kevin Blackistone wrote March 11 in The Washington Post.
It was a sentiment also advanced by Roy S. Johnson on al.com, Jim Trotter in the Athletic and Deron Snyder in the Grio, among others.
Johnson applauded Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, who in criticizing an anti-DEI bill in the state that since has become law, “recalled the sordid segregationist history of the University of Alabama,” Ken Makin wrote March 7 for Andscape.
“ ‘Although I’m the biggest Bama fan, I have no problem organizing Black parents and athletes to attend other institutions outside of the state where diversity and inclusion are prioritized,’ Woodfin posted last month on X. ‘If supporting inclusion becomes illegal in this state, hell, you might as well stand in front of the school door like Governor Wallace. Mannnn it’s Black History Month. Y’all could have at least waited until March 1.’ ”
The NAACP joined in this month, responding to the University of Florida and other state schools that have eliminated DEI programs. In a letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker that was also addressed to current and prospective student-athletes, NAACP leaders said, “The value Black and other college athletes bring to large universities is unmatched. If these institutions are unable to completely invest in those athletes, it’s time they take their talents elsewhere.”
Elsewhere, “An unofficial coalition of civil rights, political and advocacy groups” is ““launching a multifaceted counter to the growing cries to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion efforts stoked by billionaires like Elon Musk and Bill Ackman, among others,” Curtis Bunn reported Feb.8 for NBC News.
“But who is advocating for female athletes?” asked Shalise Manza Young Friday on Andscape. “As of right now, 16 states have enacted either total bans on abortion or ban it after six weeks, which has the effect of a complete prohibition given most women don’t even know they’re pregnant by that time.
“Yet few prominent voices, particularly men, have spoken up to encourage young women to avoid schools in those states. . . .”
The anti-DEI moves also affect the journalism world. The Gannett Co. is in court over a charge the plaintiff calls “reverse discrimination.” And as Rod Hicks wrote in January for the Quill, “For decades, journalism organizations, thought leaders and educators have been urging news operations to elevate their diversity commitment to a University of Memphis–type level. But now another powerful force is trying to push the industry in the opposite direction. Led by Texas and Florida, state legislatures are attacking DEI activity at public colleges and universities . . .
“Journalism educators are worried that this will be a major setback among the many others they’ve experienced during decades of efforts to build a pipeline of journalism students more representative of the nation’s rich diversity. . . .”
Countering the anti-diversity measures will be the subject of a Journal-isms Roundtable scheduled for April 11. Details in the coming days.
- Nicholas Confessore, New York Times: ‘America Is Under Attack’: Inside the Anti-D.E.I. Crusade (Jan. 20)
- Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times Magazine: The ‘Colorblindness’ Trap How a civil rights ideal got hijacked. (March 13)
- Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies: Joint Center Responds to the U.S. House Office of Diversity and Inclusion Disbandment (March 25)
- Adrienne Lu, Chronicle of Higher Education: The Newest DEI Ban Targets Alabama’s Colleges. Here’s How It Compares.
- Margo Snipe, Capital B: The Attack on IVF Is a Pandora’s Box for Black Families (March 12)
Short Takes
- “Just over half of U.S. Hispanic adults (54%) get their news mostly in English – far higher than the share who get their news mostly in Spanish (21%). About a quarter of Hispanic Americans (23%) say they consume news in both languages about equally,” Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin and Michael Lipka reported Tuesday for the Pew Research Center. “But a new Pew Research Center survey of adults who identify as Hispanic or Latino finds major differences in news consumption habits between U.S.-born Hispanics and those who immigrated from other countries. While U.S.-born Latinos overwhelmingly get their news in English, and prefer it in English, those born outside the United States have much more varied habits. . . . “
“
- “The former television anchor Don Lemon’s wide-ranging, testy interview with Elon Musk was released online on Monday morning, touching upon topics including politics, particularly the billionaire’s recent meeting with former President Donald J. Trump; Mr. Musk’s reported drug use; hate speech on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, which he now owns; and more,” Derrick Bryson Taylor reported Monday, updated Tuesday, for the New York Times. Michael Harriot wrote Wednesday for the Grio, “The entire interview could’ve been titled ‘Elon Musk’s New Clothes,’ seeing that the emperor of X was exposed as just another self-assured white boy echoing the same white nonsense espoused by Joe Rogan’s followers on white Twitter. . . .”
- “Telemundo ranked as the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast network across primetime for the third week in a row, TheWrap can reveal exclusively,” Loree Seitz reported Tuesday for TheWrap. “Building on its previous two-week victory over Univision, Telemundo’s primetime programming averaged 1.1 million total viewers during the week of March 11, soaring over the total viewership brought in by Univision by 14%, according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day figures.
Houston Landing CEO Peter Bhatia, at center, introduces Manny Garcia, the Landing’s new editor in chief, at left, and Angel Rodriguez, the new managing editor, at right, during an all-hands meeting at the Houston Landing, Friday, in Houston. (Credit: Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing)
- “Manny García is the new editor in chief of Houston Landing, CEO Peter Bhatia announced Friday,” the publication said. “Angel Rodríguez will join him as managing editor. . . . García is leaving Gannett’s Austin-American Statesman where, as executive editor, he won the Benjamin C. Bradlee Editor of the Year Award from the National Press Foundation in 2022. Bhatia won the award in 2020 when he led the Detroit Free Press. . . . Rodríguez grew up in Houston starting at age 10 and is a champion of audience-first journalism, recently leading the creation of De Los at The Los Angeles Times, where he was General Manager/Assistant Managing Editor for Latino Initiatives, and prior to that, Assistant Managing Editor for News and the Sports Editor. . . .”
- “At the start of this year, AAJA, AMEJA and SAJA met with NBC News to discuss our concerns about reduced MSNBC anchor airtime for some Asian American and Middle Eastern talent — including the loss in anchor time for Katie Phang and the cancellation of the shows of Yasmin Vossoughian and Mehdi Hasan — and how that may affect representation of our communities in a crucial election year,” the Asian American Journalists Assocation said March 14, referring to the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association and the South Asian Journalists Association. “We ask for a renewed commitment to ensuring that progress towards representation does not move backward, but rather we build on the gains. . . .” MSNBC spokesperson Richard Hudock did not respond to a request for comment.
- “A new project at NORC (National Opinion Research Center) has established a survey panel made up of members of the Asian American Pacific Islander community: “Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders,” Saurabh Datar reported Feb. 24 for The New York Times. “The initiative, called Amplify A.A.P.I., is hoping to provide a greater level of detail into a group that is growing by the year, making political parties and candidates take notice. . . .”
- “A federal immigration judge granted asylum today to a Mexican journalist who fled his country more than 15 years ago due to death threats, and who had been denied asylum twice,” Daniel Perez reported Monday for El Paso Matters. “Emilio Gutiérrez Soto, 60, was all smiles after U.S. Immigration Judge Nathan L. Herbert announced his decision Monday morning in his courtroom on the seventh floor of the Richard C. White Federal Building in Downtown El Paso. Herbert also granted asylum to the journalist’s son, Oscar Gutierrez Soto, 30. A three-judge panel of the Board of Immigration Appeals ruled in September 2023 that the journalist was eligible for asylum.
- ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, whose ESPN contract expires in July 2025, told Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports that “I’d be very interested in succeeding” Jimmy Kimmel, “But only if his bosses at Disney, such as chairman Bob Iger, asked him to follow in Kimmel’s footsteps as ABC’s late night star, McCarthy wrote March 15.
- LeBron James and JJ Redick are teaming up on a podcast planned to be a pure conversation about basketball, James, Redick and James’ business partner, Maverick Carter, told The Athletic, Andrew Marchand wrote March 15 for The Athletic. ” ‘It’s meant to be a very free-flowing conversation about the sport and about the game,’ Redick said in a phone interview. ‘If you look at it in a very simplistic way, it’s just about basketball.’ . . . ” The show is to be called “Mind the Game.”
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“The Daily Wire and controversial right-wing commentator Candace Owens parted ways on Friday, according to CEO Jeremy Boreing,” Isaac Schorr reported Friday for Mediaite. “Owens’s departure comes after months of tensions between her and Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro over her promotion of various anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. . . .”
- The New York Times’ 2024–25 New York Times Fellowship class includes “The Times’s third Disability Journalism Fellow, a position created in partnership with the National Center on Disability and Journalism at Arizona State University and funded by philanthropic support,” the Times said Monday.
- “WBFF FOX 45, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s station in Baltimore, is pleased to announce that both the station and Project Baltimore’s Investigative Reporter Chris Papst will be honored by the Randallstown, MD NAACP chapter for their work focused on the education of children in the Baltimore area. WBFF and Papst will each be honored with an Excellence in Advocacy Award for their work covering education and public schools in the region,” Sinclair announced Thursday.
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- “For the last six weeks, Sudan has been almost totally cut off from the world,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. “Since early February, there has been an internet and telecommunications blackout in the country, where a war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed more than 13,000, displaced millions, and threatens to cause widespread famine. . . . The blackout — hardly the country’s first internet shutdown . . . has also rendered the work of journalists, already under strain, nearly impossible. Some Sudanese have used Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system to get online, but connectivity is unreliable. Many journalists have fled in order to keep covering the war from abroad. . . .”
Interviewed by Reporters Without Borders on March 20, the day after his release, Stanis Bujakera said he wanted to continue his fight for “independent journalism that fears nothing” and called on Congolese journalists “not to give in to any pressure,” adding with determination: “The truth stands the test of time, let professionalism remain our bulwark,” he said.
- “Prominent Congolese journalist Stanis Bujakera, released from prison this week after spending six months behind bars, has accused the government of fabricating the charges against him as part of a campaign to intimidate reporters looking into the death of an opposition politician,” Radio France Internationale reported Saturday. Bujakera had been detained since last September in the Democratic Republic of Congo on charges of spreading false information.
- “Diversity and inclusion are ‘still not a priority in practice’ in the news industry, a survey of news organisation workers has suggested,” Bron Maher reported Tuesday for the Press Gazette in Britain. “More than half of the 450 individuals who responded to the December survey told the consulting arm of the Financial Times, FT Strategies, that diversity and inclusion were ostensibly strategic priorities for their organisation. But only 18% of respondents at large news organisations said building a diverse workplace was among their company’s top three priorities. . . .”
- “Costa Rica, the country that was considered a safe haven in Central America for journalistic practice, has seen a gradual worsening of press freedom and security conditions, Katherine Pennacchio reported Monday for LatAm Journalism Review. “Hundreds of journalists from Nicaragua and some others from Guatemala chose to go into exile in Costa Rica to escape their authoritarian governments. . . . But, the situation in Costa Rica has taken an unexpected turn in the last year. Rodrigo Chaves, president of that country since May 2022, has openly confronted the media and journalists critical of his management. . . .”
- “The Nigerian military should swiftly and publicly account for the whereabouts of First News editor Segun Olatunji, who was taken by armed men identifying themselves as officers with the army, disclose any charges against him, and ensure his safety,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. “On March 15, around 15 armed men in two unmarked vans arrived at Olatunji’s home in Alagbado, a community in Nigeria’s western Lagos state. The men, two of whom wore military-style uniforms, introduced themselves as officers of the Nigerian army and forced Olatunji to come with them without explanation, according to media reports and Olatunji’s wife Abiodun Oluwakemi, who spoke to CPJ by phone. Oluwakemi added that she pleaded with the men not to take her husband. . . .”
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View previous columns (before Feb. 13, 2016)
- Diversity’s Greatest Hits, 2018 (Jan. 4, 2019)
- Book Notes: Is Taking a Knee Really All That? (Dec. 20, 2018)
- Book Notes: Challenging ’45’ and Proudly Telling the Story (Dec. 18, 2018)
- Book Notes: Get Down With the Legends! (Dec. 11, 2018)
- Journalist Richard Prince w/Joe Madison (Sirius XM, April 18, 2018) (podcast)
- Richard Prince (journalist) (Wikipedia entry)
- February 2018 Podcast: Richard “Dick” Prince on the need for newsroom diversity (Gabriel Greschler, Student Press Law Center, Feb. 26, 2018)
- Diversity’s Greatest Hits, 2017 — Where Will They Take Us in the Year Ahead?
- Book Notes: Best Sellers, Uncovered Treasures, Overlooked History (Dec. 19, 2017)
- An advocate for diversity in the media is still pressing for representation, (Courtland Milloy, Washington Post, Nov. 28, 2017)
- Morgan Global Journalism Review: Journal-isms Journeys On (Aug. 31, 2017)
- Diversity’s Greatest Hits, 2016
- Book Notes: 16 Writers Dish About ‘Chelle,’ the First Lady
- Book Notes: From Coretta to Barack, and in Search of the Godfather
- Journal-isms’ Richard Prince Wants Your Ideas (FishbowlDC, Feb. 26, 2016)
- “JOURNAL-ISMS” IS LATEST TO BEAR BRUNT OF INDUSTRY’S ECONOMIC WOES (Feb. 19, 2016)
- Richard Prince with Charlayne Hunter-Gault, “PBS NewsHour,” “What stagnant diversity means for America’s newsrooms” (Dec. 15, 2015)
- Book Notes: Journalists Follow Their Passions
- Book Notes: Journalists Who Rocked Their World
- Book Notes: Hands Up! Read This!
- Book Notes: New Cosby Bio Looks Like a Best-Seller
- Journo-diversity advocate turns attention to Ezra Klein project (Erik Wemple, Washington Post, March 5, 2014)
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