In Surprise, Veteran Hollis Towns Says Goodbye
The Root Seeks an Editor for ‘Serious’ Coverage
Columbia J-School Targets Student Loan Debt
RTDNA Urges Stations to Craft AI Policies
Va. Students Win Top J-Award for Reporting Racism
White Anchor Says She Was Let Go Over Her Curls
Red-Carpet Guests on Role of Black Journalists
Donations are tax-deductible.
Hollis R. Towns said in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd by police, “I’ve lived my life as a champion for diversity. . . . It starts at the top.” (Credit: YouTube)
In Surprise, Veteran Hollis Towns Says Goodbye
It’s musical chairs for editors of color in top newsroom jobs.
Longtime newsroom leader Hollis R. Towns, company vice president for local news, wrote colleagues Friday, “After 18 years in Gannett, it’s time to say goodbye. I will be stepping down today, and plan to spend the next few weeks with family and taking a much-needed vacation.”
In Houston, Maria Reeve, after a year and seven months as the Chronicle’s first Black top executive editor, was named to the newly created corporate position of vice president-editor for content initiatives for Hearst Texas. She told Journal-isms she’s excited.
Towns, Reeve and McCarter are Black journalists.
For the Poynter Institute, Angela Fu reported a bigger story, at least for Gannett, publisher of USA Today and, the company says, hundreds of local media outlets.
“The company, which underwent several rounds of cuts last year, has experienced a mass exodus among top leadership. In November, president of Gannett Media and USA Today publisher Maribel Perez Wadsworth announced she would be leaving at the end of the year. A wave of departures followed, including president of Gannett’s news division and USA Today editor-in-chief Nicole Carroll and senior vice president of local news and audience development Amalie Nash. . . .” Wadsworth is Cuban American.
Colleagues described Towns’ departure as the most surprising. “It’s been a pleasure working with all of you. You are the best team!” Towns wrote. “I’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines.” He advised that if they ever found themselves near his New Jersey home, “stop by for some good old-fashioned southern BBQ!”
Towns messaged Journal-isms late Thursday, “It was time after 18 years. I plan to take some time off for now, but looking forward to the next chapter. Stay tuned! “
After 12 years as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Towns went on to become editor or managing editor of the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Gazette, the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Asbury Park Press in New Jersey. Then he assumed corporate positions with Gannett, most recently as local news editor.
As the then-vice president of local news initiatives, Claire Wang wrote in June 2021 for the NBCU Academy, “Towns led a group of editors to develop a training program that, over the next month, will be rolled out across Gannett’s more than 250 newsrooms. It offers specific guidance in terms of word choice: Don’t write ‘officer involved shooting,’ for example, when you mean ‘the police shot someone.’ The strategy also pushes reporters to rethink their coverage of low-level property and domestic crimes that aren’t necessarily public safety issues.”
Anastasi was in this space in 2010 and 2011 when, as president of Associated Press Sports Editors and managing editor of the Salt Lake Tribune, he launched the APSE Diversity Fellowship Program.
That initiative primarily targets mid-career professionals, with the aim of preparing and supporting fellows “for leadership positions and advancement at all career levels of sports journalism while providing lifelong access to the program’s support network.”
Asked for a progress report, Anastasi messaged Thursday, “Class XI of the APSE Fellowship Program graduates in July, bringing the total number of graduates in the 12 years of the program to 54. Class XII will be selected in late summer.
“Virtually all of our graduates have advanced in leadership, some of them several times and throughout the industry. The big development of the last couple years has been that in 2020 we formed the APSE Foundation, a [503(c)(3)] non-profit to support the program. This has really stabilized fund-raising and operations with its own board of directors. Lisa Wilson of The Athletic is the executive director. I am president of the foundation and continue to direct the program with a large cast of volunteers assisting. Here is the website.”
As for Gannett, Anastasi said, “Diversity, of course, continues to be foundationally important for our entire company. It is one of our stated North Star goals and a shared responsibility we all take very seriously, particularly those in leadership roles.”
Erica Grieder wrote May 8 for the Chronicle, “Reeve will work to develop topics and content aimed at expanding and deepening Hearst Newspapers’ footprint in Texas. New York-based Hearst publishes the Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News, Beaumont Enterprise, Conroe Courier and other newspapers in the state. The newsrooms have collaborated before, with the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News last month launching a statewide meteorological team.
” ‘The goal is to look at how we can expand our reach, both topically and regionally — to capitalize on the resources we have to find new audiences and solidify our relationship with our current audience,’ Reeve said. ‘I think we have a unique opportunity here to really examine how we make the most of our newsrooms in trying to serve the people of Texas.’ “
The Root reports on the 2022 Emmy Awards, which saw big wins for Black women. (Credit: YouTube)
The Root Seeks an Editor for ‘Serious’ Coverage
For the man hiring the next editor of The Root, being a New York-based financial reporter for The Washington Post is only one of the many lines on his resume. But Merrill Brown messaged Journal-isms, “I hope [and am] assuming you know of my Post roots, our goals start with serious journalistic coverage and commentary about important issues.
“I just got here and get to make a really critical hire at The Root. At the same time we are also committed to continuing to cover popular culture and work to take the pulse of the communities we’re covering.”
Todd Spangler reported in January for Variety, “Brown’s media-biz experience includes advisory stints for MedCity News, The Guardian, ABC News, National Public Radio, New York Magazine and TV Guide. Brown was founder and CEO of the News Project Inc., established to provide technology and services designed to make it easier for investors, philanthropists, journalists and others to operate digital news businesses.
“He also served as inaugural director of Montclair State University’s School of Communication and Media, as well as editor-in-chief of media industry magazine Channels, senior VP of Court TV, and MSNBC.com’s first editor-in-chief.”
Brown’s talk of “serious journalistic coverage” harkens to the aims of the site when it began.
“Initially launched as a vertical by The Washington Post in 2008, its white owners at the Post gave The Root plenty of autonomy and trusted its stewardship to revered professor and historian, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and top-notch editor Lynette Clemetson, who came to The Root as its founding managing editor from The New York Times,” Aja Hannah wrote in 2021 for the Pivot Fund.
“The Root flourished at the Post under this leadership and became a go-to site for Black thought leadership on critical topics of the day such as the housing crisis to policing in America and more. When Jeff Bezos purchased the newspaper from the Graham Family, corporate interest turned to position the Post into a national political and government accountability site, and the Root was sold off in 2015 to the Spanish language media company, Univision.
“In 2019, G/O Media purchased The Root and 12 other websites from Univision for $20.6 million. . . .”
G/O is also seeking editors-in-chief for Deadspin and Gizmodo.
Dean Jelani Cobb announced the Loan Repayment Assistance program Wednesday at Columbia Journalism School’s graduation ceremony. “We hope that by relieving students of some financial pressure, we can offer a bit of breathing room,” he said.
Columbia J-School Targets Student Loan Debt
“Columbia Journalism School (CJS) will launch a Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) with the goal of providing support to recent graduates who take positions in nonprofit news media organizations — a market that is rapidly growing in the United States,” the school reported Wednesday. Jelani Cobb, dean and Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism, made the announcement at the school’s graduation ceremony.
“We hope that by relieving students of some financial pressure, we can offer a bit of breathing room,” said Cobb. “Our aim is to encourage students to explore new career paths that may not otherwise have been possible for them. Our graduates have skills in demand, and we want them to be shared with organizations making a difference.”
Melissa Korn and Anthony DeBarros reported in 2021 for The Wall Street Journal, “Many students leave even the most prestigious private graduate programs, such as those at Northwestern University, Columbia University and the University of Southern California, with earnings too low to let them make progress paying off their loans, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Education Department figures released this year.”
Columbia said Wednesday that the school “recognizes that work in the local and nonprofit sector, while deeply important, is often lower paid than positions in standard news media companies. LRAP is designed to help alleviate this financial burden, often associated with repaying educational loans, while drawing top talent to local communities and to a vibrant new nonprofit sector that is helping to address the under-reporting caused by shrunken editorial budgets and shuttered local newspapers.
“Law schools have long been at the forefront of this effort, with many providing financial aid to their graduates working in . . . lower-paying legal fields. With this inaugural pilot program, CJS intends to reinvent the business model for its industry by borrowing from the example set by law and medical schools.
“Graduates working full-time in the public interest sector and who are within three years of their CJS graduation date are eligible to apply. Those qualified may receive up to $50,000 over five years of participation. To learn more about eligibility, visit the LRAP FAQ.“
- Esha Karam, Isabella Ramirez and Sarah Huddleston, Columbia Spectator: Columbia Celebrates Its 269th Commencement, Bollinger’s Last as President
RTDNA Urges Stations to Craft AI Policies
“The Radio Television Digital News Association has issued guidelines for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in journalism. The guidelines are believed to be among the first regarding AI from a national journalism organization,” the organization said Wednesday.
“The new guidelines encourage every news organization to craft a policy pertaining to the use of AI in their newsrooms. Each policy should pay careful attention to how AI impacts the accuracy, context and clarity of journalistic work; how news organizations will disclose the use of AI, in the interest of transparency; and how newsrooms will protect an individual’s right to privacy as AI tools might not be programmed with that in mind. . . .”
- Journal-isms: How Journalists Can Blunt the Racism Algorithm (April 7)
Va. Students Win Top J-Award for Reporting Racism
“Virginia’s top journalism award was given Saturday to a student newspaper for its coverage of diversity, equity and inclusion at the Virginia Military Institute,” Lisa Rowan wrote May 10 for the Cardinal News in Roanoke, Va.
“The judge lauded the students for their bravery in taking on a topic that has shrouded the Lexington institute in controversy since 2021, when VMI began to respond to revelations about a pervasive culture of racism at the school.
“The Cadet, which takes the same name as VMI’s former student newspaper, is written by students but funded by a nonprofit led by a VMI alumnus who has filed two lawsuits regarding the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion — or DEI — contracts. Bob Morris, a retired U.S. Army colonel and business owner in Yorktown, helped relaunch the paper after it was shut down in 2016 because of what he described as interference by the school. . . .”
- Ian Shapira, Washington Post: At VMI, two classmates — one Black, one White — war over school’s future (Feb. 21)
White Anchor Says She Was Let Go Over Her Curls
“The station felt like a good fit for the recent college grad, and the role of weekend morning weather anchor was a promising one.
“But after months of being criticized by supervisors for her appearance − namely, her naturally curly hair − Bartoe said she was let go May 9 because her style didn’t align with company policy.
” ‘It doesn’t even sound real,’ Bartoe told Knox News. ‘The whole thing just sounds like a joke. And I wish it was.’ “
Tennessee has a law banning hair discrimination that is race-based.
“I think it’s important for us to not only enjoy the press, but also come and celebrate our accomplishment as a community,” Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, told The Grio’s Natalie Alford. (Credit: The Grio)
Red-Carpet Guests on Role of Black Journalists
“What do you think it means to have Black journalists having a seat at their own table, whether it’s owning their own newspapers or like us being a Black-owned brand?” Natasha S. Alford asked Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. The occasion was Byron Allen’s April 29 Washington gala following the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The Grio posted the red-carpet comments last week.
“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, Black storytellers matter, right?,” Dickens replied. “So Black lives matter. And the people that tell the stories about Black folks, about Black business, about Black opportunities, about policy and legislation, but also leadership. And so Black journalists are substantial contributors to American culture and to who we are as a people.”
Alford, vice president of digital content and a senior correspondent at the Grio, asked a similar question of Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP: “What do you want to see Black journalists covering today? “
“I think it’s important for us to get more local stories, but also grow with technology,” Johnson replied. “There’s so many stories (that are) untold with young people who are doing amazing work in local communities that are undertold. So it’s that opportunity for us to amplify what’s possible and highlight these strong young people.”
Gilbert Bailon Resigns Abruptly in Dallas
May 16, 2023
Veteran Newspaper Editor Leaves Public Station:
Latinos, Asian Americans Say Teach Our History;
‘Too Early’ to Assess Anti-DEI Impact on FAMU
CNN Boss Said to Scold Writer on Trump Coverage
Atlanta to Pay Arrested Photographer $105,000
DeMarco Morgan, Eva Pilgrim to Host ‘GMA3’
White House Wants New Press Decorum Rules
AJC Runs Three Pages of Gun Violence Editorials
Killings a Reminder of Latino White Supremacists
Report: Israel’s Journalist Killings Fit a Pattern
How China Sends Its Media-Control Ideas to Africa
Somalia: One Tough Place to Be a Journalist
Short Takes: National Headliner Awards; Tony Valdez; ‘Nicole’ Waivers; Iliana Limón Romero; Asian American identity; 6-year-old shooter; Kurt Bardella and Vice President Kamala Harris; Oklahoma governor vs. PBS station over LGBTQ coverage; Connie Chung’s and other Asian American Connies; Tom Joyner; Kayleigh McEnany vs. April Ryan; Dow Jones, HBCUs and Columbia J-School; Derrick Z. Jackson and Merlisa Lawrence Corbett; Guatemala newspaper shut; Daniel Ortega’s Nicaragua regime condemned; Colombia journalist fatally shot; Lesotho journalist slain.
Homepage photo: KERA studios (Credit: Scott Fybush, fybush.com, 2019)
Donations are tax-deductible.
Veteran Newspaper Editor Leaves Public Station
Gilbert Bailon, one of the highest ranking Latino editors in the mainstream media, abruptly resigned as executive editor at a public media station in Dallas after just 15 months, and told Journal-isms Sunday he is weighing potential next steps.
Bailon posted terse messages on social media, such as this tweet Thursday: “I’m leaving as executive editor of
@keranews
in Dallas and will be taking a break to consider the next options. Thanks to the many hard-working journalists in public media in Dallas and Texas who make quality journalism accessible to all. Hasta la proxima.”
Nico Leone, KERA’s president and chief executive officer, did not respond to a request for comment.
Bailon. 64, joined KERA News from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where he was its top editor, overseeing the news organization’s coverage of the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson, Mo., and the social unrest that followed. The Post-Dispatch won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography. Within the news industry, Bailon was called upon as a speaker to discuss “best practices” after the incident went national and drew scores of reporters to the area.
When Bailon was hired in Dallas in February 2022, the KERA news release heralded him as “a veteran newsroom leader with strong ties to North Texas who’s known for reaching out to underserved communities.”
She said Bailon and Raquel Amparo, president of CBS Dallas-Fort Worth, are the only two Latino leaders in North Texas mainstream media, despite the area’s large Hispanic population.
Dallas County is 41.4 percent Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census, while neighboring Tarrant County, home of Fort Worth, is 30.2 percent.
There are nuances and angles to stories “that might not be shared if you don’t have” that connection with Latinos, Salazar told Journal-isms, and “every time we lose a leader who helps guide” the coverage, “is a loss for us.”
Bailon said as much when he was hired at KERA. “In many markets, underserved communities get covered but often missing is the full breadth of those communities in their wider context and nuance. Underserved communities … deserve the time and effort from newsrooms to reflect them more completely. Historical context and sourcing are critical across race, gender, immigration status, language, culture, sexual orientation, socio-economic background and religion.”
He told Journal-isms that in his 15 months, “we hired a majority of diverse people,” about “half a dozen, at least, reporters and editors.” Bailon led a newsroom of 35 people working in radio and digital.
Bailon had long been a newspaper industry figure, having headed both the old American Society of Newspaper Editors and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
In 2007, he became the first ASNE president from a Spanish-speaking newspaper. Bailon was then editor and publisher of Al Día, the Spanish-language daily product of the Dallas Morning News. The KERA announcement heralded his time in Texas.
He told Journal-isms he was happy to return to Dallas and would like to stay there.
On the “PBS NewsHour” Monday, co-host Amna Navaz discussed with Norman Chen, CEO of the Asian American Foundation, new research calling attention to the toll anti-Asian sentiment is taking on Asian American communities. (Credit: PBS NewsHour/YouTube)
Latinos, Asian Americans Say Teach Our History; ‘Too Early’ to Assess Anti-DEI Impact on FAMU
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday prohibiting spending at public colleges and universities related to diversity, equity and inclusion programs beyond what is required by accreditors. The move coincided with complaints by Latino and Asian American groups who, like others who are marginalized, say their history is not taught enough.
“We are just beginning the process of going through each bill that impacted the State University System of Florida and determine implementation, so I cannot answer specific questions regarding individual impact at this time,” Fargason messaged. “We will be working internally and with our partners to determine how each bill effects our System and institutions. It is simply too early in the after-session process.”
Meanwhile, “The first comprehensive analysis of how Latinos are portrayed in widely used U.S. history textbooks reveals a lack of authenticity and a failure to cover many seminal events in the Latino experience,” according to an announcement Tuesday by Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Education Policy and UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Hispanic nonpartisan civil rights organization.
“The report . . . found 87% of key topics in Latino history were either not covered in the evaluated books or mentioned in five or fewer sentences. Together the books included just one Hispanic breakthrough moment from the last 200 years: Sonya Sotomayor’s appointment to the Supreme Court,” the groups said.
Separately, the Asian American Foundation released a survey that showed that nearly 80% of Asian Americans do not completely feel they belong and are accepted.
Appearing Monday on the “PBS NewsHour,” Foundation CEO Norman Chen said, “a lot of people in our survey when we asked them what we can do to try to help build relations with the AAPI community, the number one answer was greater interaction. So that was very encouraging. People are open to having more interaction, getting to know AAPI members better, which is wonderful.
“The second answer was education, which we have known is always very, very important. So we do want to promote more knowledge of Asian American and Pacific Islander history as American history.”
The survey, based on a sample of 5,235 U.S.-based respondents aged 16 and over and released May 2, also shows that one in two Asian Americans feels unsafe in the United States.
DeSantis referred to the Black Lives Matter movement in signing the education bills Monday at New College of Florida in Sarasota. Divya Kumar reported for the Tampa Bay Times that DeSantis “called diversity, equity and inclusion a relatively new concept that took off ‘Post BLM rioting’ in 2020 and labeled it ‘a veneer to impose an ideological agenda.’ It’s better described as ‘discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination,‘ DeSantis said to applause.”
- UnidosUS: UnidosUS Mourns Passing of Gloria Molina
CNN Boss Said to Scold Writer on Trump Coverage
“CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy was reportedly scolded by his boss Chris Licht, the chairman and CEO of the network, over his critical coverage of the network’s Trump town hall on Wednesday night,” Alex Griffing reported Friday for Mediaite.
“Puck’s Dylan Byers reported Friday that Licht ‘summoned’ Darcy ‘and his editor to a meeting with himself and top executives in which they told him that his coverage of Trump town hall had been too emotional and stressed the importance of remaining dispassionate.’
“Darcy reported on the town hall after the event, writing, ‘It’s hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening.’
“He offered some kind words for Kaitlan Collins, who moderated the event, calling her ‘as tough and knowledgable of an interviewer as they come.’ He noted that ‘she fact-checked Trump throughout the 70-minute town hall.’ On the whole, his analysis was critical of the network.
“Byers, a veteran media reporter who has worked everywhere from NBC to Politico to CNN, added further detail:
” ‘Licht summoned Darcy and his editor Jon Passantino to a meeting with himself, CNN comms chief Kris Coratti, editorial executive vice president Virginia Moseley and senior vice president of global news Rachel Smolkin, in which they told him that his coverage had been too emotional and repeatedly stressed the importance of remaining dispassionate when covering the news, be it CNN or any other media organization.
“Darcy stood by his work and pushed back on the ‘emotional’ characterization, one source with knowledge of the meeting said. But afterward two sources who heard about the meeting described him as visibly shaken,” Byers reported. . . .
“ ‘They put the fear of God into him,’ Byers reported another source saying. Darcy took over Brian Stelter’s Reliable Sources newsletter after Licht ousted Stelter at the network.”
Max Tani of Semafor added Monday (scroll down), “Two people with knowledge of the meeting told Semafor that Darcy was not pleased with the depiction of the meeting, . . . During the meeting, according to these sources, Darcy rejected the idea that his coverage of the town hall was emotional, instead insisting that he was accurately reflecting internal sentiment and reporting on external criticism. But, according to one person familiar with the meeting’s dynamics, it ended relatively cordially with Licht telling Darcy that he supported him. . . .
“A particularly bitter pill for some CNN employees was an anonymous comment from a Licht ally to Fox News, piling on the CNN reporters.. One person familiar told Semafor that before the piece was published, Darcy’s newsletter was seen by Virginia Moseley, CNN’s vice president of editorial, as well as CNN standards and senior VP of global news Rachel Smolkin. Both also attended Thursday’s meeting, but according to one person familiar with the situation, they were ‘relatively quiet.’
“In the aftermath of the meeting and coverage, Darcy has wondered to colleagues whether he should resign or if he will be fired by the network. He declined to comment for this newsletter. . . .”
Freelance photojournalist Sharif Hassan spoke exclusively with WAGA-TV in Atlanta (Credit: YouTube)
Atlanta to Pay Arrested Photographer $105,000
“A freelance photojournalist who was arrested while taking photos during a racial justice demonstration in 2020 has reached a $105,000 settlement with the city of Atlanta, his lawyers said,” the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
“Sharif Hassan had filed a federal lawsuit claiming his constitutional rights were violated, including his First Amendment right to freedom of speech. His lawyers said in a news release Monday that officers arrested him in retaliation for recording the police as they arrested a protestor in a public place.
“ ‘This resolution sends an important message that First Amendment rights must be protected, including, and especially, during times of political and social upheaval,’ said Clare Norins, director of the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic, which represented Hassan.
“Hassan, who has worked as a freelance photojournalist for numerous news outlets, was photographing protests in downtown Atlanta on June 1, 2020, when police began pushing demonstrators back shortly before a 9 p.m. curfew, the lawsuit said. A line of National Guard members was behind the police officers, and Hassan was between the police and the National Guard along with other journalists, the suit said.
“Two minutes after the curfew took effect, Hassan was taking photos when he was forced to the ground and handcuffed, despite repeatedly telling officers he was a working journalist, his lawyers said. Other members of the news media were allowed to continue working. . . .”
- Eric Rogers, “Into the Current”: Through The Lens of a Protest Photographer with Sharif Hassan (July 10, 2020) (video)
DeMarco Morgan, Eva Pilgrim to Host ‘GMA3’
“GMA3: What You Need to Know has its new headliners nearly four months since the departure of Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, who left the show after their off-camera relationship became public knowledge,” Kelly Wynne reported Thursday for People.
“Eva Pilgrim and DeMarco Morgan will now serve as the co-anchors of the afternoon program, according to a release from ABC News on Thursday. ABC News chief health and medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton — who formerly co-hosted with Robach, 50, and Holmes, 45 — will remain with GMA3.
“Pilgrim, 40, has served as co-anchor of Good Morning America Saturday and Sunday since 2018, covering many high-profile breaking news stories. Morgan, 44, joined ABC News in 2022 as a correspondent based out of Los Angeles. . . . .
“Gio Benitez, 37, will join GMA weekends now that Pilgrim is part of the GMA3 team, according to the release.
“Morgan has been the show’s fill-in host since December. . . .”
The White House press corps was described as erupting into chaos March 20 after “Today News Africa” reporter Simon Ateba interrupted Karine Jean-Pierre’s briefing. (Credit: YouTube)
White House Wants New Press Decorum Rules
“The White House has proposed new rules to determine who qualifies for access to its press briefing room on a regular basis — and who can be thrown out for behavior officials determine isn’t ‘professional,’ “ Paul Farhi reported May 9 for The Washington Post.
“The rules represent the Biden White House’s attempt to establish a code of conduct to avoid the legal jeopardy that the Trump administration ran into when it banished CNN reporter Jim Acosta and journalist Brian Karem from the White House complex in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
“Courts later ruled that officials violated the journalists’ due-process rights because they had acted without a set of written standards.
“More recently, press officials — and even some reporters — have bristled during press briefings at interruptions by journalist Simon Ateba, the White House correspondent for Today News Africa. Ateba has gained attention by shouting questions out of turn at Biden press secretaries Jen Psaki and Karine Jean-Pierre, in violation of protocol, if not written rules.
“During a briefing room photo op with ‘Ted Lasso’ cast members in March, Ateba demanded Jean-Pierre take his question, over shouts of ‘Let it go!’ and ‘Decorum please!’ from his fellow journalists.
” ‘Ateba, in a tweet Friday, suggested the proposed new rules are aimed at him, though press officials say the changes have been under development for more than a year. . . .’
AJC Runs Three Pages of Gun Violence Editorials
“The Atlanta Journal-Constitution took a major stand against gun violence on Sunday, devoting three full pages to a collection of editorials on gun violence from 13 cities around the country. It came under the headline: ‘A Relentless Pace of Shootings: A Nation on Edge’ ” (scroll down), Tom Jones reported Monday for the Poynter Institute.
“The paper wrote, ‘Over the last year, dozens of newspapers in every corner of the country – from Atlanta to California, to big cities, small towns and college campuses and high schools in between – have taken strong stances of their own. They’ve done that because, like us, they, too, live in the communities in which they cover. And like us, they can no longer remain silent as our friends, our neighbors and our children lose their lives to senseless shootings. This isn’t a conservative or a liberal issue,” as Andrew Morse, the AJC’s president and publisher,” wrote last Sunday. It is an American issue. It is a human issue.’ . . .
“The AJC ran editorials from The Dallas Morning News; The Harvard Crimson; The Los Angeles Times; The (Louisville) Courier-Journal; The (Lawrence, Kansas) Free Press; Free State High School; The (New York) Daily News; The Suffolk Journal from Suffolk University in Massachusetts; The Washington Post; the Chicago Tribune; The Denver Post; The San Jose Mercury-News; The Philadelphia Inquirer; and, of course, the AJC.
“This came a week after the AJC took the rare step of printing an editorial on the front page of the print version of paper. That piece — ‘We don’t have to live this way’ — was penned” by Morse.”
Killings a Reminder of Latino White Supremacists
“The shooting at a mall in Allen, Texas on Saturday is another in a series of mass shootings that have gripped the United States with seemingly no sign of abating. The mall shooting had one feature that distinguishes it from others, however, in that the shooter was a Latino man who held white supremacist beliefs,” Carlos Edill Berríos Polanco wrote Wednesday for Latino Rebels.
He also wrote, “The gunman, Mauricio Garcia, a local resident, [was] wielding an ‘AR-15 style weapon,’ according to a statement released by President Joe Biden on Sunday. Garcia was killed by a police officer who happened to be at the Allen Premium Outlets, roughly 25 miles north of Dallas. Garcia had multiple weapons on his person and had more guns and ammunition in his car. . . .
“Many people online have questioned how a Latino can have such intense racist beliefs, but the idea that Latinos cannot hold racist or white supremacist beliefs ignores key facets of Latino culture that can lead some to adopt hateful, far-right ideologies.
“Both historically and in more recent times, Latinos have played a large part in spreading extremist ideologies. For instance, Garcia posted photos of people dressed as Nazis alongside the caption ‘my kind of people.’
“ ‘Those ideas of white supremacy are already part of Latin American and Caribbean cultures,’ Tanya Kateri Hernández, a law professor at Fordham University and the author of ‘Racial Innocence: Unmasking Latino Anti-Black Bias,’ told Latino Rebels.
“Anti-Black and anti-Semitic beliefs, among others, have long been part of Latino communities but are often veiled with ‘racial innocence,’ Hernández explained, which allows many to describe these sentiments as ‘cultural misunderstandings’ and so on, instead of what they actually are.
“Over the last decade, Latinos have become prominent leaders in white supremacist movements. . . .”
- Nicole Acevedo, NBC News: Latinos need to confront their own racism, say Afro-Latinos pushing for racial equity (Feb. 24, 2021)
- Asian American Journalism Association: AAJA Reissues Guidance on Covering Violence in Asian American Communities Following Mass Shooting in Allen, Texas (May 9)
- Russell Contreras and Astrid Galvan, Axios: The rise of white nationalist Hispanics (March 12)
Report: Israel’s Journalist Killings Fit a Pattern
“One year after Al-Jazeera Arabic correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was fatally shot in the head while reporting on an Israeli military raid in the West Bank, a new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists exposes a pattern of lethal force by the Israel Defense Forces alongside inadequate responses that evade accountability,” the press freedom organization announced May 9.
“Since 2001, CPJ has documented at least 20 journalist killings by the IDF. The vast majority — 18 — were Palestinian. No one has ever been charged or held accountable for these deaths.
“ ‘The killing of Shireen Abu Akleh and the failure of the army’s investigative process to hold anyone responsible is not a one-off event,’ said Robert Mahoney, CPJ’s director of special projects and one of the report’s editors. ‘It is part of a pattern of response that seems designed to evade responsibility. Not one member of the IDF has been held accountable in the deaths of 20 journalists from Israeli military fire over the last 22 years.’
“CPJ’s report, ‘Deadly Pattern,’ finds that probes into journalist killings at the hands of the IDF follow a routine sequence. Israeli officials discount evidence and witness claims, often appearing to clear soldiers for the killings while inquiries are still in progress. . . .”
(Credit: YouTube)
How China Sends Its Media-Control Ideas to Africa
“Chinese disinformation practices in Africa are not new and until recently have been explicitly described by the Chinese government as propaganda campaigns, according to leading media scholar Dr. Bob Wekesa with the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa,” the Africa Center for Strategic Studies reported Friday.
“Speaking from his experiences working in Kenyan media houses and researching Chinese media, Dr. Wekesa defines China’s approach to the media sector as the ‘total state control of information.’ This conceptualization views information as capital to be exploited by the state rather than a public good grounded in journalistic standards.
“Dr. Wekesa explains that in contrast to other external actors who have sponsored disinformation campaigns in Africa, China has pursued a more institutionalized approach in exporting its media practices to Africa. One route is by training African journalists and editors in Chinese programs that coach the avoidance of criticizing African presidents and ministries as well as Chinese officials.
“Another route is by purchasing ownership shares in African media houses and nudging their editorial practices toward the Chinese model. A third is through the sale of Chinese technology to Africa that allows governments to more closely control digital information, including by blocking sites and shutting down internet access. . . .”
(Credit: New Humanitarian/YouTube)
Somalia: One Tough Place to Be a Journalist
“Somalia is one of the hardest places in the world to be a journalist,” Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, secretary-general of the Somali Journalists Syndicate and a freelancer, wrote May 8 for the United Nations publication New Humanitarian.
“I know, because I spent 44 days in detention – persecuted for upholding press freedom and defending ethical reporting.
“Firstly, journalists in Somalia face incredible physical danger. It’s the most hazardous place in Africa to work as a media professional: Bombings and gun attacks by the jihadist group al-Shabab have killed so many of my colleagues over the years.
“Then there’s the intolerance and corruption of the government, which arrests its critics and shuts down media houses. A total of 84 journalists were detained in 2022.
“Finally, there’s the sheer logistical difficulty of leaving the urban areas to do your job and report freely on Somalia’s life-threatening drought and hunger. The powerful international aid agencies control access to humanitarian information, and they often select and frame the issues they want covered in a country where millions of Somalis – year after year – are dependent on relief. . . .”
Short Takes
Pulitzer Prize journalist John Archibald discovers the ways that fines and forfeitures have affected the life of an Alabama mother and activist. (Credit: al.com/YouTube)
- “The Rise and Fall of a Predatory Police Force,” by John Archibald, Ashley Remkus and Ramsey Archibald of AL.com, picked up another award Wednesday when the Press Club of Atlantic City gave it the National Headliner Award for “Best in Show Newspapers.” “The story won first place in the category for investigative reporting in newspapers not in top 20 media market.” Christina House of the Los Angeles Times won Nick Oza Best in Show Photography Award for her Pulitzer Prize-award-winning series described as “An epic tale of Mckenzie Trahan’s love, loss, drugs, motherhood & homelessness on the streets of Los Angeles,” and the digital journalism Best in Show winner went to Scripps News for its narrative podcast titled “Unfinished: Ernie’s Secret.” “The fact of the story is simple: a prominent civil rights era photographer [Ernest Withers] was also an FBI informant. But the nuances, humanity and historical context are what separated this work. It draws from a range of sources, including FBI documents and the result is a compelling work of great journalism,” the judges said. The podcast was hosted by Wesley Lowery. List of winners. [PDF]
- “Among Asian adults living in the U.S., 52% say they most often describe themselves using ethnic labels that reflect their heritage and family roots, either alone or together with ‘American,’ as in ‘Filipino American,’ ” Neil G. Ruiz, Luis Noe-Bustamante and Sono Shah reported May 8 for the Pew Research Center. “Though the vast majority see more cultural differences than commonalities among Asian origin groups, about six-in-ten say they feel connected to other Asians in the U.S. . . .”
- “From singer Gloria Estefan to rapper DJ Khalid to boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. to musician Jimmy Buffet, the Miami Heat always have celebrities sitting courtside,” Marc J. Spears wrote May 8 for Andscape. “There is, however, one particular celebrity fan that longtime Heat big man Udonis Haslem pays his respect to before home games. For Haslem, the mere sight of him evokes fond memories of his late mother and father. Haslem calls the man Mr. Joyner. The world knows him as Tom ‘The Fly Jock’ Joyner, who is also a Heat season-ticket holder. . . .Joyner is still very active at 73 years old despite suffering a stroke during a boxing workout in April 2020. The stroke severely affected the left side of his body. He is aided by his assistant, Dion Lewis, and he uses a wheelchair and cane. . . . The VIP attendants at the Kaseya Center take special care of Joyner when he arrives at games, helping him get from his wheelchair to his baseline seat below the basket on the side of the Heat’s bench.”
(Credit: The Grio)
- “Former Trump press secretary and current Fox News co-host Kayleigh McEnany fired a shot at veteran White House reporter April Ryan on Friday’s Outnumbered, saying she would refuse to call Ryan a journalist,” Jennifer Bowers Bahney wrote Friday for Mediaite. “McEnany made the dig when introducing a press conference video (above) where Ryan questioned Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about a debunked claim that border guards were caught ‘whipping’ migrants. “ ‘Speaking of Mayorkas, there was quite a moment in the briefing that I wanted to highlight,’ McEnany said. ‘It is when activist April Ryan, I will not call her a journalist, I’m sorry. . . . ‘ ” Ryan told Journal-isms in response, “As far as a dig from KM! Consider the source. I would say she lied when she was press secretary and she continues to want to be relevant and entertain us. However, since there is a class action lawsuit on this in the courts let’s wait and see if the case is heard and what the outcome will be.”
- Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston writer and former Boston Globe columnist, and Merlisa Lawrence Corbett, writing in the Guardian, were winners in the latest American Society of Journalists and Authors competition. Jackson won for best reported essay for “We Saved the Puffins. Now a Warming Planet is Unraveling,” in Grist, and Corbett for the op-ed “Here Comes Miss Ann: Black People Know the Likes of Margaret Court All Too Well.”
- Dow Jones and Columbia Journalism School Tuesday announced the launch of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Media Collective. “This dynamic journalism talent incubator is designed to enhance newsroom diversity and promote financial literacy for participating students. The inaugural cohort includes nine emerging journalists hand-selected by deans or faculty from Dillard University, Howard University, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, Spelman College and Texas Southern University.” From Friday until May 27, “the HBCU Media Collective program will embed participating students in Dow Jones newsrooms to learn financial reporting skills and gain real-life experience working alongside professional journalists and leaders at The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and MarketWatch in New York. . . .”
- “A Guatemalan newspaper known for hard-hitting investigations of government corruption and whose founder is currently on trial, announced Friday that it will shut down,” Sonia Perez reported Friday for the Associated Press. “El Periódico had stopped its print edition in November, but had continued to publish as a digital outlet. José Rubén Zamora is on trial for money laundering and other charges, allegations he has said were trumped up to silence an independent media outlet that has been critical of President Alejandro Giammattei’s administration. . . .”
- “The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) condemned the intensification of ‘repression’ by the Daniel Ortega regime against the media in Nicaragua on Thursday [May 11]. The regime’s actions have resulted in the detention of three journalists since last April in the Central American country. In a statement, the organization, based in Miami, urged the international community to denounce the regime’s persecution of freedom of expression and the press,” Infobae reported Friday, transmitted by LatAm Journalism Review.
- In Colombia, two gunmen aboard a motorcycle fatally shot journalist Luis Gabriel Pereira May 9 while he was riding his motorcycle in Ciénaga de Oro, a town in the northern Colombian department of Córdoba, according to news reports and the Bogotá-based Foundation for Press Freedom, or FLIP, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. “Pereira, 25, founded the local news outlet Notiorense on Facebook this year. He published stories on crime and public security in Ciénaga de Oro, including articles about the recent killing of a woman that named her alleged killer. The reports prompted fellow journalists to warn Pereira that his safety could be at risk, according to FLIP.” The press-freedom group called on authorities to determine if Pereira was targeted for his work, and bring those responsible to justice.
- “Lesotho authorities must launch a credible investigation into the killing of journalist Ralikonelo ‘Leqhashasha’ Joki and hold those responsible to account,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. “Around 10 p.m. on Sunday, May 14, an unknown number of people shot Joki in the head once and body at least 13 times as he left the privately owned radio station Ts’enolo FM in the capital, Maseru, according to multiple news reports and a statement by the Lesotho chapter of regional press freedom group Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). . . .”
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View previous columns (after Feb. 13, 2016).
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)
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- 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)
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