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Trump Called Out on Lack of Diversity

richard

Returning Friday, Feb. 10

For Cabinet: 16 White Men, 4 Women, 1 Black Man

L.A. Times Calculates 8 Million Could Be Deported

CNN Might Refuse Airtime to Kellyanne Conway

Indians Remember Real Bowling Green Massacre

Globe Caught in Dewey-Beats-Truman Moment

Turnaround Expert Min Stepping Down as Editor

Juan Castillo Named Opinion Editor in Austin

More Black Women Asked to Trim Natural Hair

Acel Moore’s High School Program Is Back

Short Takes

President Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on Jan. 23, including one resurrecting a policy that prohibits foreign nongovernmental organizations that receive federal funding from performing or promoting abortion services through their work in other countries. (Credit: Ron Sachs/pool photo via Bloomberg News)

For Cabinet: 16 White Men, 4 Women, 1 Black Man

“In his first two weeks, President Trump has sought to project the image of a new leader moving quickly to enact his agenda,” David Nakamura and Abby Phillip reported Sunday for the Washington Post.

“He has surrounded himself in photo ops with his most trusted senior aides as he signs a flurry of executive orders, visits government agencies and calls world leaders from the Oval Office.

“But if the images from the White House aim to show a man of action, they also have delivered another, unspoken message in the early days of the new administration: Most of the aides Trump relies on for counsel as he moves to dramatically reshape the country are men — and nearly all of them are white.

“It is a sharp change from the past eight years of the barrier-breaking Obama administration, and one that has reinforced the feeling among Trump’s critics that a narrow, anachronistic worldview is driving an agenda that they consider to be hostile to women and minorities. . . .”

Nakamura and Phillip also wrote that “after millions of women had demonstrated against his administration in marches in Washington and across the country, Trump presided over a swearing-in ceremony for two dozen senior White House staffers. Among them were five women and one racial minority, former ‘Apprentice’ star Omarosa Manigault, who is serving as a senior communications aide.

“Beyond the White House, Trump’s choices to fill 21 Cabinet-level positions include 16 white men, four women (including two Asian Americans) and one African American man, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

“For the first time since the Reagan administration, there are no Latinos, even as Trump moves to ramp up the deportations of undocumented immigrants. . . .”

Meanwhile, Andrew Kaczynski reported Monday for CNN, “Donald Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, said during a 2010 webinar for Tea Party activists that liberal Democrats have a ‘plantation mentality’ towards African Americans to keep them under government control.

“Bannon, the former Breitbart executive who has now emerged as one the most influential advisers inside Trump’s White House, described a ‘victimology’ among African Americans created by the welfare state, which caused them to attack black conservatives.

“After listing off several prominent black conservatives, Bannon said, ‘These people are heroes. They take an incredible, incredible amount of grief because the welfare state has built in this victimology. And the elitist, liberal, progressives have a plantation mentality that they don’t think African Americans should be out of government control.’ . . .

“Bannon, one of the co-founders of the National Tea Party Federation, is not the first to invoke the history of slavery in the United States to attack the relationship between the Democratic Party and black voters. Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain and former congressman Allen West — both prominent black conservatives — have also referred to the Democratic Party as a ‘plantation.’ . . .”

Migrants from Guatemala turn to face a local law enforcement official, not shown, giving them instructions after they crossed the Rio Grande near McAllen, Texas, in 2014. (Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez/Los Angeles Times)

L.A. Times Calculates 8 Million Could Be Deported

“When President Trump ordered a vast overhaul of immigration law enforcement during his first week in office, he stripped away most restrictions on who should be deported, opening the door for roundups and detentions on a scale not seen in nearly a decade,” Brian Bennett reported Saturday for the Los Angeles Times.

“Up to 8 million people in the country illegally could be considered priorities for deportation, according to calculations by the Los Angeles Times. They were based on interviews with experts who studied the order and two internal documents that signal immigration officials are taking an expansive view of Trump’s directive.

“Far from targeting only ‘bad hombres,’ as Trump has said repeatedly, his new order allows immigration agents to detain nearly anyone they come in contact with who has crossed the border illegally. People could be booked into custody for using food stamps or if their child receives free school lunches. . . .”

CNN Might Refuse Airtime to Kellyanne Conway

Kellyanne Conway (Credit: Raw Story screengrab)

“The feud between CNN and Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway has gone public,” Brad Reed reported Monday for Raw Story.

“After CNN declined an administration offer to have Conway appear on its State of the Union show on Sunday, the New York Times reported that executives at CNN have ‘serious questions’ about Conway’s credibility, which may lead them to refuse future offers to have her on their shows.

“Reacting to this report, Conway said on Twitter that family issues prevented her from appearing on Sunday shows this week, while also slamming the ‘false’ reporting about CNN executives doubting her credibility.

“CNN’s official public relations Twitter handle quickly called out Conway’s claim, and said that she ‘was offered to SOTU [“State of the Union”] by the White House’ this week.

“ ‘We passed,’ CNN emphasized. ‘Those are the facts.’

“Shortly after CNN’s message, MSNBC Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski sent out a cryptic message telling CNN that it was ‘not the first’ show to decline an offer to have Conway on air.”

The real Bowling Green Massacre took place in 1643 in New Amsterdam, later New York, and was committed by European settlers and soldiers, then immigrants. Above, a map of New Amsterdam in 1660.

Indians Remember Real Bowling Green Massacre

“Much is being made of the Bowling Green Massacre in Kentucky that never happened but was nonetheless highlighted by Presidential Counselor Kellyanne Conway,” Theresa Braine wrote Saturday for the Indian Country Media Network.

“Twitter memes are bursting forth. A fund to benefit the victims of the ‘Bowling Green Massacre’ has been set up—that links to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) website. There’s even a Facebook Bowling Green Massacre Survivor Check-in page, with a map showing the little patch of land at the southern tip of Manhattan known as Bowling Green.

“Yet a massacre actually did take place at the tip of Manhattan, though not by the nefarious ‘Muslim terrorists’ whom Conway would have us fear. The real Bowling Green Massacre occurred in 1643 during what was known as Kieft’s War, and was perpetrated by white Christians. The Governor of New Netherlands[,] Willem Kieft, sent European soldiers to move against two camps of refugee Natives, overriding the direction of his ruling council and the general sentiments of the colonists. The soldiers fell upon members of the Lenape Tribe with deeds that would long presage the notion of ISIS.

“ ‘Infants were torn from their mother’s breast and hacked to death in the presence of their parents, and the pieces thrown into the fire and in the water,’ wrote a Dutch witness, David Pietersz de Vries, to the massacre on February 25, 1643. ‘Other sucklings, being bound to small boards, were cut, stuck and pierced, and miserably massacred in a manner to move a heart of stone. Some were thrown into the river, and when the fathers and mothers endeavored to save them the soldiers would not let them come on land but made both parents and children drown.’ . . . .”

An early edition of the Boston Globe that reached streets in Florida. (Credit: Boston Herald)

Globe Caught in Dewey-Beats-Truman Moment

“Most people thought the Falcons had beaten the Patriots,” Mike Florio wrote Monday for profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. “Including the leading newspaper in Boston.

“Via Field Yates of ESPN.com, an early edition of the Boston Globe declared victory for the Falcons with a headline that proclaimed: A Bitter End. Appearing under that was a photo of Falcons defensive back Robert Alford returning an interception from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to the end zone for a touchdown that put Atlanta ahead 21-0 in the first half. New England eventually would trail 28-3 in the third quarter.

“Inevitably a collector’s item, the erroneous conclusion proves the danger of declaring any sporting event to be over before it is. Even when it seems to be.

“The 25-point comeback for the Patriots more than doubled the 10-point fourth-quarter turnaround the Patriots managed two years ago. In both games, quarterback Tom Brady earned the MVP award after performing the kind of heroics rarely seen in NFL title games. . . .”

The Globe’s mistake was like manna from heaven for Howie Carr, columnist for the rival Boston Herald. “There’s fake news and then there’s FAKE NEWS!” Carr wrote on Monday.

“Today’s early edition Boston Globe made a historic blunder with its Super Bowl coverage, running the headline: A BITTER END.

“Above it is ‘Super Bowl LI.’ LI meaning ’51’ in Roman numerals, but now it has another meaning, wouldn’t you say? You can’t have a LIE without LI. . . .”Boston Globe Editor Brian McGrory did not respond to requests for an explanation of the mistake.

The Patriots’ come-from-behind victory was a boon for the printed newspaper, Herald Editor Joe Sciacca told Journal-isms by email.

“I find that there is an appeal to the enduring quality of print whenever there is a major event, be it sports, politics or news,” Sciacca wrote. “I think readers prefer to have the actual newspaper from that day to save for history’s sake, rather than a computer printout of a story. I haven’t seen a full analysis of our web traffic, but I know the Patriots championship run has been a popular read online.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran this ad before Sunday’s game and on Monday.

“We sent pretty close to the same team of sports reporters, photographers and video and radio staff to this year’s Super Bowl as the last few.

“We had a special preview section in print before the event, and we produced a standalone Champions publication as we have in past years around major sporting events.”

In Atlanta, “We saw huge numbers in our digital traffic, especially the day after the game,” Kevin Riley, editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said by email.

“Of course, if the Falcons had won, we believe it would have been even greater.

“We had a team dedicated to social media, which was a big part of our strategy going into Super Bowl week. It really paid off.

“We had a front page planned for both a win and a loss. If the Falcons had won, we had several special editions and projects planned to meet the expected demand of fans, including a book.

“These kinds of events give a newspaper the opportunity to make an emotional connection with readers and digital users. It reminds them that we play an important role in creating a sense of community.”

Turnaround Expert Min Stepping Down as Editor

“Janice Min, who has orchestrated a stunning turnaround at The Hollywood Reporter over the last seven years, will step down as that publication’s top editor at the end of February, a move that may foreshadow its sale,” Brooks Barnes reported Monday for the New York Times.

“Ms. Min, who also oversees the music-focused Billboard magazine, decided in recent weeks not to renew her editing contract for another three-year term. Instead, she will join Eldridge Industries, which controls The Reporter and Billboard, in a new role devising a ‘media-investment strategy,’ she said in an interview on Sunday. . . .”

Juan Castillo Named Opinion Editor in Austin

Juan Castillo

“In 2017, ‘commentary’ often consists of talking heads shouting over one another on 24-hour news channels, or individuals flaming each other on social media or snarky blogs,” Debbie Hiott, editor of the Austin American-Statesman, wrote Friday for the newspaper.

“But newspapers have a centuries-old tradition of providing both a venue for civil debate from the community and well-researched editorials on a position that have their basis in factual reporting.

“Putting the emotion of an argument secondary to thoughtful analysis can be difficult under any circumstance, but especially in these times when the enormity of what is at stake seems to lend a sense of urgency that sometimes overtakes the facts. It takes a steady hand and considerable perspective — and willingness to consider all the arguments — to provide the best sort of newspaper commentary.

“That’s why I’m happy to announce that Juan Castillo, a veteran newsman who has reported and edited at the Austin American-Statesman, Houston Chronicle and McAllen Monitor, will be returning to the Statesman to lead our editorial and commentary efforts.

“Castillo most recently covered business news for the digital startup NerdWallet after leaving the Statesman in late 2013. During his almost 25 years at the Statesman, he led award-winning coverage of city hall, the environment and transportation as a metro editor, then spearheaded the newspaper’s nation and world desk through 9/11 and the beginning of the Iraq war.

“Castillo took a year off from the daily news grind for a prestigious Knight Fellowship at Stanford, where he studied U.S.-Mexico border history and culture, race and politics. Upon his return he became a senior writer for the paper for the projects team and then covered the census, growth, demographics and culture in Austin. . . .”

More Black Women Asked to Trim Natural Hair

Hannah Allam

“Stories about black women whose employers asked them to cut their dreadlocks or to trim their big afros have surfaced with more frequency in the last few years,” Karen Grigsby Bates wrote Monday for NPR’s “Code Switch.”

“Now a new study confirms that many people — including black ones — have a bias against the types and styles of natural hair worn by black people.

“The ‘Good Hair Study’ was conducted by Perception Institute, which describes itself as ‘a consortium of researchers, advocates and strategists’ that uses emotional and psychological research to identify and reduce bias in areas such as law enforcement, education, civil justice and the workplace.

“The study resulted from a partnership with Shea Moisture, a black-owned hair and body products company, and aimed to better understand the connection between implicit bias and textured hair.

“The Good Hair Study asked over 4,000 participants to take an online IAT, or implicit association test, which involves rapidly-changing photos of black women with smooth and natural hair, and rotating word associations with both. According to the study, ‘a majority of people, regardless of race and gender, hold some bias towards women of color based on their hair.’ But the results also indicate that this bias is learned behavior, and can be unlearned.

“In the study, millennials of all races came across as more accepting of textured hair. And ‘naturalistas,’ women who choose to wear their hair natural, ‘showed either no bias or a slight preference for textured hair.’

“Some key findings confirm that black women suffer more anxiety around hair issues, and spend more on hair care than their white peers. They are almost twice as likely to experience social pressure at work to straighten their hair compared to white women.

“The study also concludes that, ‘White women demonstrate the strongest bias — both explicit and implicit — against textured hair.’ They rated it as ‘less beautiful,’ ‘less sexy/attractive’ and ‘less professional than smooth hair.’ However, white women who are in contact with black women naturalistas demonstrated lower levels of bias. Given that white women make up a large majority of the 38 percent of female managers who decide what looks are appropriate for work, legal conflicts sometimes ensue. And courts tend to rule in favor of employers in such cases. . . .”

After PBS’ Gwen Ifill died last year, Hannah Allam, a  national correspondent for McClatchy who is Egyptian American, was among female journalists of color who reflected on Ifill’s impact for PBS.

“Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for always putting substance over style and for elevating what matters,” Allam wrote. “For the time that I showed up to your studio with straight hair, because everybody knows [naturally curly hair] isn’t polished, [it] isn’t ready for the newscast. I showed up with my hair straightened to your show, and you gave me a look, and then you said, ‘You know you don’t have to do that here.’ That meant the world to me. . . .”

The Acel Moore High School Journalism Workshop returned Saturday and is to operate in Philadelphia for three successive Saturdays. (Credit: Facebook)

Acel Moore’s High School Program Is Back

After a two-year hiatus, the Acel Moore High School Journalism Workshop, which Moore began at the Philadelphia Inquirer in the 1980s, is back in business. Harold Jackson, the Inquirer’s editorial page editor, and Linda Wright Moore, widow of the journalistic icon and a onetime columnist at the Philadelphia Daily News, announced the news on Facebook and Twitter over the weekend.

“This hands-on workshop was founded in 1984 by the late Acel Moore, a reporter and columnist at The Inquirer, as part of his lifelong commitment to open up journalism careers to multicultural students in the Philadelphia area, Jackson and program director Oscar Miller wrote to fellow staff members in January.

“The workshop is taught by staffers and combines classroom instruction in reporting, writing, photography, and digital journalism with practical application. The program culminates with the production of First Take, a student newspaper. This year, a greater emphasis will be placed on acquiring the tools of multimedia storytelling. Using their smart phones, participants will shoot, edit and embed videos in their stories, blog, chat online, and share the workshop experience in real time through social media postings. . . .”

The workshop began on Saturday and is to run through three successive Saturdays at the newspapers’ offices. “We have 20 students in the class, a number we expect to grow for future classes,” Miller told Journal-isms.

“This is awesome news! Acel loved that program,” Johann Calhoun, news and special project editor at the Philadelphia Tribune and board member of the National Association of Black Journalists, responded on Facebook.

Moore, the legendary Philadelphia Inquirer journalist and a co-founder of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and of NABJ, died last February at age 75.

Short Takes

(Credit: Pittsburgh Black Media Federation)

“No one has done more to cover issues impacting journalists of color over the past generation than Richard Prince. His work with Journal-isms, be it through NABJ, Maynard or, today, independently, remains a vital cog in efforts to improve diversity and inclusion within newsrooms and in news coverage. . . .”

— Dr. Letrell Crittenden, assistant professor of communication at Robert Morris University and a board member of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation.

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