October 30, 2007
At Least 5 of Color Said to Be Gone or Going
The Houston Chronicle is losing 40 people from its newsroom as a result of buyouts and layoffs, publisher Jack Sweeney told Journal-isms on Tuesday, meeting its goal of trimming its overall workforce by about 5 percent. About 80 employees in all are leaving, he said.
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| James Campbell |
Sweeney would not name any of the journalists of color who are leaving, or say how many there are, but he asserted, "diversity here is very important to us. Our diversity issue, I can assure you as the publisher, is the bottom-line issue." The 40 leaving the newsroom are split evenly between layoffs and buyouts, he said.
Sweeney also said the paper was negotiating to hire an African American journalist for the editor's ranks.
In the most recent census of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Hearst-owned paper reported 23.8 percent journalists of color: 3.4 percent Asian American; 8.3 percent black or African American; 11.7 percent Hispanic and .3 percent Native American.
A 2005 survey by Bill Dedman and Stephen K. Doig for the Knight Foundation found that the Chronicle was operating with 21.3 percent journalists of color in a circulation area that was 51.2 percent nonwhite. The authors assigned the paper a "diversity index" of 6 among 10 newspapers reporting in the category of more than 500,000 in daily sales.
The Chronicle's circulation of about 692,000 makes it the nation's 10th largest daily newspaper.
James Campbell, the reader representative and onetime board member of the National Association of Black Journalists, wrote his final column on Sept. 29 and left for a public relations job. He told Journal-isms then, "We've lost three black staffers in [the] last three weeks, Zharmer Hardimon (left without a job), Kristen Mack (left to join the Washington Post to cover politics in its Manassas, Virginia, bureau), and me. We recently hired Leslie Casimir from the Daily News to cover a diversity beat. But we still do not have a regular Metro front or editorial page columnist who is black or Hispanic in a city that is majority-minority."
Sweeney wrote employees on Oct. 22 that, "A staff reduction in the five percent range, through layoffs and the elimination of open positions, is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, October 29 and 30, 2007.
"In this complex and competitive media environment, with consumer choices multiplying daily, our new strategic plan calls for more resources to be dedicated to new technology and product development. We need to operate differently, and at less cost, as we continue to build our lineup of products to capture more audience and ad revenue market share," his note said.
The publisher added that there would be consolidations of functions. "We're trying to do this the best way we can and keep people motivated," he told Journal-isms then.
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Richard Connelly, Houston Press blog:
Layoff and Buyouts at the Houston Chronicle
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Mal Johnson Dies, Key Figure in NABJ's Early Years
Mal Johnson, a key figure in the birth of the National Association of Black Journalists and the first female reporter at Cox Radio and Television News, died on Saturday at a hospital in Fairfax County, Va., after suffering from diabetes, her sister, Norma Simpson, said. Simpson said she was 85.
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| Mal Johnson |
People— including the organization's presidents— had all kinds of ways they wanted to spend NABJ's money, Brock recalled, but "Mal wouldn't give it up," he said, speaking of NABJ's meager treasury, then so small its contents could be carried around by hand. "Everybody hated her."
Johnson was treasurer of the association for eight years, "a curmudgeon who guarded NABJ's meager funds like a hen, often to the point of insulting members who became upset if their registration payment was misplaced or membership was not recorded," Wayne Dawkins wrote in his 1997 book, "Black Journalists" The NABJ Story."
"Sarah-Ann Shaw called Mal 'tart-tongued,' but for good reasons," Dawkins wrote.
"'As treasurer she felt personally responsible,' explained Shaw. 'She wouldn't let anyone handle the money. She felt her integrity was at stake.'
"Mal Johnson made no apologies. She said that 'everyone in the organization was on an ego trip.
"'None of them wanted to participate as leaders and do the work.
"'I had most of the burden of the organization.
"'I didn't care about being appreciated. I did care about their dedication. Some of them only wanted to chase the girls.'"
A short biography for the National Council of Women's Organizations, where Johnson was chair of the Global Women's Task Force, reads:
"Ms. Johnson is a founding member of Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, and was a television reporter at the former WKBS in Philadelphia. Ms. Johnson became the first female reporter employed at Cox Radio and Television News, where she worked for 27 years. As their first female White House correspondent, Ms. Johnson covered five presidents, as well as Capitol Hill, the State Department, and various Federal agencies. In 1980, Ms. Johnson was promoted to Senior Washington Correspondent and assigned additional duties as National Director of Community Affairs. Ms. Johnson consults and serves on many boards, including the International Association of Women in Radio & Television, and is a world traveler. She is a Founder of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Broadcast Association for Community Affairs. She was inducted in the Journalists Hall of Fame in 2000. A TV documentary of her life is in the Archives of the History Makers of America."
The former Mal Hooser told Dawkins she entered journalism after teaching and living with her husband, Frank B. Johnson, a career Air Force officer, overseas. After he died, "I was running the civil rights movement for the North City Congress (Broad Street and Columbia Avenue in North Philadelphia), an umbrella organization for 450 nonprofit organizations.
"In 1965 I got a call from Channel 48 . . .
"'I didn't know the station. They wanted someone to run the public/community affairs department.
"'The person who interviewed me (John Gilmore) didn't realize I was a black person until I got there. You could see he was startled. But I wasn't going to let him off the hook. The person who called me was his boss.
"'After about an hour he said he'd get back to me. I wasn't home 30 minutes before my phone was ringing and Gilmore was begging me to take the job. he said his job was at stake. We later became friends.
". . . Johnson worked at [WKBS-TV] until March 1969.
"At that time I was giving a speech to women broadcasters in Houston. I was giving them a hard time because they turned down a $150,000 grant from HEW (U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare) to train minority women for broadcasting jobs.
"'Their reason was, if we train them, they'll take our jobs.
"'The president and CEO of Cox Broadcasting, J. Leonard Reinsch, was the next speaker. I didn't know.
"'In order to shut me up, the group named me to the board of American Women in Television and Broadcasting.
"'At the next meeting, Reinsch was the only male there. He hired me.
"'He became my guiding mentor. I went to Cox as a Capitol Hill correspondent.
"'A few months later, I became White House correspondent. I worked for 21 years (1969-90) in radio and television, broadcasting to 22 stations."
"'Reinsch was the man who brought us the (FDR) fireside chats. He taught Eleanor Roosevelt how to speak (on the air) and taught Truman to speak.' Reinsch died in 1991."
Simpson said her sister wanted a private funeral with only family members, and she is honoring her wishes. The service is planned for Philadelphia next week.
Brock quoted Johnson's last words, spoken to Simpson, of Philadelphia, who survives along with Simpson's four sons:
"If anyone cries or starts to feel sorry for me, I'll come back and kick their ass."
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Stebbins Jefferson, Columnist and "Race Warrior"
"Stebbins Jefferson, a trail-blazing former editorial board member of The Palm Beach Post and a columnist known for her outspoken views on race relations, died Saturday afternoon after complications from heart surgery," Thomas Collins reported Sunday in the Palm Beach (Fla.) Post.
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| Stebbins Jefferson |
Jefferson's real name was Freddie; she used her maiden name of Stebbins as her first name only for her column, Collins wrote.
Sonya Ross, news editor - regionals for the Associated Press in Washington, told Journal-isms, "Mrs. Jefferson was both elegant and eloquent, a wonderful lady, a race warrior to the end. She was tireless in championing the voiceless and understanding the misunderstood in much the same spirit of Ida B. Wells Barnett. We owe it to our profession to add Stebbins Jefferson to the pantheon of America's greatest black journalists, and strive in all that we do to be provocative thinkers just like her."
Collins' obituary said, "Ms. Jefferson approached columns as a solemn duty.
"Randy Schultz, editor of The Post editorial page, said those who viewed Ms. Jefferson as racist were 'not only wrong but missed the point.'
"'She wanted a completely integrated society, just like (Dr. Martin Luther) King,' he said. 'She always pointed out in her columns that it wasn't just white people who have prejudices— we, we as Americans have prejudices.'
"As a writer who was 'instinctively old-school,' Ms. Jefferson wrote in a formal style and detested the 'rap booty culture' of MTV and BET, he said."
A viewing is to take place at Grace Episcopal Church in West Palm Beach starting at 4 p.m. on Nov. 2, followed by a program where friends, family and organizations can share their memories. Ending the program will be the Links of West Palm Beach with a home going ceremony followed by the "Omega Omega" (a farewell to a beloved sorority sister) service by the West Palm Beach Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. The funeral service follows at 11 a.m. the next day at the church.
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Guest book
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Editorial, Palm Beach Post:
Her calling, our privilege
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A look at some of the best of Stebbins Jefferson
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Fran Hathaway, Palm Beach Post:
To my friend: 'Such a generous nature, such a big heart'
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Jan Tuckwood, Palm Beach Post:
To my teacher: Freddie Jefferson held herself, others to high standard
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3 Others Disciplined at Dallas Station
October 29, 2007
Short-Term Suspensions, Warning in Aguilar Case
Dallas station KDFW-TV, criticized for indefinitely suspending reporter Rebecca Aguilar but not taking action against anyone else who handled her controversial story, has now disciplined three other staffers in connection with the piece, a spokeswoman for the Fox network, which owns and operates the station, told Journal-isms.
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NAHJ
Rebecca Aguilar |
"My position is that no one should have been suspended," Rafael Olmeda, president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, told Journal-isms.
Aguilar's suspension came after viewer protests over an interview she conducted with James Walton, 70, who shot dead two would-be burglars who entered his salvage business. They complained that Aguilar seemed insensitive to his plight, zeroing in on her questions, "Are you a trigger happy kind of person? Is that what you wanted to do, shoot to kill?"
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists, which awarded her Broadcast Journalist of the Year honors this month, rose to Aguilar's defense, and later Unity: Journalists of Color; the Dallas LULAC Council, which is part of the League of United Latin American Citizens; the alternative newspaper Fort Worth Weekly; Bark; and the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Communicators backed Aguilar as well.
The station has never said exactly why Aguilar was suspended. The spokeswoman said the situation is "still being investigated."
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View the original
story (Swanky Conservative)
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Video of the original report (Breitbart TV analysis)
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Sinclair to Appeal Fines Over Armstrong Williams
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www.armstrongwilliams.com
Despite scandal, Armstrong Williams has continued his media career and says he feels as though he has "come back from the abyss." |
Williams, meanwhile, told Journal-isms he has ridden out the storm and said of his current status, "it's like you can come back from the abyss."
Williams' firm accepted $240,000 from the Education Department to promote the No Child Left Behind Act while he served as a commentator and syndicated columnist speaking favorably of the program. After that revelation, his column was dropped by Tribune Media Services and he was removed from the lineup on the syndicated "America's Black Forum." Free Press, an anti-big-media group, said it had sent 12,500 complaints to the FCC. The agency's rules require people to disclose if they have been paid to broadcast information.
In the resulting uproar, the commentator's reputation was badly sullied.
The FCC this month declared Sonshine Family Television Inc., licensee of WBPH-TV in Bethlehem, Pa., liable for a fine of $40,000 for airing five episodes of "The Right Side with Armstrong Williams" in which Williams spoke about the education law, the Associated Press reported. Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., headquartered north of Baltimore, was hit with a proposed fine of $36,000 for airing an episode of "America's Black Forum" in September 2004.
"In Sinclair's case, Armstrong appeared on an episode entitled '2004 Election Countdown,'" the AP story said. "While the company was not paid to air the program, the FCC said the fact that the program was political in nature meant it required sponsorship identification.
"Sinclair argued that 'it simply did not know, and had no reason to know, that the program required any identification.'"
Barry Farber, vice president and general counsel of Sinclair Broadcasting, told Journal-isms on Monday that the company plans to appeal the fines. "I think it's just a mistake by the FCC," Farber said. According to Farber, the FCC accused Sinclair of violating its payola and "plugola" rules, but the television stations did not receive any money for airing the program. A spokesman for Sonshine Family Television did not return telephone calls from Journal-isms.
Meanwhile, WWRL-AM radio in New York, which aired "The Sammy and Army Show," co-hosted by Williams and Sam Greenfield, dropped the program last week, as David Hinckley reported Thursday in the New York Daily News.
Williams said he did not know the show would be canceled, but that he had asked to leave it. "I got my life back," he said, after having to rise at 3 a.m. for 4 a.m. production meetings before going on the air at 5 from Washington. He said he had nothing but praise for the station's management.
Williams said his newspaper column is now self-syndicated to 62 papers and that he does another radio show in the afternoons that airs on 16 Southern stations.
He enjoyed coverage on society pages this month after hosting a successful book party for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, his longtime friend, at Williams' Capitol Hill home.
While Williams said he wanted to be considered a journalist, he said he would still create commercials and serve as a publicist, only this time mindful of conflicts of interest.
"People thought I would be a footnote," Williams told Journal-isms. After the last two years, he added, "I have a soft spot for people who go through the wilderness."
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Obama Gets Most Favorable Media Treatment
"In the early months of the 2008 presidential campaign, the media had already winnowed the race to mostly five candidates and offered Americans relatively little information about their records or what they would do if elected, according to a comprehensive new study of the election coverage across the media," the Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy reported on Monday."The press also gave some candidates measurably more favorable coverage than others. Democrat Barack Obama, the junior Senator from Illinois, enjoyed by far the most positive treatment of the major candidates during the first five months of the year— followed closely by Fred Thompson, the actor who at the time was only considering running. Arizona Senator John McCain received the most negative coverage— much worse than his main GOP rivals.
"Meanwhile, the tone of coverage of the two party front runners, New York Senator Hillary Clinton and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, was virtually identical, and more negative than positive, according to the study.
"In all, 63% of the campaign stories focused on political and tactical aspects of the campaign. That is nearly four times the number of stories about the personal backgrounds of the candidates (17%) or the candidates— ideas and policy proposals (15%). And just 1% of stories examined the candidates' records or past public performance, the study found."
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Robin Abcarian, Los Angeles Times:
Polls don't reflect Obama's star power
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| Genarlow Wilson spoke on CNN's "American Morning" and other programs on Monday. |
Freed Genarlow Wilson Has Day of Media Interviews
"Genarlow Wilson, freed last week after spending almost three years in prison for having consensual oral sex with another teenager, said Monday he plans to use his newfound celebrity to warn teens about the dangers of risky behavior," Shannon McCaffrey reported Monday for the Associated Press. It was one of several media interviews Wilson gave on Monday."I feel like I have a testimony I can share with other young men and women," Wilson said in an interview with the AP at his family's home in an Atlanta suburb.
"Wilson said that he had no idea he was breaking the law when he had oral sex with a 15-year-old at 2003 New Year's Eve party. He was 17 at the time," McCaffrey reported.
Wilson said on CNN's "American Morning," "You can't let everything that you have been through you know, get the best of you and turn you bitter, because you will never achieve anything. I feel like everything I've done and everything that I've endured is all made me stronger as a person. You have to be very open-minded to the situation. Of course, I believe that it was absurd, but you know, I had to look at it as these gentlemen were doing their job, and they felt like they were carrying out the law."
He also appeared on National Public Radio's "Tell Me More" with Michel Martin, ABC's "Good Morning America" and NBC's "Today" show. Wilson, 21, said he wants to pursue a college degree in sociology or business.
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Deborah Mathis , BlackAmericaWeb.com: With All The Reasons Teens Have for Abstaining from
Sex, Possible Prison Shouldn't Be Among Them
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Cops Ignore Request to Interrupt News Conference
A news conference on Capitol Hill to promote an immigration bill could have turned ugly — with police showing up to arrest some of those participating — had not authorities ignored a request from Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a long-shot presidential candidate, that the authorities attend, too.Three students were present at the news conference, held Oct. 23 by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to promote the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act. It would have allowed undocumented students "of good moral character" who graduate from high school or get their GED to receive the residency status needed to attend college or enlist in the military, as Suzanne Struglinski reported in the Deseret Morning News in Utah.
"After two years of college or military service, the students would earn legal permanent residency, commonly known as a green card, which would put them on a path toward citizenship," Struglinski wrote.
"To be eligible, the undocumented students must have been in the United States for more than five years, have been under 16 years old when they first arrived and be under 30 years old when the bill becomes law."
Tancredo had his office call the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency and the Capitol Police to have any illegal immigrants at the news conference arrested. "Just because these illegal aliens are being used for political gain doesn't mean they get immunity from the law. If we can't enforce our laws inside the building where American laws are made, where can we enforce them?" he said in a statement that Durbin read.
However, Tancredo spokesman T.Q. Houlton told Journal-isms on Monday, the authorities did not respond to Tancredo's request. None showed up.
In fact, the students had been granted temporary legal status, according to Sandra Abrevaya, a Durbin spokeswoman.
On Wednesday, with a 52-44 vote, the Senate failed to give the DREAM Act the 60 votes it needed to get full consideration by the Senate. That drew commentary.
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Esther J. Cepeda, Chicago Sun-Times:
Keep DREAMing
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Albor Ruiz, New York Daily News:
Shameless Prez wanna-be tries to rob kids of Dream
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Cynthia Tucker, Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Crushing Dream of top students in U.S. illegally
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