More J-Graduates of Color Finding Jobs, Survey Finds

A survey of 2010 graduates of the nation's journalism and mass communication programs showed that "once again faring worse than anyone in the job market were racial and ethnic minority graduates, according to a report by the University of Georgia's James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research.

Last year, however, "There was . . . a notable rise in the percentage of minority graduates in 2011 who found full-time work — 58.7%, up from 49.9% a year earlier. Even so, that rate of hiring lags well behind the non-minority level of 69.9%," the researchers reported this week.

"There's no way of knowing from the data why the gap worsened last year and improved this year," Lee B. Becker, professor of journalism and director of the Cox Center and the survey [PDF], told Journal-isms by telephone on Friday. "The gap this year is narrower and still present. One can't be too pleased that the gap still exists, but it's better to have a narrower one."

Overall, Mark Jurkowitz wrote Thursday for the Project for Excellence in Journalism, "For the second year in a row, the employment situation for recent journalism and mass communication graduates has improved. . . But placed in the context of a 'terrible' job market in recent years, the report says the latest job numbers represent only a 'modest...recovery.' "

Census Would Change Hispanic, Arab American IDs

"To keep pace with rapidly changing notions of race, the Census Bureau wants to make broad changes to its surveys that would treat 'Hispanic' as a distinct category regardless of race, end use of the term 'Negro' and offer new ways to identify Middle Easterners," Hope Yen reported Wednesday for the Associated Press.

"The recommendations released Wednesday stem from new government research on the best ways to count the nation's demographic groups. Still it could face stiff resistance from some racial and ethnic groups who worry that any kind of wording change in the high-stakes government count could yield a lower tally for them.

" 'This is a hot-button issue,' said Angelo Falcon, president of the National Institute for Latino Policy in New York City and a community adviser to the census. 'The burden will be on the Census Bureau to come up with evidence that wording changes will not undermine the Latino numbers.'

"Arab-Americans said they strongly support the Census Bureau's efforts. 'The Census Bureau's current method for determining Arab ancestry yields a significant undercount of the actual size of the community, and we're optimistic that the new form should be significantly better at capturing ancestry data,' the Arab American Institute said in a statement."

Reporter Swaps to Save Job of Laid-Off Colleague

One of two black journalists laid off two weeks ago at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had his job saved when another reporter with more seniority stepped up to leave in his place, as permitted under the Newspaper Guild contract.

"My editor told me 'see you Monday,' " Marlon A. Walker, 31, told Journal-isms on Friday by email. "That's all I wanted to hear. I've got a new beat I've been tentatively babysitting, and I cannot wait to go full speed next week.

"It's a relief. The last two weeks have been a nightmare. I was told about the save more than a week ago, but it was not official until now."

[Shannon Duffy, business representative of the United Media Guild, on Monday identified the reporter who stepped up as Terry Hillig, 67, of the Illinois bureau. In all, Duffy said, three reporters volunteered to take the place of three who were laid off. Also volunteering were three copy editors, but two of the three copy editors laid off did not want to come back.

[They included David Sheets, sports content editor and past president of the St. Louis professional chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Sheets wrote on his Facebook page:

["Today, I was invited to rejoin the Post-Dispatch — and I turned it down. There comes a time when you realize that inviting long-term risk outweighs short-term reward. So, you chart a new course, initially petrified at the prospect of traveling without a road map. Yet, I believe that as Lisa and I forge ahead with encouragement from wonderful friends, the journey will become an adventure, and we will gain much more than we lose along the way."]

The layoff of the second black journalist, photographer Johnny Andrews, 38, remained, however. Andrews said another photographer would have had to step up to take his place. "I'm no longer at the Post," Andrews, a Post-Dispatch staffer for 4½ years, said by telephone. He said he would begin freelancing.

In all, 23 employees were to be laid off. [Updated Aug. 13]

Black Press Says Obama Shorts Them, Romney Ignores

". . . The campaign war chests for President Obama and Mitt Romney total almost $3 billion! However, as of this writing, not one dollar has been spent in the 'Black Press,' " Cloves Campbell Jr., chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association and publisher of the Arizona Informant, wrote Thursday for the NNPA News Service.

"Once again the Black Press has been relegated to an 'Oh, By the Way' campaign that features a single half-page ad placed two weeks before the election in all black newspapers, totaling a shameful $1.2 million dollars! That is the money placed by the Obama for America Campaign (OFA). The Romney Campaign has zero dollars allocated!"

Clo Ewing, director of constituency press for the Obama campaign, did not respond to requests for comment.

Tara Wall, senior communications and coalitions adviser for the Mitt Romney campaign, told Journal-isms by email, ". . . I can't provide specific details about any potential ad buys but will say that the Romney campaign plans to remain competitive this election and doesn't take any voter for granted."

Jeff Harjo Resigns as NAJA Executive Director

Jeff Harjo, executive director of the Native American Journalists Association, "is resigning after five years of serving the journalists and students who have been members of our organization," NAJA announced Friday night.

"Jeff is a longtime member of NAJA, and he was on the board of directors from 1995 to 2001. He helped in coordinating UNITY 2008 and 2012, and he attended the first UNITY conference in 1994 in Atlanta. Jeff has coordinated the NAJA student projects since 2009."

In November, Darla Leslie resigned as president of NAJA, saying in a message posted on Facebook, "I believe NAJA is on the verge of financial ruin. My resignation is a reflection of the inability, in my opinion, of our Board of Directors to take immediate action to remedy this situation."

NAJA is the smallest of the major journalist of color groups, with about 280 members, according to President Rhonda LeValdo. Its membership has been in decline.

Escobar Named CNN VP for Talent Recruitment

CNN, whose American operation has been criticized for its lack of Latino on-air representation, has hired Ramon Escobar as vice president of talent recruitment and development for CNN Worldwide, the network announced on Thursday.

"Escobar, who will be based in New York, joins CNN after several years at Telemundo, most recently as executive vice president of network news," the announcement said.

"In that position, he oversaw the entire network's news division including all international news bureaus and the development of on-air talent. Prior to that, Escobar was vice president at Sucherman Consulting Group in New York where his clients included ABC News, Discovery Networks, BBC America and Telemundo. Previously at Telemundo, he ran the network's entertainment division as senior executive vice president of entertainment (Sept. 2002-Dec. 2006) and senior vice president, news & creative services, Telemundo Stations Group, based in Miami. Prior to that position, Escobar was vice president, responsible for all live news programming at sister network MSNBC (through March 2002.)"

Hugo Balta, new president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, told Journal-isms by email, "I've had the good fortune to call Ramon Escobar mentor and friend. He's been instrumental in my professional growth from a young Latino journalist to a seasoned manager in both English and Spanish language markets.

"Very few media executives match Ramon's robust and diverse experience in broadcast journalism (having worked at NBC and Telemundo); his unique understanding of both markets will be key to his success and that of CNN.

"NAHJ celebrates CNN's hiring of Ramon Escobar and looks forward to partnering with him on drawing from the well of talent and experience of NAHJ members in his recruiting initiatives."

Escobar will report to Amy Entelis, senior vice president, talent and content development for CNN Worldwide. She said in the release:

"Ramon brings with him a depth of news experience on both the domestic and international fronts in network, cable and local television. From his work at major media outlets that include Telemundo and MSNBC, Ramon has demonstrated his strength at overseeing programming and developing top-notch talent."

The Talent and Development department, created in January, is overseen by Mark Whitaker, CNN Worldwide executive vice president and managing editor.

Poder, Uptown, Vibe, Jet Magazines See Change

Poder Hispanic, which describes itself as "a bi-monthly publication for Latinos in power — and those who aspire to be," recorded a 54.4 percent increase in circulation for the first six months of 2012, compared with the same period in 2011, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported this week.

The African American-oriented Uptown magazine, which says it "affords luxury purveyors the broadest access to this highly sought-after male and female demographic," declined 42.3 percent over the same period, according to the ABC figures.

However, "In the latest sign that electronic dance music is invading the mainstream, Vibe magazine, is opening its pages and its website to the genre," Nat Ives reported Thursday for Advertising Age. Vibe, founded by Quincy Jones and Time Inc. nearly 20 years ago as a hip-hop magazine, has been published by the Uptown Media Group since 2009.

Uptown's circulation loss came primarily in subscriptions, which declined from 76,257 to 42,593.

The ABC figures showed a 9 percent drop in the circulation of Jet magazine, long a weekly but now published every two weeks, but "that was part of a planned strategy to spend less on boosting circulation and more on a remake of the publication, said Johnson CEO Desiree Rogers," Lynne Marek reported Wednesday for Crain's Chicago Business.

". . . She also said she's pleased that the Chicago-based company has been able to decrease the percentage of magazines that are distributed, sometimes free-of-charge, to beauty salons, doctors' offices and other such commercial locations to 1.2 percent as of June 30, from 9.2 percent a year ago.

"Jet decreased its frequency to bi-weekly from weekly in January and on May 30 hired a new managing editor, Anslem Samuel Rocque, who was previously culture editor of the Source magazine and editor-in-chief of the Ave magazine. He replaced Candi Meriwether."

In the latest ABC figures, Poder Hispanic, published by Televisa Publishing + Digital, was also the fifth-largest digital-replica magazine, a genre that "doubled their share of the North American market in the last year," Laura Hazard Owen reported Thursday for paidcontent.org.

Among Poder's contributors are Verónica Villafañe, a former president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists who wrote "ImpreMedia Infusion: Can Argentine media giant La Nación breathe new life into the longtime Hispanic newspaper chain?" for the August edition and "Chemicals and Cancer: Why won't the government pay attention to problem substances?" for July.

Overall, "Magazines' newsstand sales dropped 9.6% in the first half of this year, a worsening of the decline in recent years, even as growth in digital editions helped paid subscriptions rise 1.1% . . ., " Keach Hagey reported for the Wall Street Journal.

Here are the January-through-June figures for the paid-and-verified circulation of magazines targeting people of color:

Black Enterprise, 518,602, up 3.7 percent from the same period in 2011; Ebony, 1,255,542, up 1.6 percent; Essence, 1,080,633, down 2.3 percent; Hype Hair, 66,276, down 13.2 percent; Jet, 745,809, down 9.1 percent; Latina, 502,640, down 0.5 percent; People en Español, 560,691, down 1.5 percent.

Also, Poder Hispanic, 430,376, up 54.4 percent; Siempre Mujer, 565,855, up 10 percent; Sister2Sister, 145,822, down 17.9 percent; TV y Novelas Estados Unidos, 313,094, up 11.4 percent; Uptown, 46,123, down 42.3 percent; Vanidades, 341,658, up 10.7 percent; Vibe, 202,439, up 2.0 percent; XXL, 114,875, down 22.1 percent.

• Emma Bazilian, adweek.com: Lessons From 'People' Newsstand Woes
  
  
• Erik Sass, MediaPost: Magazine Paid Subs Up, Newsstand Sales Down

Jamaicans, Women Celebrate Olympics Victories

It was a celebratory day in Jamaica, and worldwide, for women.

"Mission accomplished," Paul A. Reid wrote Friday from London for the Jamaica Observer. "Usain Bolt came into the 27th Olympics Games with one aim, to become the first man in track history to win back-to-back sprint double, and he accomplished the feat last night at Olympic Stadium in Stratford, London, running a season's best 19.32 seconds to lead a sweep of the medals for Jamaica.

"Yohan Blake also ran a season's best 19.44 seconds for his second silver of the Games, while Warren Weir ran a brilliant final 60m to hold off American Wallace Spearmon for third in a massive personal best 19.84 seconds, shopping off 0.15 seconds off his previous personal best of 19.99 seconds set earlier this year.

"Bolt's 19.32 is tied for fourth best of all time with Michael Johnson, the former world record holder.

"It was the first clean sweep of the Olympic men's 200m medals by any country other than the United States, seventh overall and first since 2004 in Athens, Greece.

"The medal swelled Jamaica's tally to nine — three of each colour, to leap to second in track and field behind the USA and 17th overall. Jamaica remain on track to surpass the 11 medals won in Beijing four years ago. . . . "

Meanwhile, Sarah Brown wrote for CNN, ". . . Women have been the center of attention throughout much of the Olympics, both within and without Games venues, as they broke records, sparked drama, impressed with immense skill and poise and won medal after medal. Indeed, for many, London 2012 has truly been 'the women's Games.' "

• Bryan Burwell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Bolt proves he's fastest and coolest
  
  
• Eric Deggans, National Sports Journalism Center: Tape-delay shouldn't be the biggest criticism of NBC's Olympics coverage
  
  
• Jemele Hill, ESPN: Gabby Douglas' hair draws criticism (Aug. 3)
  
  
• Jason Johnson, politic365.com: Lolo, Gabby, Serena: 3 Reasons This is the BLACKEST Olympics EVER
  
  
• William C. Rhoden, New York Times: The Greatest Olympian in History Isn't Michael Phelps (video)
  
  
• Yolanda Sangweni, essence.com: Gabby Douglas & Mom Natalie Hawkins on Historic Win, Hair, and Inspiring Black Girls
  
  
• John Smallwood, Philadelphia Daily News: Officials rip rogue condoms
  
  
• Jerome Solomon, Houston Chronicle: U.S. boxing coach unhappy with Esparza scoring
  
  
• Jason Whitlock, Fox Sports: Is Bolt too good to be true?
  
  

"José Luis Sin Censura" Out After 18-Month Protest

"The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) today announced that 'José Luis Sin Censura,' produced and broadcast by Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. (LBI) on the EstrellaTV network, has been permanently removed from the broadcast schedule," the two groups announced on Thursday.

"NHMC and GLAAD were informed of this development in a letter from Winter Horton, LBI's Chief Operating Officer. The show was broadcast during the daytime in over 30 markets across the country.

"The removal of the show comes after a campaign that included 18 months of sustained effort from GLAAD and NHMC, during which dozens of organizations and thousands of individuals were mobilized, many via a petition at Change.org.

"At the outset of the campaign, GLAAD and NHMC filed a nearly 200-page formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and contacted dozens of major advertisers whose ads appeared during the program. The campaign resulted in an ongoing investigation by the FCC and a number of advertisers withdrawing their support of the show including AT&T, Time Warner Cable, and Western Dental.

"To view video footage of the violence against LGBT people which was featured and encouraged on the show, along with photos of the delivery of the Change.org petition calling on LBI to take action visit: http://www.glaad.org/jlsc."

Tang Named N.Y. Times Deputy Editorial Page Editor

"Terry Tang, whose 15-year career at The New York Times has included stints on the metropolitan, business and editorial desks and also involved building its online presence, has been named deputy editorial page editor," the Times reported on Wednesday.

"Andrew Rosenthal, The Times's editorial page editor, announced the promotion on Wednesday. He said that Ms. Tang was ideal for the job because of her experiences in editing, editorial writing and promoting editorial coverage online. Mr. Rosenthal added that he was confident Ms. Tang would help update the editorial pages and 'bring the editorial board into the Internet era.'

"He added: 'Having someone like Terry who knows as much about editorial writing and editing and is good at it and has such a good sense of the Internet seemed like a great combination for me.'

"Ms. Tang, 53, joined the paper in 1997 as an editorial writer. Before that, she worked for The Seattle Times as a columnist and editorial writer and as a staff writer at Seattle Weekly. In 2000, she became the paper's Op-Ed page editor and oversaw its coverage through the Sept. 11 attacks. . . . "

Native Man Rejects Finding on "KKK" Carving

"A spokeswoman for a man who claims the letters 'KKK' were carved into his abdomen during surgery in Rapid City said South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley misled the public by saying an investigation found no wrongdoing," Ruth Moon wrote Thursday for the Rapid City (S.D.) Journal.

"A news release Monday from Jackley's office outlining the results of an investigation by the state Division of Criminal Investigation implies that the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services also concluded their investigations into 69-year-old Vernon Traversie's claims, when in fact those investigations remain open, Traversie's spokeswoman, Kara Briggs, said in a news release.

" 'There are two federal investigations ongoing, and neither has ruled out that a hate crime was committed,' Briggs said. 'Vern is just interested in accuracy.' " Briggs is a former president of the Native American Journalists Association and of Unity: Journalists of Color, Inc., now Unity Journalists.

Briggs released a statement from Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman Kevin C. Keckler that said, ". . . "Attorney General Jackley has no business rendering conclusions about our Tribal Government's law enforcement investigation....Not only did the ways in which the local investigations were handled violate our Elder's human rights but the State of South Dakota and Attorney General Jackley now distort those local investigations for their own purposes.

". . . today we join our 69-year-old Tribal Elder Vern Traversie in calling for justice, and for a just investigation process, not only for him but as he has said so many times, for all Indian people — so no one is ever again treated the way he believes he was treated by the hospital and the State of South Dakota."

Unity, NABJ Conferences Register Equal Number

The first Unity conference without the National Association of Black Journalists registered 2,385 people, Onica M. Makwakwa, Unity's executive director, told Journal-isms on Monday. The figure contrasts with the 7,550 attendees at the 2008 Unity convention in Chicago on its final Sunday, though that figure includes sponsors and others who were not registered.

NABJ held its own convention in New Orleans in June, drawing 2,386 registrants, Executive Director Maurice Foster said then.

Although the numbers are about the same (they do not account for those, such as sponsors and guests, who might have attended but did not register), the mood at each was dramatically different. Though many praised the Unity programming, the absence of NABJ hung over the convention. At NABJ, by contrast, members were energized by having pulled off the event on relatively short notice, complete with newsmakers, seemingly without missing a beat.

The 2,385 figure for the fifth Unity convention, held Aug. 1-4 in Las Vegas, includes members of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Asian American Journalists Association, the Native American Journalists Association and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, which was invited to join by the then Unity: Journalists of Color, Inc., after NABJ pulled out last year. NABJ cited financial and governance issues.

New NLGJA President Michael R. Triplett said that his association did not yet have an exact count of its registrants, but "I assume it will be in the 205-210 range." That exceeds the goal of about 165, he said, but is fewer than the 350 who attended NLGJA's stand-alone conference in Philadelphia last year, Executive Director Michael Tune told Journal-isms then.

The largest Unity contingent apparently came from the Asian American Journalists Association. Executive Director Kathy Chow told the AAJA board, "Based on estimates we can pull from the Unity portal, we had 606 total attendees registered as affiliated with AAJA at Unity. Some may be speakers or exhibitors affiliated with AAJA rather than paid registrants, but it will take some time to get the specifics."

In Detroit last year, Antonio M. Salas, AAJA's membership and chapter development manager, said 658 people were in attendance as of the Friday of that convention, including 382 AAJA members and 456 full registrants.

NAHJ Interim Executive Director Anna Lopez Buck told Journal-isms by email, "The last number I have of paid registrations is what I reported to the board on July 30th at 525."

That is about the same as NAHJ had at its stand-alone convention last year in Orlando, which attracted 870 people, with 520 paid registrants, then-Executive Director Ivan Roman said at the time.

NAJA Executive Director Jeff Harjo, whose resignation was announced on Friday, said he did not have the figures for his group. Eighty-two people registered for last year's NAJA convention in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Attendees did not have to register as members of one of the journalist associations. "What I can tell you is that there were 24 guest, 193 speaker and 234 exhibit staff registrants," Makwakwa said by email. "I can't tell you the actual number of sponsor and other types of registrants, e.g., one-day passes, comps, etc., as these were not assigned a unique designation in our system and therefore would require a comprehensive review of registration data to tease out."

It remains to be seen how profitable Unity will be for each of the associations. Makwakwa said when the convention opened that the coalition fell $200,000 short of its sponsorship goals. It had sought $1.25 million, she said.

Regardless, Unity will not have to pay the host hotels any penalty for failure to book enough rooms, a circumstance that proved costly to the associations in 2009 and 2010, when the recession was at its height, news organizations were trimming staff and attendance was down.

"We did not have an attrition clause so we were never expecting any hotel related penalties for room block fulfillment," Makwakwa said by email.

• Matthew S. Bajko, Bay Area Reporter: Minority journalist conference welcomes gay group
  
  
• Sally Lehrman, Society of Professional Journalists: UNITY 12 audience says online news must add color, offers structural remedies
  
  
• Michael R. Triplett, National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association: UNITY 2012: Day 1

NLGJA Won't Join in "Black Homophobia" Charges

In the opening session of the Unity Journalists convention, Mark Whitaker, executive vice president and managing editor of CNN Worldwide, moderating a panel, falsely stated that the National Association of Black Journalists had left Unity because of the presence of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, rather than the financial and governance issues NABJ cited.

NABJ had left Unity before Unity invited NLGJA to join, but none of the panelists corrected Whitaker.

The false scenario was repeated in print and on blogs under such headlines as "Claims of black homophobia split UNITY minority journalist convention," by Tim Curran of The SiriusXM OutQ News Blog.

Some publications played down concerns that Unity was straying from its race-based origins to focus on the accusations of homophobia.

Leaders of NLGJA told Journal-isms Monday that they do not share the assumptions made by some reporters and NLGJA members, assertions that angered some members of NABJ.

"I remain pro-reunification. UNITY isn't UNITY without NABJ," new NLGJA President Michael R. Triplett said by email. "I share many of the concerns NABJ raised regarding transparency and oversight and the hope is that a change in staff and leadership will provide an opportunity to examine those concerns." Unity will choose a new executive director to succeed Onica M. Makwakwa, who announced during the Unity convention that she is leaving to take a job in her native South Africa. In the fall, Unity elects new officers.

"It's unfortunate that this has turned into a discussion of alleged homophobia because it is a distraction given there is no evidence that it may have played a role in NABJ cutting off reunification talks," Triplett said.

Earlier, outgoing NLGJA president David Steinberg wrote in a Facebook posting, ". . . I spoke with NABJ President Greg Lee during the convention and we agree on a lot of the issues that were at the heart of NABJ pulling out.

"I think it's really important to realize that in the past year or so of discussions, neither NLGJA nor anyone in the leadership of NLGJA ever said that NABJ was homophobic or that NABJ blocked NLGJA from joining UNITY. Those comments came from other folks."

NABJ has noted that since each member association of Unity has only four votes of the 16, it would not be possible for one association to block an action or impose its will.

Women but No People of Color Will Moderate Debates

"The moderating duties for the four presidential and vice presidential debates this year will be evenly split between male and female journalists for the first time . . .," Brian Stelter reported Monday for the New York Times.

However, as Eric Deggans noted for the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, ". . . in an election which will include the first black president attempting to win another term, there will be no non-white moderators handling either a vice presidential or presidential debate for the first time since 1996."

Jim Lehrer of PBS, Bob Schieffer of CBS, Candy Crowley of CNN and Martha Raddatz of ABC will be the moderators, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced Monday morning. The first debate is scheduled for Oct. 3 in Denver.

Deggans added, "It's sad to note that there are so few journalists of color in key anchor positions, that there are few other names with the experience, profile, gravitas and record of impartial journalism needed.

"NBC's Lester Holt? Ifill's colleague Ray Suarez on the NewsHour? CNN's Don Lemon, Christiane Amanpour or Soledad O'Brien? (NPR's Michele Norris, another great pick, is sidelined from political coverage because her husband is working on [President] Obama's campaign.)

"At a time when the biggest non-white voice in news media may be opinionators such as Al Sharpton and Geraldo Rivera, a set of debates where the candidates are more ethnically diverse than the moderators may say an awful lot about the failing struggle to diversify the journalism business."

Alyssa Rosenberg of thinkprogress.org wrote that she agreed with Deggans:

" . . . part of this is a pipeline problem — Anderson Cooper's diversion into daytime television also doesn't help the cause of getting a gay moderator either. But I also think that part of this is about preserving the right of white guys to interrogate other white guys. President Obama's presence on the stage is meant to represent African-American interests, never mind the interests of other minority groups.

"Women get their crack at him and the other men who will take the podium. If, in four years, we're back to a bunch of white guys, I imagine moderators of color will get a chance again. But as long as we have as few presidential debates as we have, there remain few opportunities to question the candidates, and scant time to get in all the questions, from all the quarters of America, that they should be prepared to answer."

Blacks Scarce on Sunday Shows For Ryan Discussion

With Juan Williams away from "Fox News Sunday" and NBC's "Meet the Press," CBS' "Face the Nation" and ABC's "This Week" devoid of on-air African Americans, CNN's Dan Lothian apparently became the only black presence on the major Sunday morning talk shows. The major topic on all of them was Mitt Romney's selection Saturday of Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as his running mate.

In his maiden speech as Romney's choice, Ryan slipped in a veiled shot at affirmative action efforts: "We promise equal opportunity, not equal outcomes." But that was not to be a Sunday discussion topic.

Lothian, a White House correspondent, appeared on "State of the Union with Candy Crowley." ". . . I think they realized that there was nothing — there was nothing that he could really do to move the needle when it comes to minorities," Lothian said of Romney.

CROWLEY: "Well, Rubio," referring to Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a Cuban-American.

"Well, Rubio he could have done that," Lothian conceded.

CROWLEY: "Well, at some level Jindal probably would have been able to do that as well," referring to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, an Indian-American.

"Exactly. Exactly," Lothian said. "But you know, there had been a lot of complaining among the Tea Party, the right of the party, about Mitt Romney's conservative credentials. So he has been able to essentially put that I think to bed by picking — making this choice."

• Wayne Bennett, the Field Negro: Mitt's new friend had to show his taxes.
  
  
• Charles M. Blow, New York Times: Wrong-Track Romney
  
  
• Michael Cottman, Blackamericaweb.com: Senior Citizens Beware
  
  
• Mary C. Curtis, Washington Post: Romney and Ryan in North Carolina — just like the Olympics, minus the national unity
  
  
• Eric W. Dolan, rawstory.com: MSNBC host Harris-Perry: Romney's ad stokes racial resentment
  
  
• Keli Goff, theRoot.com: What We Know About Paul Ryan and Blacks
  
  
• Elizabeth Llorente, Fox News Latino: Mitt Romney's Pick Paul Ryan: What Latinos Need to Know
  
  
• Adriana Maestas, politic365.com: 5 Reasons Paul Ryan Will Turn Off Latino and Black Voters
  
  
• Dana Milbank, Washington Post: Romney's welfare gambit
  
  
• Askia Muhammad, Washington Informer: Republicans are Incapable of Governing U.S.
  
  
• Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune: Romney's welfare queen
  
  
• Pew Research Center for the People & the Press: Romney's Personal Image Remains Negative (Aug. 2)
  
  
• O. Ricardo Pimentel, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Disagreeing on balance and basics (April 16, 2011)
  
  
• O. Ricardo Pimentel, San Antonio Express-News: Romney, it's about more than just culture
  
  
• ProPublica: Paul Ryan Reading Guide: The Best Reporting on the VP Candidate
  
  
• Janell Ross, HuffPost BlackVoices: Paul Ryan Unlikely To Play Well With Latino And Black Voters, But Matters Of Race May Not Disappear
  
  
• WVIZ Cleveland: Former Wisconsin Reporter Recalls Paul Ryan’s Congressional Career


• Matthew Yglesias, thinkprogress.org: Paul Ryan And Equality Of Opportunity (2011)
  
  

CNN Considers Packaged Shows for Weekends

"CNN says it is not getting into the reality television business, though it is considering adding weekend programs that are similar to a documentary-style travel show hosted by Anthony Bourdain that it will begin showing next year," Bill Carter reported Monday for the New York Times.

CNN was responding to a report in the New York Post on Monday that it was entering into discussions about adding reality shows to its lineup.

". . . Other news networks do offer packaged nonfiction programs on the weekends. MSNBC has long relied on 'Lockup,' a prison documentary series. And Fox News has presented the military history series 'War Stories With Oliver North.'

"CNN is clearly seeking new directions for its programs. Its ratings have recently hit 20-year lows and Jim Walton announced in July that he was stepping down as president, saying, 'CNN needs new thinking.' . . ."

• Betsy Rothstein, FishbowlDC: Can a Married Couple Save CNN?
  
  

Journalists Could Be the Loudest Fans of All

"Minutes after British track-and-field darling Jessica Ennis sped over the finish line for a heptathlon gold in front of 80,000 spectators at the Olympic stadium Saturday, BBC sportscaster Steve Cram took stock of the jubilation — in the broadcast booth," Charles Forelle and David Enrich wrote from London Aug. 7 for the Wall Street Journal, days before the weekend's closing ceremonies.

" 'We all stood on our feet and applauded,' Mr. Cram reported. 'To a man, everybody in the broadcasting positions that we're in — and there's some hardened hacks in here as well…all stood up.'

"The excited BBC response seemed almost measured compared with the scene Thursday when three men in 'Mongolia National Team' jackets sat in the media bleachers at the Olympic judo venue. They weren't from the Mongolia National Team. They were from TV5, a Mongolian broadcaster.

"When Mongolian judoka Lkhamdegd Purevjargal won in the women's round of 32, the journalists danced in the aisles of the bleachers, hoisting up their country's red, blue and gold flag.

"There is an edict among old-school sportswriters: No cheering in the press box. It can be pretty strict. Last year, a freelance writer for Sports Illustrated's website lost his contract after clapping in the media center when a feel-good rookie won the Daytona 500.

"Things are a little different over here. Many of the 21,000 members of the Olympic media could be part of a traveling fan brigade, living the thrills and disappointments of their national squads.

"American networks, which rarely engage in open rooting, are leaving little doubt about their allegiances during these Olympic Games."

• Margaret Collins, Bloomberg News: NBC Says Weekday Daytime Olympic Viewership Sets a Record
  
  
• Jerry Large, Seattle Times: Lots of life in Olympic moments
  
  
• Maria Burns Ortiz, Fox News Latino: American Manzano Pays Tribute to His Roots
  
  

Ex-FCC Commissioners Support Affirmative Action

"The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) announced today that it, along with a bi-partisan group composed of six former Federal Communications Commissioners and one former FCC General Counsel, filed an amici curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the University of Texas (UT) supporting UT's admissions program designed to create diversity in higher education (Fisher v. University of Texas)," the MMTC announced on Monday.

"Former FCC Commissioners Andrew C. Barrett, Tyrone Brown, Michael J. Copps, Reed E. Hundt, Nicholas Johnson, and Gloria Tristani, along with former FCC General Counsel Christopher Wright, partnered with MMTC on the brief, in their individual capacities. Detailing their collective experience in promoting media diversity, the amici brief argues that '[d]iversity in higher education allows not only for a robust exchange of ideas on campus; it is an essential predicate for ensuring a robust exchange of ideas in communication through mass media.'

"The amici brief urges the Court to uphold UT's admissions program, which was previously upheld in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The brief also asks the Court to affirm UT's reliance on the Court's precedent in Grutter v. Bollinger, which led to UT's crafting of a 'holistic' admissions assessment program in which race was merely a 'factor of a factor of a factor' representing a modest component of UT's admissions profile, and from which applicants of any race may benefit."

In February, Adam Liptak of the New York Times wrote, "Both supporters and opponents of affirmative action said they saw the announcement" that the Supreme Court would take the case" — and the change in the court's makeup since 2003 — as a signal that the court's five more conservative members might be prepared to do away with racial preferences in higher education."

• Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund: ALDEF Files Amicus Brief Urging Supreme Court to Uphold Race-Conscious Admissions at the University of Texas
  
  
• Gene Demby, HuffPost BlackVoices: Fisher v Texas: University of Texas Affirmative Action Briefs Support Student Diversity
  
  
• Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed: Friends of Affirmative Action
  
  
• David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times: Obama administration urges justices to uphold affirmative action
  
  

Soledad O'Brien Exasperates Republicans

"Romney surrogates going up against CNN host Soledad O'Brien clearly haven't learned their lesson, David Edwards reported Wednesday for rawstory.com.

"A day after former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu angrily told O'Brien to 'put an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead,' former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney's national campaign co-chair, suggested that the CNN host didn't understand English." 

"During an interview on Wednesday, O'Brien told Pawlenty that one of the presumptive Republican presidential candidate's ads falsely claimed that President Barack Obama had cut $716 billion from Medicare — but the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had determined that it was actually reduction in spending, not benefits.

" 'Isn't that just patently untrue in that ad?' she asked the former Minnesota governor.

" 'No, that's not correct, Soledad,' Pawlenty replied. 'It is absolutely beyond factual dispute that [Obama] has cut $716 billion out of the money that was projected to be spent on Medicare over the next 10 years.'

" 'But, sir, it’s not a cut in Medicare, right?' O’Brien observed. 'Let me just read from the CBO. It's a 'permanent reduction in the annual updates to Medicaid's payment rates.' It's a cut in the spending — future spending. And it's [a] cut that actually goes to insurers, right? I mean, it's not cuts to individuals.'

" 'No matter how you say this, it's a cut to Medicare,' Pawlenty insisted. 'You can't even with a straight face, look your viewers in the eye and tell [them] that it's not a cut to Medicare.'

" 'Well, I can't look viewers in the eye from where I am,' O’Brien pointed out. 'I’m saying the way the CBO puts it. … That is a savings.'

" 'Do you know what that is in English?' Pawlenty quipped.

" 'I speak English incredibly well, sir, as you know,' O’Brien shot back. 'So, tell me what it is in English.' . . ."

• Paul Bond, Hollywood Reporter: Conservative Media Beating Up on CNN's Soledad O'Brien (Video)
  
  
• Peter Hart, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting: PBS Does 'Both Sides' on Bogus Romney Welfare Attack
  
  
• Melody Johnson, Media Matters for America: CNN's O'Brien Corrects Right-Wing Media Medicare Falsehood
  
  
• Andy Ostroy, Huffington Post: Soledad O'Brien's Amazing John Sununu Interview Should Be Taught in Journalism School

Washington Post Apologizes to Fareed Zakaria

The Washington Post apologized to commentator Fareed Zakaria on Wednesday for a Post article that said he had not properly attributed a quote in a 2008 book.

The newspaper affixed this correction over the Web version of an article by media writer Paul Farhi that was headlined, "More questions raised about Fareed Zakaria's work":

"This article incorrectly states that in his 2008 book, 'The Post-American World,' Fareed Zakaria failed to cite the source of a quotation taken from another book. In fact, Zakaria did credit the other work, by Clyde V. Prestowitz. Endnotes crediting Prestowitz were contained in hardcover and paperback editions of Zakaria's book. The Post should have examined copies of the books and should not have published the article. We regret the error and apologize to Fareed Zakaria."

The statement appeared as an editor's note on Page A2 of Thursday's print edition.

In the Post article, Zakaria defended the practice of not attributing quotes in a popular book.

" 'As I write explicitly [in the book], this is not an academic work where everything has to be acknowledged and footnoted,' he said. The book contains 'hundreds' of comments and quotes that aren’t attributed because doing so, in context, would 'interrupt the flow for the reader,' he said.

"He compared his technique to other popular non-fiction authors. 'Please look at other books in this genre and you will notice that I'm following standard practice,' he said.

" 'I should not be judged by a standard that's not applied to everyone else,' he added. 'People are piling on with every grudge or vendetta. The charge is totally bogus.' "

The Post article said Zakaria's column would not appear in the Post this month.

• Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic: Fareed Zakaria Responds to the Charge of Quote-Stealing
  
  
• Stephen Markley, redeyechicago.com: In Defense of Plagiarism
  
  
• Rem Rieder, American Journalism Review: Everybody Does It

Blog Spotlights "Ethnic Cleansing" of U.S. Chinese

"Many people try to pay homage to historic sites by preserving or taking stock of whatever remains. Tim Greyhavens, a photojournalist from Seattle, wants to highlight a slice of history by challenging his audience to fill in the blanks," David W. Chen wrote Monday for the New York Times' Lens Blog.

"For a new online project, Mr. Greyhavens pinpointed, based on records and interviews, the locations of dozens of anti-Chinese incidents in the American West that occurred more than 100 years ago. After traveling to those locations, he then photographed whatever exists there now.

"The exhibit offers an entry point into a little-known and ignominious chapter of ethnic cleansing in American history that, viewed more than a century later, seems stunning for the sheer breadth and brazenness of racially motivated violence.

"From the mid-1800s until the early part of the 20th century, towns up and down the Western Seaboard, stretching into Wyoming and Colorado, lashed out against Chinese immigrants by rounding them up, often at gunpoint, and kicking them out. Dozens were killed and injured, and houses were set on fire. . . . "

David Gonzalez told Journal-isms in this space last month, "One of the things I had hoped to accomplish when I came on as co-editor of the Lens Blog was to broaden the types of photographers and images featured on the blog.

"So, in recent months my co-editor Jim Estrin and I have showcased how West African fotogs see West Africa, or how a Guatemalan fotog created an iconic image to symbolize his country's genocide. . . . I do think we have delved more deeply into more issues on race, representation and diversity than any other photo blog that I am aware of."

• Tim Greyhavens site

Arviso, Mallory Honored by APME; Wickham by SPJ

"Tom Arviso, publisher and chief executive officer of the Navajo Times in Window Rock, Ariz., and James Mallory, recently retired senior managing editor and vice president of news of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, are the recipients of the 11th annual Robert G. McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership, awarded by the Associated Press Media Editors," APME announced on Wednesday.

Separately, the Society of Professional Journalists announced Monday that it "is pleased to honor DeWayne Wickham and Bob Edwards as Fellows of the Society. This highest honor given by the Society is awarded for extraordinary contribution to the profession."

APME, formerly the Associated Press Managing Editors, said, "The McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership is given annually to individuals, newsrooms or teams of journalists who embody the spirit of McGruder, a former executive editor of the Detroit Free Press, managing editor of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and a graduate of Kent State University. McGruder died of cancer in April 2002. A past president of APME and former member of American Society of News Editors' Board of Directors, McGruder was a relentless diversity champion.

" . . . The Navajo Times began in 1958 as a newspaper funded by the Navajo Nation. Arviso was hired as managing editor in 1988 and became editor and publisher in 1993. Under his leadership, the paper separated from the tribal government in 2004 to become an independent business and newspaper. The Navajo Times now is the largest Native American-owned newspaper in the United States with a circulation of 21,400 and more than 120,000 readers weekly."

Mallory, ". . . who retired in April as the senior managing editor and vice president of news at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was nominated because he 'has been a strong advocate for the AJC and the journalism industry in all of the areas that the McGruder award highlights: recruiting, development, retention and content,' read his nomination, led by Managing Editor Monica Richardson with contributions from more than a half-dozen colleagues."

SPJ noted that Wickham ". . . is one of the 44 journalists who founded the National Association of Black Journalists in 1975, and he is a past president of the organization. Wickham has covered Washington for U.S. News & World Report and Black Enterprise magazine. Wickham has been a reporter for The Sun and Evening Sun newspapers in Baltimore, an analyst for CBS News, a commentator for Black Entertainment Television and executive editor of BlackAmericaWeb.com.

"Most recently, he served [as] the interim chairman of the department of journalism and mass communication at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, and he is now the chair of the department of communication studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore."

Edwards is host of "The Bob Edwards Show" and "Bob Edwards Weekend" on SiriusXM radio. He hosted NPR's "Morning Edition" for 25 years and is a board member of the newly merged Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent State University, McGruder's alma mater, also bestows an award in McGruder's name. Debra Adams Simmons, editor of the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, was the 2012 winner.

Navarrette Hits a Nerve on Waving Two Flags

A column by Ruben Navarrette Jr. deploring the way U.S. Olympic medalist Leo Manzano celebrated his silver medal in the 1500-meters final hit gold.

It garnered "More than 11,000 reader comments on the site, more than 700,000 hits in three days, at one point got 1,800 hits a minute, was the #1 story on the entire site for a couple of hours on Friday, hundreds of emails to me, lots of talk radio chatter around the country, a half dozen invitations to go on TV/radio and talk about it, and six or seven Internet 'rebuttals' from angry Latinos who disagree," Navarrette messaged Journal-isms on Wednesday.

Manzano held up both the U.S. and Mexican flags.

". . . It's about being part of a team — the U.S. Olympic team," Navarrette wrote Friday on cnn.com. "It's about national pride, not ego. Manzano wasn't there to compete for himself but to represent his country. All he had to do was decide which country that was. He chose not to choose.

"What am I missing? Where were the Italian-American athletes waving the Italian flag, or the Irish-Americans waving the Irish flag? I didn't see that. . . ."

• Alexandro Jose Gradilla and David J. Leonard, racialicious.com: An Open Letter To Ruben Navarrette, Jr.
  
  
• Maria Burns Ortiz, Fox News Latino: American Manzano Pays Tribute to His Roots
  
  
• "Rebeldes," Latino Rebels: In Response to Ruben Navarrette's CNN Column on Manzano, We Stand With the Traitors
  
  
• "Rebeldes," Latino Rebels: While the Haters Hate, US Medalist Leo Manzano Becomes a New American Hero
  
  
• Gabriel San Roman, OC Weekly: Alexandro Jose Gradilla, Cal State Fullerton Professor, Helps Smack Down Ruben Navarrette Over Olympic Mexi Flag Flap

In India, Each Photographer Attacked by 25 Men

"At least three Indian journalists were attacked over the weekend during protests by Muslim groups calling for news coverage of the deaths of Muslims in the ongoing ethnic tension in the state of Assam, according to news reports," the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on Tuesday.

In an anonymous piece from Mumbai in the Hindustan Times, one photographer wrote, "I reached Azad Maidan on Saturday afternoon to cover a protest organised in connection with the violence against Muslims in Assam and Myanmar. It was a huge crowd. After a while, we heard an orator blaming the media for not giving adequate coverage to the plight of Muslims there. A colleague sensed something amiss and suggested we click pictures and leave.

"After our job was done, we went to a restaurant nearby for lunch. Within minutes, I got a call saying that an outdoor broadcasting (OB) van of a news channel was on fire.

"A few photographers and I started running towards Azad Maidan, when a mob of about 400 people clashed with us. We got separated and each of us was attacked by at least 25 men.

"They asked us which media organisations we work for. When I told them, they punched me. They tried to snatch my camera, and when I resisted, they beat me up and fled with my mobile phone.

"Five to six other photographers were also beaten up. . . ."

Ted Holtzclaw, Beloved Manager at WABC, Dies at 53

Ted Holtzclaw, operations manager at WABC-TV in New York, died suddenly on Monday at 53, the station reported.

"Not Ted," Bill Ritter, co-anchor of WABC's "Eyewitness News," wrote on his WABC blog. "Not the guy who pulled all those rabbits out of the hat for all those years (he was with ABC for 20 years) and got us to broadcast live with the biggest events — from our corner to every corner of the world.

"Not Ted. Not our friend. Not the guy who had been reborn with a new attitude about food and exercise and health.

"Please, not Ted.

"He was just outside the WABC TV studios on Columbus, between 66th and 67th streets, just returning from a dentist appointment this morning, when something hit him. Something big and bad and horrible. Something that made this tall and statuesque man crumble in a heap on the sidewalk, something that sapped the life out of him, perhaps even before he hit the ground. Something more powerful than his powerful will and frame. Something awful.

"The guy who runs the newsstand saw it happen, and yelled.

"Meteorologist Bill Evans and one of our security guys heard it, and saw Ted fall, and rushed over. They gave him CPR. I thought I felt a slight pulse, Bill told me. And so he kept at it. For 15 minutes, believing Ted would come to.

"He didn't."

In a news release from the National Association of Black Journalists, Mike Woolfolk, a former NABJ board member, said, "Ted was a dedicated broadcast news manager and strong supporter of the National Association of Black Journalists Multi-Media Short Course at North Carolina A&T State University for many years. Ted was a fabulous mentor, not only to those interested in video journalism and other news operations support staff positions, but to anyone seeking his advice, training and help."

Viewing and reflections are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Saturday at Community Baptist Church, 224 First Street, Englewood N.J. 07631. Cards and condolences may be sent to the Holtzclaw family in care of the church. Services begin at 11 a.m.

His wife, Verna Holtzclaw, requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the NABJ Short Course at North Carolina A&T. Checks can be mailed to: NC A&T University - NABJ Shortcourse, Checks can be mailed to: Dept. of Journalism/Mass Communications, Crosby Hall Room 225, 1601 E. Market St., North Carolina A and T, Greensboro, NC 27411. Attn: Bonnie Newman Davis.

• Beverly Mahone, Huffington Post: The Topic that Leaves This Baby Boomer Speechless Every Time
  
  
• John Popovich, WCPO-TV, Cincinnati: A Shot to the Gut
  
  
• WABC-TV: Eyewitness News remembers Ted Holtzclaw

Women Editors of Color Muted on Helen Gurley Brown

"The influence of Helen Gurley Brown, who died on Monday at age 90, extended widely across the culture, and deeply within the world of magazines," the editors of the New York Times' Media Decoder column wrote Tuesday, referring to the author of "Sex and the Single Girl" and longtime editor of Cosmopolitan.

But, oddly, women magazine editors of color were missing from most tributes. Inquiries from Journal-isms to Janice Min of the Hollywood Reporter, Damarys Ocaña of Latina and Amy DuBois Barnett of Ebony failed to yield observations.

In the Daily Beast, Robin Givhan, special correspondent for style and culture and a Pulitzer Prize-winning black journalist, wrote, ". . . In the world of Cosmopolitan magazine, fashion was a gift from a woman to a man. It was another element in the gamesmanship between the sexes. It teased the eyes; it acknowledged that a woman's beauty, her sexuality, her sex appeal have an intrinsic value in our culture." Her article was headlined, "Helen Gurley Brown's Fashion Sense: the Power of Cleavage."

Min, editorial director of the Hollywood Reporter and an Asian American journalist, told Jacob Bernstein of the New York Times, "There wouldn't have been Carrie Bradshaw without Helen Gurley Brown," referring to the fictional narrator and lead character of the HBO sitcom/drama "Sex and the City."

Constance C.R. White, editor-in-chief of Essence, told Journal-isms through a spokeswoman, "Helen Gurley Brown was a woman way ahead of her time. She was not afraid to take risks and to speak her mind in her role as editor, which was particularly bold during an era when the industry was very male-dominated. She was an inspiration and a maverick."

• Nicholas Lemann, Columbia Journalism Review: Impeccable until the end
  
  
• Kathleen Parker, Washington Post: Helen Gurley Brown's stiletto feminism


• Charles Whitaker, Medill School, Northwestern University: Reflecting on Helen Gurley Brown's life and legacy

White Debate Questioners Expected to "Represent"

August 15, 2012

Commission Rejects Adding Latino Journalists

Soledad O'Brien Exasperates Republicans

Washington Post Apologizes to Fareed Zakaria

Blog Spotlights "Ethnic Cleansing" of U.S. Chinese

Arviso, Mallory Honored by APME; Wickham by SPJ

Navarrette Hits a Nerve on Waving Two Flags

In India, Each Photographer Attacked by 25 Men

Ted Holtzclaw, Beloved Manager at WABC, Dies at 53

Women Editors of Color Muted on Helen Gurley Brown

Short Takes

Commission Rejects Adding Latino Journalists

Reacting to complaints that only white journalists were chosen to moderate this year's presidential and vice presidential debates, the Commission on Presidential Debates said Wednesday that ". . . we strongly believe that the four journalists we have named see their assignment as representing all Americans in their choice of topics and questions."

The Commission announced Monday that the moderators for the four debates will be evenly split between male and female journalists for the first time. They are Jim Lehrer of PBS, Bob Schieffer of CBS, Candy Crowley of CNN and Martha Raddatz of ABC.

However, it will also be the first time since 1996 that there will be no moderators of color for either a vice presidential or presidential debate.

Randy Falco, CEO of Univision, wrote to the commission Wednesday, saying it had "neglected to have someone speak credibly to the concerns of Hispanics in America," and proposed an additional debate to address issues affecting Hispanics. He offered up his anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas as moderators of such a forum.

Hugo Balta, president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, said NAHJ shared in Falco's "disappointment" and urged that a Latino journalist be added to its choices for moderators. He added, ". . . The last African-American to moderate a presidential race was Carole Simpson in 1992. No Asian-American has ever been at the helm of questioning (presidential and vice presidential debates)."

Balta urged "the leadership of the UNITY alliance: Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), Native American Journalists Association (NAJA), National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) and the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) join us in making this request."

The commission appeared to reject Falco's idea.

It said in an emailed statement to Journal-isms, "We recognize that there are many organizations and individuals who wish they had been included in our moderator selection. Debate arithmetic means that it is impossible to accommodate all of them. However, we strongly believe that the four journalists we have named see their assignment as representing all Americans in their choice of topics and questions.

"The general election debates have always focused on issues of national interest that affect all citizens, including Univision's audience. We have met with Univision about joint efforts to get the largest number of people possible engaged in discussing and learning from the debates, and remain interested in working with [Univision] toward that goal."

A spokeswoman did not respond to a request to clarify what the joint efforts were.

Falco had written:

"I am writing to express disappointment on behalf of the millions of Hispanics who do not have a voice in the upcoming presidential debates as evidenced by the selected moderators announced yesterday. This November more than 20 million Hispanics could play a critical role in electing the new President of the United States and it is important that they make an informed decision. The debates announced yesterday presented an ideal opportunity to tap one of the two best journalists in the business who have a broad understanding of the domestic and international issues impacting this country, understand the Hispanic community better than anyone else and are fully bilingual: Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas.

"According to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, Hispanic voters nationwide will comprise 8.7 percent of all voters. This number, in and of itself, represents a sizeable portion of Americans. More significant is the percentage of the Latino vote in key swing states. New Mexico hovers around 38 percent; Arizona is approximately 24 percent, Florida 16.5 percent, Nevada 14.2 percent and Colorado, 13.1 percent. These five states alone represent 60 electoral votes or 22 percent of all electoral votes needed to elect the next president of this country.

"We recognize and have great respect for the important role that the Commission on Presidential Debates plays in providing a critical source of information about the candidates which is why it is surprising that not one moderator is Hispanic. We strongly believe that the Commission should entertain the notion of adding an additional debate that will speak directly to this burgeoning audience so influential to the presidential dialogue and outcome in order to maximize Hispanic voter participation.

"Since you have already made your decision on moderators for the debates and have neglected to have someone speak credibly to the concerns of Hispanics in America, Univision would be willing to create a forum tor the presidential candidates to address this sector of our society. This would be a forum in which Jorge and Maria Elena — the journalists most trusted by Hispanics — could help carry the torch of the proud tradition the Commission has played since 1987.

"We look forward to hearing back from the Commission as soon as possible on how you plan to address the role this important community will play in the Presidential debates. As stated above, we stand ready to work with you on a solution that will enable the Hispanic community to hear directly from the Presidential candidates on the issues most important to our country and to Hispanics, an important voting bloc that will inevitably define this election."

Meanwhile, the Center for Investigative Reporting and Univision News Tuesday announced a partnership to jointly produce investigative stories relevant to Spanish-speaking audiences in the United States and Latin America.

"The partnership with Univision ties in with our strategy of reaching an ever growing and diverse audience," Robert J. Rosenthal, executive director of CIR, said in a news release.

"Univision's brand and huge audience across the U.S. and around the world make this collaboration a [no-brainer] for CIR and a natural fit for both organizations. We look forward to doing memorable and important stories with Univision News."

• Zerlina Maxwell, thegrio.com: Red, Black & Blue: Why presidential debate moderators should reflect US diversity
  
  
• Jack Mirkinson, Huffington Post: Presidential Debate Moderators: Why All White?
  
  
• Radio Television Digital News Association: RTDNA to Honor Univision's Jorge Ramos with John F. Hogan Distinguished Service Award
  
  
• James Rainey, Los Angeles Times: CNN's Candy Crowley talks about hosting presidential debate
  
  
• Tavis Smiley, Huffington Post: Presidential Debates: Colorblind or Blind to Color?

Soledad O'Brien Exasperates Republicans

"Romney surrogates going up against CNN host Soledad O'Brien clearly haven't learned their lesson, David Edwards reported Wednesday for rawstory.com.

"A day after former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu angrily told O'Brien to 'put an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead,' former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney's national campaign co-chair, suggested that the CNN host didn't understand English." 

"During an interview on Wednesday, O'Brien told Pawlenty that one of the presumptive Republican presidential candidate's ads falsely claimed that President Barack Obama had cut $716 billion from Medicare — but the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had determined that it was actually reduction in spending, not benefits.

" 'Isn't that just patently untrue in that ad?' she asked the former Minnesota governor.

" 'No, that's not correct, Soledad,' Pawlenty replied. 'It is absolutely beyond factual dispute that [Obama] has cut $716 billion out of the money that was projected to be spent on Medicare over the next 10 years.'

" 'But, sir, it’s not a cut in Medicare, right?' O’Brien observed. 'Let me just read from the CBO. It's a 'permanent reduction in the annual updates to Medicaid's payment rates.' It's a cut in the spending — future spending. And it's [a] cut that actually goes to insurers, right? I mean, it's not cuts to individuals.'

" 'No matter how you say this, it's a cut to Medicare,' Pawlenty insisted. 'You can't even with a straight face, look your viewers in the eye and tell [them] that it's not a cut to Medicare.'

" 'Well, I can't look viewers in the eye from where I am,' O’Brien pointed out. 'I’m saying the way the CBO puts it. … That is a savings.'

" 'Do you know what that is in English?' Pawlenty quipped.

" 'I speak English incredibly well, sir, as you know,' O’Brien shot back. 'So, tell me what it is in English.' . . ."

• Paul Bond, Hollywood Reporter: Conservative Media Beating Up on CNN's Soledad O'Brien (Video)
  
  
• Peter Hart, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting: PBS Does 'Both Sides' on Bogus Romney Welfare Attack
  
  
• Melody Johnson, Media Matters for America: CNN's O'Brien Corrects Right-Wing Media Medicare Falsehood
  
  
• Andy Ostroy, Huffington Post: Soledad O'Brien's Amazing John Sununu Interview Should Be Taught in Journalism School

Washington Post Apologizes to Fareed Zakaria

The Washington Post apologized to commentator Fareed Zakaria on Wednesday for a Post article that said he had not properly attributed a quote in a 2008 book.

The newspaper affixed this correction over the Web version of an article by media writer Paul Farhi that was headlined, "More questions raised about Fareed Zakaria's work":

"This article incorrectly states that in his 2008 book, 'The Post-American World,' Fareed Zakaria failed to cite the source of a quotation taken from another book. In fact, Zakaria did credit the other work, by Clyde V. Prestowitz. Endnotes crediting Prestowitz were contained in hardcover and paperback editions of Zakaria's book. The Post should have examined copies of the books and should not have published the article. We regret the error and apologize to Fareed Zakaria."

The statement appeared as an editor's note on Page A2 of Thursday's print edition.

In the Post article, Zakaria defended the practice of not attributing quotes in a popular book.

" 'As I write explicitly [in the book], this is not an academic work where everything has to be acknowledged and footnoted,' he said. The book contains 'hundreds' of comments and quotes that aren’t attributed because doing so, in context, would 'interrupt the flow for the reader,' he said.

"He compared his technique to other popular non-fiction authors. 'Please look at other books in this genre and you will notice that I'm following standard practice,' he said.

" 'I should not be judged by a standard that's not applied to everyone else,' he added. 'People are piling on with every grudge or vendetta. The charge is totally bogus.' "

The Post article said Zakaria's column would not appear in the Post this month.

• Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic: Fareed Zakaria Responds to the Charge of Quote-Stealing
  
  
• Stephen Markley, redeyechicago.com: In Defense of Plagiarism
  
  
• Rem Rieder, American Journalism Review: Everybody Does It

Blog Spotlights "Ethnic Cleansing" of U.S. Chinese

"Many people try to pay homage to historic sites by preserving or taking stock of whatever remains. Tim Greyhavens, a photojournalist from Seattle, wants to highlight a slice of history by challenging his audience to fill in the blanks," David W. Chen wrote Monday for the New York Times' Lens Blog.

"For a new online project, Mr. Greyhavens pinpointed, based on records and interviews, the locations of dozens of anti-Chinese incidents in the American West that occurred more than 100 years ago. After traveling to those locations, he then photographed whatever exists there now.

"The exhibit offers an entry point into a little-known and ignominious chapter of ethnic cleansing in American history that, viewed more than a century later, seems stunning for the sheer breadth and brazenness of racially motivated violence.

"From the mid-1800s until the early part of the 20th century, towns up and down the Western Seaboard, stretching into Wyoming and Colorado, lashed out against Chinese immigrants by rounding them up, often at gunpoint, and kicking them out. Dozens were killed and injured, and houses were set on fire. . . . "

David Gonzalez told Journal-isms in this space last month, "One of the things I had hoped to accomplish when I came on as co-editor of the Lens Blog was to broaden the types of photographers and images featured on the blog.

"So, in recent months my co-editor Jim Estrin and I have showcased how West African fotogs see West Africa, or how a Guatemalan fotog created an iconic image to symbolize his country's genocide. . . . I do think we have delved more deeply into more issues on race, representation and diversity than any other photo blog that I am aware of."

• Tim Greyhavens site

Arviso, Mallory Honored by APME; Wickham by SPJ

"Tom Arviso, publisher and chief executive officer of the Navajo Times in Window Rock, Ariz., and James Mallory, recently retired senior managing editor and vice president of news of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, are the recipients of the 11th annual Robert G. McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership, awarded by the Associated Press Media Editors," APME announced on Wednesday.

Separately, the Society of Professional Journalists announced Monday that it "is pleased to honor DeWayne Wickham and Bob Edwards as Fellows of the Society. This highest honor given by the Society is awarded for extraordinary contribution to the profession."

APME, formerly the Associated Press Managing Editors, said, "The McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership is given annually to individuals, newsrooms or teams of journalists who embody the spirit of McGruder, a former executive editor of the Detroit Free Press, managing editor of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and a graduate of Kent State University. McGruder died of cancer in April 2002. A past president of APME and former member of American Society of News Editors' Board of Directors, McGruder was a relentless diversity champion.

" . . . The Navajo Times began in 1958 as a newspaper funded by the Navajo Nation. Arviso was hired as managing editor in 1988 and became editor and publisher in 1993. Under his leadership, the paper separated from the tribal government in 2004 to become an independent business and newspaper. The Navajo Times now is the largest Native American-owned newspaper in the United States with a circulation of 21,400 and more than 120,000 readers weekly."

Mallory, ". . . who retired in April as the senior managing editor and vice president of news at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was nominated because he 'has been a strong advocate for the AJC and the journalism industry in all of the areas that the McGruder award highlights: recruiting, development, retention and content,' read his nomination, led by Managing Editor Monica Richardson with contributions from more than a half-dozen colleagues."

SPJ noted that Wickham ". . . is one of the 44 journalists who founded the National Association of Black Journalists in 1975, and he is a past president of the organization. Wickham has covered Washington for U.S. News & World Report and Black Enterprise magazine. Wickham has been a reporter for The Sun and Evening Sun newspapers in Baltimore, an analyst for CBS News, a commentator for Black Entertainment Television and executive editor of BlackAmericaWeb.com.

"Most recently, he served [as] the interim chairman of the department of journalism and mass communication at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, and he is now the chair of the department of communication studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore."

Edwards is host of "The Bob Edwards Show" and "Bob Edwards Weekend" on SiriusXM radio. He hosted NPR's "Morning Edition" for 25 years and is a board member of the newly merged Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent State University, McGruder's alma mater, also bestows an award in McGruder's name. Debra Adams Simmons, editor of the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, was the 2012 winner.

Navarrette Hits a Nerve on Waving Two Flags

A column by Ruben Navarrette Jr. deploring the way U.S. Olympic medalist Leo Manzano celebrated his silver medal in the 1500-meters final hit gold.

It garnered "More than 11,000 reader comments on the site, more than 700,000 hits in three days, at one point got 1,800 hits a minute, was the #1 story on the entire site for a couple of hours on Friday, hundreds of emails to me, lots of talk radio chatter around the country, a half dozen invitations to go on TV/radio and talk about it, and six or seven Internet 'rebuttals' from angry Latinos who disagree," Navarrette messaged Journal-isms on Wednesday.

Manzano held up both the U.S. and Mexican flags.

". . . It's about being part of a team — the U.S. Olympic team," Navarrette wrote Friday on cnn.com. "It's about national pride, not ego. Manzano wasn't there to compete for himself but to represent his country. All he had to do was decide which country that was. He chose not to choose.

"What am I missing? Where were the Italian-American athletes waving the Italian flag, or the Irish-Americans waving the Irish flag? I didn't see that. . . ."

• Alexandro Jose Gradilla and David J. Leonard, racialicious.com: An Open Letter To Ruben Navarrette, Jr.
  
  
• Maria Burns Ortiz, Fox News Latino: American Manzano Pays Tribute to His Roots
  
  
• "Rebeldes," Latino Rebels: In Response to Ruben Navarrette's CNN Column on Manzano, We Stand With the Traitors
  
  
• "Rebeldes," Latino Rebels: While the Haters Hate, US Medalist Leo Manzano Becomes a New American Hero
  
  
• Gabriel San Roman, OC Weekly: Alexandro Jose Gradilla, Cal State Fullerton Professor, Helps Smack Down Ruben Navarrette Over Olympic Mexi Flag Flap

In India, Each Photographer Attacked by 25 Men

"At least three Indian journalists were attacked over the weekend during protests by Muslim groups calling for news coverage of the deaths of Muslims in the ongoing ethnic tension in the state of Assam, according to news reports," the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on Tuesday.

In an anonymous piece from Mumbai in the Hindustan Times, one photographer wrote, "I reached Azad Maidan on Saturday afternoon to cover a protest organised in connection with the violence against Muslims in Assam and Myanmar. It was a huge crowd. After a while, we heard an orator blaming the media for not giving adequate coverage to the plight of Muslims there. A colleague sensed something amiss and suggested we click pictures and leave.

"After our job was done, we went to a restaurant nearby for lunch. Within minutes, I got a call saying that an outdoor broadcasting (OB) van of a news channel was on fire.

"A few photographers and I started running towards Azad Maidan, when a mob of about 400 people clashed with us. We got separated and each of us was attacked by at least 25 men.

"They asked us which media organisations we work for. When I told them, they punched me. They tried to snatch my camera, and when I resisted, they beat me up and fled with my mobile phone.

"Five to six other photographers were also beaten up. . . ."

Ted Holtzclaw, Beloved Manager at WABC, Dies at 53

Ted Holtzclaw, operations manager at WABC-TV in New York, died suddenly on Monday at 53, the station reported.

"Not Ted," Bill Ritter, co-anchor of WABC's "Eyewitness News," wrote on his WABC blog. "Not the guy who pulled all those rabbits out of the hat for all those years (he was with ABC for 20 years) and got us to broadcast live with the biggest events — from our corner to every corner of the world.

"Not Ted. Not our friend. Not the guy who had been reborn with a new attitude about food and exercise and health.

"Please, not Ted.

"He was just outside the WABC TV studios on Columbus, between 66th and 67th streets, just returning from a dentist appointment this morning, when something hit him. Something big and bad and horrible. Something that made this tall and statuesque man crumble in a heap on the sidewalk, something that sapped the life out of him, perhaps even before he hit the ground. Something more powerful than his powerful will and frame. Something awful.

"The guy who runs the newsstand saw it happen, and yelled.

"Meteorologist Bill Evans and one of our security guys heard it, and saw Ted fall, and rushed over. They gave him CPR. I thought I felt a slight pulse, Bill told me. And so he kept at it. For 15 minutes, believing Ted would come to.

"He didn't."

In a news release from the National Association of Black Journalists, Mike Woolfolk, a former NABJ board member, said, "Ted was a dedicated broadcast news manager and strong supporter of the National Association of Black Journalists Multi-Media Short Course at North Carolina A&T State University for many years. Ted was a fabulous mentor, not only to those interested in video journalism and other news operations support staff positions, but to anyone seeking his advice, training and help."

Viewing and reflections are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Saturday at Community Baptist Church, 224 First Street, Englewood N.J. 07631. Cards and condolences may be sent to the Holtzclaw family in care of the church. Services begin at 11 a.m.

His wife, Verna Holtzclaw, requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the NABJ Short Course at North Carolina A&T. Checks can be mailed to: NC A&T University - NABJ Shortcourse, Checks can be mailed to: Dept. of Journalism/Mass Communications, Crosby Hall Room 225, 1601 E. Market St., North Carolina A and T, Greensboro, NC 27411. Attn: Bonnie Newman Davis.

• Beverly Mahone, Huffington Post: The Topic that Leaves This Baby Boomer Speechless Every Time
  
  
• John Popovich, WCPO-TV, Cincinnati: A Shot to the Gut
  
  
• WABC-TV: Eyewitness News remembers Ted Holtzclaw

Women Editors of Color Muted on Helen Gurley Brown

"The influence of Helen Gurley Brown, who died on Monday at age 90, extended widely across the culture, and deeply within the world of magazines," the editors of the New York Times' Media Decoder column wrote Tuesday, referring to the author of "Sex and the Single Girl" and longtime editor of Cosmopolitan.

But, oddly, women magazine editors of color were missing from most tributes. Inquiries from Journal-isms to Janice Min of the Hollywood Reporter, Damarys Ocaña of Latina and Amy DuBois Barnett of Ebony failed to yield observations.

In the Daily Beast, Robin Givhan, special correspondent for style and culture and a Pulitzer Prize-winning black journalist, wrote, ". . . In the world of Cosmopolitan magazine, fashion was a gift from a woman to a man. It was another element in the gamesmanship between the sexes. It teased the eyes; it acknowledged that a woman's beauty, her sexuality, her sex appeal have an intrinsic value in our culture." Her article was headlined, "Helen Gurley Brown's Fashion Sense: the Power of Cleavage."

Min, editorial director of the Hollywood Reporter and an Asian American journalist, told Jacob Bernstein of the New York Times, "There wouldn't have been Carrie Bradshaw without Helen Gurley Brown," referring to the fictional narrator and lead character of the HBO sitcom/drama "Sex and the City."

Constance C.R. White, editor-in-chief of Essence, told Journal-isms through a spokeswoman, "Helen Gurley Brown was a woman way ahead of her time. She was not afraid to take risks and to speak her mind in her role as editor, which was particularly bold during an era when the industry was very male-dominated. She was an inspiration and a maverick."

• Nicholas Lemann, Columbia Journalism Review: Impeccable until the end
  
  
• Kathleen Parker, Washington Post: Helen Gurley Brown's stiletto feminism


• Charles Whitaker, Medill School, Northwestern University: Reflecting on Helen Gurley Brown's life and legacy

Commission: More Than 60 Journalists Considered

Janet H. Brown, executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, forwarded this statement to Journal-isms on Friday:

"The Commission on Presidential Debates is grateful for the interest shown by various organizations in its moderator selection process; this interest underscores the importance of the moderators' role in debates that focus time and attention on the candidates, not on other participants.

"The four journalists chosen to moderate the 2012 debates see their assignment as representing all Americans in choosing topics and questions. The general election debates have always featured issues of national importance that affect all citizens and the Commission's new formats give more time to major issues, which will the moderators will select and announce beforehand in two of the four debates.

"The Commission has reviewed formats and moderators extensively over the last 18 months, and has chosen moderators who have skills particularly suited to the 2012 formats, all of which will be implemented by a single moderator. This review included more than 60 journalists of various backgrounds and experience.

"The choice of a single moderator makes it difficult to accommodate all the groups that have expressed interest in having one of their representatives chosen. But we are confident that these debates will provide valuable information on the issues, devote time to the candidates and their views, and foster a serious discussion of the matters facing voters this fall."

• Lauren Victoria Burke, politic365.com: April Ryan? Roland? No Black or Latino Presidential Debate Moderators
  
  
• Eric Deggans, Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times: Joe Biden and all-white presidential debate moderators force reluctant politicos to talk race
  
  
• Geraldo Rivera, Fox News Latino: Picking a Latino Debate Moderator is Common Sense
  
  
• Marisa Treviño, Latina Lista: Shunning Latino, black and Asian journalist moderators for presidential debates underscores nation’s systemic attitudes towards race (Aug. 18)

Computer Translator Yields Gaffes at Hartford Courant

"Robert Downs reported Thursday about newspapers providing Spanish-language training for their employees, Andrew Beaujon wrote Friday for the Poynter Institute. "Clicking on the words 'Courant en Español' on the Hartford Courant's website, though, opens a portal on a Spanish-language strategy that's unusual for a different reason: The newspaper simply runs its entire site through Google Translate, Beaujon reported.

"The limitations of this approach are immediately apparent to Spanish-speakers. Former Courant columnist Bessy Reyna compiled some of the weird results in July:

" 'The July 12 posts brings these news 'Este mujer Hartford acusado de apuñalar con el hombrepelador de patatas' which literally reads: 'This woman Hartford Accused of stabbing the man with potato peeler.' '"

Asked for comment, Courant Editor Andrew Julien at first said he would forward the request to Rick Hancock, digital platform manager. When Hancock did not respond, he recommended Courant spokeswoman Jennifer Humes, who replied by email, "At this point we have no other comment except what is written on the interstitial page when you click on courant en Espanol."

On that page is this notice:

"As a courtesy to the growing numbers of Spanish speaking readers, The Courant has begun using a free and popular software developed by Google to translate stories into Spanish. However, readers should be aware that due to limitations in the Google software some of the translations of the English headlines and articles don't always translate accurately word-for-word into Spanish.

"In attempt to improve the translation service, Google has included a wiki/crowdsource feature that allows bi-lingual users to write better English translations for each article. Simply hover over a story with your cursor, enter the translation and help write a better English to Spanish translation."

Robert Hernandez, a Web guru who is assistant professor of professional practice at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, wrote on his blog:

"Como una cortesía para The Courant, por demostrando ignorancia y falta de respeto a su propia comunidad, déjeme decir: lo cagaron.

"If you were to translate this using Google Translate, guess what… it would be wrong. Anyone who is bilingual wouldn't be surprised. But they would be surprised in hearing that a news organization would solely depend on using this primitive service as their 'Spanish-language strategy.'

"Sadly, this isn’t a joke: Hartford Courant’s Spanish site is Google Translate . . .

"But, instead of just being disgusted or insulted by The Courant's 'strategy,' let me offer some tips for an actual strategy . . . "

His five points began with "Hire a diverse staff, and in this case, a Spanish speaker. Listen to them. Anyone in their right mind would have told you this was a bad idea."

WikiLeaks Hero Represses Journalists in Own Country

Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange hailed the decision by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa Thursday to grant Assange political asylum, conveniently overlooking what followers of press freedom instantly recognized: Assange "will gradually come to realise that left-wing anti-press actions are just as inimical to freedom as their right-wing equivalent," as Roy Greenslade of Britain's Guardian newspaper wrote.

Carlos Lauría, Americas senior program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, got right to the point:

"The Quito government's decision to grant Julian Assange political asylum comes at a time when freedom of expression is under siege in Ecuador. President Rafael Correa's press freedom record is among the very worst in the Americas, and providing asylum to the WikiLeaks founder won't change the repressive conditions facing Ecuadoran journalists who want to report critically about government policies and practices.

"Research by numerous international human rights defenders — including CPJ, Human Rights Watch, the Ecuadoran press group Fundamedios, and the Organization of American States' special rapporteur for freedom of expression — has concluded that the Correa administration does not brook dissent and is engaged in a campaign to silence its critics in the media."

Britain has said it will not allow Assange safe passage out of the country.

On Pacifica Radio's "Democracy Now!" Friday, hosts Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez uncritically interviewed Jennifer Robinson, London-based legal adviser for Assange, and Daniel Ellsberg, "the most famous whistleblower in the United States."

"I congratulate Ecuador, of course, for standing up to the British Empire here, for insisting that they are not a British colony, and acting as a sovereign state ought to act," Ellsberg said on the show. "And I think they’ve done the right thing. I appreciate what they've done."

The show explained that Ellsberg "leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, the secret history of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam" and that on Thursday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Assange would be arrested if he left the embassy, adding that Britain is "under a binding obligation to extradite him to Sweden."

Goodman went on to quote Assange: "I’m grateful to the Ecuadorean people, President Rafael Correa and his government. It was not Britain or my home country, Australia, that stood up to protect me from persecution, but a courageous, independent Latin American nation. While today is a historic victory, our struggles have just begun. The unprecedented U.S. investigation against WikiLeaks must be stopped."

The BBC explained, "The South American country has said Mr Assange's human rights could be violated if he is sent to Sweden to be questioned over allegations that he sexually assaulted two ex-Wikileaks volunteers in Stockholm in 2010.

"Australian Mr Assange, 41 — whose Wikileaks website has published a mass of leaked diplomatic cables embarrassing countries including the US — fears he would then be passed on to authorities there."

• El Universal, Caracas, Venezuela: IAPA rejects deterioration of press freedom in Latin America (July 29, 2011)
  
  
• Freedom House, Washington, D.C.: Freedom in the World 2012 — Ecuador
  
  
• Scott Griffen, International Press Institute: Ecuador Steps Up Campaign against Media (June 12)
  
  
• Carlos Lauría, Committee to Protect Journalists: Nations urge Ecuador to guarantee freedom of expression (May 24)
  
  
• Reporters Without Borders: Presidential attacks on journalists follow another radio station closure (July 17)
  
  
• S.K., the Economist: Freedom of the press in Ecuador: A chill descends (July 22, 2011)

Steven Thrasher told the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association: ". . . most insidiously, PR people want to like us and for us to like them. They want us to like the access they offer, which comes at a price. And when the PR people are LGBT, and their client is LGBT, they will prey on our gayness to get us to like them, when we should be critical of whatever or whomever it is they’re trying to sell us." (Video)

Village Voice Lays Off NLGJA's "Journalist of the Year"

Two weeks ago at the Unity '12 convention in Las Vegas, Steven Thrasher accepted Journalist of the Year honors from the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association.

On Friday, Thrasher was among those laid off from the Village Voice, Foster Kamer reported for the New York Observer.

"Thrasher's been with the Voice since 2009, and was recently named the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association Journalist of the Year, 2012," Kamer wrote. "Thrasher's coverage of metro civic stories and LGBT local and national issues (see: Bad Lieutenant, Dan Choi, 'Maybe I Do, Maybe I Don't') have earned him a wide haul of accolades."

Thrasher's bio also lists him as a public radio producer living in Brooklyn. "He once spent a year traveling America for the NPR StoryCorps project, working in some 22 states along the way," it says.

After Unity, Thrasher was among those accused of fueling the false impression that the National Association of Black Journalists had blocked NLGJA from joining the then-Unity: Journalists of Color.

He wrote for the Voice, ". . . [throughout] UNITY, multiple sources told me that though NABJ had not left because of NLGJA, it had been the only organization to vote against NLGJA's inclusion when the group had tried to join before. So it seems like a weird coincidence that once NABJ was gone, NLGJA was able to join. (But, to be absolutely clear: NLGJA was not up for inclusion just prior to the split last year.)"

The passage is misleading because no one organization has the votes to impose its will on the 16-member Unity board. Each association has only four votes.

Thrasher accompanied his story with audio of an interview with NABJ President Gregory H. Lee Jr.

Thrasher included the text of his acceptance speech to NLGJA on his website.

• Rosie Gray, BuzzFeed: How Management Killed "The Village Voice"

Jones, Bembry Help Start New Morgan J-Program

Veteran journalists Jackie Jones and Jerry Bembry are among the first hires for the new Department of Communication Studies at Morgan State University being organized by DeWayne Wickham, the USA Today columnist who is department chair.

Wickham is to "provide the leadership to enable Morgan to grow and build a world-class communication and journalism program and lead the University toward the realization of a School of Global Communications and Journalism," according to a June 28 announcement from Morgan State President David Wilson.

"It's a great time to be at Morgan State University," Bembry, a longtime sports journalist who has covered professional basketball for ESPN and the Baltimore Sun, messaged Journal-isms. "DeWayne Wickham is bringing great ideas, and the people on campus are excited about the direction the program is going in as he creates the new School of Communications."

He added, "Just a little background on my relationship with DeWayne: I came to Baltimore in 1985 as a reporter with The Baltimore Sun. In 1987 DeWayne gave me my first professional opportunity as a television reporter on the TV show that he produced, Urban Scene, that aired nationally on BET.

"In the past he's invited me to speak to the students at North Carolina A&T, and I had a first hand look at what he did for that program. I've always had a lot of respect for DeWayne as a journalist and a businessman. I spent the last year working as a senior video producer for the website at WYPR in Baltimore, and I'll be teaching broadcast classes in both radio and TV. I met with DeWayne on Morgan's campus to discuss the position just two weeks after I had surgery for prostate cancer (I wrote about my family's battle with cancer for The Root on May 19). My surgery on July 12 was successful: I'm now cancer-free."

Jones, who has worked at several newspapers, taught at Penn State and is also a career coach, said she will be teaching "Introduction to Media Studies" and "Fundamentals of Media Writing."

"This is an exciting opportunity," Jones said via email. "After seeing what he had done with the program at North Carolina A&T, I jumped at the chance to work with DeWayne Wickham. Morgan State will benefit greatly from his presence and I expect to learn as much, if not more, as I teach. I'm looking forward to getting started."

Chinese Media Giants Influencing Africa's News

". . . At a time when most Western broadcasting and newspaper companies are retrenching, China's state-run news media giants are rapidly expanding in Africa and across the developing world," Andrew Jacobs wrote Thursday from Nairobi, Kenya, for the New York Times. "They are hoping to bolster China’s image and influence around the globe, particularly in regions rich in the natural resources needed to fuel China's powerhouse industries and help feed its immense population.

"The $7 billion campaign, part of a Chinese Communist Party bid to expand the country's soft power, is based in part on the notion that biased Western news media have painted a distorted portrait of China.

“. . . Beijing's bid to provide a counterpoint to Western influence, however, is raising alarms among human rights activists, news media advocates and American officials, who cite a record of censorship that has earned China a reputation as one of the world's most restrictive countries for journalism.

" 'We are engaged in an information war, and we are losing that war,' Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned a Congressional committee last year, citing the growing influence of state-backed outlets like Russia Today and CCTV," a Chinese broadcasting behemoth.

Nigerian Journalists Protest Assaults, Manhandling

In Nigeria, "As more journalists continue to fall victims of brutality in Lagos State, members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos Chapter, yesterday staged a peaceful protest to the office of the State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to register their displeasure over the harassments of its members carrying out their duties," George Okojie reported Friday for the Leadership newspaper in Abuja.

". . . The visibly enraged members of the pen profession carried placards and big banners, some of which bore the photographs of the bloodied faces of LEADERSHIP Newspapers photojournalist, Ben Uwalaka, and former photo editor of the Nigeria Compass, Tunde Ogundeji, who were manhandled and inflicted with severe injuries by overzealous mortuary attendants at the Lagos State University teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and thugs purportedly from the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) respectively.

"Some of the placards had inscription like: 'Journalists Are Friends, Not Foes'; 'We Will No Longer Tolerate These Assaults'; We Demand Our Rights', 'Stop The Assaults', 'We Will Resist The Brutalities', amongst others.

"The journalist[s], who chanted solidarity songs, demanded to meet the governor but were told by the security personnel at the gate that the governor was not around, however, assuring them that a representative will stand in for him.

"Piqued by the delay, the journalists sat on the bare floor of the entrance to the State House and kept the protest alive, chanting songs while they waited for the government representative to attend to them. . . ."

Artie Williams, Photographer, Dies on Scuba Trip

Artie Williams III, a photographer at KABC-TV in Los Angeles, died Saturday after having what was described as a "medical emergency" while scuba diving at Catalina Island off the Southern California Coast. He would have been 60 years old on Sunday and was to commemorate 30 years at the station on Tuesday, authorities and friends said.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in its report, "two scuba divers surfaced on the Isthmus Reef, a dive site located on the north side of Catalina Island. While swimming on the surface back to their commercial dive boat, one of the divers became unresponsive. The unresponsive diver was a male adult, approximately 60 years old. Nearby boaters assisted the dive partner by pulling the unresponsive diver into their boat. They attempted to administer life-saving measures."

The department withheld the name of the male diving partner. The Los Angeles County coroner's office said it had not determined a cause of death.

"Williams was a beloved colleague and respected competitor," the Black Journalists Association of Southern California said in a statement. "He also mentored countless aspiring broadcasters during his 30-plus year career at KABC. Artie, as he was widely known, quietly gave back to the community in a host of ways including his recent presentation to teen scholars at LA's Urban Media Foundation."

The Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists echoed those sentiments in a separate statement.

"I first met Artie Williams in Baltimore," Williams' friend Ron Olsen wrote Sunday in a blog post. "It was in late 1979. I had just gone to work for WMAR-TV. So had Artie. He got started by attending an art school. From there, he transitioned into photography and tv news. He had come in from Richmond at about the same time I came in from Pittsburgh. The World Series was on. The Orioles were up against the Pirates. For the next three years, we worked together, partied together and became friends. I helped Artie study for his first black belt in Karate while on our way to assignments. He eventually became an instructor, but I never once saw him raise a hand against another human being in anger. I did though, see him stop a fight.

"We were on our way to an assignment when Artie spotted two kids fighting in an alley. It was a big kid on top of a little kid. Artie pulled into the Alley, drove up to the fight, rolled down the window and said, 'Hey! If you want to fight somebody, how about fighting me?' The big kid looked up at Artie, got off the little kid, and the fight ended.

"Later, Artie moved west for a job shooting video for KABC-TV. A few months later, I followed in his footsteps, taking a reporting job at the same station. Others moved west as well. Michael Jones and Rawn Hairston. All four of us left WMAR for KABC. A producer, Bob Compton, left WMAR and came to Los Angeles to work for KNBC. It led to jokes about the 'Baltimore Mafia.' "

Jeff Dooley, president of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers, of which Williams was a member, said by telephone that they had previously dived together in Catalina and that Williams had been a diver for "more than 10 or 15 years."

A poster identifying himself as Williams' nephew, Tyvelle Williams, of Richmond, Va., wrote under Olsen's essay, ". . . He definitely died doing what he loved."

• Pablo Pereira, KTTV Los Angeles: Local TV News Photographer Dies While Diving Off Catalina Island

Richard Masato Aoki was one of the Bay Area’s most prominent radical activists of the 1960s. (Video)

Black Panther Trainer Was Undercover FBI Informer

"The man who gave the Black Panther Party some of its first firearms and weapons training — which preceded fatal shootouts with Oakland police in the turbulent 1960s — was an undercover FBI informer, according to a former bureau agent and an FBI report," Seth Rosenfeld reported Monday for the Berkeley, Calif.-based Center for Investigative Reporting.

"One of the Bay Area's most prominent radical activists of the era, Richard Masato Aoki was known as a fierce militant who touted his street-fighting abilities. He was a member of several radical groups before joining and arming the Panthers, whose members received international notoriety for brandishing weapons during patrols of the Oakland police and a protest at the state Legislature.

"Aoki went on to work for 25 years as a teacher, counselor and administrator at the Peralta Community College District, and after his suicide in 2009, he was revered as a fearless radical.

". . . Aoki's work for the FBI, which has never been reported, was uncovered and verified during research for the book, 'Subversives: The FBI's War on Student Radicals, and Reagan's Rise to Power.' The book, based on research spanning three decades, will be published tomorrow by Farrar, Straus and Giroux."

Rosenfeld is a former investigative reporter for the San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle who has won the George Polk Award and other journalism honors.

In "Stripping Down," Zakaria Resigns as Yale Trustee

"The plagiarism scandal connected to a nationally known journalist has hit home," Ann DeMatteo reported Monday for the New Haven (Conn.) Register.

"Fareed Zakaria, an editor-at-large at Time magazine and CNN host, on Monday resigned from the Yale Corporation," where Zakaria, a Yale graduate, was a university trustee. "In a letter to Yale President Richard C. Levin, Zakaria said he needed to shed some responsibilities and focus more 'on the core of my work.' "

Zakaria signaled he would be cutting back in an interview published Monday in the New York Times.

". . . Not that long ago, getting a column in Time would have been the pinnacle of a journalist's career," the Times' Christine Haughney wrote Sunday. "But expectations and opportunities have grown in the last few years. Many writers now market themselves as separate brands, and their journalism works largely as a promotion for more lucrative endeavors like writing books and public speaking."

Zakaria was suspended from Time and CNN last week after bloggers discovered that his column of Aug. 20 for Time magazine had passages lifted almost entirely from an article in the New Yorker by historian Jill Lepore. He was reinstated in less than a week after Time and CNN found the plagiarism to be an isolated incident.

"The problem, as Mr. Zakaria discovered, is that stain from any scandal can spread across platforms, threatening the image he had carefully built," Haughney continued.

". . . In an interview on Friday in his CNN office, Mr. Zakaria again apologized for what he had called 'a terrible mistake.'

" 'This week has been very important because it has made me realize what is at the core of what I want to do,' Mr. Zakaria said. He said he wanted to 'help people to think about this fast-moving world and do this through my work on TV and writing.'

"He added: 'Other things will have to go away. There's got to be some stripping down.'

"Even a stripped-down schedule for Mr. Zakaria seems ambitious. Mr. Zakaria said he works on his column ideas each weekend, reports them on Monday, writes on Tuesday and Wednesday and films his Sunday television program on Thursday.

"Then there are the three books he wrote and one book he edited, the speeches, the Twitter postings, all while trying to spend mornings with his family . . . "

• Andrew Burstein and Nancy Isenberg, salon.com: America's worst historians: Fareed Zakaria's plagiarism scandal shows the danger of journalists trying to write history
  
  
• David Carr, New York Times: Journalists Dancing on the Edge of Truth
  
  
• Mathew Ingram, gigaom.com: Plagiarism, defamation and the power of hyperlinks
  
  
• Scott Leadingham, Poynter Institute: Why journalism should rehabilitate, not excommunicate, fabulists and plagiarists
  
  
• Tunku Varadarajan, Newsweek:  Schadenfareed

Duluth News Director Moving, Claims Native Ancestry

Jason Vincent, the news director for KQDS-TV in Duluth, Minn., who resigned after writing on Facebook, "Add drunk, homeless, Native American man to the list of animals that have wandered into my yard," is moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to become a morning anchor, Robin Washington reported Sunday in the Duluth News Tribune.

". . . Many assumed he'd been fired or resigned under pressure," Washington wrote.

"Not true, Vincent said Friday, and again in a News Tribune interview yesterday.

"I'm moving to (Cedar Rapids) Iowa, KGAN-TV. I'll be a morning anchor down there," he said, explaining he had been looking for a new job for several months and the offer came coincidentally.

Vincent and Washington were among those on a WGZS-FM radio broadcast Friday, ". . . much of it to explain to anyone unaware that it's insulting to call any group of people 'animals' and particularly to perpetuate the stereotype of 'drunken Indians.'

". . . Vincent used the airtime to answer another question: Is he really Native?

" 'It’s on my dad's side,' he said. 'My grandfather's grandfather came from a tribe in southern Minnesota' — later identifying it as Mdewakanton Sioux, though he's not enrolled and hasn't lived the experience.

"He may join another Native group, however. While condemning his comment, members of the Native American Journalists Association have invited him to join. Vincent said he is considering it and only just now has become aware of the organization, which advocates for the hiring of Native journalists and sensitivity in covering Native communities."

• "Moving Beyond Racism" WGZS-FM special

Can't Reboot J-Schools Without Diversity

"Rebooting journalism schools" has been a hot topic this spring and summer, culminating at the recent convention of the American Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) in Chicago," Geneva Overholser, director of the School of Journalism at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, wrote Saturday for the Online Journalism Review.

". . . It's about the PUBLIC. This is after all the POINT of journalism. These are the people for whom it all exists. Remembering this can help us focus on the most critical questions: How do we work most effectively with the folks who are now creating the journalism with us? How do we best engage citizens? At the heart of this debate, we must place their needs and wants — indeed, the ways in which they are actively reinventing journalism even as we discourse about it. The current discussion seems to harbor the notion that the debate is primarily between the academy and the 'industry' — an idea that is sorely out of date.

". . . Diversity! My final point brings us back to the beginning. This is about the public. And the entire public is not old, white and male (I can say that, since I'm two of those). We can't serve, be partners with, or even begin to understand a diverse population — if we're not one. And we mostly are not. A remarkable number of discussions on the future of journalism — the FUTURE of journalism — are conducted by groups that look like the Kiwanis club of Peoria in 1950. This won't do. When we hire and put into place people who look like the future and are excited about its promise — that is when rebooting ceases to be a conversation and becomes reality. The biggest change we need in journalism schools is an ever-changing cast of characters."

Marker Honors "Fighting" Editor in Richmond, Va.

"John Mitchell Jr. was nationally known as the 'fighting editor' for his brave, heroic stands for freedom against Confederate-minded policies that stripped Black people of their human rights during the post-Reconstruction era," Joey Matthews wrote for the Richmond (Va.) Free Press.

"Now, a step has been taken to officially recognize his greatness in Richmond, the former Capital of the Confederacy that fought the Union to preserve slavery. Richmond-area residents and visitors to Downtown can view a prominently displayed state historical highway marker that recognizes, among other achievements, his courageous battles against lynching, his triumph against segregated streetcars in Richmond, his election to City Council and his economic justice accomplishments."

". . . The marker stems from efforts of Raymond H. Boone, editor/publisher of the Richmond Free Press, which underwrote the production and erection of the marker."

"Henry" Cardenas, Miami Photographer, Dies at 71

"Enrique 'Henry' Cardenas spent 28 years behind a camera for WSVN-7 — and most of his spare time feeding stray cats," Elinor J. Brecher wrote Monday for the Miami Herald.

"He carted around huge bags of cat food in 'Unit 22' — his station-issued, white Ford Crown Victoria — and colleagues knew that between assignments, they could find him doling out kibble to feral felines at Pelican Harbor Park, close to WSVN studios on the 79th Street Causeway.

"Cardenas, a Cuban exile, mentored a generation of young colleagues, many of whom posted poignant remembrances on his Facebook page after Cardenas died Tuesday at 71, at his home in North Miami Beach.

". . . Cardenas made sure that 'young reporters knew to enjoy life. Cuban coffee was a mandatory stop during any assignment, even breaking news,' " Brian Andrews, a former WSVN reporter, said.

"Cardenas died at his North Miami Beach home of respiratory failure following years of bad health that decimated his once robust frame.

"A former smoker, he contracted jaw cancer about 10 years ago. Doctors replaced part of his jaw with a metal plate, which led to complications like trouble swallowing and pneumonia, said close friend and neighbor Evelyn Garrison.

" 'Even when he was so sick that he lost the ability to talk, he gave 100 percent,' added Kirk Wade, WSVN’s chief photographer. 'He'd come to work and stand out in the heat.' "

Journalist Can See Why GOP Isn't Very Diverse

". . . As a journalist, I've noticed how the modern-day vision of the party of Lincoln has failed to attract voters in an America that is increasingly nonwhite," Mary C. Curtis, who is covering the Republican National Convention, wrote Sunday for theRoot.com.

". . . Go to a conservative event and there will always be at least one black person on the stage, visible in every photo op of the candidate or speaker, as there was at a recent Romney-Ryan event in Mooresville, N.C.," Curtis added, referring to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., his vice presidential choice.

"What usually happens to me happened there, when a reporter, looking for a black Romney fan, started asking me questions. It's always the same, whether it's at the national Tea Party conference in Nashville or an NRA annual meeting in Charlotte, N.C. — a hopeful look of discovery followed by disappointment when I reveal I'm just a reporter, too.

"In Mooresville, I asked some in the crowd, as I often do, if they saw a problem that a presidential ticket asking to lead a diverse country draws disproportionately white crowds. Ralph Brittain, 67, of Huntersville, N.C., professed an interest in unity, and though he said he was not sure [President] Obama was a citizen, he said he was a big fan of Florida Rep. Allen West, an African American who has described himself as a 'modern-day Harriet Tubman' trying to lead black voters off the Democratic party 'plantation.' He described West as 'good on his feet' and said, 'I'd love to see him get a good cabinet position' in a Romney administration.

"Mary Mabry, 82, pointed out one other black person and told me how much she loved the black woman who raised her — evidence, she said, that neither she nor Republicans have harsh feelings toward minorities. Meanwhile, on the road leading up to the gathering, small, diverse clusters of pro-Obama protesters holding signs were mostly ignored, though Romney supporters yelling, 'Get a job!' added a layer of ugliness, considering the racial makeup of both groups. . . ."

Romney Could Reach Historic Low With Black Voters

"Gov. Mitt Romney is currently positioned to garner an historic low rate of support among African-American voters," according to a BET survey of 800 black voters in swing states released on Monday. "Only two percent of African-American voters in our poll currently support the Romney/Ryan ticket. The data indicate the traits that are pushing African-Americans away from the GOP, including the perception that too many Republican leaders seem 'hostile to minorities.'

"Even where significant percentages of black voters are philosophically in line with traditional Republican Party positions on issues such as same-sex marriage (40% favor/38% oppose), a decline in moral values as biggest obstacle to black advancement (46%), and abortion (51% pro-choice/44% pro-life), these views overwhelmingly do not translate into GOP votes," the study, conducted by Cornell Belcher, who worked with the Barack Obama campaign in 2008, reported.

"Hope is still alive. President Obama's base is frustrated but still optimistic and determined." Belcher said in a news release. "The President still has a lot of work to do to achieve his historic 2008 performance, but Republicans are increasingly poorly positioned to compete for Black voters."

In other findings:

• "ENTHUSIASM VS. APATHY: Despite conventional wisdom, black voters are on track to vote in numbers equivalent to 2008. Only 4% say they are less interested in voting in the upcoming election than they were in 2008. 85% say they are following the election closely.
  
  
• "HOPE AMIDST DESPAIR: African-American voters are surprisingly optimistic, despite an unemployment rate double that of whites, 69% are optimistic about the economy rebounding in the next 12 months. 77% say the US economy is stabilizing or improving.
  
  
• " 'IT'S THE COST OF LIVING, STUPID:' The top concern about the economy for black voters is not jobs (21%), but rather salary and wages not keeping pace with the cost of living (38%) and affordable health care (24%).
  
  
• "A PRESIDENT FOR ALL AMERICANS: Though a number of prominent African-Americans have called on the President to more explicitly target programs to address black unemployment, the overwhelming majority of black voters accept that he must focus on repairing the national economy and in that way help black Americans (76% vs 14%)."

BET to Broadcast From GOP, Democratic Meetings

"BET NEWS will offer three live-anchored programs from the Republican National Convention (#BETRNC) in Tampa and Democratic National Convention (#BETDNC) in Charlotte, delving into key issues of the presidential election," the network announced on Monday.

"Each two-hour program will present the election story from the African-American perspective and underscore the high stakes of this historic race. Celebrated journalist Ed Gordon will anchor, with on-air contributor Nia-Malika Henderson (of theWashington Post in Tampa), BET News correspondent Lola Ogunnaike, BET consultant and pollster Cornell Belcher and special contributor T.J. Holmes (host of Don't Sleep!). BET News will frame interviews for the black voter with pre-produced features, integrated with the live coverage of the keynote. Interviews at the RNC will include Jimmie Walker (star of 'Good Times') Rep. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll (R-Florida), U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), former Presidential candidate Herman Cain (R) and many more.

"The exclusive interviews with the First Lady and the President will air during LIVE coverage on September 4th and September 6th, respectively. LIVE interviews with political & entertainment personalities, will air along with integrated BET Vote 2012 elements. Interviews from the DNC include California Attorney General Kamala Harris, Charlotte's Mayor Anthony Foxx, Broderick Johnson (Senior Advisor to the Obama campaign), Alfre Woodard (actor) and more."

" . . . BET News' special contributor, and host of Don’t Sleep!, T. J. Holmes will kick-off a 16 city promotional campaign for the series with a branded tour bus making stops at the RNC in Tampa on August 29 and DNC in Charlotte on September 5. At select locations, brand ambassadors and voter registrants will be on hand to encourage voter registration and answer any questions about the voting process. The bus will travel to 14 additional markets making stops including Nashville, Indianapolis, New York and Washington D.C."

Danielle Belton, creator of the Black Snob blog, announced on the blog Monday that she is moving from Washington to New York to work on the Holmes show. "For those of you playing at home, I worked on the pilot last winter and many, many moons ago used to pretend to stalk T.J. for poops n' grins on the Internet, Belton said. "Life is incredibly funny in how a guy I started writing about during this blog's beginnings in 2008 is the same guy I wound up working for in my first scripted TV writing gig."

• Cherie Saunders, EURWeb.com: T.J. Holmes on New BET Gig ‘Don’t Sleep’ and Why He Left CNN

65% of Latinos Support Obama in ImpreMedia Poll

The first of 11 national tracking polls of Latino voters finds that 65% of Latino voters saying they would vote for President Obama while only 26% support Mitt Romney, impreMedia, publisher of such Spanish-language news outlets as La Opinión in Los Angeles and El Diario in New York, announced on Monday.

ImpreMedia is conducting the poll with Latino Decisions, a political opinion research firm.

". . . Romney struggles with low favorability with only 27% of Latinos saying they have a positive view of him versus 74% for Obama," impreMedia said.

"The polls further [suggest] that the Republican Party itself faces an uphill battle in wooing over Latinos with only 14% of all registered voters saying the Party is doing a good job in reaching Hispanics compared to 59% who believe the Democratic Party is doing a good job.

"Latinos continue to believe Jobs and the Economy (53%) and Immigration/Dream Act (51%) are the most important issues in this election. But when asked about the central topic of taxes, 66% of all respondents believe the Republican candidate should disclose his tax returns for additional years and 77% of Latino Democrats stating that he should.

"According to Latino Decisions founder Matt Barreto the results indicate that Romney faces a considerable challenge in winning over Latino voters. 'In particular there are three huge challenges facing Romney: First, a large majority of Latinos continue to think Republican policies are to blame for the current state of the economy; Second, a majority of Latinos support the Obama health care bill which Romney would repeal; and Third, Romney's previous comments on immigration have created a huge barrier in his ability to connect with Latinos', stated Barreto."

• Monroe Anderson, theRoot.com: RNC 2012: Expect the Usual Sound and Fury
  
  
• Wayne Bennett, the Field Negro: Mutiny in the house?
  
  
• Boston Globe Magazine: PBS NewsHour's Gwen Ifill on the presidential race
  
  
• Jonathan Chait, New York magazine: Team Romney White-Vote Push: 'This Is the Last Time Anyone Will Try to Do This'
  
  
• Ta-Nehisi Coates, the Atlantic: Chris Matthews and the Shibboleth of Civility
  
  
• Michael Cottman, Blackamericaweb.com: Herman Cain Talks to Michael Cottman
  
  
• Eric Deggans, Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times: Chris Matthews tears into RNC head Reince Priebus on MSNBC, accusing GOP of race baiting
  
  
• Eric Deggans, Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times: Visiting CNN and other media at the RNC: Frenzy of calm before the craziness of Isaac
  
  
• John Gizzi, Human Events: Cain calls for support of 'ABC — America’s Black Conservatives'
  
  
• Suzan Shown Harjo, Indian Country Today: The Coded Language Of Privilege
  
  
• Rick Horowitz, YouTube: Climate Problem? What Climate Problem? (Video)
  
  
• Jude Joffe-Block, Latina Lista blog: GOP Platform Backs Both 'Self Deportation' And Guest Workers
  
  
• Allen Johnson blog, News & Record, Greensboro, N.C.: 'A civil war' if Obama wins?
  
  
• Imara Jones, the Progressive: Paul Ryan a disaster for people of color (Aug. 20)
  
  
• Colbert I. King, Washington Post: Time for Mitt Romney to come clean on his taxes 
  
  
• Wil LaVeist, Urban Faith: The GOP's 'Black' Problem
  
  
• Douglas C. Lyons, South Florida SunSentinel: 'Hurricane party' puts the onus on Fla. Gov. Rick Scott
  
  
• Myriam Marquez, Miami Herald: At RNC: pirates, showgirls, and possibly a defector
  
  
• Michel Martin with Tara Wall on "Tell Me More," NPR: Romney Campaign Not Giving Up On Black Vote
  
  
• Roland S. Martin, Creators Syndicate: Univision Right to Lament Diversity Among Presidential Debate Moderators
  
  
• Erik Maza, Women's Wear Daily: Glamour Gets Time With President Obama
  
  
• Ruben Navarrette Jr., Washington Post News Media Services: The GOP and the company it keeps
  
  
• Ruben Navarrette Jr., CNN.com: Is Ryan an immigration pragmatist?
  
  
• Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune: Romney's zero percenters
  
  
• Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald: Akin's 'problem' part of a GOP pattern
  
  
• Joy-Ann Reid, theGrio.com: Black Republicans: Lack of Romney outreach to blacks 'shameful'
  
  
• Geraldo Rivera, Fox News Latino: Does the GOP Really Want Latino Support?
  
  
• Mary Sanchez, Kansas City Star: Akin's gaffe offers an unflattering glimpse of Republican attitudes
  
  
• Brian Stelter, New York Times: With Isaac Bearing Down, Networks Weigh Their Options
  
  
• Wendi C. Thomas, Commercial Appeal, Memphis: Who knew rape victims have pregnancy stopping powers?
  
  
• Marisa Treviño, Latina Lista blog: GOP Party Platform may not be set in stone but it sure does throw its fair share of rocks
  
  
• Marisa Treviño, Latina Lista blog: New voting rules make it harder than ever to get Latinos to the polls
  
  
• Elon James White, theRoot.com: Chris Matthews Goes Off on RNC Chairman
  
  
• Women's Media Center: Three-Quarters of Newspapers' Presidential Coverage is Written by Men
  
  
• Blake Zeff, BuzzFeed: How It Became Safe To Attack Barack Obama

Little Change Likely for Ethiopia's Journalists

"Ethiopia's new rulers waited just one day after the death of dictator Meles Zenawi was announced to confirm that little change is likely for the country’s beleaguered independent journalists," Mohammed Ademo wrote Saturday for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

"They sent that message by arresting Temesgen Desalegn, editor of the now-defunct Feteh newspaper, one of the last critical media voices in the country. Earlier, when Zenawi was alive but apparently ailing in secrecy in Belgium, the government gagged Desalegn's newspaper for daring to report on the prime minister's two-month absence from the limelight. Desalegn's arrest Thursday was not reported by the state-run media, devoted to broadcasting a week-long campaign to lionize the fallen leader.

"That left it to exiled media to report the news through social networks. . . . "

• Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times: Ethiopian Leader’s Death Highlights Gap Between U.S. Interests and Ideals (Aug. 21)
  
  
• Peter Hart, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting: NY Times and the Myth of 'U.S. Ideals' (Aug. 22)
  
  

• What Story Does This Picture Tell?

  Jon Banner, third from right, senior executive producer of ABC-TV's "This Week," is leaving the network after more than 25 years. Merrill Knox reported for TVNewser that Banner took a moment Sunday to pose with "This Week" staffers after his last program. The Sunday talk shows are often criticized for their insufficient on-air diversity. Jeffrey Schneider, senior vice president for communications for ABC News, would not say Monday whether any people of color work on "This Week." (Credit: TVNewser)

Hurricane Isaac Destroys Melissa Harris-Perry Home

"Hours after Hurricane Isaac hammered its way through New Orleans on the seven-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Melissa Harris-Perry tweeted that her new home had been destroyed by the storm," Rebecca Shapiro reported for the Huffington Post.

"Harris-Perry and her husband closed on the purchase of what one could fondly describe as a 'fixer-upper' (the house lacked all four walls) just last month. She excitedly announced that she and her family planned to restore the New Orleans property that was destroyed and abandoned during Katrina.

"On her Sunday MSNBC show, Harris-Perry acknowledged the anniversary of Katrina by giving viewers a tour of what she called her 'extreme home makeover.' Harris-Perry described the ripped-apart home as a safety concern and the 'site of crime' in the neighborhood. . . ."

The Times-Picayune reported Wednesday night, "Though downgraded from a hurricane status this afternoon, Isaac continues to drop heavy rains between 7 and 14 inches along its path — with isolated accumulations of up to 20 inches — and has sustained wins of 60 mph . . . "

Disconnect Between GOP and Latino Journalists

"The Republicans wanted to talk about the economy. The press wanted to talk about immigration," Bryan Llenas wrote from Tampa Tuesday for Fox News Latino.

"In the first Republican National Convention daily briefing for Latino press, the RNC and campaign of presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney stressed the need to revitalize the economy.

"But members of the Spanish-language media pressed the issue of immigration, and tried to challenge Texas Rep. Francisco 'Quico' Canseco and [former] New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu — the two surrogates who appeared on behalf of the RNC — on the GOP's push for strict enforcement.

"Canseco and Sununu spoke of the 'American Dream,' a 'bankrupt economy,' and the confidence that Romney can offer 'laws,' enduring solutions to the immigration system that would improve programs involving guest workers and visas.

"Their focus, to be sure, was unmistakably the economy.

"But members of the press wanted to focus on undocumented youth, what they characterized as the harsh immigration rhetoric by GOP candidates, and a Republican party platform that recently incorporated calls for tough enforcement of immigration laws.

"For critics, the bilingual press conference on a rainy Monday epitomized the 'disconnect' and divide between Romney and Latinos."

"We Built It" Speaker Received $2 Million in SBA Loans

"The Republican National Convention opened by smacking President Obama with the theme 'We Built it,' " columnist Nicholas D. Kristof wrote Tuesday for the New York Times.

"To pound that message, Republicans turned to a Delaware businesswoman, Sher Valenzuela, who is also a candidate for lieutenant governor. Valenzuela and her husband built an upholstery business that now employs dozens of workers.

"Valenzuela presumably was picked to speak so that she could thunder at Obama for disdaining capitalism.

"Oops. It turns out that Valenzuela relied not only on her entrepreneurial skills but also on — yes, government help. Media Matters for America, a liberal watchdog group, documented $2 million in loans from the Small Business Administration for Valenzuela's company, plus $15 million in government contracts (mostly noncompetitive ones). . . "

• A. Peter Bailey, TriceEdneyWire.com: A Race About Race: Get Whose Country Back?
  
  
• Wayne Bennett, the Field Negro: Going nuts in Tampa, and CNN has a major fail.
  
  
• Marcus Feldman, Media Matters for America: NY Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof Exposes Discredited Fox Narrative
  
  
• Caitlin Ginley, Media Matters for America: Fox Skirts Issue Of RNC Speaker Receiving Millions In Aid For Small Business
  
  
• Merrill Knox, TVNewser: Jorge Ramos on the Univision-ABC News Channel: 'Either we do it, or somebody else is going to do it'
  
  
• La Opinión: Jorge Ramos to GOP: Where Is the Party of Reagan?
  
  
• Pew Research Center for the People & the Press: Paul Ryan in a Word: 'Conservative,' 'Intelligent'
  
  
• Jeff Poor, Daily Caller: MSNBC abandons GOP convention during every speech by a minority
  
  
• Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone: Greed and Debt: The True Story of Mitt Romney and Bain Capital
  
  
• Joseph Torres, Free Press: Presidential Debate Commission Turns Blind Eye Toward Race
  
  
• Marisa Treviño, Latina Lista: Boehner's remarks about black and Latino voters serve to disenfranchise voters of color
  
  
• Marisa Treviño, Latina Lista: "Isolated incidents" widening the gap between GOP and Americans of color
  
  

Syracuse, Harrisburg Papers to Cut Back Print Editions

"Newhouse Newspapers, which earlier this spring announced that it would stop printing a daily paper at The New Orleans Times-Picayune and its Alabama newspapers, said it would end the daily distribution of two more of its newspapers, The Post-Standard in Syracuse, and The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa.," Christine Haughney reported Tuesday for the New York Times.

"The papers will merge their content with local news Web sites and deliver the printed newspaper only three days a week.

"Starting in January, The Post-Standard will publish on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The Syracuse Media Group, the company formed to oversee The Post-Standard, is still considering whether to publish a newspaper that it would not deliver to homes and businesses on the other four days."

"The news prompted more than 100 comments by readers on the Web site Syracuse.com who expressed their concerns about life without a daily newspaper."

• Kai Ryssdal, "Marketplace," Public Radio International: Facing Isaac, Times-Picayune looks to digital to cover hurricanes

Journalists Shift in the Way They Cover Colombia

"Here are two headlines from two decades apart: A headline 20 years ago in the Milwaukee Journal — Who's in charge: Colombia or Escobar? A July 2012 headline in USA Today — Colombia gets its first W hotel," Justin D. Martin reported Wednesday for Columbia Journalism Review.

"For many years Colombia was a byword for drugs and dysfunction. Today it signifies a country that has fought through terrorism and years of warfare, a country once known for merciless militias that is, while not [guerrilla]-free, a frequent topic of brighter discussions.

" 'Global media have shifted significantly in the way they cover Colombia,' Michael LaRosa and German Mejia wrote in a 2012 history of the country. 'Stories focusing on tourism, restaurants, Colombian tennis stars, and positive reviews of literary works…suggest the US media's perception of the Andean nation is evolving away from the myopic, one-dimensional view that marked earlier portrayals of the country.'

"And as for domestic journalists and their perceptions: It's easier for reporters to focus on a country's positives when they aren't being murdered. For years, Colombia was a country in which a journalist would get dead every couple of months. Cesar Gaviria, the country's president from 1990-1994, has seen acquaintances, as well as his sister, killed for political reasons. Before he won the Colombian presidency in 1990, three other candidates were murdered, one of which was his colleague. Yet he gives much credit to his nation's journalists for reporting through the risks. In Colombia, Gaviria told me in his Bogotá office in August, 'Journalists take all the risks. Many have been killed, but this country has not been intimidated. . . .' "

• Monica Campbell, Committee to Protect Journalists: Venezuela's private media wither under Chávez assault
  
  
• Committee to Protect Journalists: Colombian Supreme Court drops suit against columnist
  
  
• Committee to Protect Journalists: In Venezuela, a media landscape transformed

Ethiopia Frees Editor Arrested After Premier's Death

"The International Press Institute (IPI) on Tuesday welcomed the news that charges against Ethiopian editor Temesgen Desalegn have been withdrawn, and called for Ethiopia to reform its stance toward the media and free all journalists who are currently in jail for their criticism of official policies, and cease its harassment of Feteh newspaper," Naomi Hunt reported for the Vienna-based press freedom organization on Tuesday.

"Prosecutors sent a letter to the 16th Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court saying that charges against Desalegn had been dropped to allow time to further investigate, the Ethiopian Reporter said. IPI was told that the journalist had been released from Kality Prison.

"Temesgen Desalegn, editor of the critical weekly newspaper Feteh, was arrested last week just after the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was officially announced, according to reports. He was charged with inciting the public to overthrow the constitutional order, defaming the state, and spreading false rumours to incite the public against the government, a legal expert in Ethiopia told IPI.

". . . With the passing of strong-arm leader Meles Zenawi, who ruled Ethiopia for over twenty years, Ethiopia has an opportunity to review policies that crushed human rights and democratic principles as much as they promoted economic development."

"Gentleman's Agreement" Ends, NAHJ Enters L.A.

Pilar Marrero of La Opinion, Art Marroquin of the Daily Breeze, sports broadcaster and new KPCC host A Martinez, Edwin Tamara of Associated Press, Victoria Infante of Huffington Post, Agustin Duran of latinocalifornia.com and Kris Fortin of eastsidestreetsblog.org were among those who met last Thursday to form the first Los Angeles chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Adolfo Guzman-Lopez reported Tuesday for Los Angeles public television station KCET.

Ruben Vives, whose stories helped the Los Angeles Times win this year's Pulitzer Prize for public service, was the featured guest.

". . . The SAG-AFTRA union co-sponsored the mixer. Union representative Ray Bradford said . . . there was a gentleman's agreement between the NAHJ and the older, California-based Latino journalist group," the California Chicano News Media Association, which preceded the formation of NAHJ. "And so while NAHJ prospered around the country building chapters across the country we as NAHJ needed to support CCNMA's continued growth in Southern California,' he said.

"During the 2000s CCNMA's activity in L.A. tapered off.

" 'I think it would be wrong for us to depend on one organization, bring on two, bring on three, as long as we all have a unified mission of equality and respect, and quality journalism bring it on," Bradford said.' "

In reporting on the development, Kevin Roderick of LAObserved included this curious paragraph:

"Now the two groups can contend to see which survives, if either. Or is the idea of ethnicity-based professional organizations fading, especially among younger and more digitally oriented journalists?"