Jose Vargas Arrested for Driving Without License

"Reporter Jose [Antonio] Vargas was arrested Friday morning by Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Police and charged with driving without a valid driver's license, a misdemeanor," Beth Hawkins reported Friday for MinnPost.

"A native of the Philippines, Vargas is best known for his June 2011 New York Times essay, 'My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant,' in which he described the steps he is forced to take to work in the United States, where he has lived since 1993, when he was 12.

". . . It's unclear why Vargas was stopped. He is scheduled to appear in Hennepin County District Court Oct. 18.

"His arrest here on a traffic violation is newsworthy because the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, which operates the county jail, participates in Secure Communities, a Bush administration initiative to secure local law enforcement cooperation in reporting undocumented immigrants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. . . .

"In marked contrast to the way most undocumented immigrants have been handled during Sheriff Rich Stanek's tenure, Vargas was released at 1:34 Friday afternoon.

"Among the steps Vargas enumerated in his Times piece were his efforts to secure a valid driver's license, something he eventually managed to do in Oregon."

However, Washington state canceled Vargas' license in July 2011 "because he could not prove that he lived in the state when he obtained it, as required by law," Lornet Turnbull reported then for the Seattle Times. ". . . He obtained a Washington driver's license weeks before his Oregon license was to expire on his 30th birthday earlier this year."

Vargas wrote at the time on his Define American website, ". . . Last night I learned that my driver's license from the state of Washington is being revoked. It's not unexpected, given how I laid out in detail how I've been able to live, work and survive as an undocumented immigrant in our country. Still, it's a sad feeling. In some ways, my driver's license has been my life line.

". . . I am sorry that I broke our laws in order to get a driver's license. As parents tell their children, "a license is a privilege." Losing that privilege is part of my facing up to what I've done. However, I believe it is a small price to pay relative to the big things we're going to do, together."

Vargas tweeted Friday night, "Thank you to everyone for your support. I am fine."

• Corey Dade, NPR: Will Journalist Face Deportation? Signs Point To 'No' (June 24, 2011)

Journalists of Color Not in Ratings-Winning Coverage

"Final Nielsen ratings are in for Wednesday's many broadcasts of the first presidential debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney — and not only do they reveal a new winner, gross viewership broke a 32-year record," Michael O'Connell reported Thursday for the Hollywood Reporter.

However, journalists of color were not part of the coverage that gathered all of those eyeballs, although analysts of color such as Al Sharpton on MSNBC, Van Jones on CNN and Donna Brazile on ABC were.

Juan Williams of Fox News appeared later Wednesday on Sean Hannity's "Hannity" but was not part of the special debate coverage. Roland Martin of CNN was on the  morning show "Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien." Eugene Robinson, the Washington Post columnist who appears on MSNBC, told Journal-isms by email, "I was on at 5 pm and again doing post-debate at midnight. I was in Denver with the Chris Matthews/Hardball crew, which does pre-event and post-event commentary, generally. At least, that has been the pattern with the conventions and the first debate. I was not involved in the New York-based coverage that began at 7 pm and ended at midnight."

Gwen Ifill, a black journalist, co-anchored PBS' coverage of the debate with Judy Woodruff, but the noncommercial PBS is not part of the ratings report. The reports did not include the Spanish-language networks.

O'Connell's story continued, "Across broadcast and cable networks carrying the 90-minute debate, Nielsen reports that 67.2 million viewers watched the debate in homes. No first round debate has hit that high of a number since President Jimmy Carter went up against Republican candidate Ronald Reagan in 1980 for 80.6 million viewers. (Subsequent second and third round debates have topped last night's haul.)

"Despite initial bragging rights to NBC News and this afternoon's cable returns from Fox News Channel, the biggest take among total viewers and the adults 25-54 demo goes to ABC. ABC News' coverage of the debate pulled 11.25 million viewers, 4.65 million of which were in the key demo. All three of the broadcast networks' — ABC, NBC, CBS — final numbers eclipse their cable competition (CNN and MSNBC), where FNC still maintains its healthy win."

Meanwhile, commentators and other debate watchers weighed in on Obama's lackluster performance and Romney's aggressive one, but fact-checkers were also at work. Moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS was criticized as ineffectual and failing to ask questions of particular concern to people of color.

. . . Obama Answers Questions from Indian Country

"Claiming that his record shows he is more committed than his opponent in the upcoming presidential election to serving Indian country, President Barack Obama has answered questions about some of the major issues facing American Indian citizens and tribes today," Rob Capriccioso reported Thursday for the Indian Country Today Media Network.

" '[With me] as president, you have a voice in the White House,' he tells Indian Country Today Media Network. 'We're moving forward, but there's more work to do. But we are seeing a turning point in the relationship between our nations, and ultimately our relationship is not just a matter of legislation or a matter of policy. It's a matter of whether we're going to live up to our basic values.'

"Not only is this the first time President Obama has done a Q&A with the American Indian press, it is believed to be the first time a sitting president of the United States has conducted such an interview with Native media. It's a first that aligns with the image Obama has worked hard to cultivate in Indian country.

"Adopted as 'One Who Helps People Throughout the Land' when he was campaigning for president on the Crow Nation reservation in May 2008, he has since hired several Native American staffers, held three annual tribal summits and taken administrative action on multiple long-standing trust and water settlements. He has also supported and signed pro-tribal legislation, including the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, the Tribal Law and Order Act and the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership [HEARTH] Act. His record has pleased many tribal leaders; some hail him as one of the best presidents for Indian country in recent history. . . ."

. . . Lehrer Defends "Backing Off" During Debate

Debate moderator Jim Lehrer, the object of criticism for letting the presidential candidates "roll over" him on Wednesday, answered back Friday in a series of interviews.

"Everybody is welcome to criticize my questions, or anything else I did," Lehrer, 78, told Gail Shister of TVNewser. "I have no problem with that. I knew, going in, this was not going to be easy. What the hell. … The next debate, people will tweet, tweet, tweet all over again. That's terrific."

Shister wrote, "Despite being constantly interrupted and talked over, Lehrer pronounced the new debate format — featuring 15-minute, wide-open segments for the candidates to directly address each other – a success.

" 'The format worked,' he says. 'These guys were really talking to each other. Presidential candidates had never done that before. People, including the candidates, and including me, were used to a more controlled format, with two-minute answers. . . ."

Lehrer told Paul Farhi of the Washington Post, "It was frustrating as it began happening, when they didn't answer the questions directly and they went over time. But I kept reminding myself: 'Hey, wait a minute. Waaait a minute. This isn't about rules. This is about the reality of the exchange of the two candidates.' So I just backed off. ... I had no problem doing that. Yes, there were times when I pushed them, and sometimes they ran over and ignored me and all that sort of stuff. So what? I mean, it isn't about my power, my control or whatever. It was about what the candidates were doing, what they were talking about and what impression they were leaving with the voters. That's what this is about. It's not about how I felt about things. . . ."

Mike McCurry, the Democratic co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, told Tracie Powell of the Poynter Institute, "I think Jim had a good idea on the segments that he wanted to divide up, but clearly you have to kind of discipline the candidates to keep moving through the subjects without taking up too much time on their answers. A firmer hand on the tiller will probably be needed. But we'll see. It's a little too early to make a complete evaluation."

• Robert Bianco, USA Today: Reviewing the debate on TV: Paging Jim Lehrer ...
  
  
• Brian Stelter, New York Times: After a New-Look Debate, a Harsh Light Falls on the Moderator

. . . Romney Threat to Lay Off Big Bird Is Most TiVo'd

". . . TiVo measures 'top moments' during the debate based on how often viewers recorded, rewound and rewatched certain moments," George Winslow wrote Thursday for Broadcasting & Cable.

"By that measure, the top moment across all networks was [Mitt] Romney's comments about pulling funding for PBS and Big Bird. This ranked as the No. 1 moment on NBC, Fox News and CNN and No. 3 on MSNBC."

Cartoons with Big Bird as the focus — sometimes with Romney serving the character as Thanksgiving dinner — flooded social media.

PBS CEO Paula Kerger appeared on CNN Thursday morning, where she said Romney's comment "was not about the budget, this has to be about politics," Alex Weprin reported for TVNewser.

"With the enormous problems facing the country, the fact that we are the focus is unbelievable to me," Kerger said. "We are America's biggest classroom, we touch children across the country in every home."

Jim Naureckas of Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting wrote, "I think I speak for everyone when I say that Big Bird would be a much bigger loss than Jim Lehrer. But it's a disturbing spectacle when a journalist moderating a debate between two politicians is reminded by one of them that he has the power to cut off the journalist's funding. Politicians should not be able to pull the plug on the public's media — PBS needs a dedicated trust fund that can't be used as a political prop by candidates."

• Wayne Bennett, the Field Negro: The narcotics cop and Big Bird.
  
  
• Mark Trahant, Indian Country Today Media Network: Elections 2012: Big Bird? Really? Romney Would Cripple Public Broadcasting That Serves Native America
  
  

. . . Making a Brief for the Angry Black Person

". . . So why did the President avoid a heavy counter-attack of Mitt Romney?" Kelly Virella asked Thursday on HuffPost BlackVoices. "A lot of black people in social media are saying it's because the President has to avoid looking like an angry black man. No one (and by no one, they mean white people) wants the specter of a black man threatening or sassing the good, smart white businessman who only wants what's best for us. Sigh."

". . . How long will we allow this type of fear to control us? When will be the right time for us to speak our minds on our jobs, in our Presidential debates?

"If your answer is never, that’s a problem."

Meanwhile, reporter-turned-novelist Karen E. Quinones Miller of Philadelphia has titled her latest "An Angry-Ass Black Woman," Jenice Armstrong reported Wednesday in her Philadelphia Daily News column.

". . . In the book, Miller points to an incident that happened at this newspaper that led her to completely changing her life. She was working as a secretary in the Daily News' circulation department and was outraged that a rally in Washington, D.C., supporting affirmative action hadn't made it into the paper. Miller confronted an editor who told her, among other things, 'It's very easy for someone not qualified to write a news story to criticize someone who is.'

"She walked away furious. But that moment turned out to be a turning point; that very day, Miller decided to quit her job and enroll at Temple University to study journalism. Never mind that she'd dropped out of school in the eighth grade and had spent much of her youth running the streets of New York City. After graduating with honors from Temple, she launched a successful career as a reporter at a number of major news outlets, including the Philadelphia Inquirer.

"If I hadn't gotten so angry, I might still be a secretary," Miller said."

• Perry Bacon Jr., theGrio.com: Romney performs strong, but will it narrow Obama's lead?

• Keith Boykin, bet.com: Why Obama Wasn't More Aggressive in the First Debate
  
  
• Michael Calderone, Huffington Post: Obama's Cautious Media Strategy Contributes To Rusty Debate Performance
  
  
• Center for Media and Public Affairs: Study: Presidential Debaters More Aggressive in 2012; Cut Off Moderator Three Times As Often As In 2008 Debate
  
  
• Ta-Nehisi Coates blog, the Atlantic: Against the Usage of 'the 47%'
  
  
• Editorial, New York Times: An Unhelpful Debate
  
  
• Charles D. Ellison, Uptown magazine: Did Obama Pull A Rope-A-Dope?
  
  
• Edward Gilbreath and Wil LaVeist, urbanfaith.com: Mr. President, What Happened Last Night?
  
  
• Lloyd Grove, Daily Beast: Body Language Expert: Romney 'Hyperactive,' Obama 'Measured' in Debate
  
  
• Peter Hart, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting: Time: Obama's Lies Are Worse Because They're More Accurate
  
  
• Bob Herbert, Huffington Post: No More Excuses
  
  
• Annette John-Hall, Philadelphia Inquirer: Race and the campaign: Hear that dog whistle?
  
  
• M. Alex Johnson, NBC News: Social media analysis: Who really won the debate?
  
  
• Eugene Kane blog, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: No Photo ID in PA until after election. Whew!
  
  
• Paul Krugman, New York Times: Romney's Sick Joke
  
  
• Sandra Lilley, NBCLatino: Latinos weigh in on debate: Obama, Romney skip important issues like the DREAM Act
  
  
• David A. Love, blackcommentator.com: The Denver Presidential Debate: Obama vs. the Empty Corporate Suit Who Would Kill Big Bird
  
  
• Greg Marx, Columbia Journalism Review: Ask Obama This: Where's your short-term jobs plan?
  
  
• Phillip Morris, Plain Dealer, Cleveland: All gun owners aren't created equal, nor should they be treated equally
  
  
• Aaron Morrison, loop21.com: Speaking For The Race During The Presidential Race
  
  
• Ruben Navarrette Jr., Washington Post News Media Services: Lost in the thin air
  
  
• Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Dear Mr. Commander in Chief: Rock it!
  
  
• Chika Onyeani, Black Star News: Obama Won The Debate Americans Needed To Hear
  
  
• Jeremy W. Peters, New York Times: Presidential Debate Is a Feast for the Punditry
  
  
• Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald: Todd Akin's paternalistic mindset prevails
  
  
• Rochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press: Too-polite Obama let Romney gain ground
  
  
• Eugene Robinson, Washington Post: Obama's off night gives Romney an opening
  
  
• Janell Ross, HuffPost LatinoVoices: Romney, Obama Should Not Celebrate Debate, Immigrant And Civil Rights Advocates Say
  
  
• Bob Ray Sanders, Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas: Think about cost of wars before blustering about Iran
  
  
• Judith A. Stein and Joe Baker, New America Media: Debate Exposed Gap Between Candidates' Health Plans for Ethnic Communities
  
  
• Craig Timberg, Washington Post: Web sites lose to Google, AOL in race for Obama, Romney campaign ads
  
  
• Seth Freed Wessler, ColorLines: Near Silence on Poverty in the Presidential Debate
  
  
• Juan Williams, FoxNews.com: Obama didn't lose the debate (and Romney didn't win)
  
  
• Edward Wyckoff Williams, ebony.com: Obama Debates Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Romney
  
  
• Calvin Woodward, Associated Press: FACT CHECK: Presidential debate missteps
  
  

New Brides Editor Called Right Person at Right Time

Keija Minor might have made magazine history as the new editor in chief of Brides, the first African American woman to lead one of Conde Nast's 18 consumer magazines in the 103 years of the company’s existence.

But Conde Nast was not acting because it saw a need for more diversity.

"Keija wasn’t selected because of the color of her skin, she was picked because she is the right editor for the job at the right time," said Thomas Wallace, editorial director at Condé Nast, according to Deena Campbell, writing Thursday in the New York Times. "She knows the magazine, her staff, and more importantly, she has the will to succeed."

Amy DuBois Barnett, a former managing editor of Teen People, who became the first African American woman to head a mainstream consumer magazine at Time Inc. in 2003, offered a different perspective.

"Magazines are supposed to be reflective of society at large," said Barnett, who now leads Ebony magazine. "I don't think you can have a mainstream magazine right now that doesn't address a diverse demographic." According to the Times story, "Brides currently has 5.1 million readers, and 38 percent of its audience is non-white, according to Ms. Minor."

Minor said she believes the largest challenge top editors face is the lack of mentors at the top. "There aren't a ton of women at this level, and especially black women."

McCormick Foundation Gives $6 Million for News Literacy

"Recognizing the need to help educate the next generation of news consumers, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation announced plans for a three-year, $6 million initiative, called 'Why News Matters,' to expand innovative approaches to improving news literacy, the foundation announced Thursday.

"The initial $1 million of these grants were announced today by Foundation CEO David Hiller at the City Club of Chicago. In addition, the Foundation is continuing to provide funding for initiatives supporting youth journalism, quality reporting and protection of press freedoms. The Foundation announced nearly $4 million in total journalism grants.

". . . The Journalism Program has an annual grantmaking budget of $5.5 million. The program has invested more than $106 million in journalism since its founding in 1993." Among the latest recipients is the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, awarded $35,000 for audience research and for this column.

"Let's Be Honest About the Name Change and the Damage It Has Done to UNITY's Credibility"

By Peter Ortiz, Unity representative, National Association of Hispanic Journalists

I'm sorry I can't join you for my last UNITY meeting. And I want to thank Yvonne [Latty] for reading this on my behalf. This report reflects only my opinion and experience as a UNITY board member.

Unfortunately, I don't agree that the UNITY and NLGJA partnership has worked. It doesn't mean it can't, but based on everything I've seen and experienced during this partnership, I can't endorse NLGJA becoming a permanent member of the UNITY Alliance.

My primary concern is the damage it has caused (with) the reunification effort with NABJ and the failure in not allowing our alliance members a true opportunity to participate and vote on the name change. This was too important an issue for the board to decide without serious feedback from alliance members. They should have been allowed to vote.

As UNITY board members we are caretakers of an organization that was a historic collaboration of journalists of color. But we are simply the caretakers. It was the alliance members who owned UNITY: Journalists of Color. They owned the name that embodies who we are.

Our name let the industry know that we would not apologize for proclaiming who we are, journalists of color, and that they could not ignore us. But those who owned UNITY: Journalists of Color did not have a role in deciding to keep or kill our name. Our alliance members, not this board, needed to make that decision. And now we are seeing the consequences of excluding those who helped create UNITY: Journalists of Color and the thousands more who said: "This is ours. We own this." Some claim the mission has only expanded to include NLGJA's concerns. But this rings hollow for many journalists of color who watched us wipe out the name that symbolized that mission. Some might say journalists of color are just words. UNITY: Journalists of Color are not just words.

NLGJA made it clear that they would not be part of an organization that embraced itself as journalists of color. Despite this, NLGJA joined when we were UNITY: Journalists of Color. NLGJA was embraced as an equal alliance partner when we were UNITY: Journalists of Color. NLGJA was treated with respect when we were UNITY: Journalists of Color.

But within two hours at that April board meeting, the name was gone. Leading up to that vote, NLGJA warned that its members would boycott our convention, just a few months away, if we did not remove journalists of color from our name.

Other than anecdotal accounts from the NLGJA alliance members on the UNITY board, I saw no survey or other research indicating how the NLGJA membership felt, including from the NLGJA journalists of color.

There was plenty of time for NLGJA to poll its membership before that April meeting. We would at least have had some sense of what the entire membership felt. But we do know what UNITY: Journalists of Color co-founder Will Sutton thinks.

Peter, this is plain and simple. UNITY: Journalists of Color has existed since 1994 when we agreed after a highly successful, joint national convention that we should continue to work together on diversity issues of importance to journalists of color, and to do so formally.

There was concern, and, yes, disagreement, about whether to solidify this coalition. The one thing that pulled us together was the clearly stated focus on "journalists of color."

The UNITY history says, "In 1994, they established UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. as a permanent, not-for-profit, strategic alliance of journalists of color acting as a force for positive change to advance their presence, growth and leadership in the fast-changing global news industry."

Of course, the name change wasn't what led to the split with NABJ. But let's be honest about the name change and the damage it has done to UNITY's credibility and to moving the reunification process forward.

Again, from Will Sutton:

"My suggestion to the existing UNITY board: Drop all false hope that NABJ will return to a UNITY without a focus on 'Journalists of Color.' That's not going to happen."

If you don't want to put a clear focus on "journalists of color," drop the NABJ concerns as things that no longer matter and broaden the diversity efforts to include civil rights, education, engineering, gender, science, sports and more.

The board action to drop the name was ill-advised, and it further damaged a disappointing, frustrating and totally unavoidable split with NABJ. My native organization's concerns still stand as relates to finances, focus and leadership.

These issues were not resolved, no resolution was reached and NABJ left the coalition. If NABJ even thinks about rejoining without the name including "Journalists of Color," I will advise against it. It is at the core of what the original UNITY was all about. It's at the core of what the future UNITY must be about if we want a coalition that includes NABJ.

Will Sutton is right. If we want to advocate for journalists of color, then the world needs to know we will not hide who we are because the name offends some or does not fit their ideal of what the organization represents. The convention would have been the perfect venue to hear from our members. They could have voted via online ballot. [Alliance partners] were already voting online, so this was very doable. It would have shown our members that UNITY truly belongs to them and their input counts. This was too important an issue not to make a serious effort to learn what alliance members felt. They deserved better.

But the online voting idea was shot down.

From UNITY's first president, Lloyd LaCuesta:

"I am very disappointed by the actions of the board. "Journalists of Color" was a badge of honor for many of us who came into newsrooms in the 1960's-1970's. But most of us wore that badge hidden because some may have viewed it as violating journalistic objectivity. There is no doubt in my mind that when the four associations came together in Baltimore to plant the seeds of Unity our common bond was the fact that we were racial minorities who were journalists. We wanted a larger body to speak out for what we could not do individually.

The NABJ President who I worked closely with during those formative years was the late Tom Morgan of the New York Times. Tom, early on in our friendship, confided to me that he was Gay. But he saw himself as the representative of an African American association first and foremost. We both knew that there were Gay and Lesbian members in all of our four associations. But the issues that we were championing and working for was racial equality in the journalism industry. It just made sense.

Now some may argue that the times have changed and the goals are wider. But the history is there. Unity was founded to promote racial diversity in newsrooms and to call for fair news coverage in our respective racial communities. It's the old adage from the Sixties, united we stand, divided we fall. I am proud of what we did as Journalists of Color. Whatever the future holds for Unity, history and the work of so many who came before should never be denied.

Though times have changed, UNITY's mission to promote racial and ethnic diversity in the newsroom and advocate for fair news coverage for communities of color are even more important today. We still have too few journalists of color.

And it's journalists of color who have been and still are most impacted when news organizations decide to layoff or downsize. This needs to be the primary focus of UNITY, NAHJ, NABJ, NAJA and AAJA. Without our presence in the newsrooms we won't be in a position to make real change. Watering down our name sent a message that UNITY is no longer committed to journalists of color. In rushing through a name change vote we lost some of our most important advocates for reunification — the NABJ members themselves.

Even with all the drama surrounding the split, our NABJ supporters spoke out at the Philadelphia meeting last year and insisted that the NABJ leadership start the reunification talks.

Here is how some NABJ members felt after the name change.

[Quotations from the NABJ listserve deleted]

We had strong supporters. We were far from fixing this, but there were enough NABJ members who still cared about UNITY when it was UNITY: Journalists of Color.

There is no reason for this to have happened. What if NLGJA in joining UNITY: Journalists of Color instead said how they were honored to be part of a group that embraced journalists of color as its brand? What if NLGJA said we are proud to work for the advancement of all journalists of color and to have UNITY: Journalists of Color embrace a majority white group? Imagine the powerful message that would have sent to all journalists of color. Instead, we now have NABJ and other journalists of color feeling betrayed.

At the April board meeting, I stated that NLGJA would one day have a member serving as [UNITY: Journalists of Color] president and the odds were good he would be a white man. The executive director of NLGJA responded by saying it would be a joke. I guess that says it all.

Michael Triplett, president of NLGJA, responds:

I respect Peter's commitment to UNITY's legacy and history, although I disagree with his overall view of NLGJA's role in the future of the organization and NABJ's ultimate decision on whether to rejoin the alliance. Expanding UNITY to include gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender journalists was a recognition of the reality of how diversity is viewed in newsrooms and the country. That acknowledgment doesn't have to happen while downplaying the real challenges faced by journalists of color.

NLGJA has already demonstrated that there are times that UNITY's historic voice for journalists of color should take priority and we honor that history. But there are LGBT journalists of color and there are unique issues that impact LGBT journalists and I believe UNITY is a strong enough alliance to speak on those issues also. Our founder (and a founder of the Maynard Institute) Roy Aarons believed that when he first asked to join UNITY when the alliance was created, and I believe it now.

Follow Richard Prince on Twitter @princeeditor

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On "Native American Day," Some Recall Cruelties

To many in the United States, Monday was the official observance of Columbus Day, but to others it was "Indigenous Peoples Day" or "Native American Day."

"Democracy Now!" the progressive radio and television show that airs on Pacifica Radio and elsewhere, interviewed Dennis Banks, an activist from the Ojibwe tribe who co-founded the American Indian Movement in 1968. Banks described being sent to government-supported boarding schools to strip him of his "Indianness."

". . . I was in the boarding schools when punishment was very severe if you ran away. This was during the early ’40s. I was taken to a boarding school when I was four years old, and taken away from my mother and my father, my grandparents, who I stayed with most of the time, and just abruptly taken away and then put into the boarding school, 300 miles away from our home. And, you know, the beatings began immediately, the — almost the de-Indianizing program. It was a terrible experience that the American government was experimenting with. And that was trying to destroy the culture and the person, destroy the Indian-ness in him and save the human being, save the — kill an Indian, save the man. That was, you know, the description of what this policy is about . . . "

On NPR's "Tell Me More," host Michel Martin interviewed Anton Treuer, a professor of Objiwe at Bemidji State University in Minnesota and author of "Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask."

". . . I think there's a growing awareness that Columbus didn't discover America — that the place was densely inhabited by other human beings," Treuer said.

". . . And you know, we now know as a fact of history that on Columbus' second voyage the Spanish instituted a gold dust tribute whereby those who failed to bring a certain quantity of gold dust would have their hands chopped off. And we know for a fact of history that the Spanish cut the hands off of 30,000 people that year on the island of Espanola — what's now Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

"And we know that within 30 years the two million people that the Spanish estimated to be inhabiting that island before contact were completely annihilated. And that is a textbook definition of genocide. And we have so successfully sugarcoated the history that we have obfuscated some of the most important parts of that story."

• Esther Belin, Shirena Trujillo Long and Noel Genevieve Altaha with Amy Goodman on "Democracy Now!": On Columbus Day, Indigenous Urge Celebration of Native Culture & Teaching of the Americas' Genocide
  
  
• Associated Press: South Dakota celebrates Native American Day
  
  
• Jill Callison, Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D.: Celebrating Native American Day
  
  
• Ray Cook, Indian Country Today Media Network: Decolonization Slog
  
  
• Tim Giago, indianz.com: Race relations 22 years after Year of Reconciliation
  
  
• Dana W. Hall, Indian Country Today Media Network: 'Fourteen Hundred Ninety-Two': The Columbus Poem Rewritten
  
  
• Suzan Shown Harjo, Indian Country Today Media Network: Statement of Vision Toward the Next 500 Years, Revisited
  
  
• Indian Country Today Media Network: Christopher Columbus, the Myths Behind the Man
  
  
• Indian Country Today Media Network: Columbus Day: The Cartoons
  
  
• Indian Country Today Media Network: Natives Gather in NYC's Columbus Circle for 'Indigenous Day of Remembrance' to Honor Ancestors
  
  
• Carter Meland, Indian Country Today Media Network: Indians, the Cavalry and the Tea Party
  
  
• Steven Newcomb, Indian Country Today Media Network: Living in a World of Domination
  
  
• President Obama's Columbus Day Proclamation
  
  
• Alexandra Petri, Washington Post: What's wrong with Columbus Day?
  
  
• Danny Tyree, syndicated: Columbus Day: Don't change the holiday

Polls Say Debate Produced Surge for Romney

"In the five days since Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was declared by many the winner of the first presidential debate, political watchers have waited to see if polls would shift in response to his performance. And, they did," NPR reported on Monday.

"Not only has the Gallup tracking poll tightened to a tie — 47-47 — but the Pew poll [PDF], which last month found President Obama with a strong lead among likely voters — 51-43 — has seen a huge swing. In the latest poll, Romney now leads 49-45."

In the poll from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, Obama's favorable rating among blacks went from 95 percent to 88 percent, and Romney's rose from 7 percent to 11 percent. However, the Pew summary concluded, ". . . the horse race is unchanged among black voters."

Russ Owens, a spokesman for the Pew Research Center, told Journal-isms that the Hispanic sample size was too small to be meaningful.

Meanwhile, a survey of Millennials age 18 to 25 last week from the Public Religion Research Institute showed that "Nearly half (47%) of younger Millennials oppose programs that make special efforts to help blacks and other minorities to get ahead because of past discrimination, while around 4-in-10 (38%) favor these programs.

"[Fewer] than 1-in-5 (19%) white younger Millennials favor programs designed to help blacks and other minorities get ahead because of past discrimination, while nearly two-thirds (66%) are opposed.

"By contrast, three-quarters (75%) of black younger Millennials and more six-in-ten (63%) Hispanic younger Millennials favor such programs."

In addition, ". . . Majorities of white (67%), black (54%), and Hispanic (57%) younger Millennials say that their race or gender will make no difference in their career prospects."

• Mark Blumenthal, Huffington Post: Mitt Romney Closes Gap In Presidential Polls
  
  
• Ta-Nehisi Coates blog, the Atlantic: A Limited and Self-Serving Defense of Political Punditry
  
  
• Jelani Cobb, the New Yorker: Barack X
  
  
• Mary C. Curtis, Washington Post: '‘Why didn't he fight?' Obama supporters want an answer, Mr. President
  
  
• Derek Donovan, Kansas City Star: Conservatives, don't do it like this
  
  
• Hannah Groch-Begley, Media Matters for America: Media Cite True Obama Statements To Claim "Both Candidates" Lied During Debate
  
  
• Nick Jimenez, Caller-Times, Corpus Christi, Texas: Imagine a test drive with Mitt and Barack
  
  
• Jaweed Kaleem, Huffington Post: Journalists Debate Media's Role In Religion Coverage During Presidential Election
  
  
• Gregory Kane, Washington Examiner: Obama's dog-whistle speech from 2007 (Oct. 3)
  
  
• Myriam Marquez, Miami Herald: Romney skips on way to moderation
  
  
• Ruben Navarrette Jr., CNN.com: Obama hits a foul by honoring Cesar Chavez
  
  
• Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune: Obama's second-term blahs
  
  
• Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald: Brutish goals of Jim Crow never died
  
  
• Roque Planas, HuffPost LatinoVoices: Mitt Romney Gaffes While Chasing The Latino Vote
  
  
• Jimmy Williams, theGrio.com: The art of racial 'dog whistling'
  
  
• Juan Williams, the Hill: Republicans facing longer odds in bid to gain Senate control
  
  

Punch Was Relieved by Our Discrimination Lawsuit

By Judith Cummings, former reporter, New York Times

The minority journalists lawsuit was omitted from the New York Times obit of Punch Sulzberger, and I agree with the suggestion that that was no accident.

I was the lawsuit participant who contributed the idea for the principal remedy we demanded — to require the paper to give minority reporters a chance at the major news beats — and I believe that Punch was deeply embarrassed to be sued on racial grounds.

Embarrassed because, I hasten to add, I believe that the hearts of the Arthur Sulzbergers, senior and junior, have always been in the right place where race is concerned. It was some of their appointed department heads who were the problem, along with the publisher's overdone hands-off policy toward the newsroom.

I came up with the news-beat remedy because, in the 1970s, most of us minority reporters were assigned to urban affairs or general assignment (same thing). We were typically trapped there for years, while our white contemporaries racked up crucial experience on a succession of beats. I don't think Punch realized then how bad things were. It was racial discrimination that was hard to see from the fourteenth floor.

The beat idea was a natural one for me to come up with, because the Times had hired me away from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Washington. There, as the chairman's chief speechwriter, I was well grounded in the then-new concept of affirmative action.

As soon as the lawsuit was settled and approved by a federal court, I was the first minority reporter offered a beat: transportation. I focused on the faltering New York City subway and bus systems. After many months of stories, matched week after week by the expert political maneuvering of the transit chief, Richard Ravitch, the New York state legislature stepped up with an $8 billion (in 1981 dollars) financing package to rescue the city's mass transit system, the largest in the nation. I was praised in the newsroom as having covered transportation better than any Times reporter before me. It was an immensely gratifying moment in time.

But the paper did not put my name forward for any industry prizes. To have done so, I believe, would have been to admit that there truly was racial discrimination, as we had contended in the lawsuit. I was instead promoted to the plum post of national correspondent in the Los Angeles bureau (a position that more than one Pulitzer winner coveted but could not get). What I did not receive, however, even after rising to Los Angeles bureau chief, was the same high salary as the white men who preceded me.

I personally believe that Punch was relieved and, yes, maybe even grateful that our lawsuit brought to a head an issue — the denial of minority-group voices in the presentation of the news — that would have caused an even more serious problem for the Times in the multiracial nation that America is today.

He certainly was always warm and cordial toward me. Punch would come out for visits after his daughter Karen moved to Los Angeles, and he occasionally invited me to join the family for dining out. At the dinner table, he would tease me about us both being nicknamed for comedic figures from French folklore (the puppets Punch and Judy, for the chronologically challenged), while the rest of the family cringed. Corny? Totally. Endearing? Absolutely. We have lost a great man of his times.

Judith Cummings was a Times employee for nearly a quarter-century, starting in 1971 as a reporter in the Washington bureau. She is busy traveling of late but is thinking about teaching reporting in a university or newsroom setting.

Short Takes

• The television industry "has made little progress in putting minority actors in leading roles," Neal Justin wrote Saturday for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. "While there's a steady stream of great minority character actors playing diner owners, community-college students and even physicists, they rarely get to be the star. The only returning broadcast shows with that distinction are ABC's 'Scandal,' featuring Kerry Washington, and CW's low-rated 'Nikita,' with Maggie Q."
  
  
• Immigration authorities said Monday they won't take action against Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who was arrested in Minnesota Friday for driving without a valid license, Steve Karnowski reported Monday for the Associated Press.


• "Madhulika Sikka, currently executive producer of 'Morning Edition,' public radio’s largest news program, will become executive editor" at NPR in January, NPR announced on Tuesday. "She will oversee all desks and reporters, and help set the agenda for the entire News division." ". . . Sikka has been with Morning Edition since joining NPR six years ago from ABC News’ Nightline, where she was a senior producer." She is a member of the South Asian Journalists Association.
  
  
• Ruben Keoseyan, formerly managing editor and executive editor of Los Angeles-based La Opinión, the nation's largest Spanish-language newspaper, has been named vice president of content for Telemundo Los Angeles KVEA, effective immediately, Telemundo Media announced Monday. "Keoseyan will lead KVEA's news department to solidify its competitive position in the market, ensuring the gathering and distribution of high quality news coverage across all platforms. In addition, he will be responsible for ensuring all local newscasts reflect and serve the needs and uniqueness of the Greater Los Angeles Hispanic community," the announcement said.


• CNN announced Monday the creation of CNN Films "to secure feature-length documentaries for air on CNN and CNN International, alongside theatrical distribution. The move is part of a wider strategy to acquire original non-fiction content to complement CNN's award-winning news programs; it was announced by CNN Worldwide Managing Editor Mark Whitaker." The move will not require new hiring, a CNN spokeswoman said.
  
  
• Wayne K. Brown, one of the most influential African-Americans in the radio business, lost his battle with liver cancer this past weekend," NewsOne reported on Monday. Brown, 55, was the VP/GM of Radio One's Atlanta market for eight years and spent 13 years at CBS headquarters in New York. Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications has a scholarship for minority students in Brown's name.  Charlotte Observer account
  
  
• TV One has commissioned 12 episodes for a sixth season of its docu-series "Unsung," which profiles "gifted musical talents who have played an important role in recent music history, but have not necessarily become household names," the network announced on Monday. The series returns in January with profiles of Eddie Kendricks, the Whispers, EPMD, Lou Rawls, Midnight Star and Isaac Hayes, among others.
  
  
• Sharon Reed has joined KMOV-TV in St. Louis, the station announced Friday. She is to co-anchor the 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts. "Reed comes to St. Louis from WOIO-TV in Cleveland, Ohio where she anchored the 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts." In 2003, Reed posed nude for artist Spencer Tunick, which WOIO News Director Steve Doerr said then earned the highest ratings in station history. In 2006, Reed's friendship with R&B singer Gerald Levert led to WOIO being first on the air with the news of the death.
  
  
• "We were thrilled a few weeks ago when Condé Nast announced the hire of its first-ever African American editor-in-chief, Keija Minor at Brides, and now comes news that Elaine Welteroth has been tapped as the new Beauty and Health Director at Teen Vogue," Julee Wilson reported Friday for Huffington Post.
  
  
• "Documentary filmmakers are fighting a subpoena that would require them to hand over outtakes and notes, claiming that they are protected under New York's shield law," Lilly Chapa reported Friday for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. "New York City lawyers are requesting the materials from Ken Burns' documentary, 'The Central Park Five,' to aid in the defense of a nine-year-old lawsuit against the city. The city's lawyers claim in a subpoena that the filmmakers are not protected under New York's shield law because they are acting as advocates, not journalists."
  
  
• State-owned China Central Television has put 100 journalists to work in Washington, D.C., this year, Elizabeth Dwoskin reported Thursday for Bloomberg Businessweek. A few dozen send dispatches in Mandarin to 42 channels back home, "while 60 others produce business and news-magazine shows for a new English-language channel. Dubbed CCTV America, it airs on cable and satellite and is meant to burnish China's image in the U.S."
  
  
• "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez pledged to deepen his socialist revolution after a comfortable election victory that could extend his divisive leadership of the OPEC nation to two decades," Todd Benson and Helen Murphy reported Monday for Reuters. The Committee to Protect Journalists reminded readers of its Aug. 29 special report by Monica Campbell. CPJ said then, "The Chávez administration has used an array of legislation, threats, and regulatory measures to gradually break down Venezuela's independent press while building up a state media empire — a complete reversal of the previous landscape. One result: Vital issues are going uncovered in an election year."
  
  
• "Ethiopian authorities should halt their harassment of journalists covering the country's Muslim community and their intimidation of citizens who have tried to speak to reporters about sensitive religious, ethnic, and political issues," the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

A Boycott Threat Over "Journalists of Color"

October 8, 2012

Proposed Membership Votes Were Nixed as "Distraction"

On "Native American Day," Some Recall Cruelties

Polls Say Debate Produced Surge for Romney

Punch Was Relieved by Our Discrimination Lawsuit

Short Takes

Unity Board minutes, April 15, Las Vegas: "She Said [That] to NLGJA Members, the Name Is Like the Colored Drinking Fountain."

Doris Truong: Partnership With NLGJA Has Been Wonderful

NAJA President: NLGJA Felt Truly "Included"

Proposed Membership Votes Were Nixed as "Distraction"

Newly approved minutes from the Unity Journalists coalition show that leaders of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association raised the possibility that their members would boycott the August Unity convention if the words "Journalists of Color" were not dropped from the coalition's name, and rebuffed efforts by others to allow their associations' members to vote on the name change.

"After a year of NLGJA partnering with UNITY, the board reaffirmed its commitment to having NLGJA join the UNITY alliance by not exercising its 'opt-out' right [PDF]. NLGJA's board had also elected not to exercise its opt-out right."

According to the April minutes, Michael R. Triplett, who was later elected NLGJA president, said at that April 15-16 meeting that "if association members vote at the convention, it will become a distraction. If we're trying to attract the presidential candidates, he asked whether we really want to distract and create turmoil?

". . . TRIPLETT said he thought a name-change vote was going to be a public relations disaster and that it was possible that NLGJA members would boycott the convention. He said gay and lesbian people are the only ones who constantly have their rights put to a vote. . . ."

Michael Tune, executive director of NLGJA, "said that he once lived in Nebraska where his marriage wasn't recognized. He said a marriage license is just a piece of paper, but not reflecting us in the name is still a 'slap in our face.' "

On the other side of the issue, the minutes say that Tom Arviso Jr. of the Native American Journalists Association, now the Unity president-elect, "said that this is a really important name change. He said the name has a legacy and it's about respecting the work that has been done. He advised the board not to rush the vote. He recommended that board members go back to their associations, discuss it, and ask them if they want to change the name."

Arviso said by email Monday that the task force that was announced over the weekend to revisit the name change would also seek views from members of the National Association of Black Journalists, which left the coalition last year over financial and governance issues.

The minutes show that the ill-fated, little-known decision to close the board meetings to the public and to members of the associations, made public only on Friday, was championed by Michele Salcedo, then the president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Salcedo would rule during the Aug. 1-4 Unity convention in Las Vegas that a student journalist could not tweet from NAHJ board meetings. Her NAHJ board asked a reporter for the student convention news operation to stop reporting its board meeting and leave the room.

The minutes from the April Unity board meeting, also held in Las Vegas, say "SALCEDO said she favored a more restrictive policy" on allowing non-board members at meetings, "which she thought reflected better business practice."

Salcedo told NAHJ members that the board was justified in banning reporters from tweeting from its meeting because "we're not a government entity" and "we're not required to be open to the public."

The motion to close the Unity board meetings was made by David A. Steinberg, then president of NLGJA, and seconded by Salcedo. Steinberg told Journal-isms he made the motion in his capacity as chair of the Unity Governance Committee and presented the board with options to close and to open the meetings.

". . . the Governance Committee offered two options to the board if it was the wish of the board to close meetings," Steinberg told Journal-isms by email. "The board discussed the idea and had a clear preference, so in response I moved — as Governance chair — to adopt the option that board members preferred, and the motion was unanimously adopted."

Other board members have said they don't remember the vote or the discussion, as it came at the end of a two-day session highlighted by a draining back-and-forth on changing the Unity name.

The two actions, changing the Unity name and closing the board meetings, generated blowback after they became known.

The motion to change "Unity: Journalists of Color" to "Unity Journalists," made by Sharon Chan, immediate past national president of the Asian American Journalists Association, and seconded by Salcedo, passed, 11 to 4 with one abstention.

As a result, opposition to rejoining Unity hardened within NABJ, which in turn won support for its view even from some members of the groups that remained in Unity. The two men credited with the idea for Unity, Will Sutton of NABJ and Juan Gonzalez of NAHJ, said separately that they disapproved of the name change. "UNITY has lost its way," Gonzalez wrote.

NLGJA brought 115 people to the convention, according to Unity board members, compared with the 2,386 registrants that NABJ attracted to its own, separate conference in New Orleans. Unity registered 2,385 people, compared with 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. No presidential candidates appeared at the Las Vegas gathering. Then-candidate Barack Obama had been in Chicago.

At Unity's board meeting this past weekend at Gannett headquarters in McLean, Va., leaders announced a reexamination of the name change and voted to reverse the decision to close the meetings.

Salcedo's NAHJ term ended in August and Hugo Balta, her successor at both NAHJ and Unity, said he favored open board meetings in both organizations. During the Unity convention, the new NAHJ board repealed the previous board's no-tweeting policy, 6-5.

Asked about the Unity name change, Arviso said by email, "I made the motion to establish a task force made up of board members to evaluate the name 'UNITY Journalists' and determine whether that is a name that truly reflects the diverse membership of UNITY, and in line with our Mission Statement.

"I feel it is absolutely important that we as board members, hear what our [memberships] have to say about the current name. Is it truly reflective of who we are as an alliance, or is there another name that could be used? If so, then what other names . . .

"The task force will be charged with coming up with a strategy to gather information from our alliance members to determine the status of the current name, and/or if another name change is needed. The current four alliance partners of UNITY will need to work together in order to disseminate the information to all of its members so that we hear their voice.

"It is also important and vital that the task force seek and receive input and comments from the membership of NABJ on this subject. We are all part of UNITY — past, present and future — and we need to hear each others' voices and make a decision on our UNITY name. Again, I view this as a fair and positive action by the current UNITY Board to include our members on such an important issue."

Arviso, publisher of the Navajo Times in Window Rock, Ariz., said of the decision to reopen Unity board meetings, "As a journalist, I know how frustrating it can be to be kept out of meetings that should be open, especially if you are part of the constituency and the meeting is of importance and value.

"I feel that the UNITY Board needs to be more transparent and open to our membership about information and policies that concern and affect them. . .  . We also plan to share more information about the board meetings in a more timely manner on the UNITY website and through our own individual association websites. I view this as fair, positive change."

Excerpts of the Unity minutes from April are at the end of this column.

On "Native American Day," Some Recall Cruelties

To many in the United States, Monday was the official observance of Columbus Day, but to others it was "Indigenous Peoples Day" or "Native American Day."

"Democracy Now!" the progressive radio and television show that airs on Pacifica Radio and elsewhere, interviewed Dennis Banks, an activist from the Ojibwe tribe who co-founded the American Indian Movement in 1968. Banks described being sent to government-supported boarding schools to strip him of his "Indianness."

". . . I was in the boarding schools when punishment was very severe if you ran away. This was during the early ’40s. I was taken to a boarding school when I was four years old, and taken away from my mother and my father, my grandparents, who I stayed with most of the time, and just abruptly taken away and then put into the boarding school, 300 miles away from our home. And, you know, the beatings began immediately, the — almost the de-Indianizing program. It was a terrible experience that the American government was experimenting with. And that was trying to destroy the culture and the person, destroy the Indian-ness in him and save the human being, save the — kill an Indian, save the man. That was, you know, the description of what this policy is about . . . "

On NPR's "Tell Me More," host Michel Martin interviewed Anton Treuer, a professor of Objiwe at Bemidji State University in Minnesota and author of "Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask."

". . . I think there's a growing awareness that Columbus didn't discover America — that the place was densely inhabited by other human beings," Treuer said.

". . . And you know, we now know as a fact of history that on Columbus' second voyage the Spanish instituted a gold dust tribute whereby those who failed to bring a certain quantity of gold dust would have their hands chopped off. And we know for a fact of history that the Spanish cut the hands off of 30,000 people that year on the island of Espanola — what's now Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

"And we know that within 30 years the two million people that the Spanish estimated to be inhabiting that island before contact were completely annihilated. And that is a textbook definition of genocide. And we have so successfully sugarcoated the history that we have obfuscated some of the most important parts of that story."

• Esther Belin, Shirena Trujillo Long and Noel Genevieve Altaha with Amy Goodman on "Democracy Now!": On Columbus Day, Indigenous Urge Celebration of Native Culture & Teaching of the Americas' Genocide
  
  
• Associated Press: South Dakota celebrates Native American Day
  
  
• Jill Callison, Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D.: Celebrating Native American Day
  
  
• Ray Cook, Indian Country Today Media Network: Decolonization Slog
  
  
• Tim Giago, indianz.com: Race relations 22 years after Year of Reconciliation
  
  
• Dana W. Hall, Indian Country Today Media Network: 'Fourteen Hundred Ninety-Two': The Columbus Poem Rewritten
  
  
• Suzan Shown Harjo, Indian Country Today Media Network: Statement of Vision Toward the Next 500 Years, Revisited
  
  
• Indian Country Today Media Network: Christopher Columbus, the Myths Behind the Man
  
  
• Indian Country Today Media Network: Columbus Day: The Cartoons
  
  
• Indian Country Today Media Network: Natives Gather in NYC's Columbus Circle for 'Indigenous Day of Remembrance' to Honor Ancestors
  
  
• Carter Meland, Indian Country Today Media Network: Indians, the Cavalry and the Tea Party
  
  
• Steven Newcomb, Indian Country Today Media Network: Living in a World of Domination
  
  
• President Obama's Columbus Day Proclamation
  
  
• Alexandra Petri, Washington Post: What's wrong with Columbus Day?
  
  
• Danny Tyree, syndicated: Columbus Day: Don't change the holiday

Polls Say Debate Produced Surge for Romney

"In the five days since Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was declared by many the winner of the first presidential debate, political watchers have waited to see if polls would shift in response to his performance. And, they did," NPR reported on Monday.

"Not only has the Gallup tracking poll tightened to a tie — 47-47 — but the Pew poll [PDF], which last month found President Obama with a strong lead among likely voters — 51-43 — has seen a huge swing. In the latest poll, Romney now leads 49-45."

In the poll from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, Obama's favorable rating among blacks went from 95 percent to 88 percent, and Romney's rose from 7 percent to 11 percent. However, the Pew summary concluded, ". . . the horse race is unchanged among black voters."

Russ Owens, a spokesman for the Pew Research Center, told Journal-isms that the Hispanic sample size was too small to be meaningful.

Meanwhile, a survey of Millennials age 18 to 25 last week from the Public Religion Research Institute showed that "Nearly half (47%) of younger Millennials oppose programs that make special efforts to help blacks and other minorities to get ahead because of past discrimination, while around 4-in-10 (38%) favor these programs.

"[Fewer] than 1-in-5 (19%) white younger Millennials favor programs designed to help blacks and other minorities get ahead because of past discrimination, while nearly two-thirds (66%) are opposed.

"By contrast, three-quarters (75%) of black younger Millennials and more six-in-ten (63%) Hispanic younger Millennials favor such programs."

In addition, ". . . Majorities of white (67%), black (54%), and Hispanic (57%) younger Millennials say that their race or gender will make no difference in their career prospects."

• Mark Blumenthal, Huffington Post: Mitt Romney Closes Gap In Presidential Polls
  
  
• Ta-Nehisi Coates blog, the Atlantic: A Limited and Self-Serving Defense of Political Punditry
  
  
• Jelani Cobb, the New Yorker: Barack X
  
  
• Mary C. Curtis, Washington Post: '‘Why didn't he fight?' Obama supporters want an answer, Mr. President
  
  
• Derek Donovan, Kansas City Star: Conservatives, don't do it like this
  
  
• Hannah Groch-Begley, Media Matters for America: Media Cite True Obama Statements To Claim "Both Candidates" Lied During Debate
  
  
• Nick Jimenez, Caller-Times, Corpus Christi, Texas: Imagine a test drive with Mitt and Barack
  
  
• Jaweed Kaleem, Huffington Post: Journalists Debate Media's Role In Religion Coverage During Presidential Election
  
  
• Gregory Kane, Washington Examiner: Obama's dog-whistle speech from 2007 (Oct. 3)
  
  
• Myriam Marquez, Miami Herald: Romney skips on way to moderation
  
  
• Ruben Navarrette Jr., CNN.com: Obama hits a foul by honoring Cesar Chavez
  
  
• Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune: Obama's second-term blahs
  
  
• Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald: Brutish goals of Jim Crow never died
  
  
• Roque Planas, HuffPost LatinoVoices: Mitt Romney Gaffes While Chasing The Latino Vote
  
  
• Jimmy Williams, theGrio.com: The art of racial 'dog whistling'
  
  
• Juan Williams, the Hill: Republicans facing longer odds in bid to gain Senate control
  
  

Punch Was Relieved by Our Discrimination Lawsuit

By Judith Cummings, former reporter, New York Times

The minority journalists lawsuit was omitted from the New York Times obit of Punch Sulzberger, and I agree with the suggestion that that was no accident.

I was the lawsuit participant who contributed the idea for the principal remedy we demanded — to require the paper to give minority reporters a chance at the major news beats — and I believe that Punch was deeply embarrassed to be sued on racial grounds.

Embarrassed because, I hasten to add, I believe that the hearts of the Arthur Sulzbergers, senior and junior, have always been in the right place where race is concerned. It was some of their appointed department heads who were the problem, along with the publisher's overdone hands-off policy toward the newsroom.

I came up with the news-beat remedy because, in the 1970s, most of us minority reporters were assigned to urban affairs or general assignment (same thing). We were typically trapped there for years, while our white contemporaries racked up crucial experience on a succession of beats. I don't think Punch realized then how bad things were. It was racial discrimination that was hard to see from the fourteenth floor.

The beat idea was a natural one for me to come up with, because the Times had hired me away from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Washington. There, as the chairman's chief speechwriter, I was well grounded in the then-new concept of affirmative action.

As soon as the lawsuit was settled and approved by a federal court, I was the first minority reporter offered a beat: transportation. I focused on the faltering New York City subway and bus systems. After many months of stories, matched week after week by the expert political maneuvering of the transit chief, Richard Ravitch, the New York state legislature stepped up with an $8 billion (in 1981 dollars) financing package to rescue the city's mass transit system, the largest in the nation. I was praised in the newsroom as having covered transportation better than any Times reporter before me. It was an immensely gratifying moment in time.

But the paper did not put my name forward for any industry prizes. To have done so, I believe, would have been to admit that there truly was racial discrimination, as we had contended in the lawsuit. I was instead promoted to the plum post of national correspondent in the Los Angeles bureau (a position that more than one Pulitzer winner coveted but could not get). What I did not receive, however, even after rising to Los Angeles bureau chief, was the same high salary as the white men who preceded me.

I personally believe that Punch was relieved and, yes, maybe even grateful that our lawsuit brought to a head an issue — the denial of minority-group voices in the presentation of the news — that would have caused an even more serious problem for the Times in the multiracial nation that America is today.

He certainly was always warm and cordial toward me. Punch would come out for visits after his daughter Karen moved to Los Angeles, and he occasionally invited me to join the family for dining out. At the dinner table, he would tease me about us both being nicknamed for comedic figures from French folklore (the puppets Punch and Judy, for the chronologically challenged), while the rest of the family cringed. Corny? Totally. Endearing? Absolutely. We have lost a great man of his times.

Judith Cummings was a Times employee for nearly a quarter-century, starting in 1971 as a reporter in the Washington bureau. She is busy traveling of late but is thinking about teaching reporting in a university or newsroom setting.

Short Takes

• The television industry "has made little progress in putting minority actors in leading roles," Neal Justin wrote Saturday for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. "While there's a steady stream of great minority character actors playing diner owners, community-college students and even physicists, they rarely get to be the star. The only returning broadcast shows with that distinction are ABC's 'Scandal,' featuring Kerry Washington, and CW's low-rated 'Nikita,' with Maggie Q."
  
  
• Immigration authorities said Monday they won't take action against Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who was arrested in Minnesota Friday for driving without a valid license, Steve Karnowski reported Monday for the Associated Press.


• "Madhulika Sikka, currently executive producer of 'Morning Edition,' public radio’s largest news program, will become executive editor" at NPR in January, NPR announced on Tuesday. "She will oversee all desks and reporters, and help set the agenda for the entire News division." ". . . Sikka has been with Morning Edition since joining NPR six years ago from ABC News’ Nightline, where she was a senior producer." She is a member of the South Asian Journalists Association.
  
  
• Ruben Keoseyan, formerly managing editor and executive editor of Los Angeles-based La Opinión, the nation's largest Spanish-language newspaper, has been named vice president of content for Telemundo Los Angeles KVEA, effective immediately, Telemundo Media announced Monday. "Keoseyan will lead KVEA's news department to solidify its competitive position in the market, ensuring the gathering and distribution of high quality news coverage across all platforms. In addition, he will be responsible for ensuring all local newscasts reflect and serve the needs and uniqueness of the Greater Los Angeles Hispanic community," the announcement said.


• CNN announced Monday the creation of CNN Films "to secure feature-length documentaries for air on CNN and CNN International, alongside theatrical distribution. The move is part of a wider strategy to acquire original non-fiction content to complement CNN's award-winning news programs; it was announced by CNN Worldwide Managing Editor Mark Whitaker." The move will not require new hiring, a CNN spokeswoman said.
  
  
• Wayne K. Brown, one of the most influential African-Americans in the radio business, lost his battle with liver cancer this past weekend," NewsOne reported on Monday. Brown, 55, was the VP/GM of Radio One's Atlanta market for eight years and spent 13 years at CBS headquarters in New York. Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications has a scholarship for minority students in Brown's name.  Charlotte Observer account
  
  
• TV One has commissioned 12 episodes for a sixth season of its docu-series "Unsung," which profiles "gifted musical talents who have played an important role in recent music history, but have not necessarily become household names," the network announced on Monday. The series returns in January with profiles of Eddie Kendricks, the Whispers, EPMD, Lou Rawls, Midnight Star and Isaac Hayes, among others.
  
  
• Sharon Reed has joined KMOV-TV in St. Louis, the station announced Friday. She is to co-anchor the 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts. "Reed comes to St. Louis from WOIO-TV in Cleveland, Ohio where she anchored the 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts." In 2003, Reed posed nude for artist Spencer Tunick, which WOIO News Director Steve Doerr said then earned the highest ratings in station history. In 2006, Reed's friendship with R&B singer Gerald Levert led to WOIO being first on the air with the news of the death.
  
  
• "We were thrilled a few weeks ago when Condé Nast announced the hire of its first-ever African American editor-in-chief, Keija Minor at Brides, and now comes news that Elaine Welteroth has been tapped as the new Beauty and Health Director at Teen Vogue," Julee Wilson reported Friday for Huffington Post.
  
  
• "Documentary filmmakers are fighting a subpoena that would require them to hand over outtakes and notes, claiming that they are protected under New York's shield law," Lilly Chapa reported Friday for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. "New York City lawyers are requesting the materials from Ken Burns' documentary, 'The Central Park Five,' to aid in the defense of a nine-year-old lawsuit against the city. The city's lawyers claim in a subpoena that the filmmakers are not protected under New York's shield law because they are acting as advocates, not journalists."
  
  
• State-owned China Central Television has put 100 journalists to work in Washington, D.C., this year, Elizabeth Dwoskin reported Thursday for Bloomberg Businessweek. A few dozen send dispatches in Mandarin to 42 channels back home, "while 60 others produce business and news-magazine shows for a new English-language channel. Dubbed CCTV America, it airs on cable and satellite and is meant to burnish China's image in the U.S."
  
  
• "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez pledged to deepen his socialist revolution after a comfortable election victory that could extend his divisive leadership of the OPEC nation to two decades," Todd Benson and Helen Murphy reported Monday for Reuters. The Committee to Protect Journalists reminded readers of its Aug. 29 special report by Monica Campbell. CPJ said then, "The Chávez administration has used an array of legislation, threats, and regulatory measures to gradually break down Venezuela's independent press while building up a state media empire — a complete reversal of the previous landscape. One result: Vital issues are going uncovered in an election year."
  
  
• "Ethiopian authorities should halt their harassment of journalists covering the country's Muslim community and their intimidation of citizens who have tried to speak to reporters about sensitive religious, ethnic, and political issues," the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

Huffington Post Lets Go Its 4 General Managers

The Huffington Post has let go its four general managers, including Derek J. Murphy, who supervised multicultural initiatives, a spokesman told Journal-isms Wednesday.

Separately, Miguel Ferrer, managing editor of the company's BlackVoices, LatinoVoices (English-language) and Voces (Spanish-language) sites, has left for a new joint venture of ABC News and Univision, those organizations announced.

"I'm exploring new opportunities," Murphy told Journal-isms by email.

When Murphy was named general manager for multicultural in 2011, a news release said, ". . . Derek Murphy will drive the overall strategy and operational performance for AOL Latino, BlackVoices and AOL's other multicultural offerings. Murphy had been COO of Global Media Ventures, which he formed with [Sheila C.] Johnson," co-founder of Black Entertainment Television. "He was previously Senior Vice President, Business Development of The Huffington Post. Prior to that, he was at CNN, where he oversaw integrated media partnerships with a broad range of companies, including Google and Amazon." Murphy has an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

"The GM responsibilities are being handled by expanded sales and marketing teams who can work on initiatives across the site rather than being siloed in interest areas," the Huffington spokesman told Journal-isms. "Our staff numbers have continued to grow, and this reorganization was done for business optimization purposes, not budgetary reasons. It's not our practice to publicly release the names of employees who have been let go.

"Regarding Miguel's departure, we have great teams in place and our national editor is working with them and with Miguel on succession plans. . . . We'll miss him but we understand that this is a tremendous opportunity for him and we wish him well." Kate Palmer is national editor.

ABC News and Univision News announced Ferrer's appointment Wednesday as they disclosed that their joint venture news and lifestyle network for U.S. Hispanics will be based in Miami.

Ferrer "will be the first Executive Producer, Digital for the new company. He will oversee all digital properties and work closely with the ad sales, distribution and editorial teams," the announcement said.

". . . The currently unnamed television network is expected to launch in 2013. Editorial coverage will focus on the issues most relevant for U.S. Hispanics, including the economy, entertainment, music, food, immigration, education, politics, health and wellness and more.

"The landmark joint venture capitalizes on Univision's news leadership and expertise in reaching U.S. Hispanics and ABC's global news leadership to serve more than 52 million Hispanics, the youngest and fastest-growing demographic in the country. . . ."

In February, Ferrer, then managing editor of HuffPost LatinoVoices, also became managing editor of HuffPost BlackVoices.

Ferrer had previously been director of programming for AOL Latino, where he was responsible for growing AOL Latino's audience and developing key media partnerships. Before AOL Latino, Ferrer was business development manager for People en Español.

• Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald: Univision and ABC will build network in Miami

Obama Tells Joyner He Was "Too Polite" in Debate

On the eve of Thursday's vice presidential candidates debate between incumbent Joseph R. Biden Jr., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., President Obama said on the syndicated Tom Joyner radio show that he had been "just too polite [audio and transcript]" last week in his debate with an aggressive Mitt Romney, the Republican standard-bearer and former governor of Massachusetts.

In Britain's Daily Mail, columnist Tony Harnden suggested that something else was afoot. He cited an unnamed Democrat who is "aligned with the Obama campaign" and "an unofficial adviser on occasions," in writing Tuesday that "what nobody knew, until now, was that Obama believed he had actually won.

"In an extraordinary insight into the events leading up to the 90 minute showdown which changed the face of the election, a Democrat close to the Obama campaign today reveals that the President also did not take his debate preparation seriously, ignored the advice of senior aides and ignored one-liners that had been prepared to wound Romney."

Meanwhile, "With multiple networks carrying the same programming tomorrow night the one and only Vice Presidential debate — CNN has decided to feature real-time feedback from a focus group in Virginia, and a running time clock that tracks each candidate's speaking time which will be added up to determine the time spent on the issues," Chris Ariens reported Wednesday for TVNewser.

Joyner said to Obama, who called into "the Tom Joyner Morning Show," "I only have two questions for you. One, what happened at the debate? Everybody wants to know. Or was that some kind of genius strategy to [rope-a-dope] him in and then fact check him at the end? Or, and the other question is for all of my, my black friends who say that the President's not doing nothing, not doing anything for the black community, talk to them."

Obama replied, "Well, two things. I mean, you know, the debate, I think it's fair to say I was just too polite, because, you know, it's hard to sometimes just keep on saying . . . 'what you're saying isn't true.' It gets repetitive. But, you know, the good news is, is that's just the first one. Governor Romney put forward a whole bunch of stuff that either involved him running away from positions that he had taken, or doubling down on things like Medicare vouchers that are going to hurt him long-term.

". . . And, you know, I think it's fair to say that we will see a little more activity at the next one. . . ."

The interview was widely reported by news organizations Wednesday.

• Laura Bassett, Huffington Post: Michelle Obama Rejects Criticism Of Husband's Debate Performance
  
  
• Dylan Byers, Politico: NBC News President: Candidates 'lazy'
  
  
• Rob Capriccioso, Indian Country Today Media Network: Mitt Romney Answers Questions From Indian Country Today Media Network in Exclusive Exchange
  
  
• Daily Caller: ABC News scrambles to downplay Obama's attendance at VP debate moderator's wedding 
  
  
• David Carr, New York Times: After Week of Big Political News, the Big Loser? Liberal Bias
  
  
• Michael H. Cottman, BlackAmericaWeb.com: Obama's Next Debate, No More Mr. Nice Guy
  
  
• EURWeb.com: Roland Martin and Jeff Johnson to Discuss the Debates Just for You
  
  
• Elise Foley, HuffPost LatinoVoices: Colorado Latinos Still An Uphill Climb For Mitt Romney
  
  
• Amy Goldstein, ProPublica: Rare Agreement: Obama, Romney, Ryan All Endorse Retraining for Jobless — But Are They Right?
  
  
• Annette John-Hall, Philadelphia Inquirer: Stacey Dash's Romney Problem
  
  
• Merrill Knox, TVNewser: NBC News Sets Vice Presidential Debate Plans
  
  
• Latina Lista blog: Just how much influence does Michelle Obama wield over Latina voters?
  
  
• Trudy Lieberman, Columbia Journalism Review: The debate: Some healthcare 'facts' that shouldn’t stand
  
  
• Lamont Lilly, Latina Lista blog: Guest Voz: Anti-Latino Laws Ignite The South
  
  
• David A. Love, theGrio.com: Is the media responsible for Romney's rise?
  
  
• Julie Moos, Poynter Institute: Ifill: 'Can we stop already with attacking the moderators?'
  
  
• Jeremy W. Peters, New York Times: Networks Like Split-Screens in Debates, Even if the Candidates Don’t
  
  
• Pew Research Center for the People & the Press: Biden Viewed Unfavorably, Divided Opinions about Ryan: No Clear Winner Expected in VP Debate
  
  
• Lawrence Pintak, Columbia Journalism Review: Ask Romney This: What will you do about the Middle East?
  
  
• Mark Trahant, Indian Country Today Media Network: Elections 2012: Four Weeks to Go and a Nation Divided
  
  
• Alex Weprin, TVNewser: Fox News Channel Sets VP Debate Plans

Michigan, UCLA Law Schools Not "Best" for Blacks

Washington-based lawyer Yolanda Young, a USA Today contributor and founder of onbeingablacklawyer.com, says "The Black Student's Guide To Law Schools" will be posted on her site on Oct. 17.

"While Harvard, Howard, and Georgetown law schools top the list, it excludes Michigan and UCLA, schools whose black student populations plummeted when their states disallowed the inclusion of race in admissions decisions," she told Journal-isms by email. "Depending on how the U.S. Supreme Court decides the affirmative action case, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, black enrollment at these institutions may drop even lower."

As Mark Sherman reported for the Associated Press, "Supreme Court justices sharply questioned the University of Texas' use of race in college admissions Wednesday in a case that could lead to new limits on affirmative action.

"The court heard arguments in a challenge to the program from a white Texan who contends she was discriminated against when the university did not offer her a spot in 2008."

"The court's conservatives cast doubt on the program that uses race as one among many factors in admitting about a quarter of the university's incoming freshmen. The liberal justices appeared more supportive of the effort."

The battle over affirmative action also extends to language. A USA Today website headline read "Supreme Court weighs quotas in affirmative action case" even though the story by Richard Wolf and Mary Beth Marklein specifically quotes Solicitor General Donald Verrilli saying "There's no quota." The story also repeats the term "racial preferences," a pejorative not used by the University of Texas or the U.S. government to describe the program.

• Wendy Kopp, HuffPost BlackVoices: Diversity and Merit in College Admissions: A False Dichotomy
  
  
• Latina Lista blog: Does affirmative action matter anymore on college campuses? New data says 'yes' 
  
  
• Jamilah Lemieux, ebony.com: Affirmative Action vs. White Privilege
  
  
• Mac McCann, HuffPost LatinoVoices: Believing in Equality
  
  
• Jennifer Polland, businessinsidercom: The 50 Best Law Schools in America
  
  
• Justin Pope, Associated Press: Study: Race neutral admissions can work (Oct. 3)
  
  
• Remington Shepard, Media Matters for America: CNN Turns To Conservative Activist To Push Affirmative Action Myth
  
  
• Yolanda Young, onbeingablacklawyer.com: WaPo Article on Amici Fails To Consider The Source

Riza Cruz Named Executive Editor at Marie Claire

Riza Cruz, a senior editor at Vogue magazine since 2006, is joining Marie Claire as executive editor on Oct. 29, Marie Claire Editor-in-Chief Anne Fulenwider announced on Wednesday.

"In her new role, she will assign and edit cover stories, top-edit all articles and sections in the magazine, and manage the magazine's features editors and writers," a news release said.

"At Vogue, she edited cover stories, fashion features, personal essays, and the fashion and social sections, and edited writers including André Leon Talley, Hamish Bowles, Sarah Mower, Lynn Yaeger, Robert Sullivan, and Plum Sykes.

"From 2004 to 2006, Cruz was features editor at Real Simple, where she assigned and edited personal essays from writers including Jonathan Safran Foer, Elizabeth Gilbert, Jane Smiley, and Susan Choi, among others, in addition to editing human interest and personal finance stories. Earlier in her career, she also held editor positions at Inc., Business 2.0 and Vanity Fair.

"I'm thrilled to welcome Riza to Marie Claire," Fulenwider said in the release. "She's an extraordinary talent and a great editor. We worked together at Vanity Fair and I'm looking forward to collaborating again."

Cruz is Filipina-American. Late last month, Keija Minor was named editor-in-chief of Brides, making her the first person of color to hold the title at a Condé Nast Publications magazine.

Nicholas Lemann to Step Down at Columbia J-School

"The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is about to choose its first new leader in a decade, after Dean Nicholas Lemann announced his impending departure from the post at the end of this academic year," Jeff Sonderman wrote Wednesday for the Poynter Institute.

"University President Lee Bollinger will take the 'unusual' step of personally leading the search committee for a new dean, The New York Times reports.

A news release said, "During Lemann's time as dean, the school has brought in 20 new members to its full-time faculty, started the school's first new professional degree program since the 1930’s [PDF] — the M.A. degree, which stresses subject-matter expertise — and launched new centers for investigative reporting and digital journalism. The school also started the Punch Sulzberger News Media Executive Leadership program in 2007, the only executive leadership program for news managers based at a journalism school, along with several other major programs to train working journalists."

Howard W. French, an associate professor and former New York Times correspondent, said of Lemann by email, "I know from having engaged with him intensely on the issue that strengthening diversity has been an important goal for Nick throughout his tenure here. He has pushed to find ways to bring us to consider diversity in virtually everything we do here, but a tremendous amount of work remains to be done, especially in hiring of faculty. The hope is that the new dean will bring just as strong a commitment."

June Cross, another associate professor of color, said by email, "A lot of my colleagues have commented that these will be big shoes to fill. Nick's designed a blueprint and laid a foundation that will take the school into the 21st century. His philosophy has been to plant a thousand seeds and see where they will grow. The reality is that the business is changing so fast that no one can know. He set a tone for civil discourse at the school that I hope we can retain through the transition ahead."

Sree Sreenivasan, the school's former dean of student affairs, recently named the university's chief digital officer, told Sonderman, "Nick has been a terrific dean and will leave a permanent stamp on the school — not just through the many infrastructure improvements he brought, but also through the talented new faculty and changes to the curricula he initiated and led."

Wayne J. Dawkins, who teaches at Hampton University and edits the Columbia J-school Black Alumni Network newsletter, said by email, ". . . the legacy accomplishments I associate with Lemann [include] making our alumni association truly global and not Manhattan-centric as it was for decades before the changes in the 21st century. . . .

"Second, under Lemann's watch the BA Network and the school endowed a BA Network/Phyllis T. Garland scholarship that provides $5,000 in financial aid to needy students. At least five awards were made, then the scholarship was suspended in order to properly endow the scholarship. . . . We do anticipate an award this fall. . . . Lemann is soft spoken and self-effacing. . . . Personally, I'm grateful for Lemann's generosity and advice."

Cyndi Stivers, editor-in-chief of Columbia Journalism Review, the face of the school to many outside the campus, said by telephone Thursday that Lemann defers to Chairman Victor Navasky on matters of policy. An African American is about to start on the business side, she said, and Sang Ngo, who is Asian American, is an associate editor. There are nine full-time people. Diversity "is not as good as it ought to be . . . The whole [magazine] industry does not reflect the nation," she said. However, "we welcome pitches all over the place." Journalist Farai Chideya will be writing for CJR, though not as a staffer, Stivers said. Stivers was hired by Lemann.

"Following a one-year sabbatical, Lemann plans to return to the faculty at the Journalism School, and will continue his work as an author and a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine," the university said.

"An Interview Should Be Like . . . a Weapon"

Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, who recently confronted President Obama over his failure to achieve immigration reform in his first year, says that he is "completely convinced that the most important social role of us journalists is to confront those who are in power."

Ramos appeared Friday with fellow Univision anchor Maria Elena Salinas on Bill Moyers' public television show "Moyers & Company."

Salinas pointed to the Spanish-language network's upcoming collaboration with ABC when asked what was next for the team, who have been together for 25 years.

"I think that making that transition into English language, and being able to reach all audiences," Salinas said. "And what I mean is, not only Hispanics that speak English but all audiences. To understand who we are, I think, to elevate the position of Latinos in this country, and the role of Latinos in this society is something that we sort of take on as a mission."

Ramos said he became a journalist because he admired the late Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, who became famous because, as Moyers said, "she could ask questions in a ferocious way."

Ramos said, ". . . She used to say that the interview should be like an arm, like a weapon and that in an interview an interview is a war between the interviewee and the interviewer.

"Obviously some interviews are just for information. But sometimes when you're confronting the powerful you really have to do that. And I'm completely convinced that the most important social role of us journalists is to confront those who are in power. And the place for us to be is as far as possible from power."

Which Chávez Did Obama Honor Again?

"Nothing about the U.S. media response to Hugo Chávez’s reelection in Venezuela Sunday has been surprising," Natasha Lennard wrote Monday for salon.com. "Save for a few corners of support for the socialist leader, American pundits have — with a strong dose of neoliberal ideology — criticized his record and the means through which he has remained in power.

"Chávez won the mandate of another six years in power (adding to his 14-year tenure) with more than 54 percent of the vote, beating challenger Henrique Capriles Radonski. A number of conservative U.S. news outlets were quick to challenge the validity of the large margin (which was nonetheless the weakest margin the socialist leader has ever enjoyed in an election).

After reviewing the coverage in several media outlets, Lennard concluded, "And finally, in light of the fact that President Obama spent Monday dedicating a monument to César Chávez, the Nation's Jeremy Scahill took to Twitter to preempt some unfortunate confusion:

" 'Can't wait for some dingbat to attack Obama for dedicating a monument to "Hugo" Chávez.' "

• Global Post Americas: Hugo Chavez and Cesar Chavez are not the same person
  
  
• Peter Hart, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting: ABC's Very Efficient Anti-Chavez Propaganda
  
  
• Jim Naureckas, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting: CNN Exposes 'Villain' Chavez's Dastardly Plot to House the Poor
  
  
• Andy Newbold, Media Matters for America: Fox Attacks White House For Same Response To Venezuela Presidential Election As Bush
  
  
• Emily Schmall, New York Times: Argentine Reporter Says Venezuelan Agents Seized Election Video
  
  

Only 77% of Registered Latinos Say They're Sure to Vote

"Latino registered voters prefer President Barack Obama over Republican challenger Mitt Romney by 69% to 21% and express growing satisfaction with the direction of the nation and the state of their personal finances but are somewhat less certain than non-Hispanics that they will vote in this election, according to a new nationwide survey of 1,765 Latinos," Mark Hugo Lopez and Ana Gonzalez-Barrera of the Pew Hispanic Center wrote on Thursday. "The survey was conducted from September 7 to October 4, 2012, by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.

". . . With the turnout rate of eligible Latinos voters historically lagging behind that of other groups, the new survey finds that 77% of Latino registered voters say they are 'absolutely certain' they will vote this year. By comparison, 89% of all registered voters say the same in a separate Pew Research Center survey . . . of the general public taken at the same time.

"Likewise, 61% of Latino registered voters say they have thought 'quite a lot' about the upcoming presidential election, compared with 70% of registered voters in the general public.

"At the same time, however, fully two-thirds (67%) of Latino adults say they believe the Latino vote will have a 'major impact' on determining who wins this year's election."

• Zaheer Ali, Islamic Monthly: Obama: Win or Lose: The Case for Barack Obama
  
  
• Chris Ariens, TVNewser: VP Debate Ratings: Fox News Tops Networks, Beats Combined Viewership of MSNBC, CNN
  
  
• Associated Press: Fact-checking the vice presidential debate
  
  
• David Bauder, Associated Press: Forceful Raddatz draws praise as moderator
  
  
• Andrew Beaujon, Poynter Institute: Joe Biden's use of 'malarkey' renews attention to the word's origin
  
  
• Michael Calderone, Huffington Post: Mitt Romney Makes Play For Newspaper Endorsements In Battleground States
  
  
• Ryan Chittum, Columbia Journalism Review: A Web survey isn't a poll, CNBC
  
  
• Michael Cottman, Blackamericaweb.com: ANALYSIS: Biden Brought His A-Game
  
  
• Eric Deggans, Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times: ABC's Martha Raddatz earns praise, a few snipes, for commanding debate performance
  
  
• Ben Dimiero, Media Matters for America: Right-Wing Media Hype Unscientific Online Poll To Declare Ryan Debate Winner
  
  
• Ben Dimiero & Simon Maloy, Media Matters for America: Jennifer Rubin Can't Believe Conservatives Want To "Make White People Fear Obama"
  
  
• William Douglas and Anita Kumar, McClatchy Newspapers: In a blur of facts, VP debate strained the truth
  
  
• Daniel Garza, Fox News Latino: VP Debate Delivered, But Bad Biden Manners Unbridled
  
  
• Editorial, New York Times: A Debate With Clarity and Fervor
  
  
• Editorial, San Francisco Chronicle: Night of vinegar and grins at debate
  
  
• Editorial, Wall Street Journal: The Bully vs. the Wonk
  
  
• Editorial, Washington Post: The Biden-Ryan show: Good TV but a dull debate
  
  
• Paul Farhi, Washington Post: As debate moderators, will women get more respect? (Oct. 10)
  
  
• Peter Hart, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting: Factchecking the Debate Moderator 
  
  
• Rick Horowitz, YouTube: Romney Grabs a Lifeboat (Oct. 9)
  
  
• The Huffington Post: How Newspapers Covered Joe Biden-Paul Ryan Debate
  
  
• Jason Johnson, politic365.com: VP Debate: Three Big Thoughts on Biden Ryan
  
  
• Gregory Kane, BlackAmericaWeb.com: A Message to Stacey Dash Haters
  
  
• Merrill Knox, TVSpy: CNN's Candy Crowley Talks to WHNT About Moderating the Next Presidential Debate
  
  
• Latina Lista blog: Latino voters have a common fault with President Obama
  
  
• Latina Lista blog: For Latino voters, presidential debates won't decide the election
  
  
• Suevon Lee, ProPublica: Big Bird Debate: How Much Does Federal Funding Matter to Public Broadcasting?
  
  
• Trymaine Lee, Huffington Post: States Deny Millions Of Ex-Felons Voting Rights
  
  
• Julianne Malveaux, syndicated: A Listless Obama is Still Better than Romney
  
  
• Jack Mirkinson and Katherine Fung, Huffington Post: Martha Raddatz Debate Moderating Draws Praise: 'Killing It,' 'Way Better' Than Lehrer
  
  
• Askia Muhammad, Washington Informer: The Debate 'Rope-a-Dope,' They Hope
  
  
• Pew Research Center for the People & the Press: Deep Divisions over Debt Reduction Proposals
  
  
• New York Times: Vice-Presidential Debate Fact-Checks and Updates
  
  
• Steve Rendall, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting: Debate Deceptions Are a Time-Tested GOP Strategy
  
  
• Rem Rieder, American Journalism Review: Hitting It Out of the Park: Martha Raddatz's bravura performance as a debate moderator
  
  
• Mychal Denzel Smith, theGrio.com: Black GOP opportunism: Why Stacey Dash's Romney endorsement struck a chord
  
  
• Jay Smooth video: Ill Doctrine: What Is the Polite Way to Tell Mitt Romney's Family That We Think He's a Weirdo? (Sept. 28)
  
  
• The Star, Nairobi, Kenya: Kenyan media to sponsor US-style presidential debate
  
  
• Elon James White, theRoot.com: White Privilege, Joe Biden Style

The National Association of Black Journalists issued this news release Friday:

NABJ to Honor Columnist Richard Prince
With the Ida B. Wells Award

Award will be presented at NABJ's Hall of Fame Gala,
Jan. 17 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON (October 12, 2012) -- The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) announced today that Richard Prince, columnist for the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, will receive the prestigious Ida B. Wells Award. The annual honor is given to an individual who has made outstanding efforts to make newsrooms and news coverage more accurately reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.

Prince will be honored on January 17, 2013, at NABJ's Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

He is being recognized for his efforts championing diversity in journalism. For 10 years online, he has authored the popular "Journal-isms" column, which covers issues of diversity within the news industry. Previous recipients include: Steve Capus of NBC News; Reggie Stuart of Knight Ridder; Paula Madison of NBC Universal; and Walterene Swanston of NPR.

"NABJ is proud to honor Richard with the Ida B. Wells Award. He is the epitome of someone who speaks truth to power. His columns remind news executives, news managers, reporters, and producers of the importance of being sensitive to issues of diversity and our responsibility to be inclusive in our coverage," said NABJ President Gregory Lee Jr. "Dick is a watchdog whose consistency and watchful eye we all rely upon in his reporting. You can be sure what is read in one of his columns will spark a conversation and more importantly lead to some sort of action."

The Ida B. Wells Award is named in honor of the distinguished journalist, fearless reporter and wife of one of America's earliest black publishers.

Prince recently told the story of "Journal-isms" origins to MediaBistro saying it, "began in the early 1990s as a print column for the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) newspaper, which is now a magazine, called the NABJ Journal. I was co-editor of that, and we had a column that we created to sort of be a repository for all the stuff that couldn't be a complete story. We called it "Journal-isms" after the name of the publication."

His devotion to equity and justice was likely inspired in part by his own career in journalism. In 1972 Prince and six other African-American journalists, then working at The Washington Post, filed a grievance with U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The group, which came to be known as the Metro Seven, alleged the paper failed to provide black journalists with equal opportunity to assignments and promotion.

Prince later served as assistant metro editor, assistant news editor, editorial writer and columnist, and finally as the editor of the opinions-and-editorials at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. He would later return to The Post as a part-time copy editor.

He also has distinguished himself in service to the industry as the former chair of NABJ's Media Monitoring Committee, and as Diversity Chair for the Association of Opinion Journalists, formerly the National Conference of Editorial Writers.

Prince will accept his honor, along with NABJ's 2013 Hall of Fame honorees: Betty Winston Bayé, longtime columnist, The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Ky.); Simeon Booker, the first black reporter, The Washington Post and Washington Bureau Chief, Jet Magazine; Alice Dunnigan, the first black woman credentialed to cover The White House, The State Department, and Congress (posthumous); Sue Simmons, longtime anchorwoman, WNBC-TV; Wendell Smith, legendary sportswriter, who helped desegregate baseball (posthumous); and Cynthia Tucker, Pulitzer-Winning columnist, The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

An advocacy group established in 1975 in Washington, D.C. NABJ is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation and provides educational, career development and support to black journalists worldwide.

Vanity Fair Says "No" to Janet Jackson on Retraction

Vanity Fair has rejected a request from singer-actress Janet Jackson to retract an article about her late brother, Michael Jackson, scheduled for the November issue.

"Vanity Fair has no basis to reconsider what was written in the magazine's excerpt of Randall Sullivan's book, 'Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson,' Vanity Fair spokeswoman Beth Kseniak told Journal-isms by email on Friday.

"Vanity Fair felt the proverbial whip of Janet Jackson's lawyer, who sent the magazine a scathing letter demanding a retraction of an article that will run in the November 2012 issue," Rahim Ali wrote Wednesday for bet.com.

"The piece was an excerpt from Randall Sullivan's upcoming book, Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson. In the book, the author claims Janet, 46, delayed her brother Michael Jackson's funeral until she was reimbursed for her $40,000 deposit to secure his plot.

"Michael Jackson was buried on September 3, 2009 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, more than two months after his death.

"Blair G. Brown, Janet's attorney, sent Vanity Fair's Editor-in-Chief Graydon Carter a letter stating the story was 'false and defamatory.' . . ."

Natalie Finn reported Tuesday for E! that ". . . a slight correction is in the works.

" 'Vanity Fair stands by Randall Sullivan's assertion that Janet Jackson's demand to be reimbursed for her deposit on her brother's burial plot was one of the reasons Michael Jackson's funeral was delayed,' the publication said in a statement to E! News. 'Sullivan's sources told him that the amount of the deposit was $40,000, but records released last week indicate that the amount of the deposit was $49,000. Vanity Fair will make that correction on VF.com.' "

"Today" Suffers After Unpleasant Exit of Ann Curry

"Susan Wurtzel owns a 'Today' show T-shirt and a mug. When the stay-at-home mom and her family visited New York from their home in Germantown, Md., they joined the crowd of fans outside the NBC morning show's Rockefeller Center studio," David Bauder wrote Thursday for the Associated Press.

"Now, after more than 20 years as a regular 'Today' viewer, Wurtzel tunes to CBS most mornings.

"Multiply such defections and you have the chief reason for television's changing fortunes in morning news, where ABC's 'Good Morning America' has ended NBC's epic 17-year winning streak on 'Today.' ABC is growing — 'GMA' has 110,000 more viewers each day this year than last — but not as much as NBC is slipping (437,000 viewers a day since last year).

"Wurtzel, 57, left last spring because of 'Today' co-host Ann Curry.

" 'Ann's interview style was like chalk on a board to me,' she said. 'She leaned toward her interviewee and whispered her questions like someone had died. The more serious the interview, the quieter she got. When she replaced Meredith (Vieira), I tried to adjust and accept, but she just didn't work for me. Katie (Couric) and Meredith were relatable, empathetic and funny. Ann just seemed out of place.'

"Executives at NBC were quietly reaching the same conclusion and moved to replace Curry with Savannah Guthrie.

"Then came June 28, 2012, Curry's last day as co-host. She cried in bewilderment at her perceived failure at losing the job she had sought for years, as her uncomfortable co-workers and a nation looked on.

"Suddenly, a problem for NBC became a BIG problem. Even people who didn't particularly like Curry loathed the way she was dispatched. Except for two weeks during the Olympics, 'Today' hasn't sniffed first place in the ratings since. . . ."

ImpreMedia to Add to Newspaper Staff, English Content

Francisco Seghezzo, COO of impreMedia, the nation's largest Spanish-language newspaper chain, told Veronica Villafañe of Media Moves Friday that the company had increased the circulation of Los Angeles-based La Opinión by 3,500 copies daily since it was acquired more than six months ago by Argentina's La Nación newspaper company.

Other impreMedia products include La Raza in Chicago, La Prensa in Orlando, Rumbo in Houston, El Mensajero in San Francisco, El Diario in New York and Vista magazine.

". . . We plan to add personnel to our newsrooms," Seghezzo added. "We're going to add 3 to 5 people in each paper and in our digital content department.

". . . Down the line, we plan to launch some products that will accompany the paper, like special [collectible] sections that could be bilingual. But they would be written in English and Spanish — they wouldn’t be translations. The same goes for online. The websites would be in both languages — and not simple translations, because that doesn't work."

Despite Danger, Somalis Pursue Journalism Passion

"With three months remaining in the year, the Committee to Protect Journalists has already declared 2012 as the deadliest year ever for Somali journalists," Roopa Gogineni reported from Nairobi, Kenya, Wednesday for the Voice of America. "Despite the danger, young Somali refugees flock to a journalism school in Eastleigh, an eastern suburb of Nairobi.

"On the eighth floor of the Binali hotel in Nairobi, journalists gather to honor six of their colleagues killed in Mogadishu in just eight days in late September.

"Mohamed Osman, chairman of the Somali Exiled Journalists Association, organized the event.

". . . Despite the risks, journalism is still a popular profession among young Somalis.

"Two years ago Osman opened the Al-Imra Institute of Languages and Journalism to train young Somali refugees.

"Abdiladiif, 22, is one of Osman's 30 students. Born in Mogadishu, he arrived in Nairobi one year ago as a refugee. Everyday he now attends Kiswahili, English and journalism classes.

" 'Journalism is my passion and I have always dreamt about it so I will not stop,' he said. 'I believe that whether I am in Somalia or in a safer place, still death will meet me. So I will still move on. It is unfortunate that heinous acts of violence are leveled against journalists. But still I want continue with my studies, the future holds a lot for me.' . . ."

• Roopa Gogineni, Al Jazeera: Threats fail to deter young Somali reporters (Oct. 13)

Obama, Romney Seek to Rein in Crowley in Debate

"Something the presidential candidates can agree on: they want their next debate moderator to be more Jim Lehrer than Martha Raddatz," Jordan Zakarin reported Monday for the Hollywood Reporter.

"According to Time's Mark Halperin, both the Obama and Romney campaigns have reached out to the Committee on Presidential Debates in the wake of CNN's Candy Crowley's promise to be actively involved in the discourse of Tuesday night's debate.

"The first woman chosen to be a presidential debate moderator in 20 years — Raddatz officiated and facilitated last week's vice presidential quip-off — Crowley has indicated on multiple occasions that she will use the questions posed by pre-screened undecided voters during the town hall-style debate as a launching point. That, however, would go against the spirit of the agreement to which both candidates previously agreed.

" . . . The agreement — on to which Crowley has not and is not required to sign — states that 'In managing the two-minute comment periods, the moderator will not rephrase the question or open a new topic … The moderator will not ask follow-up questions or comment on either the questions asked by the audience or the answers of the candidates during the debate or otherwise intervene in the debate except to acknowledge the questioners from the audience or enforce the time limits, and invite candidate comments during the two-minute response period.' "

Crowley said she was not caving. "Appearing on 'The Situation Room' on Monday, Crowley made clear to Wolf Blitzer that follow-ups would be happening, whether the campaigns or the CPD liked it or not," Jack Mirkinson reported for the Huffington Post.

Meanwhile, "The last woman to moderate a Presidential debate, Carole Simpson, appeared on MSNBC today to talk about the uproar over the campaigns complaining about CNN's Candy Crowley," Alex Weprin reported Monday for TVNewser.

"Simpson, who moderated the debate [among] Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot in 1992, did not hold back.

" 'I was very upset that women were reduced to the Vice Presidential debate and to the town hall format, which does not give a woman the chance to ask the questions. The public, the voters that are going to be there tomorrow night asking questions have very basic questions about their neighborhoods and crime and their schools and so on and I'm sure Candy might like to ask, if it doesn't come up, more questions about reproductive rights for women. I was going crazy the other night when Martha [Raddatz] was an hour and 15 minutes into the debate and there were no questions about women’s reproductive rights being perhaps set back. ' "

• Esther J. Cepeda, Washington Post News Media Services: Liberate Big Bird and PBS
  
  
• Stanley Crouch, Daily News, New York: Joe Biden, hero of the truth
  
  
• Jarvis DeBerry, NOLA.com, New Orleans: Voter ID laws show that in politics, nobody wants a fair fight
  
  
• Charles D. Ellison, Uptown: Obama Needs Some Of What Joe Was Drinking
  
  
• Charles D. Ellison, Philadelphia Tribune: Did that first debate really matter?
  
  
• Michael Getler, PBS: Big Bird: Fair or Fowl Play?
  
  
• Earl Ofari Hutchinson, syndicated: Presidential Debates Ignore Other Big Ticket Items
  
  
• Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston Globe: Is Biden's performance enough to stop the slide?
  
  
• Eugene Kane, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Shoring up Obama's support
  
  
• Paul Kleyman, New America Media: VP Debate Moderator Flubs Social Security, Medicare Question
  
  
• Nathan McCall, atlantablackstar.com: Romney Made Largest Gains Among Whites Without College Degree
  
  
• Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune: Debate winner? Barack Obama
  
  
• Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald: The unemployment rate and GOP's 'War on Reality'
  
  
• ProPublica: Paul Ryan Reading Guide: The Best Reporting on the VP Candidate
  
  
• Rochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press: Romney-Ryan ticket should frighten middle-class Americans
  
  
• Geraldo Rivera, Fox News Latino: It Ain't Over Til It's Over
  
  
• Eugene Robinson, Washington Post: Obama's second chance
  
  
• Betsy Rothstein, Fishbowl DC: Politico Sends 8 Scribes to Long Island
  
  
• Anthony Asadullah Samad, eurweb.com: Post-Debate Analysis: Trying to Make Sense Out of Nonsense
  
  
• Bob Ray Sanders, Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas: Plucking Big Bird is not the answer to national financial woes
  
  
• Jay Smooth, Ill Doctrine video: Laughing to Keep from Crying
  
  
• Chris Tomlinson, Associated Press: Study: Middle-age Hispanics most likely to skip the vote
  
  
• Touré, Daily News, New York: Don't worry, Obama's still got this
  
  
• Mark Trahant, Indian Country Today Media Network: Arizona is New Swing State; American Indians, Latinos Will Decide Outcome
  
  
• Jesse Washington, Associated Press: Do black people support Obama because he's black?
  
  
• Alex Weprin, TVNewser: Mitt Romney Cancels On 'The View'
  
  
• Alex Weprin, TVNewser: Here's The Full 'Memo Of Understanding' That The Obama Campaign, Romney Campaign and Commission on Presidential Debates Wanted To Keep Secret
  
  
• DeWayne Wickham, USA Today: Obama, Bill Clinton banking on each other

Darryl E. Owens of the Orlando Sentinel, right, leads a panel of civic-minded residents of Sanford, Fla., in a discussion of race relations on Oct. 2. Co-moderated by Valerie Boey of WOFL-TV, the forum accompanied a Sentinel series prompted by February's fatal Trayvon Martin shooting. Boey is a leader in the Asian American Journalists Association's Florida chapter. (Video)

After Trayvon Killing, Orlando Media Hold Race Forum

"Earlier this month, New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church flung open its doors to the masses," columnist Darryl E. Owens of the Orlando Sentinel wrote Friday.

"Seekers didn't come for Bible study or a spiritual booster shot.

"No, the 200 souls who filled the Sanford sanctuary came for something else: a come-to-Jesus meeting on the devilish problem of race.

"Hosted by the Orlando Sentinel and our news partner, Fox 35, the 'Florida Forward' forum — co-moderated by your friendly neighborhood columnist — was an outgrowth of our occasional series, 'In the Shadow of Race.' (The next installment of the series — sparked by the Trayvon Martin shooting — publishes tomorrow.)

"In a lively 90 minutes, the forum (which can be viewed on OrlandoSentinel.com), featuring panelists who'd appeared in the series, explored the challenge of overcoming the racism that bubbled in America's primordial ooze and how to clear hurdles that continue to retard maturing race relations.

"Did we resolve the problem of the colorline — something W.E.B. Du Bois in 1903 declared the 'problem of the Twentieth Century' (yet still gives us fits a century later)?

"About as much as did a certain beer summit.

". . . Blacks and whites still see race through different glasses."

• Arelis R. Hernández, Orlando Sentinel: Trayvon- Zimmerman tragedy shows labels don't fit when it comes to race, ethnicity

New Brides Editor Sees 5 Staffers Let Go

Less than a month after Keija Minor was named the editor-in-chief of Brides magazine, making her the first person of color to ever hold the title at a Condé Nast Publications magazine, ". . . Brides let go about five staffers on the editorial side, though some have been asked to work part time," Erik Maza wrote Friday for Women's Wear Daily.

"Some have not been informed because they were attending bridal shows taking place this week," Maza continued. "Six employees were dismissed in business."

The Brides layoffs were among roughly 60 companywide, Maza wrote, citing "several sources."

The layoffs began Wednesday morning and continued through Thursday. Chief Executive Officer Charles Townsend sent an internal memo attributing the layoffs to "the challenges of the U.S. economy," Maza said.

Sheila Johnson Calls BET a "Squandered" Voice

Sheila Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, said over the weekend that the network she left behind "reinforces negative stereotypes of young people, African Americans in particular" Brittney M. Walker wrote Monday for EURWeb.com.

Johnson, a strategic adviser to Huffington Post, spoke at the "Conversations and Encounters" program at the Carmel Art and Film Festival in Monterey County, Calif., this weekend.

". . . 'I think we squandered a really important cable network, when it really could have been the voice of Black America. We're losing our voice as a race as a result,' she ranted. 'I'm really worried about what our young people are watching. There are so many young people who are using the television as a babysitter. We have parents who are not being parents and not monitoring what their children are watching.' "

Media Called Out for Superficial Cuba Coverage

"Does Cuba really matter?" Brian E. Crowley asked Friday in Columbia Journalism Review.

"If asked that question by a reporter, both President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney would likely reply: Yes, absolutely.

"Unfortunately, the question of whether Cuba matters — and how, and to whom — is rarely explored in the media, even as Cuba's role in shaping politics in this key swing state is taken for granted.

". . . South Florida reporters do tend to look much deeper, and they uncover some stories that national reporters might follow to get past well-worn clichés. In a fascinating article, The Miami Herald's Juan O. Tamayo wrote in September about a new wave of Cuban immigrants moving to Tampa to get away from Miami, the historic center of the Cuban-American population.

". . . Why Tampa? To avoid Miami's anti-Castro cauldron, analysts say. But also because the defectors are less likely to be recognized on the streets and because Miami has many knowledgeable FBI agents — and too many Castro spies."

Crowley quotes Anya Laudau French, editor of the Havana Note blog and director of the New America Foundation's U.S.-Cuba Policy Initiative:

". . . President Bush was willing to separate families, while President Obama seems oblivious to the historic changes in Cuba underway today, both because real events and impacts on the island aren't the point. Domestic political advantage is."

Kathy Williams Named News Director in Jacksonville

"After serving since July as Interim News Director at First Coast News WTLV/WJXX, Kathy Williams was named News Director for the station on Friday, the Jacksonville, Fla., station announced.

". . . The Emmy-award winning Williams has experience leading television newsrooms in major markets. She began her career as a reporter, producer and anchor in Lubbock, Texas. From there, she was an anchor in Birmingham, Ala., and then an Executive Producer and Assistant News Director in Chicago (WGN, then WBBM).

"This role led to her first News Director assignment in Cleveland at WJW-TV. Williams then became the News Director at WKYC in Cleveland, a Gannett station. After that, she served as VP/News Director at KRIV-TV in Houston.

" 'I am thrilled to rejoin Gannett in this important role and look forward to serving the Jacksonville television audience with the highest quality journalism we can produce,' Williams said. . . ."