In New York, Louis Ortiz of the Bronx, formerly unemployed, is capitalizing on his resemblance to President Obama. He appears here next to Spider-Man. (Video)

Filmmaker Finds Puerto Rican "Obama" in the Bronx

"What if one day you looked in the mirror and saw the most powerful man in the world staring back at you?" Ryan Murdock asked Monday on the New York Times website. "In this Op-Doc video, we meet Louis Ortiz, an unemployed Puerto Rican man from the Bronx, whose life turned upside down when he discovered his uncanny resemblance to President Obama.

"The first time I talked to Mr. Ortiz on the phone he said, 'I'm so glad you called. I've been living in the Twilight Zone for the past three years.' That was the spring of 2011. In the week between that call and when we met in person, Osama bin Laden was killed. When I went to the Bronx to meet Mr. Ortiz, people were high-fiving and congratulating him. I knew instantly I had to drop everything else and follow him around.

"Mr. Ortiz is a walking, talking image of Barack Obama.

". . . This video is adapted from [Murdock's] forthcoming documentary 'The Audacity of Louis Ortiz' and a recent episode of 'This American Life.' "

In April, Murdock announced he had raised $27,013 on the Kickstarter website in less than four weeks to film the documentary.

Smiley Irate at Cancellation by Chicago Public Radio

"Just when you thought radio had lost the power to provoke strong passions, Tavis Smiley is stepping up and taking on Chicago's public radio establishment," Robert Feder reported Tuesday on his Chicago Media blog for Time Out Chicago.

"In a blistering attack on WBEZ-FM (91.5) Monday, the PBS host and bestselling author disputed the reasons given for canceling the weekly radio talk show he co-hosts with Dr. Cornel West, the Princeton University professor. 'One could argue that it is easier for an African American to be president of the United States than it is to host a primetime radio program on Chicago Public Radio,' Smiley declared.

"It all started here last week with news that WBEZ had dropped Smiley & West from its lineup. The show, distributed by Public Radio International, had been airing at noon Sundays until late last month.

"Chicago Public Media officials explained the decision by citing audience erosion (noting a decline in weekly listenership from 37,900 to 13,200) and expressing concerns about the program’s fairness and balance. 'The show had developed much more of an "advocacy" identity, which is inconsistent with our approach on WBEZ,' a spokesman said. . . .

• Black Agenda Report: Tavis Smiley Responds to Cancellation of "Smiley & West" in Chicago

Unity Seeks Consensus on Acceptable Name

"Dear members of AAJA, NAHJ, NAJA and NLGJA," begins the notice on the Unity: Journalists website, posted on Tuesday and referring to the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Native American Journalists Association and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association.

"The UNITY Journalists Board of Directors agreed last week to create a UNITY Name Task Force to find a name that both reflects our new mission statement and includes input from our alliance members.

"As part of this process, we invite you to submit your suggestions for UNITY's name to the email account UNITYname@gmail.com.

"We will accept nominations to this account through Sunday, November 11th.

"Janet Cho has been appointed to lead a task force that will gather all the suggestions and select five finalists.

"These will then be put up for a vote among the members of AAJA, NAHJ, NAJA and NLGJA."

Cho, a business reporter at the Plain Dealer of Cleveland and member of the Unity board, appealed to members of the National Association of Black Journalists, which pulled out of Unity last year citing financial and governance issues. Unity members say they want NABJ to return, but its name change from "Unity: Journalists of Color" to "Unity Journalists" has put off many NABJ members.

"We are listening, NABJ! Please consider sending us your ideas for what the UNITY alliance should be called, to UNITYname@gmail.com," Cho wrote on NABJ's Facebook page.

Jeremy Lin Makes Cover of GQ: Is It a First?

When was the last time an Asian American man graced the cover of GQ?

"Jeremy Lin is getting ready to hit the courts!" Jason Brooks wrote Wednesday for Global Grind.

"With the new NBA season starting on October 30th, the 24-year-old NBA star has a little bit of time left on his hands before it really begins to get serious.

"After a personally successful season as a member of the New York Knicks, the 6ft 3 in point-guard has made the move to the Houston Rockets. While Lin knows what this may mean for his fanbase, he tried to explain his point of view during the latest interview with GQ.

"Jeremy looked sporty in a Calvin Klein suit with Nike Blazers for the cover, shot by Paola Kudacki."

Is Lin the first Asian American man in GQ's most coveted space?

GQ spokesman Corey Wilson told Journal-isms Wednesday that he did not know.

• The GQ cover portfolio
  
  

Univision Cuts a Dozen From Sports Department

"Univision veteran Art Izquierdo, who worked for the network 28 years, is among about a dozen staffers quietly eliminated from the sports department," Veronica Villafañe reported Tuesday for Media Moves. "The layoffs took place Sept. 27, as part of a 'reorganization.' Univision officials would not comment, but just recently confirmed some of the layoffs.

". . . Insiders say the elimination of the long-running sports team is part of an effort to relegate more authority to the network's Televisa partners and that it's very possible a portion of Univision's sports production will be moved to Mexico."

Journalists Strike in Birthplace of Arab Spring

Journalists in Tunisia, which ignited the Arab Spring when a frustrated fruit-seller set himself afire in 2010, staged their first nationwide strike on Wednesday "after months of rising tensions with the government, led by the Islamist party Ennahda, which is accused of restricting press freedom," Rabii Kalboussi wrote Wednesday for the Swedish-based yourmiddleeast.com.

" 'Freedom of press and expression is not only for journalists but for all the people of Tunisia,' said the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) in a statement.

"Hundreds of journalists demonstrated in Tunis in front of the SNJT headquarters, chanting slogans such as 'free press, independent journalists.'

"The 1,200-member journalists' union called for the protest; the first-ever general strike for media professionals to be staged in Tunisia."

Dahlia El Zein wrote last month for the Committee to Protect Journalists, ". . . Many journalists believed that media freedoms, which were virtually nonexistent under former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, would grow after his ouster. During the aftermath of the December 2010 uprising, an independent press blossomed and special commissions were set up to reform the media sector. But since the elected government took office nine months ago, the tide has slowly reversed."

• Tunis Afrique Presse: Tunisian Journalists on Strike to Defend Freedom of Expression
  
  
• Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald: Speaking truth to fundamentalism

Native American Fashion Magazine Debuts Online

"Growing up on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, Kelly Holmes spent hours thumbing through the latest issues of Seventeen or Vogue," Kristi Eaton wrote from Sioux Falls, S.D., Tuesday for the Associated Press. "She noticed the models didn't look anything like her and the stories had little to do with her experiences in the vast, sparsely populated area hundreds of miles from any high-end retailer.

"So Holmes, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, set out to create her own fashion magazine geared toward Native American men and women and non-Native Americans who want to learn about the culture.

"Native Max focuses on indigenous people, places and cultures with the same sleek photography found in fashion magazines but without the stereotypical headdresses and tomahawks sometimes seen in the mainstream media. The premiere issue, which is online only, features interviews with Native American artists, musicians, designers and models, as well as sections on health, beauty and sports.

" 'There's really no magazine, a Native-owned and operated, Native-designed magazine. There's nothing like this magazine out there. The ones that do have stuff focused on younger people, they're really vulgar and very revealing,' said Holmes, 21, who now lives in Denver."

Black, Spanish Networks Didn't Broadcast Debate

The Spanish-language networks declined to broadcast live Tuesday's presidential debate, but Univision and CNN en Español say they will do so for Monday's matchup on foreign policy issues. NBC-owned Telemundo, which aired a novela during Tuesday's debate, did not respond to a request for comment.

Black-oriented networks BET and TV One also did not broadcast Tuesday's debate live — BET streamed the event on its website — and say they will follow the same course on Monday.

On Tuesday, Univision aired 2014 World Cup-qualifying soccer matches, Mexico vs. El Salvador on Univision and U.S. vs. Guatemala on TeleFutura.

"We will be airing the Monday debate live," Univision spokeswoman Monica Talan told Journal-isms by email. "For the past debate, we streamed it live, hosted social engagement elements (including Google+) and aired it at midnight."

A news release added, "Prior to the candidates' face-off, Univision News will present a Spanish-language pre-debate show available live on YouTube Elections Hub and Google+ Hangout, with Noticiero Univision correspondent Lourdes del Rio LIVE from Boca Raton, debate specialist Javier Maza and political analysts Helen Aguirre (Republican) and Fabian Núñez (Democrat). The discussion will be moderated by Enrique Acevedo, co-anchor of Univision's late evening newscast, 'Noticiero Univision Edición Nocturna.' Political reporter Luis Mejid and KMEX Univision 34 news anchor Leon Krauze will participate in the Google+ Hangout.

"Immediately following the 90-minute broadcast, Noticiero Univision anchor Jorge Ramos will host a special half hour live post-debate program featuring del Rio, Maza, and both Aguirre and Núñez, who will discuss the candidates' performance and what voters can expect during the last phase of the presidential campaign. In addition, Univision News political reporter Jordan Fabian will present post-debate reaction and highlights after the special."

Isabel Bucaram, a spokeswoman for CNN en Español, confirmed that her network aired Major League Baseball while its sister CNN networks aired the debate. Bucaram said by email that "Audiences watching the U.S. feed of CNN en Español got updates and News Briefs on the debate throughout the MLB game. They were also directed to www.cnnespanol.com to give them the opportunity to watch the entire debate online (for free) while the game was on CNN en Español's U.S. feed. Our viewers were able to interact with CNN en Español through the web, Twitter, Facebook and iReports."

Luis Defrank, a spokesman for BET, said by email, "We live streamed the debate on BET.com/Vote2012 as well as published posts that featured debate commentary from a Democrat and Republican. We posted a walk-up to the debate on the issues discussed, a picture gallery on [Twitter] and a gallery on the top meme — Women in Binders — that emerged from the debate. Lastly we posted a video debrief of the debate. All of these elements live on our BET.com/Vote2012. We are planning the same type of coverage on Monday."

Candace Johnson, a spokeswoman for TV One said by email, ". . . no we are not doing coverage of the debates, however the release announcing the TV One election coverage will be coming out in the near future."

• Perry Bacon Jr., theGrio.com: Why you should stop obsessing over the polls
  
  
• Michael Calderone, Huffington Post: Third-Party Debate To Be Broadcast By Al Jazeera English, RT America, But Not Major Cable News Networks
  
  
• James Clingman, Washington Informer: Blackonomics: Ignored and Taken For Granted
  
  
• Ta-Nehisi Coates blog, the Atlantic: The Burden of a Black President
  
  
• Michael Cottman, blackamericaweb.com: ANALYSIS: Get Ready For Round Three
  
  
• S.E. Cupp, Daily News, New York: Obama's struggles with white voters: Racism has nothing to do with it
  
  
• Eric Deggans, Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times: Jon Stewart lets President Obama sidestep his toughest questions on The Daily Show 
  
  
• Editorial, Salt Lake Tribune: Obama has earned another term
  
  
• Marisa Guthrie, Hollywood Reporter: At 50 Years Old, How Univision Owns the Hispanic Audience
  
  
• Rick Horowitz, YouTube: Binders Full of Women! (video)
  
  
• Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston Globe: A reinvigorated Obama in N.H.
  
  
• Annette John-Hall, Philadelphia Inquirer: Locating the line between ignorance and racism
  
  
• Merrill Knox, TVNewser: Obama on Matthews: 'Four years ago, I gave him a thrill up his leg. This time around, I gave him a stroke'
  
  
• Paul Krugman, New York Times: Small-Time Mitt
  
  
• Latina Lista: 3 reasons why Romney's opposition to undocumented immigrants threatens the future of the country
  
  
• Roland S. Martin, Creators Syndicate: Rev. Billy Graham and His Narrow Biblical Principles
  
  
• John McWhorter, Daily News, New York: The pure sport of the debates
  
  
• Kimberly Nordyke, Aaron Couch, Hollywood Reporter: CNN Exec Puts Positive Spin on Candy Crowley Amid Conservative Criticism
  
  
• Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Romney son's anti-Obama vent is no hit
  
  
• Pew Center for the People & the Press: On Eve of Foreign Debate, Growing Pessimism about Arab Spring Aftermath
  
  
• Ishmael Reed, Counterpunch: Obama v. Romney Rematch: Louis v. Schmeling 2? (Oct. 16, second item)
  
  
• Rochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press: 'Binders full of women' remark shows Romney's patronizing attitude
  
  
• Geraldo Rivera, Fox News Latino: 'Self-Deportation Gives me the Chills'
  
  
• Eugene Robinson, Washington Post: Why the chill on climate change?
  
  
• Sheryl Huggins Salomon, theRoot.com: Will BET Viewers 'Show Up' for Obama Doc?
  
  
• Mary Sanchez, Kansas City Star: Romney's case to women fails to convince
  
  
• Jamal Simmons, U.S. News: Obama Won the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Debate
  
  
• Jennifer Vanasco, Columbia Journalism Review: Covering the candidates on women
  
  
• Dr. Boyce Watkins, blackbluedog.com: BET's President Explains Why She Doesn't Offer More Positive Programming
  
  

NAHJ Votes to Join SPJ-RTDNA Convention

The board of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists voted unanimously Friday to hold its 2013 convention in Anaheim, Calif., joining the Radio Television Digital News Association and the Society of Professional Journalists there.

RTDNA and SPJ must approve NAHJ's participation, but Sonny Albarado of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the SPJ president, told Journal-isms by telephone that he supported the move. However, he said, "We have not discussed it as a board."

Albarado said the two joint RTDNA-SPJ conventions in 2011 and 2012 had drawn an average of 1,100 or 1,200 people. Hugo Balta, NAHJ president, said by telephone, "we're looking at attracting better than 500" NAHJ members.

Kevin Benz, past RTDNA chairman, association secretary and chair of the Radio Television Digital News Foundation, told Journal-isms by email on Saturday, "I personally believe both organizations will indeed approve, but we need to have a thorough discussion and make sure the plan is mutually beneficial.

". . . I can say this... With the combined strength of SPJ and RTDNA, it has been our intention to create the most important journalism discussion in the country. The Excellence in Journalism convention does just that. The addition of NAHJ, if approved, can only enhance that discussion and strengthen our convention. As RTDNF chair, I am advocating for it."

Balta said that at the NAHJ gala at the Unity convention in August, he and Benz discussed the idea of NAHJ joining the other two groups.

NAHJ is the last of the journalist of color associations to choose its convention site for 2013. At its last independent convention, in Orlando in 2011, Russell Contreras, then the chief financial officer, declared, "This convention here is our last stand-alone convention." He cited the cost savings in holding joint meetings with other groups. At its board meeting this month, Unity Journalists, the coalition of NAHJ, the Asian American Journalists Association, the Native American Journalists Association and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, decided to establish a task force to examine the feasibility of holding Unity conventions every two years, rather than every four.

The National Association of Black Journalists is holding its 2013 convention in Orlando, AAJA plans to be in New York, NAJA has chosen Phoenix and NLGJA will be in Boston.

The NAHJ board, which conducted a conference call, also considered partnering with CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California in Los Angeles, having a stand-alone meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., and having no convention.

The board voted to add Bonnie Gonzalez, a reporter for the Time Warner Cable station in Austin, Texas, which brands itself as Your News Now. Gonzalez will fill the vacant seat representing Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. [Updated Oct. 20]

AP Clarifies: "Illegal Immigrant" Is Not the Only Term

"The first thing to note is that 'illegal immigrant' is not the only term we use, Tom Kent, AP's deputy managing editor for standards and production, wrote Friday in "Close to the News," a staff newsletter. "The Stylebook entry on this subject was modified a year ago to make clear that other wording is always acceptable, including 'living in the country without legal permission.'

"In fact, there are cases where 'illegal immigrant' doesn't work at all. For instance, if a young man was brought into the country by parents who entered illegally, he didn't consciously commit any act of 'immigration' himself. It's best to describe such a person as living in the country without legal permission, and then explain his story.

"There are also cases where a person's right to be in the country is currently in legal dispute; in such a case, we can't yet say the person is here illegally.

"But what about the cases where we do write 'illegal immigrants'? Why not say 'undocumented immigrants' or 'unauthorized immigrants,' as some advocates would have it?

"To us, these terms obscure the essential fact that such people are here in violation of the law. It's simply a legal reality.

"Terms like 'undocumented' and 'unauthorized' can make a person's illegal presence in the country appear to be a matter of minor paperwork. Many illegal immigrants aren't 'undocumented' at all; they may have a birth certificate and passport from their home country, plus a U.S. driver's license, Social Security card or school ID. What they lack is the fundamental right to be in the United States.

"Without that right, their presence is illegal. Some say the word is inaccurate, because depending on the situation, they may be violating only civil, not criminal law. But both are laws, and violating any law is an illegal act (we do not say 'criminal immigrant').

"Finally, there's the concern that 'illegal immigrant' offends a person's dignity by suggesting his very existence is illegal. We don't read the term this way. We refer routinely to illegal loggers, illegal miners, illegal vendors and so forth. Our language simply means that a person is logging, mining, selling, etc., in violation of the law — just as illegal immigrants have immigrated in violation of the law. (Precisely to respect the dignity of people in this situation, the Stylebook warns against such terms as 'illegal alien,' 'an illegal' or 'illegals.'). . ."

ColorLines, a social advocacy magazine, last year launched a 'Drop the I-Word' campaign, and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists has long urged media outlets to refrain from the use of "illegals" and "illegal immigrants" in favor of "undocumented."

• Sasha Horne, RIA Novosti: 'Undocumented' or 'Illegal'? Immigration Syntax Is Hot Political Issue
  
  
• Mallary Jean Tenore, Poynter Institute: AP memo clarifies how to use the phrase 'illegal immigrant'

Taliban Threaten Media Over Coverage of Teen

"Journalists, like many others in Pakistan, have spoken out strongly since the Taliban attempted to kill the teenage Malala Yousafzai on October 9," Sumit Galhotra and Bob Dietz wrote Wednesday for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

"The Taliban, in return, are threatening the media over their coverage, according to journalists and news reports. " 'Media houses, tv anchors and some well-known journalists are under serious threat,' one of our colleagues messaged. 'I understand that some intelligence reports had also intercepted telephone calls to them. The threats are coming in Swat, Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. The situation got [worse] after media coverage of Malala Yousafzai's case which made the extremists quite angry.' . . . "

Yousafzai has been able to stand for the first time since the attack and is communicating by writing, a British hospital official said Friday, Henry Chu reported for the Los Angeles Times. Malala was flown to Birmingham, England, from Pakistan this week for specialized treatment.

• Listening Post, Al Jazeera: The gun and the press in Pakistan
  
  
• Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune: Brave teen, cowardly Taliban
  
  
• Ahmed Rashid, New Yorker: Can Malala Bring Peace to Pakistan and Afghanistan?
  
  
• Mary Sanchez, Kansas City Star: An unlikely hero stands up to the Taliban
  
  
• Laura Washington, Chicago Sun-Times: Reporter Lara Logan brings ominous news from Middle East
  
  

The La Comay puppet character is played by comedian Antulio “Kobbo” Santarrosa. “She has achieved the credibility that escapes so many in the so-called formal news business,” Sandra D. Rodriguez wrote in a recent column for the newspaper El Vocero. “We have to ask ourselves, what does La Comay have that the press corps has failed to do?” (Video )

Puerto Rico Enthralled by Cheeky Newscast Puppet

"No one is safe from the crosshairs of La Comay," Danica Coto wrote Friday from San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the Associated Press.

"This five-foot-tall character with a foam head painted with outrageous red lips, a shrill voice and a penchant for salacious details rules Puerto Rico's gossip circuit, with legions tuning into her show every afternoon ready for the latest bombshell. La Comay dishes it out with ominous music playing in the background, talking about everyone from Mexican crooner Luis Miguel to Puerto Rico's own Miss Universe beauty queen Zuleyka Rivera.

". . . The program has been derided for being over-the-top sensationalist and for broadcasting derogatory comments against women and gays, but 'Super Xclusivo' remains the main news source for thousands in the U.S. territory and hundreds of Puerto Ricans in Florida and New York. The island comes to a stop every afternoon to watch La Comay not only talk small-town gossip but also expose government and business corruption scandals. . . ."

Washington City Paper to Call NFL Team "Pigskins"

"Meet your new football team, D.C.: the Washington Pigskins," Mike Madden wrote Thursday for the Washington City Paper, an alternative weekly. "That's the name Washington City Paper will use from now on to refer to the folks in burgundy and gold who play at FedEx Field, instead of the name the team prefers, which is a pejorative term for Native Americans.

"Over the last week, 1,125 of you voted on which of five names we should go with, and Pigskins — a.k.a. Hogs, in a tribute to the team's great offensive line of the first Joe Gibbs era — stiff-armed the competition like John Riggins did to Don McNeal in Super Bowl XVII. The name won 50 percent of the vote. Washington Monuments came in a distant second, with 16 percent; Washington Bammas got 13 percent, Washington Half-Smokes, 11 percent, and Washington Washingtons 10 percent. . . . "

Obama Said to Be More Assured on Race

Jodi Kantor, a reporter for the New York Times who has chronicled the racial aspects of Barack Obama's candidacy and then his presidency, highlighted by publication this year of "The Obamas," a book about the first family, returned to the subject Sunday in the Times.

". . . like an actor originating a role on Broadway, Mr. Obama has been performing a part that no one else has ever played," Kantor wrote, "and close observers say they can see him becoming as assured on race in public as he is in private conversation. In 2009, the new president's statement on the arrest of a black Harvard professor by a white police officer set off days of negative headlines; in 2012, he gave a commanding but tender lament over the killing of a black teenager, Trayvon Martin, by a white man.

" 'As he's gotten more comfortable being president, he's gotten more comfortable being him,' said Brian Mathis, an Obama fund-raiser.

"Asked when they could sense that shift, several advisers and friends mentioned the waning hours of Mr. Obama's birthday party in the summer of 2011. As the hour grew late, many of the white guests left, and the music grew 'blacker and blacker,' as the comedian Chris Rock later told an audience. Watching African-American entertainers and sports stars do the Dougie to celebrate a black president in a house built by slaves, Mr. Rock said, 'I felt like I died and went to black heaven.'

"The president, guests recalled, seemed free of calibration or inhibition. He danced with relative abandon, other guests ribbing him about his moves, everyone swaying to Stevie Wonder under a portrait of George Washington. . . ."

Supporters in Two Cities Struggle to Honor Ida B. Wells

In this 150th anniversary year marking the birth of Ida B. Wells, the crusading anti-lynching publisher and civil rights activist, admirers in Memphis and Chicago are attempting to raise the profile of a woman they say deserves more attention.

"Ida B. Wells is a hero that we ought to be celebrating much more publicly in Memphis, one of the great intellectual leaders to come out of the city," Dr. Jonathan Judaken, the Spence L. Wilson Chair in Humanities at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., told Journal-isms by telephone. "We're very good at celebrating the music that's come out of the city, but what about the Ida B. Wellses and Richard Wrights, who enabled us to rethink our conventions about the world?"

"The occasion has revived a question that should have been settled decades ago: How should the city honor Wells?," Wendi C. Thomas, a columnist for the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, wrote on Sunday.

"Today, the only formal tribute is a state historical marker erected in 1987 on Beale [Street]; her newspaper office, trashed and torched by an angry white mob that promised to kill Wells if she returned to town, was once nearby.

"To atone for the century-old slight, members of the Memphis City Council, the Shelby County Commission and others have tried again and again to install Wells in her proper place in the city's narrative.

"At the same time, a contingent that thinks fondly of the Civil War has rebuffed all efforts to reconsider the city park that canonizes a slave trader, Confederate general and leader of the Ku Klux Klan."

Judaken said he is working with the city's UrbanArt group and the National Civil Rights Museum to establish a permanent Wells memorial.

Meantime, as Thomas wrote, next week, ". . . Two public lectures, a theatrical presentation and original music will mark Rhodes College's commemoration of what would have been the 150th birthday of the city's best known journalist, Ida B. Wells."

Wells' actual birthday was July 16. On that day in Chicago, where Wells spent the last years of her life, the Ida B. Wells Commemorative Art Committee hosted an informal reception. The Committee has commissioned Richard Hunt, a world-renowned sculptor and Chicago native, to create a Wells monument.

" We've raised a little over $50,000 and need another $250,000," Wells' great-granddaughter, Michelle Duster, told Journal-isms by email on Monday. "If 2,500 people give $100 each, we'll have the money."

The National Association of Black Journalists and the Medill School at Northwestern University annually present an Ida B. Wells Award to a journalist who has championed diversity. This columnist is to receive it in January.

Dorothy Russell, First Asian American at Washington Post

Dorothy Ing Russell, a copy editor at the Washington Post for 28 years who said she was the first Asian American on the Post editorial staff, died Friday at 84 in a Maryland hospice, her son, Matthew W. Russell, told Journal-isms on Monday. He declined to give the cause of death.

Matthew Russell said his mother worked at the Post approximately from 1968 to 1991, when she retired, in part because of carpal tunnel syndrome. She was part of a class-action lawsuit against the Post that accused the newspaper of failing to provide the proper ergonomics furniture. The Post reached a settlement, Matthew Russell said.

Russell was a co-founder [PDF] and treasurer of the Washington chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association and received a lifetime achievement award from the national organization in 1995.

Among the achievements she listed for that occasion:

". . . 1st Asian American on the editorial staff of the Washington Post; 2nd woman editor for the Post; as a national desk copy editor, edited and wrote headlines on the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination and the Pentagon Papers case; as a Metro desk editor edited the Washington Post's Pulitzer-Prize winning series on the Watergate break-in and cover-up (Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein, 1973); 1955 acting bureau chief of United Press in Jakarta during the early years of Indonesian independence from the Dutch — the period of 'living dangerously' as many plots to overthrow the Sukarno government were afoot (she had interviewed generals who later disappeared); in 1956 hired as stringer reporter from Indonesia for New York Times, was the 2nd woman stringer ever for the New York Times; 'they assumed I was a man, so I wrote under the name Ing Russell . . .' "

In 1990, Russell wrote an op-ed retort in the Post, "Jimmy Breslin, Coward and Bully," responding to a racist Breslin outburst in the Newsday newsroom directed at a Korean-American co-worker.

She was honored again by AAJA at its 2010 convention in Los Angeles.

"Dorothy was a gracious and reasonable presence on the Metro copy desk," Post colleague Donald P. Baker said on a listserve for Post alumni.

Russell was a native of Hamilton, Ontario, and graduated from journalism's Medill School at Northwestern. When she left the Post, she became a docent at the Freer and Sackler galleries, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

Matthew Russell said a memorial service would be private, in accordance with his mother's wishes.

Footage from France 24 shows the moments just before journalist Sonia Dridi was attacked and groped by a group of men while filming live during protests in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Friday night. (Video)

French Journalist Attacked, Groped in Tahrir Square

"A journalist for France 24 has described how his female colleague was attacked and groped by a group of men while filming live during protests in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Friday night," Abdel-Rahman Hussein wrote Sunday for the Guardian newspaper in Britain.

"Sonia Dridi was surrounded while filming in the square, with the mob closing in on her as she was reporting. The news channel said in a statement that she was attacked at about 10.30pm.

"Her colleague from the English section of France 24, Ashraf Khalil, was by her side waiting to do his spot next for the camera but cut her off midway and led her off as the crowd began to move in. All this was caught on camera.

" 'Usually one of us goes first then the other, Sonia does the French and I do the English,' he told the Guardian. 'Usually we don't do Tahrir live shots from street level, normally we're on a balcony. We had done an earlier live shot and even then the crowd was annoying.

" 'When we went back for the second live shot the crowd was worse, it was really hard to control the crowd. If you see the video you can see me popping up on the fringe telling people let her work. By the time it was finished everybody was too close and no one was listening to us. I told Sonia to just go straight to [the shop] Hardee's and wait for me because I didn't want her to wait with this crowd of feral youths.'

". . . Numerous incidents of violence and sexual assault against women have been reported over the past 18 months whenever throngs gather in the square, with not everyone necessarily there with the aim of protesting. Sexual harassment is an endemic problem in Egypt dating back to before the revolution."

In February 2011, CBS correspondent Lara Logan "suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault" while covering the jubilant celebration Tahrir Square after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, CBS said at the time.

"Debate Ends Abruptly as Obama Punches Romney in Face"

"BOCA RATON (The Borowitz Report) — The third and final Presidential debate ended in dramatic fashion tonight as President Obama punched Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the face, knocking him unconscious before a national television audience. . . ."

So began a satire by Andy Borowitz Monday in the New Yorker.

Romney Wants Cabinet Reflecting "Fabric of America"

Derek T. Dingle, senior vice president and editor-in-chief of Black Enterprise magazine, landed an interview with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, "although polls show that his support from African Americans is almost nil."

"Diversity is a large part of business," Dingle asked. "Looking at your 25 years of business experience, including Bain Capital, how did you apply diversity to recruiting executives?"

Romney replied, "In hiring, we try to hire the best person we could possibly get without regard to the gender, race, or the sexual orientation of the person involved. I can tell you that when I became governor [of Massachusetts] I noted that government by and large drew from the same pool of applicants. I wanted to get more diversity in my senior administration members. So, I tasked our team with reaching out to other sources of résumés and to bring in people of a broader background. So, in my cabinet I had a number of minority members."

Dingle asked, "So how would your presidential cabinet look?"

Romney said, "I would hope to have the most capable people that I could find across the country. I would expect a number of them would have business backgrounds. I would hope a number would also have experience in the public sector. I recognize that you're looking to see if there would be representation of various ethnic groups and genders. The answer is yes. I would love to have a cabinet that reflected the fabric of America."

Obama Hopes for End to GOP Obstruction if He Wins

In separate post-debate radio interviews, President Obama said he was counting on congressional Republicans to end their obstructionism if he wins re-election, named health-care reform as his longest-lasting legacy and addressed the issue of Latin America, an area of the world not discussed in Monday's debate on foreign policy.

On his syndicated morning show, Tom Joyner asked Obama Tuesday, "How can you get the economy straight without the cooperation of the Republicans? Or will this time will it be another four more years of them just saying 'no, no, no' to everything you try to do?"

Obama replied, "You know it will be interesting to see how they respond. Obviously our first job is to win. And if we win, when we win, I think what you'll see is that initially there may be some resistance, but you know, they've been obsessed over the last four years with defeating me. After the election I will have won my last race. And hopefully they'll recognize that the kind of obstruction that they've engaged in is not good for them politically and it's certainly not good for the country."

On Univision Radio's "The Fernando Espuelas Show" on Wednesday, Espuelas asked, "if reelected, and now looking forward, what do you hope will be your greatest accomplishment as president?"

Obama said, "Well I think the most consequential thing that I have done as president has been to make sure that our economy didn't slip into a Great Depression. But I think the long-lasting legacy is going to be health care because we are the only industrialized nation on Earth that did not have basic coverage for millions of people. And that disproportionately included Latinos who work every day very hard but because they may be in low-wage jobs are not getting benefits on the job. And to make sure that our families are healthy, that they are not going to go bankrupt when they get sick, that they are not putting off preventive checkups and care that could prevent diseases, that is going to make a huge impact on people's lives over the long term."

Espuelas asked Obama to comment on the assertion by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney that the president had made the United States "weaker across the globe."

"Well, if you take a look at what we have done, not only in ending the war in Iraq, refocusing on al Qaeda, we are now transitioning out of Afghanistan," Obama replied. "But look at the regional alliances that we have built, areas that had been neglected for so many years. You take an example of Latin America, where during the Bush years the U.S. image in Latin America and the Caribbean was terrible. We immediately embarked on work starting with the first Summit of the Americas that I attended to create partnerships around education, around energy, small business exchanges that allow more products to be sold throughout the region. We made sure that we signed and completed trade deals with Colombia and Panama.

"And in addition to that, we have also been working on our infrastructure that allows us to increase trade throughout the region. For example, Florida obviously is a gateway for a lot of shipping into Latin America. We are expanding the Jacksonville port so that it is going to be equipped to deal with increased cargo. Those are the kinds of things that we just weren't doing, and it's part of the reason why our reputation is better around the world than it was when I came into office."

• Khalil Abdullah, New America Media: Voter Suppression Laws Cast Chill on Af-Am Community
  
  
• Associated Press: MTV devoting platform to Obama interview Friday
  
  
• Perry Bacon Jr., theGrio.com: On his signature set of issues, Obama puts Romney on defensive
  
  
• Wayne Bennett, Field Negro: Ann's R word, and Mitt gets a beatdown.
  
  
• Michael Calderone, Huffington Post: New York Times Stands By Iran Report That President Obama Dismissed
  
  
• Monica Campbell, "The World," Public Radio International: Romney Alienates Latino Mormons 
  
  
• CBS News: Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama for president (Oct. 25)
  
  
• Sasha Chavkin, Columbia Journalism Review: The Ad Wars: Obama's special message in Spanish
  
  
• Des Moines Register:  After editor's blog, President Obama releases transcript of Register interview Earlier: Editor Rick Green: Obama off-the-record comments deserve to be shared with voters
  
  
• Elise Foley, HuffPost LatinoVoices: Ohio Latino Vote Could Prove Influential, Strategists Say
  
  
• Daniel Garza, Fox News Latino: There Was Something Foreign About This Debate
  
  
• Mike Hoyt, Columbia Journalism Review: Let Detroit do what?: New interest in an old Op-Ed
  
  
• HuffPost BlackVoices: BET Airs Pro-Romney Commercial (VIDEO)
  
  
• La Opinión, Los Angeles: La Opinión Endorses Obama
  
  
• David Leonhardt, New York Times: Standard of Living Is in the Shadows as Election Issue
  
  
• Pew Research Center for the People & the Press: Republicans Increasingly Positive About Campaign
  
  
• Roque Planas, HuffPost LatinoVoices: Latin America Ignored At Third U.S. Presidential Debate
  
  
• Joy-Ann Reid, theGrio.com: Final presidential debate exposes the real Mitt Romney
  
  
• Nicholas Riccardi, Associated Press: Obama Immigration Stance Locks In Hispanic Support
  
  
• Rick Sanchez, Fox News Latino: Obama on the Ropes
  
  
• Lauren Williams of theRoot.com, C-SPAN: African American Voters and the 2012 Election (video)

Whites Write 93% of Front-Page Political Stories

The 4th Estate, a non-partisan project to aggregate data around the 2012 elections, released Thursday an infographic, "Bleached: Lack of Diversity on the Front Page," "that shows that over 93% of front page print articles covering the 2012 Presidential Election were written by white reporters.

The percentage of articles written by Asian Americans is 3.3%, by African Americans is 2.9%, and by Hispanics is 0.7%," the election-year monitoring organization said.

" 'I was shocked when I saw these numbers,' says Michael Howe, 4th Estate's co-founder. 'Our data shows there is a large disparity between the representation of minority reporters writing the most influential stories in our society and the 2010 Census data numbers.'

"Earlier this year, the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) released a survey of the 2012 minority representation at various print organizations. 'The delta between our infographic and the ASNE survey is a fascinating study,' says Jonas Eno-Van Fleet, 4th Estate's Director of Operations.

" 'Some of the data matches very closely, such as the percentage of New York Times reporters who are Hispanic (4%), while some of the data is quite different, such as the numbers for the San Francisco Chronicle. We found no minority reporters for the San Francisco Chronicle writing front page election stories, while the overall minority representation of their staff is over 20% according to the ASNE survey.'

"The most striking under-representation of minorities in the 4th Estate data is that of Hispanic journalists. . . . While the ASNE study reports that 27% of the Miami Herald staff is Hispanic, the 4th Estate data found none of the Miami Herald front page election articles were written by Hispanic journalists. . . . There are a few bright spots such the percentage of front page articles written by African American reporters at Dallas Morning News."

NAHJ Wins RTNDA, SPJ Approval for Joint Meeting

"The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) will partner with the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) at the annual Excellence in Journalism Conference in 2013 in Anaheim, Calif.," the organizations announced on Thursday.

"Earlier this week, the SPJ and RTDNA boards both voted to approve the partnership. NAHJ's board met on Oct. 19 and voted unanimously to approve its participation at EIJ13. . . ."

Alfred Liggins Replaces Wonya Lucas as CEO of TV One

After less than 15 months in the job, Wonya Lucas is out as president and CEO of TV One, and will be replaced by her boss, Alfred C. Liggins III, CEO and president of Radio One, the network announced on Tuesday.

Liggins "will add oversight of all daily network operations for TV One to his portfolio as CEO of TV One effective November 1," a release said. "As a result, current President and CEO Wonya Lucas will step down at the end of the month. 'Wonya has created a strong foundation for TV One's future success with the launch of two new hit series, R&B Divas and The Rickey Smiley Show,' Mr. Liggins commented. 'I and the Radio One family thank her for her leadership and guidance and wish her well in her next endeavor.'

"Ms. Lucas remarked, 'It has been my pleasure to have had the opportunity to be a part of TV One and work with Alfred Liggins, Cathy Hughes, and the TV One staff. I am extremely proud of what has been accomplished during my time with the network and am confident that the senior team under Alfred's leadership will continue to thrive and succeed.' "

Asked whether Liggins would remain in the job permanently, TVOne spokeswoman Monica Neal said by email, "Mr. Liggins is not offering comment at present but I will certainly add you to the press request list when he is giving interviews and can address your queries at that time."

Andrea Williams of MadameNoire.com asked Lucas in January, "What major challenges and opportunities do you foresee for yourself and the future of TVOne?"

She replied, in part, ". . . in the end, if we had this conversation a year from now, you'll see what I mean by really being relevant in the black community and being informing while still being entertaining. At the end of the day people watch television to be entertained and to be informed, and that’s our goal."

2 Stations Explain Why They Dropped "Smiley & West"

Two of the four public radio stations that recently dropped Tavis Smiley and Cornel West's "Smiley & West" say they are still running "The Tavis Smiley Show" and dropped the "Smiley & West" portion for programming or ratings reasons. Smiley, meanwhile, returned to the subject of whether he should be considered a journalist.

Smiley issued a blistering open letter to WBEZ-FM in Chicago last week, calling its reasons for dropping "Smiley & West" "demeaning, derogatory and dead wrong."

WBEZ, known also as Chicago Public Media ran the program at noon Sunday. It "explained the decision by citing audience erosion (noting a decline in weekly listenership from 37,900 to 13,200) and expressing concerns about the program's fairness and balance," Robert Feder reported last week for Time Out Chicago. " 'The show had developed much more of an 'advocacy' identity, which is inconsistent with our approach on WBEZ,' a spokesman said."

Tracey Powell wrote Wednesday for the Poynter Institute, " 'The Tavis Smiley Show' (with just Smiley) airs on 85 stations nationwide, while 'Smiley & West' airs on 72 stations. 'Smiley & West' is being marketed as the second hour of 'The Tavis Smiley Show' so that stations can test it out, a PRI spokeswoman told Poynter by phone."

Sam Fleming, managing director of news and programming at WBUR-FM in Boston, told Journal-isms his station ran "Smiley & West" for a week or two but replaced it with "Snap Judgment," an NPR show that calls itself "storytelling with a beat." "We thought it would appeal to young listeners," Fleming said by telephone. "I like Tavis but I like having a variety of voices."

With "Smiley & West," WBUR was running a two-hour block of Smiley on Saturday nights, Fleming said.

Robert Peterson, director of radio programming and operations at KWMU-FM, St. Louis Public Radio, said of "Smiley & West," "The audience to us was not as strong or devoted as it was for the second hour," which was just Smiley. "It continued to show decline." "Smiley & West" was replaced by "Snap Judgment," which fit better in a Sunday night lineup that included the storytelling "This American Life," Peterson told Journal-isms by telephone.

Candice Breedlove, program director of KMOJ-FM in Minneapolis, an African American-oriented public station, did not respond to an inquiry about why that station dropped "Smiley & West."

In his interview with Powell, Smiley returned to the subject of whether he should be considered a journalist.

"I am not Brian Williams, Bob Schieffer, Scott Pelley, or Diane Sawyer. I am not trying to be a journalist," said Smiley.

"If people want to use the word journalist with me in the title, they have to call me an advocacy journalist in the tradition of Ida B. Wells-Barnett, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Monroe Trotter. What I try to do is raise issues that unsettle people, unhouse people, that challenge folks to re-examine their assumptions, expand their inventory of ideas and give them a new way of seeing the world, a new prism from which to look."

Did Debate Commission "Play" the Journalist Groups?

Were the journalist of color associations "played" by the Commission on Presidential Debates?

After journalists of color were shut out of the debate questioning of the presidential and vice presidential candidates, Hugo Balta, president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and Anna Lopez Buck, NAHJ interim executive director, met in Washington Aug. 23 with Michael D. McCurry, co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates.

McCurry, press secretary to President Bill Clinton from 1995 to 1998, accepted Balta's suggestion that the commission receive questions from the journalists of color and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association for presentation to the moderators. McCurry acknowledged "that it would be very difficult (for the moderators) not to take advantage of such an offer," Balta wrote at the time.

But it appeared that none of the questions were asked, despite an Oct. 1 statement from the commission's Nancy Henrietta that "All questions submitted to the CPD have been forwarded to the moderators."

The moderators and their network spokesmen have been reluctant to comment on whether they received the questions, but Edie Emery, a spokeswoman for CNN, spoke Friday on behalf of Candy Crowley, who moderated the second presidential debate. Emery told Journal-isms by email, "Candy moderated the Presidential town hall debate. All of the questions came from the town hall participants. Candy did not receive any questions from the CPD."

Balta previously expressed his disappointment: ". . . Regardless of the outcome, NAHJ is committed to working with the CPD and media companies in ensuring that the list of experienced Latino candidates in 2016 is more robust than what it has been in 2012," he said.

On Friday, Gregory H. Lee Jr., president of the National Association of Black Journalists, responded by email:

"It is disappointing that the commission disregarded the work of NABJ and the Unity alliance. Perhaps we should not be surprised at these developments when considering the lack of ethnic diversity among the moderators was a path the commission chose to take. When you examine that there were no questions taken from journalists of color and there were no journalists of color as moderators, they missed an opportunity to be more inclusive."

McCurry could not be reached for comment.

• Wayne Bennett, Field Negro: Colin makes a pick and Sarah is still "shucking and jivin".
  
  
• Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post: John Sununu: Race-baiting buffoon
  
  
• Esther J. Cepeda, Washington Post News Media Services: Lured by a DREAM
  
  
• Ta-Nehisi Coates blog, the Atlantic: Mourdock, Conception, and Theodicy
  
  
• Stanley Crouch, Daily News, New York: Rush Limbaugh, tragic villain
  
  
• George E. Curry, National Newspaper Publishers Association: Romney Continues Campaign of Lies
  
  
• Mary C. Curtis, the Grio: 4 years after Obama's breakthrough, few black pols on the ballot for major offices
  
  
• Wayne Dawkins, politicsincolor.com: Reluctantly imagining a presidency without Obama
  
  
• Darrell Dawsey, Deadline Detroit: GOP Gushes Over Black Actress Backing Romney; Blows Off Colin Powell's Independence
  
  
• Jarvis DeBerry, NOLA.com|Times-Picayune: Poor Republicans and rich Democrats will show up at the polls
  
  
• Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting: Factchecking Libya: Debate dispute sheds light on media's cockeyed standards 
  
  
• Peter Finocchiaro, Huffington Post: Lawrence Wilkerson, Former Colin Powell Aide, Blasts Sununu, GOP, As 'Full Of Racists'
  
  
• John W. Fountain, Chicago Sun-Times: Even President Obama gets 'angry black man' label
  
  
• Annette John-Hall, Philadelphia Inquirer: Sexist views worthy of cave men in election season
  
  
• Jerry Large, Seattle Times: Jewish group backs Israel but wants 2-state solution
  
  
• Latina Lista: Majority of Latino voters want Obama to finish what he started
  
  
• Latina Lista: Final debate underscores misstep of Commission on Presidential Debates to not include moderators of color
  
  
• Suevon Lee, ProPublica: Reading Guide: Where Romney and Obama Stand on the Supreme Court
  
  
• Trudy Lieberman, Columbia Journalism Review: Ask Obama This: Will we have to be older to get Medicare?: We know about Romney's vouchers, but the president is quiet on the subject of raising eligibility
  
  
• Julianne Malveaux, syndicated: What You Talking 'bout Willard?
  
  
• Roland S. Martin, Creators Syndicate: It's a Black Thing, Right John Sununu?
  
  
• John McWhorter, Daily News, New York: The pure sport of the debates: They're fun to watch, but have nothing to do with leadership
  
  
• medialifemagazine.com: Obama gooses 'Tonight Show' ratings
  
  
• Mary Mitchell, Chicago Sun-Times: Sarah Palin's 'shuck and jive' remark racially insensitive
  
  
• Phillip Morris, Plain Dealer, Cleveland: Does America still have the capacity to make good on the promise to its young?
  
  
• Askia Muhammad, Washington Informer: Tough Talking Tagg Romney
  
  
• Kimberly Nordyke, Hollywood Reporter: Michelle Obama on Kimmel: Reveals Her Disguise, President's Advice to Daughters (Video)
  
  
• Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: And now, a word from Mr. Mourdock's god
  
  
• Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune: Romney the chameleon debates himself
  
  
• Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald: Closing the binders on pay inequity 
  
  
• Tracie Powell, Poynter Institute: Why Black Enterprise was given an exclusive interview with Mitt Romney
  
  
• Clyde Prestowitz, Foreign Policy: America's dangerous fantasy land
  
  
• Rochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press: Romney sounds presidential — and out of his league
  
  
• Geraldo Rivera, Fox News Latino: Put Up or Shut Up
  
  
• Mary Sanchez, Kansas City Star: What the men of the GOP don’t get about rape and abortion
  
  
• Barry Saunders, News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.: The Rev. Billy Graham plays politics
  
  
• Katherine Leal Unmuth, Latina Lista: Education is Top Issue for Latino Voters
  
  
• Erik Wemple, Washington Post: Obama campaign and Des Moines Register: A form of quote approval
  
  
• Alex Weprin, TVNewser: 'Morning Joe' Books President Obama
  
  
• Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post: The U.S. Economy Is Recovering Well

Stephen A. Smith insists that he did not really utter the N-word, that as a New Yorker he speaks quickly and his language can be misunderstood. Dahntay Jones of the Dallas Mavericks is at right. In this video, viewers can judge for themselves.

Stephen A. Smith Denies Uttering N-Word on Air

"This morning Stephen A. Smith was in a 'First Take' debate about whether or not Kobe Bryant would play in the season opener," Clay Travis wrote Thursday for outkickthecoverage.com.

"That's par for the first take course, a 'debate' that no one really cares about and that has no lasting significance, delivered with stereo sound histrionics and Bay of Pigs level crisis threat. Ordinarily no one would have noticed. Except on this particular morning Smith dropped a 'Nigga, please,' to cement his point. He did not follow it up by saying, 'you ain't signing no checks like these,' in which case he could just claim he was quoting a popular Jay-Z song.

"Later ESPN dropped the phrase from a reairing . . . [ESPN's] official response: 'Stephen A. Smith vehemently denies using any inappropriate language. We didn't leave it on the re-air as we didn't want to create more confusion if people misunderstood him.'"

Under the headline, "Memo to ESPN, Stephen A.: Enough BS," fellow black sports commentator Jason Whitlock of Fox Sports took Smith and "First Take" to task on Friday.

". . . I'm not going to waste a lot of time breaking down the weakness of Smith's latest denial," Whitlock wrote. "He dropped the N-word. The audio and video speak for themselves. Smith's laughable denial — saying he's from New York and sometimes speaks too 'fastly' — doesn’t even attempt to explain what he said if not 'n---a, please.'

"Nope. The discussion today should focus on First Take, and why this particular show can't avoid sprinkling the N-word into its discourse.

". . . This is a horrendous look for black journalists. Where are the standards? How will we have any credibility the next time a white broadcaster says anything remotely racist if we sit quiet while Smith gets away with this?

"Smith owes us an apology and a few days off work to think about how to properly and respectfully use the immense broadcasting talents he's been blessed with."

• Greg Starddard, Bleacher Report: ESPN's Stephen A. Smith Symbolic of the State of Network Cable Television [Oct. 27]

BET, Bossip, Madame Noire Rise Among Black Sites

The BET, Bossip and Madame Noire websites recorded increases in unique visitors compared with June numbers, but HuffPost BlackVoices, the Grio and Essence sustained significant declines, according to September figures from the comScore research company.

BET.com was No. 1 among 17 African American-oriented websites for which Journal-isms requested ratings Friday. BET drew 3,191,000 unique visitors in September, compared with 2,851,000 in June. Second was MediaTakeOut, a site specializing in lurid celebrity gossip that for a time had been the top-viewed black-oriented website, with 2,564,000 unique visitors, compared with 2,256,000 in June.

Third was Bossip, a gossip site that last year ran photos of the miscarried fetus of rapper Joe Budden and model Esther Baxter. It drew 2,087,000 unique visitors in September, compared with 1,692,000 in June.

Fourth was HuffPost BlackVoices, which fell from 3,874,000 unique visitors in June to 1,791,000 in September, according to comScore.

"Like every news site, HuffPost Black Voices' statistics fluctuate from month to month based on the nature of the stories," Huffington Post spokesman Rhoades Alderson told Journal-isms Friday by email. "Pageviews were actually 35% higher in September compared to February even though UVs were lower. We are extremely happy with the performance of HuffPost Black Voices in the 15 months since its launch." Alderson was asked about a comparison with February figures.

Madame Noire, which calls itself "a sophisticated lifestyle publication that gives African-American women the latest in fashion trends, black entertainment news, parenting tips and beauty secrets that are specifically for black women," was fifth with 1,276,000 unique visitors, up from 815,000 in June.

The Grio, a black-oriented NBC News property, was sixth with 1,129,000 unique visitors, down from 1,646,000 in June.

Others were the Root, 1,106,000, down from 1,697,000 in June; Black Planet, 672,000, up from 581,000 in June; Essence, 652,000, down from 986,000 in June; Black America Web, 476,000, up from 294,000 in June; and EURWeb, 398,000, down from 529,000.

Lee Bailey of EURWeb said comScore does not have tracking code installed on his website and so cannot calculate visits properly. "Our internal (Google) Analytics show us averaging between 900k to 1 million unique per month over the last six months," he said by email. ". . . it seems to me that based on our 900k plus average, the comScore should be no lower than 700k or 600k at the MOST."

Traffic for other sites: Concrete Loop, 201,000, down from 248,000 in June; Clutch magazine, 152,000, up from 127,000 in June; Ebony, 115,000, up from 42,000; Hello Beautiful, 978,000, down from 996,000 in June; NewsOne, 910,000, down from 988,000 in June; and the YBF, 594,000.

NAHJ Says Use of "Illegal" Can Lead to Violence

". . . NAHJ continues to condemn the use of the term 'illegal immigrants,' 'illegal aliens' and 'illegals' in describing people who are in this country without proper documentation," Hugo Balta, president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, wrote Thursday for Fox News Latino.

This month, New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan endorsed the newspaper's policy of using "illegal immigrant," and Tom Kent, deputy managing editor for standards and production at the Associated Press, defended AP's use of the term, though he added, "The first thing to note is that 'illegal immigrant' is not the only term we use."

Balta continued, ". . . Those demeaning titles are not only inaccurate and disrespectful, but a propaganda tool used to dehumanize a group of people and instill fear in the general population in order to establish policy.

". . . It's easy for someone to preach from behind an office desk about the proper meaning of words like illegal immigrant. It is irresponsible for them to think that those decisions do not have consequences; sometimes violent."

Balta also quoted Fatma Marouf, co-director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Nevada William C. Boyd School of Law, who said ". . . the term 'illegal immigrants' erroneously suggests that anyone in the United States without legal status is a criminal. Unlawful presence in the United States is not — and never has been — a crime."

Balta also said, "NAHJ has historically asked the media to use the term undocumented immigrants or undocumented worker. To use any other term when describing this group is an attempt to discredit them, question their motives for being in this country and silence their voice from the controversial immigration debate. . . ."

Paul DeMain Isn't Joining Tributes to Russell Means

Paul DeMain, CEO of Indian Country Communications and editor of News From Indian Country, is not joining the outpouring of tributes to Russell Means, the American Indian Movement activist and actor who died on Monday at 72.

For more than 10 years, DeMain has investigated the case of Leonard Peltier and other Native activists. In 1977, Peltier was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment for first-degree murder in the shooting of two FBI agents during a 1975 conflict on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Peltier's supporters say he is innocent.

DeMain, a former president of the Native American Journalists Association and of Unity: Journalists of Color, does not agree. At the 2011 NAJA convention, he led a session on the 1975 kidnapping, torture and killing of Native activist Annie Mae Pictou Aquash, in which he questioned the actions of Means and AIM co-founder Dennis Banks.

DeMain told Journal-isms by email, ". . . . how is it that mainstream media puts Means, Banks and Peltier on such a pedestal aside from the work that Native journalists did to expose the lies about Peltier being an innocent man." He said that several informants, such as Pictou, Johnny Moore, Buddy LaMont and a black civil rights worker, Perry Ray Robinson, were murdered, and that the AIM leaders "have used their hollywood notoriety to be turned into spokespeople for the Native community when there [are] much more legitimate people to advise the media.

"It is a failure of the media as far as I can see. They no longer want to dwell or work on hard stories, especially when it is easier to quote some radical pretty Indian looking stereotype guy that has something cute to say all the time about anything you ask them about. AIM, Russ and Dennis have become the mascot and logos of Indian Country they fight against."

• Editorial, New York Times: On Wounded Knee
  
  
• Indian Country Today Media Network: Breaking News: Russell Means Walks On
  
  
• Robert D. McFadden, New York Times: Russell Means, Who Clashed With Law as He Fought for Indians, Is Dead at 72
  
  
• Gyasi Ross, Huffington Post: Russell Means, Lightning and Sexiness: The Toughest Indian in the Whole Wide World
  
  
• Gale Courey Toensing, Indian Country Today: Russell Means: Standing Against Injustice

Special Olympics Athlete Responds to Ann Coulter Slur

"John Franklin Stephens is a Special Olympics athlete who has written a letter that we hope all Americans will read," the Chicago Tribune editorialized on Friday.

"He wrote it earlier this week to conservative political pundit Ann Coulter after she used the word 'retard' to refer to President Barack Obama. Coulter's disgraceful tweet came during the debate Monday between Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney: 'I highly approve of Romney's decision to be kind and gentle to the retard,' alluding to Romney's strategy of not directly attacking Obama.

"The casual use of the word is repugnant to people who have learning or developmental disabilities, and to the people who love them.

"Stephens called Coulter on it and reminded Americans why the word hurts. . . . "

• Wayne Bennett, Field Negro: Ann's R word, and Mitt gets a beatdown.
  
  
• Hannah Groch-Begley, Media Matters for America: Ann Coulter Continues To Use Offensive Term "Retard" Despite Backlash