Black History Month a good time to illuminate the present; Lester Holt fills in at NBC as Brian Williams crisis deepens; Johnson Publishing finds its corporate base shrinking; "Fresh Off the Boat" ratings impressive in debut; Martin says ethics rules on speaker fees miss nuance; NPR chief says all programs should contain "different voices"; NPR chief says all programs should contain "different voices"; a cultural disconnect in evaluating Beyonce's gospel; delay in Nigerian elections laid to Boko Haram; Time Inc. workers rally around laid-Off ill co-worker (2/9/15)Black History Month a Good Time to Illuminate the Present
Lester Holt Fills in at NBC as Brian Williams Crisis Deepens
Johnson Publishing Finds Its Corporate Base Shrinking
"Fresh Off the Boat" Ratings Impressive in Debut
A Cultural Disconnect in Evaluating Beyoncé's Gospel
Martin Says Ethics Rules on Speaker Fees Miss Nuance
NPR Chief Says All Shows Should Contain "Different Voices"
Delay in Nigerian Elections Laid to Boko Haram
"Boko Haram's latest victim may just have been Nigeria’s national election,"Karen Attiah contended Sunday for the Washington Post.
"At least on first glance, it would appear that way. On Saturday evening, Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced its decision to postpone Nigeria's national election scheduled for February 14th.
"These elections were widely expected to be Nigeria’s closest electoral contest yet, between the increasingly unpopular Goodluck Jonathan's People's Democratic Party (PDP) and retired General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive's Congress (APC). These elections represent a serious challenge to Jonathan's PDP, which has won every election since 1999.
"The reason for the delay? According to INEC, Nigeria’s security services say they need at least six weeks to launch a major offensive against the Boko Haram insurgency in the northern part of the country, that they could not guarantee security for the February elections. The new date for the presidential elections is set for March 28th. State elections will be held on April 11th.
"Seriously? . . ."
Meanwhile, Buhari, a former military ruler, was asked why his government had jailed reporters Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor for publishing reports that it considered embarrassing to government officials.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Buhari replied, "We said we cannot stop the press from criticizing people or institutions. But please, let them have investigative journalism.
"Let them try and verify facts before they accuse government of offence and others of misdemeanor to spoil their names and reputations. We never held any secret tribunal. The tribunals, six of them throughout the country, we got the intelligence community, Navy, Army, Air Force, Police, national security organisations, to form the investigative panel that based on documentation, people were charged, military tribunals, they were tried. . . ."Segun Adio reported for Nigeria's Daily Times.
Time Inc. Workers Rally Around Laid-Off, Ill Co-Worker
"While there has been a steady parade of people out of Time Inc., not all leave with a golden parachute,"Keith J. Kelly reported Thursday for the New York Post.
"David Barbee worked 10 years as a researcher and mail deliverer until he was laid off last May.
"Two months later, in July, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer that quickly spread to his liver.
"Just when he thought he had beaten the cancer after an operation in December to remove the cancerous liver and another in late January to remove cancerous colon tumors, Barbee learned he was going to be evicted from his apartment.
"Now a brigade of former People people, spearheaded by former Research Director Robert Britton and former Executive Editor Jeannie Parks, have come to the aid of their former colleague.
"They started a website site for him on Gofundme.com that has raised over $21,000 since it went live on Jan. 31. . . ."
The figure was up to $36,280 on Monday night.
The Gofundme site calls Barbee "the best known, best liked, and most helpful person in the entire Time & Life Building in recent years," and adds, "David, who is 44, was born totally blind, with glaucoma and cataracts.
"At age 2, the cataracts were removed, and since then he has been legally blind. He will of always have glaucoma, which has to be closely monitored. His father died of cancer when David was 3. He had a great Mom, who made him work harder than the other kids, in order to keep up with the other kids. His Mom was shot and killed when he was 13. His grandmother took over; she died when he was 15. His sisters and aunts finished raising him. . . ."