In '65 Watts coverage, race complexities eluded L.A. Times; black men account for 40% of unarmed killings by police; Cincinnati outlets want video released of officer's slaying; Obama writes letter to editor on voting rights; bilingual Texas educator chosen for J-diversity award; visit to Prince studio was possible "memory of a lifetime"; Carolina Garcia to retire as M.E. of L.A. Newspaper Group; judge tosses $20 billion suit against Sharpton, Comcast (8/12/15)In '65 Watts Coverage, Race Complexities Eluded L.A. Times
Black Men Account for 40% of Unarmed Killings by Police
Cincinnati Outlets Want Video Released of Officer's Slaying
Obama Writes Letter to the Editor on Voting Rights
Bilingual Texas Educator Chosen for J-Diversity Award
Visit to Prince Studio Was Possible "Memory of a Lifetime"
Judge Tosses $20 Billion Suit Against Sharpton, Comcast
"A California judge has made short order of a $20 billion lawsuit that accused Comcast and Time Warner Cable of racial discriminating through the licensing of cable channels,"Eriq Gardner reported Friday for the Hollywood Reporter.
"The legal action fails because the National Association of African-American Owned Media 'failed to allege any plausible claim for relief.'
"The lawsuit was filed this past February before the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger collapsed. According to the complaint, the two companies 'collectively spend approximately $25 billion annually for the licensing of pay-television channels and advertising of their products and services, yet 100% African American–owned media receives less than $3 million per year.'
"The legal action, spearheaded in part by Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios Networks, gained some notoriety for including as co-defendants Al Sharpton, the NAACP, the National Urban League and the National Action Network for allegedly facilitating discrimination. In 2010, Comcast acquired NBCUniversal and entered into voluntary diversity agreements with these groups. The lawsuit said it was a 'sham, undertaken to whitewash Comcast's discriminatory business practices,' and raised hackles over Sharpton's salary as host of an MSNBC show.
"In response to the lawsuit, the defendants said the lawsuit was 'preposterous,''offensive,''entirely fantastical' and 'shameful,' and argued the complaint was 'devoid of factual allegations that could remotely support Plaintiffs' outlandish and defamatory claims under the applicable pleading standard.'
"Today, U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter Jr. agreed, and in a sign he didn't even think this was a close call, spent just three pages analyzing the claims in an order to dismiss. . . ."