Despite numbers, voting influence seen as limited; black Dallas paper loses Martin Luther King Jr. parade; pundit fired after calling Flint crisis "overblown"; Navarrette blasts Trump comments on pundits of color; Sean Penn once argued that journalists should be jailed; some media outlets kept quiet to protect prisoner swap; #OscarsSoWhite returns to social media, op-ed pages; Washington NFL team foundation gives $3.7 million to tribes; why Univision decided to purchase the Onion (1/20/16)Despite Numbers, Voting Influence Seen as Limited
Black Dallas Paper Loses Martin Luther King Jr. Parade
Pundit Fired After Calling Flint Crisis "Overblown"
Navarrette Blasts Trump Comments on Pundits of Color
Sean Penn Once Argued That Journalists Should Be Jailed
Some Media Outlets Kept Quiet to Protect Prisoner Swap
#OscarsSoWhite Returns to Social Media, Op-Ed Pages
Washington NFL Team Foundation Gives $3.7M to Tribes
"The foundation Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder created to support Native Americans contributed $3.7 million during its first year, providing items such as vans, computers and winter coats for more than 20 tribes that desperately needed assistance,"John Woodrow Cox reported Friday for the Washington Post.
"The billionaire's contributions were outlined in documents produced by the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation and in financial records being filed Friday with the IRS.
"Both the team and organization's involvement with tribes [have] created or exacerbated divisions inside several Native American communities and drawn condemnation from activists who allege that Snyder is merely trying to buy support for his franchise's controversial name. . . ."
- Rebecca Onion, Slate: America's Other Original Sin(Indian slavery)
Why Univision Decided to Purchase the Onion
"Univision has a head start on the most unlikely deal of 2016,"Sahil Patel reported Tuesday for digiday.com.
"The Spanish-language media giant has acquired a minority stake [in] The Onion. Valued at less than $200 million, the deal gives Univision a 40 percent stake in The Onion's parent company, with the option of buying the publisher outright in the future, according to The New York Times.
"The deal comes at a time when Univision is aggressively pushing to diversify its business beyond the Spanish-language TV content it has historically been known for. It's not just doing more English-language content either, as Univision has placed an internal focus on owning different content verticals that resonate with millennial audiences.
"Last May, the company acquired African-American news and culture site The Root. In the past several years, it also launched two English-language cable channels, Fusion and El Rey. Univision has also been building several digital businesses, including the digital arm of Fusion, the UCN YouTube network and the streaming comedy channel Flama.
"'Comedians are seen as the new public intellectuals. That is because they are seen as more real, authentic and able to cut through all the crap that is out there,' said Isaac Lee, Univision's chief news and digital officer. . . ."
- David Folkenflik, NPR: Area Satirical Publication The Onion Sold To Univision (Seriously)