White Debate Questioners Expected to "Represent"

August 15, 2012

Commission Rejects Adding Latino Journalists

Soledad O'Brien Exasperates Republicans

Washington Post Apologizes to Fareed Zakaria

Blog Spotlights "Ethnic Cleansing" of U.S. Chinese

Arviso, Mallory Honored by APME; Wickham by SPJ

Navarrette Hits a Nerve on Waving Two Flags

In India, Each Photographer Attacked by 25 Men

Ted Holtzclaw, Beloved Manager at WABC, Dies at 53

Women Editors of Color Muted on Helen Gurley Brown

Short Takes

Commission Rejects Adding Latino Journalists

Reacting to complaints that only white journalists were chosen to moderate this year's presidential and vice presidential debates, the Commission on Presidential Debates said Wednesday that ". . . we strongly believe that the four journalists we have named see their assignment as representing all Americans in their choice of topics and questions."

The Commission announced Monday that the moderators for the four debates will be evenly split between male and female journalists for the first time. They are Jim Lehrer of PBS, Bob Schieffer of CBS, Candy Crowley of CNN and Martha Raddatz of ABC.

However, it will also be the first time since 1996 that there will be no moderators of color for either a vice presidential or presidential debate.

Randy Falco, CEO of Univision, wrote to the commission Wednesday, saying it had "neglected to have someone speak credibly to the concerns of Hispanics in America," and proposed an additional debate to address issues affecting Hispanics. He offered up his anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas as moderators of such a forum.

Hugo Balta, president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, said NAHJ shared in Falco's "disappointment" and urged that a Latino journalist be added to its choices for moderators. He added, ". . . The last African-American to moderate a presidential race was Carole Simpson in 1992. No Asian-American has ever been at the helm of questioning (presidential and vice presidential debates)."

Balta urged "the leadership of the UNITY alliance: Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), Native American Journalists Association (NAJA), National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) and the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) join us in making this request."

The commission appeared to reject Falco's idea.

It said in an emailed statement to Journal-isms, "We recognize that there are many organizations and individuals who wish they had been included in our moderator selection. Debate arithmetic means that it is impossible to accommodate all of them. However, we strongly believe that the four journalists we have named see their assignment as representing all Americans in their choice of topics and questions.

"The general election debates have always focused on issues of national interest that affect all citizens, including Univision's audience. We have met with Univision about joint efforts to get the largest number of people possible engaged in discussing and learning from the debates, and remain interested in working with [Univision] toward that goal."

A spokeswoman did not respond to a request to clarify what the joint efforts were.

Falco had written:

"I am writing to express disappointment on behalf of the millions of Hispanics who do not have a voice in the upcoming presidential debates as evidenced by the selected moderators announced yesterday. This November more than 20 million Hispanics could play a critical role in electing the new President of the United States and it is important that they make an informed decision. The debates announced yesterday presented an ideal opportunity to tap one of the two best journalists in the business who have a broad understanding of the domestic and international issues impacting this country, understand the Hispanic community better than anyone else and are fully bilingual: Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas.

"According to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, Hispanic voters nationwide will comprise 8.7 percent of all voters. This number, in and of itself, represents a sizeable portion of Americans. More significant is the percentage of the Latino vote in key swing states. New Mexico hovers around 38 percent; Arizona is approximately 24 percent, Florida 16.5 percent, Nevada 14.2 percent and Colorado, 13.1 percent. These five states alone represent 60 electoral votes or 22 percent of all electoral votes needed to elect the next president of this country.

"We recognize and have great respect for the important role that the Commission on Presidential Debates plays in providing a critical source of information about the candidates which is why it is surprising that not one moderator is Hispanic. We strongly believe that the Commission should entertain the notion of adding an additional debate that will speak directly to this burgeoning audience so influential to the presidential dialogue and outcome in order to maximize Hispanic voter participation.

"Since you have already made your decision on moderators for the debates and have neglected to have someone speak credibly to the concerns of Hispanics in America, Univision would be willing to create a forum tor the presidential candidates to address this sector of our society. This would be a forum in which Jorge and Maria Elena — the journalists most trusted by Hispanics — could help carry the torch of the proud tradition the Commission has played since 1987.

"We look forward to hearing back from the Commission as soon as possible on how you plan to address the role this important community will play in the Presidential debates. As stated above, we stand ready to work with you on a solution that will enable the Hispanic community to hear directly from the Presidential candidates on the issues most important to our country and to Hispanics, an important voting bloc that will inevitably define this election."

Meanwhile, the Center for Investigative Reporting and Univision News Tuesday announced a partnership to jointly produce investigative stories relevant to Spanish-speaking audiences in the United States and Latin America.

"The partnership with Univision ties in with our strategy of reaching an ever growing and diverse audience," Robert J. Rosenthal, executive director of CIR, said in a news release.

"Univision's brand and huge audience across the U.S. and around the world make this collaboration a [no-brainer] for CIR and a natural fit for both organizations. We look forward to doing memorable and important stories with Univision News."

• Zerlina Maxwell, thegrio.com: Red, Black & Blue: Why presidential debate moderators should reflect US diversity
  
  
• Jack Mirkinson, Huffington Post: Presidential Debate Moderators: Why All White?
  
  
• Radio Television Digital News Association: RTDNA to Honor Univision's Jorge Ramos with John F. Hogan Distinguished Service Award
  
  
• James Rainey, Los Angeles Times: CNN's Candy Crowley talks about hosting presidential debate
  
  
• Tavis Smiley, Huffington Post: Presidential Debates: Colorblind or Blind to Color?

Soledad O'Brien Exasperates Republicans

"Romney surrogates going up against CNN host Soledad O'Brien clearly haven't learned their lesson, David Edwards reported Wednesday for rawstory.com.

"A day after former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu angrily told O'Brien to 'put an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead,' former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney's national campaign co-chair, suggested that the CNN host didn't understand English." 

"During an interview on Wednesday, O'Brien told Pawlenty that one of the presumptive Republican presidential candidate's ads falsely claimed that President Barack Obama had cut $716 billion from Medicare — but the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had determined that it was actually reduction in spending, not benefits.

" 'Isn't that just patently untrue in that ad?' she asked the former Minnesota governor.

" 'No, that's not correct, Soledad,' Pawlenty replied. 'It is absolutely beyond factual dispute that [Obama] has cut $716 billion out of the money that was projected to be spent on Medicare over the next 10 years.'

" 'But, sir, it’s not a cut in Medicare, right?' O’Brien observed. 'Let me just read from the CBO. It's a 'permanent reduction in the annual updates to Medicaid's payment rates.' It's a cut in the spending — future spending. And it's [a] cut that actually goes to insurers, right? I mean, it's not cuts to individuals.'

" 'No matter how you say this, it's a cut to Medicare,' Pawlenty insisted. 'You can't even with a straight face, look your viewers in the eye and tell [them] that it's not a cut to Medicare.'

" 'Well, I can't look viewers in the eye from where I am,' O’Brien pointed out. 'I’m saying the way the CBO puts it. … That is a savings.'

" 'Do you know what that is in English?' Pawlenty quipped.

" 'I speak English incredibly well, sir, as you know,' O’Brien shot back. 'So, tell me what it is in English.' . . ."

• Paul Bond, Hollywood Reporter: Conservative Media Beating Up on CNN's Soledad O'Brien (Video)
  
  
• Peter Hart, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting: PBS Does 'Both Sides' on Bogus Romney Welfare Attack
  
  
• Melody Johnson, Media Matters for America: CNN's O'Brien Corrects Right-Wing Media Medicare Falsehood
  
  
• Andy Ostroy, Huffington Post: Soledad O'Brien's Amazing John Sununu Interview Should Be Taught in Journalism School

Washington Post Apologizes to Fareed Zakaria

The Washington Post apologized to commentator Fareed Zakaria on Wednesday for a Post article that said he had not properly attributed a quote in a 2008 book.

The newspaper affixed this correction over the Web version of an article by media writer Paul Farhi that was headlined, "More questions raised about Fareed Zakaria's work":

"This article incorrectly states that in his 2008 book, 'The Post-American World,' Fareed Zakaria failed to cite the source of a quotation taken from another book. In fact, Zakaria did credit the other work, by Clyde V. Prestowitz. Endnotes crediting Prestowitz were contained in hardcover and paperback editions of Zakaria's book. The Post should have examined copies of the books and should not have published the article. We regret the error and apologize to Fareed Zakaria."

The statement appeared as an editor's note on Page A2 of Thursday's print edition.

In the Post article, Zakaria defended the practice of not attributing quotes in a popular book.

" 'As I write explicitly [in the book], this is not an academic work where everything has to be acknowledged and footnoted,' he said. The book contains 'hundreds' of comments and quotes that aren’t attributed because doing so, in context, would 'interrupt the flow for the reader,' he said.

"He compared his technique to other popular non-fiction authors. 'Please look at other books in this genre and you will notice that I'm following standard practice,' he said.

" 'I should not be judged by a standard that's not applied to everyone else,' he added. 'People are piling on with every grudge or vendetta. The charge is totally bogus.' "

The Post article said Zakaria's column would not appear in the Post this month.

• Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic: Fareed Zakaria Responds to the Charge of Quote-Stealing
  
  
• Stephen Markley, redeyechicago.com: In Defense of Plagiarism
  
  
• Rem Rieder, American Journalism Review: Everybody Does It

Blog Spotlights "Ethnic Cleansing" of U.S. Chinese

"Many people try to pay homage to historic sites by preserving or taking stock of whatever remains. Tim Greyhavens, a photojournalist from Seattle, wants to highlight a slice of history by challenging his audience to fill in the blanks," David W. Chen wrote Monday for the New York Times' Lens Blog.

"For a new online project, Mr. Greyhavens pinpointed, based on records and interviews, the locations of dozens of anti-Chinese incidents in the American West that occurred more than 100 years ago. After traveling to those locations, he then photographed whatever exists there now.

"The exhibit offers an entry point into a little-known and ignominious chapter of ethnic cleansing in American history that, viewed more than a century later, seems stunning for the sheer breadth and brazenness of racially motivated violence.

"From the mid-1800s until the early part of the 20th century, towns up and down the Western Seaboard, stretching into Wyoming and Colorado, lashed out against Chinese immigrants by rounding them up, often at gunpoint, and kicking them out. Dozens were killed and injured, and houses were set on fire. . . . "

David Gonzalez told Journal-isms in this space last month, "One of the things I had hoped to accomplish when I came on as co-editor of the Lens Blog was to broaden the types of photographers and images featured on the blog.

"So, in recent months my co-editor Jim Estrin and I have showcased how West African fotogs see West Africa, or how a Guatemalan fotog created an iconic image to symbolize his country's genocide. . . . I do think we have delved more deeply into more issues on race, representation and diversity than any other photo blog that I am aware of."

• Tim Greyhavens site

Arviso, Mallory Honored by APME; Wickham by SPJ

"Tom Arviso, publisher and chief executive officer of the Navajo Times in Window Rock, Ariz., and James Mallory, recently retired senior managing editor and vice president of news of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, are the recipients of the 11th annual Robert G. McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership, awarded by the Associated Press Media Editors," APME announced on Wednesday.

Separately, the Society of Professional Journalists announced Monday that it "is pleased to honor DeWayne Wickham and Bob Edwards as Fellows of the Society. This highest honor given by the Society is awarded for extraordinary contribution to the profession."

APME, formerly the Associated Press Managing Editors, said, "The McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership is given annually to individuals, newsrooms or teams of journalists who embody the spirit of McGruder, a former executive editor of the Detroit Free Press, managing editor of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and a graduate of Kent State University. McGruder died of cancer in April 2002. A past president of APME and former member of American Society of News Editors' Board of Directors, McGruder was a relentless diversity champion.

" . . . The Navajo Times began in 1958 as a newspaper funded by the Navajo Nation. Arviso was hired as managing editor in 1988 and became editor and publisher in 1993. Under his leadership, the paper separated from the tribal government in 2004 to become an independent business and newspaper. The Navajo Times now is the largest Native American-owned newspaper in the United States with a circulation of 21,400 and more than 120,000 readers weekly."

Mallory, ". . . who retired in April as the senior managing editor and vice president of news at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was nominated because he 'has been a strong advocate for the AJC and the journalism industry in all of the areas that the McGruder award highlights: recruiting, development, retention and content,' read his nomination, led by Managing Editor Monica Richardson with contributions from more than a half-dozen colleagues."

SPJ noted that Wickham ". . . is one of the 44 journalists who founded the National Association of Black Journalists in 1975, and he is a past president of the organization. Wickham has covered Washington for U.S. News & World Report and Black Enterprise magazine. Wickham has been a reporter for The Sun and Evening Sun newspapers in Baltimore, an analyst for CBS News, a commentator for Black Entertainment Television and executive editor of BlackAmericaWeb.com.

"Most recently, he served [as] the interim chairman of the department of journalism and mass communication at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, and he is now the chair of the department of communication studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore."

Edwards is host of "The Bob Edwards Show" and "Bob Edwards Weekend" on SiriusXM radio. He hosted NPR's "Morning Edition" for 25 years and is a board member of the newly merged Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent State University, McGruder's alma mater, also bestows an award in McGruder's name. Debra Adams Simmons, editor of the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, was the 2012 winner.

Navarrette Hits a Nerve on Waving Two Flags

A column by Ruben Navarrette Jr. deploring the way U.S. Olympic medalist Leo Manzano celebrated his silver medal in the 1500-meters final hit gold.

It garnered "More than 11,000 reader comments on the site, more than 700,000 hits in three days, at one point got 1,800 hits a minute, was the #1 story on the entire site for a couple of hours on Friday, hundreds of emails to me, lots of talk radio chatter around the country, a half dozen invitations to go on TV/radio and talk about it, and six or seven Internet 'rebuttals' from angry Latinos who disagree," Navarrette messaged Journal-isms on Wednesday.

Manzano held up both the U.S. and Mexican flags.

". . . It's about being part of a team — the U.S. Olympic team," Navarrette wrote Friday on cnn.com. "It's about national pride, not ego. Manzano wasn't there to compete for himself but to represent his country. All he had to do was decide which country that was. He chose not to choose.

"What am I missing? Where were the Italian-American athletes waving the Italian flag, or the Irish-Americans waving the Irish flag? I didn't see that. . . ."

• Alexandro Jose Gradilla and David J. Leonard, racialicious.com: An Open Letter To Ruben Navarrette, Jr.
  
  
• Maria Burns Ortiz, Fox News Latino: American Manzano Pays Tribute to His Roots
  
  
• "Rebeldes," Latino Rebels: In Response to Ruben Navarrette's CNN Column on Manzano, We Stand With the Traitors
  
  
• "Rebeldes," Latino Rebels: While the Haters Hate, US Medalist Leo Manzano Becomes a New American Hero
  
  
• Gabriel San Roman, OC Weekly: Alexandro Jose Gradilla, Cal State Fullerton Professor, Helps Smack Down Ruben Navarrette Over Olympic Mexi Flag Flap

In India, Each Photographer Attacked by 25 Men

"At least three Indian journalists were attacked over the weekend during protests by Muslim groups calling for news coverage of the deaths of Muslims in the ongoing ethnic tension in the state of Assam, according to news reports," the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on Tuesday.

In an anonymous piece from Mumbai in the Hindustan Times, one photographer wrote, "I reached Azad Maidan on Saturday afternoon to cover a protest organised in connection with the violence against Muslims in Assam and Myanmar. It was a huge crowd. After a while, we heard an orator blaming the media for not giving adequate coverage to the plight of Muslims there. A colleague sensed something amiss and suggested we click pictures and leave.

"After our job was done, we went to a restaurant nearby for lunch. Within minutes, I got a call saying that an outdoor broadcasting (OB) van of a news channel was on fire.

"A few photographers and I started running towards Azad Maidan, when a mob of about 400 people clashed with us. We got separated and each of us was attacked by at least 25 men.

"They asked us which media organisations we work for. When I told them, they punched me. They tried to snatch my camera, and when I resisted, they beat me up and fled with my mobile phone.

"Five to six other photographers were also beaten up. . . ."

Ted Holtzclaw, Beloved Manager at WABC, Dies at 53

Ted Holtzclaw, operations manager at WABC-TV in New York, died suddenly on Monday at 53, the station reported.

"Not Ted," Bill Ritter, co-anchor of WABC's "Eyewitness News," wrote on his WABC blog. "Not the guy who pulled all those rabbits out of the hat for all those years (he was with ABC for 20 years) and got us to broadcast live with the biggest events — from our corner to every corner of the world.

"Not Ted. Not our friend. Not the guy who had been reborn with a new attitude about food and exercise and health.

"Please, not Ted.

"He was just outside the WABC TV studios on Columbus, between 66th and 67th streets, just returning from a dentist appointment this morning, when something hit him. Something big and bad and horrible. Something that made this tall and statuesque man crumble in a heap on the sidewalk, something that sapped the life out of him, perhaps even before he hit the ground. Something more powerful than his powerful will and frame. Something awful.

"The guy who runs the newsstand saw it happen, and yelled.

"Meteorologist Bill Evans and one of our security guys heard it, and saw Ted fall, and rushed over. They gave him CPR. I thought I felt a slight pulse, Bill told me. And so he kept at it. For 15 minutes, believing Ted would come to.

"He didn't."

In a news release from the National Association of Black Journalists, Mike Woolfolk, a former NABJ board member, said, "Ted was a dedicated broadcast news manager and strong supporter of the National Association of Black Journalists Multi-Media Short Course at North Carolina A&T State University for many years. Ted was a fabulous mentor, not only to those interested in video journalism and other news operations support staff positions, but to anyone seeking his advice, training and help."

Viewing and reflections are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Saturday at Community Baptist Church, 224 First Street, Englewood N.J. 07631. Cards and condolences may be sent to the Holtzclaw family in care of the church. Services begin at 11 a.m.

His wife, Verna Holtzclaw, requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the NABJ Short Course at North Carolina A&T. Checks can be mailed to: NC A&T University - NABJ Shortcourse, Checks can be mailed to: Dept. of Journalism/Mass Communications, Crosby Hall Room 225, 1601 E. Market St., North Carolina A and T, Greensboro, NC 27411. Attn: Bonnie Newman Davis.

• Beverly Mahone, Huffington Post: The Topic that Leaves This Baby Boomer Speechless Every Time
  
  
• John Popovich, WCPO-TV, Cincinnati: A Shot to the Gut
  
  
• WABC-TV: Eyewitness News remembers Ted Holtzclaw

Women Editors of Color Muted on Helen Gurley Brown

"The influence of Helen Gurley Brown, who died on Monday at age 90, extended widely across the culture, and deeply within the world of magazines," the editors of the New York Times' Media Decoder column wrote Tuesday, referring to the author of "Sex and the Single Girl" and longtime editor of Cosmopolitan.

But, oddly, women magazine editors of color were missing from most tributes. Inquiries from Journal-isms to Janice Min of the Hollywood Reporter, Damarys Ocaña of Latina and Amy DuBois Barnett of Ebony failed to yield observations.

In the Daily Beast, Robin Givhan, special correspondent for style and culture and a Pulitzer Prize-winning black journalist, wrote, ". . . In the world of Cosmopolitan magazine, fashion was a gift from a woman to a man. It was another element in the gamesmanship between the sexes. It teased the eyes; it acknowledged that a woman's beauty, her sexuality, her sex appeal have an intrinsic value in our culture." Her article was headlined, "Helen Gurley Brown's Fashion Sense: the Power of Cleavage."

Min, editorial director of the Hollywood Reporter and an Asian American journalist, told Jacob Bernstein of the New York Times, "There wouldn't have been Carrie Bradshaw without Helen Gurley Brown," referring to the fictional narrator and lead character of the HBO sitcom/drama "Sex and the City."

Constance C.R. White, editor-in-chief of Essence, told Journal-isms through a spokeswoman, "Helen Gurley Brown was a woman way ahead of her time. She was not afraid to take risks and to speak her mind in her role as editor, which was particularly bold during an era when the industry was very male-dominated. She was an inspiration and a maverick."

• Nicholas Lemann, Columbia Journalism Review: Impeccable until the end
  
  
• Kathleen Parker, Washington Post: Helen Gurley Brown's stiletto feminism


• Charles Whitaker, Medill School, Northwestern University: Reflecting on Helen Gurley Brown's life and legacy