Departing Editor Wins Over Community Critic

Journalist Can See Why GOP Isn't Very Diverse

". . . As a journalist, I've noticed how the modern-day vision of the party of Lincoln has failed to attract voters in an America that is increasingly nonwhite," Mary C. Curtis, who is covering the Republican National Convention, wrote Sunday for theRoot.com.

". . . Go to a conservative event and there will always be at least one black person on the stage, visible in every photo op of the candidate or speaker, as there was at a recent Romney-Ryan event in Mooresville, N.C.," Curtis added, referring to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., his vice presidential choice.

"What usually happens to me happened there, when a reporter, looking for a black Romney fan, started asking me questions. It's always the same, whether it's at the national Tea Party conference in Nashville or an NRA annual meeting in Charlotte, N.C. — a hopeful look of discovery followed by disappointment when I reveal I'm just a reporter, too.

"In Mooresville, I asked some in the crowd, as I often do, if they saw a problem that a presidential ticket asking to lead a diverse country draws disproportionately white crowds. Ralph Brittain, 67, of Huntersville, N.C., professed an interest in unity, and though he said he was not sure [President] Obama was a citizen, he said he was a big fan of Florida Rep. Allen West, an African American who has described himself as a 'modern-day Harriet Tubman' trying to lead black voters off the Democratic party 'plantation.' He described West as 'good on his feet' and said, 'I'd love to see him get a good cabinet position' in a Romney administration.

"Mary Mabry, 82, pointed out one other black person and told me how much she loved the black woman who raised her — evidence, she said, that neither she nor Republicans have harsh feelings toward minorities. Meanwhile, on the road leading up to the gathering, small, diverse clusters of pro-Obama protesters holding signs were mostly ignored, though Romney supporters yelling, 'Get a job!' added a layer of ugliness, considering the racial makeup of both groups. . . ."

Romney Could Reach Historic Low With Black Voters

"Gov. Mitt Romney is currently positioned to garner an historic low rate of support among African-American voters," according to a BET survey of 800 black voters in swing states released on Monday. "Only two percent of African-American voters in our poll currently support the Romney/Ryan ticket. The data indicate the traits that are pushing African-Americans away from the GOP, including the perception that too many Republican leaders seem 'hostile to minorities.'

"Even where significant percentages of black voters are philosophically in line with traditional Republican Party positions on issues such as same-sex marriage (40% favor/38% oppose), a decline in moral values as biggest obstacle to black advancement (46%), and abortion (51% pro-choice/44% pro-life), these views overwhelmingly do not translate into GOP votes," the study, conducted by Cornell Belcher, who worked with the Barack Obama campaign in 2008, reported.

"Hope is still alive. President Obama's base is frustrated but still optimistic and determined." Belcher said in a news release. "The President still has a lot of work to do to achieve his historic 2008 performance, but Republicans are increasingly poorly positioned to compete for Black voters."

In other findings:

• "ENTHUSIASM VS. APATHY: Despite conventional wisdom, black voters are on track to vote in numbers equivalent to 2008. Only 4% say they are less interested in voting in the upcoming election than they were in 2008. 85% say they are following the election closely.
  
  
• "HOPE AMIDST DESPAIR: African-American voters are surprisingly optimistic, despite an unemployment rate double that of whites, 69% are optimistic about the economy rebounding in the next 12 months. 77% say the US economy is stabilizing or improving.
  
  
• " 'IT'S THE COST OF LIVING, STUPID:' The top concern about the economy for black voters is not jobs (21%), but rather salary and wages not keeping pace with the cost of living (38%) and affordable health care (24%).
  
  
• "A PRESIDENT FOR ALL AMERICANS: Though a number of prominent African-Americans have called on the President to more explicitly target programs to address black unemployment, the overwhelming majority of black voters accept that he must focus on repairing the national economy and in that way help black Americans (76% vs 14%)."

BET to Broadcast From GOP, Democratic Meetings

"BET NEWS will offer three live-anchored programs from the Republican National Convention (#BETRNC) in Tampa and Democratic National Convention (#BETDNC) in Charlotte, delving into key issues of the presidential election," the network announced on Monday.

"Each two-hour program will present the election story from the African-American perspective and underscore the high stakes of this historic race. Celebrated journalist Ed Gordon will anchor, with on-air contributor Nia-Malika Henderson (of theWashington Post in Tampa), BET News correspondent Lola Ogunnaike, BET consultant and pollster Cornell Belcher and special contributor T.J. Holmes (host of Don't Sleep!). BET News will frame interviews for the black voter with pre-produced features, integrated with the live coverage of the keynote. Interviews at the RNC will include Jimmie Walker (star of 'Good Times') Rep. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll (R-Florida), U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), former Presidential candidate Herman Cain (R) and many more.

"The exclusive interviews with the First Lady and the President will air during LIVE coverage on September 4th and September 6th, respectively. LIVE interviews with political & entertainment personalities, will air along with integrated BET Vote 2012 elements. Interviews from the DNC include California Attorney General Kamala Harris, Charlotte's Mayor Anthony Foxx, Broderick Johnson (Senior Advisor to the Obama campaign), Alfre Woodard (actor) and more."

" . . . BET News' special contributor, and host of Don’t Sleep!, T. J. Holmes will kick-off a 16 city promotional campaign for the series with a branded tour bus making stops at the RNC in Tampa on August 29 and DNC in Charlotte on September 5. At select locations, brand ambassadors and voter registrants will be on hand to encourage voter registration and answer any questions about the voting process. The bus will travel to 14 additional markets making stops including Nashville, Indianapolis, New York and Washington D.C."

Danielle Belton, creator of the Black Snob blog, announced on the blog Monday that she is moving from Washington to New York to work on the Holmes show. "For those of you playing at home, I worked on the pilot last winter and many, many moons ago used to pretend to stalk T.J. for poops n' grins on the Internet, Belton said. "Life is incredibly funny in how a guy I started writing about during this blog's beginnings in 2008 is the same guy I wound up working for in my first scripted TV writing gig."

• Cherie Saunders, EURWeb.com: T.J. Holmes on New BET Gig ‘Don’t Sleep’ and Why He Left CNN

65% of Latinos Support Obama in ImpreMedia Poll

The first of 11 national tracking polls of Latino voters finds that 65% of Latino voters saying they would vote for President Obama while only 26% support Mitt Romney, impreMedia, publisher of such Spanish-language news outlets as La Opinión in Los Angeles and El Diario in New York, announced on Monday.

ImpreMedia is conducting the poll with Latino Decisions, a political opinion research firm.

". . . Romney struggles with low favorability with only 27% of Latinos saying they have a positive view of him versus 74% for Obama," impreMedia said.

"The polls further [suggest] that the Republican Party itself faces an uphill battle in wooing over Latinos with only 14% of all registered voters saying the Party is doing a good job in reaching Hispanics compared to 59% who believe the Democratic Party is doing a good job.

"Latinos continue to believe Jobs and the Economy (53%) and Immigration/Dream Act (51%) are the most important issues in this election. But when asked about the central topic of taxes, 66% of all respondents believe the Republican candidate should disclose his tax returns for additional years and 77% of Latino Democrats stating that he should.

"According to Latino Decisions founder Matt Barreto the results indicate that Romney faces a considerable challenge in winning over Latino voters. 'In particular there are three huge challenges facing Romney: First, a large majority of Latinos continue to think Republican policies are to blame for the current state of the economy; Second, a majority of Latinos support the Obama health care bill which Romney would repeal; and Third, Romney's previous comments on immigration have created a huge barrier in his ability to connect with Latinos', stated Barreto."

• Monroe Anderson, theRoot.com: RNC 2012: Expect the Usual Sound and Fury
  
  
• Wayne Bennett, the Field Negro: Mutiny in the house?
  
  
• Boston Globe Magazine: PBS NewsHour's Gwen Ifill on the presidential race
  
  
• Jonathan Chait, New York magazine: Team Romney White-Vote Push: 'This Is the Last Time Anyone Will Try to Do This'
  
  
• Ta-Nehisi Coates, the Atlantic: Chris Matthews and the Shibboleth of Civility
  
  
• Michael Cottman, Blackamericaweb.com: Herman Cain Talks to Michael Cottman
  
  
• Eric Deggans, Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times: Chris Matthews tears into RNC head Reince Priebus on MSNBC, accusing GOP of race baiting
  
  
• Eric Deggans, Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times: Visiting CNN and other media at the RNC: Frenzy of calm before the craziness of Isaac
  
  
• John Gizzi, Human Events: Cain calls for support of 'ABC — America’s Black Conservatives'
  
  
• Suzan Shown Harjo, Indian Country Today: The Coded Language Of Privilege
  
  
• Rick Horowitz, YouTube: Climate Problem? What Climate Problem? (Video)
  
  
• Jude Joffe-Block, Latina Lista blog: GOP Platform Backs Both 'Self Deportation' And Guest Workers
  
  
• Allen Johnson blog, News & Record, Greensboro, N.C.: 'A civil war' if Obama wins?
  
  
• Imara Jones, the Progressive: Paul Ryan a disaster for people of color (Aug. 20)
  
  
• Colbert I. King, Washington Post: Time for Mitt Romney to come clean on his taxes 
  
  
• Wil LaVeist, Urban Faith: The GOP's 'Black' Problem
  
  
• Douglas C. Lyons, South Florida SunSentinel: 'Hurricane party' puts the onus on Fla. Gov. Rick Scott
  
  
• Myriam Marquez, Miami Herald: At RNC: pirates, showgirls, and possibly a defector
  
  
• Michel Martin with Tara Wall on "Tell Me More," NPR: Romney Campaign Not Giving Up On Black Vote
  
  
• Roland S. Martin, Creators Syndicate: Univision Right to Lament Diversity Among Presidential Debate Moderators
  
  
• Erik Maza, Women's Wear Daily: Glamour Gets Time With President Obama
  
  
• Ruben Navarrette Jr., Washington Post News Media Services: The GOP and the company it keeps
  
  
• Ruben Navarrette Jr., CNN.com: Is Ryan an immigration pragmatist?
  
  
• Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune: Romney's zero percenters
  
  
• Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald: Akin's 'problem' part of a GOP pattern
  
  
• Joy-Ann Reid, theGrio.com: Black Republicans: Lack of Romney outreach to blacks 'shameful'
  
  
• Geraldo Rivera, Fox News Latino: Does the GOP Really Want Latino Support?
  
  
• Mary Sanchez, Kansas City Star: Akin's gaffe offers an unflattering glimpse of Republican attitudes
  
  
• Brian Stelter, New York Times: With Isaac Bearing Down, Networks Weigh Their Options
  
  
• Wendi C. Thomas, Commercial Appeal, Memphis: Who knew rape victims have pregnancy stopping powers?
  
  
• Marisa Treviño, Latina Lista blog: GOP Party Platform may not be set in stone but it sure does throw its fair share of rocks
  
  
• Marisa Treviño, Latina Lista blog: New voting rules make it harder than ever to get Latinos to the polls
  
  
• Elon James White, theRoot.com: Chris Matthews Goes Off on RNC Chairman
  
  
• Women's Media Center: Three-Quarters of Newspapers' Presidential Coverage is Written by Men
  
  
• Blake Zeff, BuzzFeed: How It Became Safe To Attack Barack Obama

Little Change Likely for Ethiopia's Journalists

"Ethiopia's new rulers waited just one day after the death of dictator Meles Zenawi was announced to confirm that little change is likely for the country’s beleaguered independent journalists," Mohammed Ademo wrote Saturday for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

"They sent that message by arresting Temesgen Desalegn, editor of the now-defunct Feteh newspaper, one of the last critical media voices in the country. Earlier, when Zenawi was alive but apparently ailing in secrecy in Belgium, the government gagged Desalegn's newspaper for daring to report on the prime minister's two-month absence from the limelight. Desalegn's arrest Thursday was not reported by the state-run media, devoted to broadcasting a week-long campaign to lionize the fallen leader.

"That left it to exiled media to report the news through social networks. . . . "

• Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times: Ethiopian Leader’s Death Highlights Gap Between U.S. Interests and Ideals (Aug. 21)
  
  
• Peter Hart, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting: NY Times and the Myth of 'U.S. Ideals' (Aug. 22)
  
  

• What Story Does This Picture Tell?

  Jon Banner, third from right, senior executive producer of ABC-TV's "This Week," is leaving the network after more than 25 years. Merrill Knox reported for TVNewser that Banner took a moment Sunday to pose with "This Week" staffers after his last program. The Sunday talk shows are often criticized for their insufficient on-air diversity. Jeffrey Schneider, senior vice president for communications for ABC News, would not say Monday whether any people of color work on "This Week." (Credit: TVNewser)