CNN poll has Romney winning round, 67%-25%; Poll: blacks watch TV news more than whites, Hispanics; conservatives hype 5-year-old Obama speech; George Will: Voters don't want to fire a black man; CNN's "Latino in America" back with look at voters (10/3/12)
Updated Oct. 4
CNN Poll Has Romney Winning Round, 67%-25%
Poll: Blacks Watch TV News More Than Whites, Hispanics
Conservatives Hype 5-Year-Old Obama Speech
George Will: Voters Don't Want to Fire a Black Man
CNN's "Latino in America" Back With Look at Voters
Poll: Blacks Watch TV News More Than Whites, Hispanics
A greater percentage of black consumers watches television news than do whites or Hispanics, according to a study of news consumption trends by the Pew Research Center for the People & The Press.
Sixty-nine percent of blacks said they received their news the previous day from television, compared with 56 percent of whites and 43 percent of Hispanics.
Forty-one percent of blacks said they watched the nightly network news 
regularly, and 50 percent watched cable news channels, compared with 26 percent of whites for the nightly news and 34 percent for cable news, and 21 percent of Hispanics for the nightly news and 27 percent for cable news.
African Americans have traditionally spent more time in front of the television than others.
The survey said Hispanics consumed news less than whites or blacks. When asked how they had received their news the day before, 33 percent responded "no news yesterday." Fourteen percent of whites and 15 percent of blacks responded "no news yesterday." No comparison with previous years was immediately available.
Overall, "The transformation of the nation's news landscape has already taken a heavy toll on print news sources, particularly print newspapers [PDF]," the center said in a report Thursday. "But there are now signs that television news — which so far has held onto its audience through the rise of the internet — also is increasingly vulnerable, as it may be losing its hold on the next generation of news consumers.
"Online and digital news consumption, meanwhile, continues to increase, with many more people now getting news on cell phones, tablets or other mobile platforms. And perhaps the most dramatic change in the news environment has been the rise of social networking sites. The percentage of Americans saying they saw news or news headlines on a social networking site yesterday has doubled — from 9% to 19% — since 2010. Among adults younger than age 30, as many saw news on a social networking site the previous day (33%) as saw any television news (34%), with just 13% having read a newspaper either in print or digital form."
The Pew Research Center provided Journal-isms with a breakout of blacks and Hispanics this week. Some 3,003 people were in the sample; 281 were black and 300 were Hispanic.
- Andrew Beaujon, Poynter Institute: Pew: Half of Americans get news digitally, topping newspapers, radio (Sept. 27)
- Jeff Sonderman, Poynter Institute: One-third of adults under 30 get news on social networks now (Sept. 27)
Conservatives Hype 5-Year-Old Obama Speech
"One night before the first presidential debate, conservatives Matt Drudge, Sean Hannity, and Tucker Carlson hyped footage of a five-year-old speech by then-Sen. Barack Obama, widely covered at the time, in which the presidential candidate suggested the George W. Bush administration was discriminating against the victims of Hurricane Katrina," Dylan Byers reported Wednesday for Politico.
"But when footage finally aired on Hannity's Fox News program and on Carlson's Daily Caller website at 9 p.m., following hours of anticipation spurred by Drudge's promise of controversy and Hannity's promise of a 'bombshell', it fell flat.
" 'What's the "So what" of this video? I don’t think it's going to really go anywhere,' Republican Rep. Allen West said on Fox News.
" 'I don't think this particular speech is definitive,' said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, though he added that it was at least a 'reminder' of Obama's 'pattern of dishonesty.'
"If the footage failed to impress, it may be because Sen. Obama's remarks were widely covered — by Carlson, by Fox News, and by the mainstream media — when they were made on June 5, 2007. . . ."
- Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post: 'The Daily Caller' plays the race card badly
- Wayne Dawkins, politicsincolor.com: 'Shocking' Obama video from Fox News and friends
- Matt Gertz, Media Matters for America: RERUN: Fox, Carlson, Drudge Attacked Obama's Hampton Speech Five Years Ago
- Peter Ogburn, FishbowlDC: When is a Scoop Not a Scoop?
- Ian Schwartz, Real Clear Politics: MSNBC's Kornacki On Race Tape: Let's Agree To Marginalize Matt Drudge
- David Taintor, Talking Points Memo: Tucker Carlson: 'Throne-Sniffers' In Media Dismissing Obama Vid As Old News
- Meenal Vamburkar, mediaite.com: Tucker Carlson Reported Obama Video In 2007 On MSNBC, Slammed Politicization Of 'Unjustifiable' Crime
- Todd Allen Wilson, Daily Press, Newport News, Va.: Fox News' Hannity criticizes Daily Press video of 2007 Obama speech at Hampton University
George Will: Voters Don't Want to Fire a Black Man
"Washington Post columnist George Will has a novel explanation for why President Barack Obama continues to lead challenger Mitt Romney in the polls: it's because Obama is black," Joy-Ann Reid wrote Tuesday for the Grio.
"Seriously, that's Will's reasoning.
"The idea is this: the country, its economy, and the Obama administration are in 'shambles,' to quote Will. Unemployment is at 8 percent. Durable goods orders are down! And who among us doesn't hinge our vote on the metric of durable goods? Tesla Motors isn't doing well — TESLA! — despite a major cash infusion from the Department of Energy, and as we all know, as goes Tesla, so goes the nation. Therefore, Romney should be mopping the floor with Obama.
"So why isn't Mitt ahead in the polls? Will's explanation starts with his 
favorite metaphor: baseball…
" 'A significant date in the nation's civil rights progress involved an African American baseball player named Robinson, but not Jackie. The date was Oct. 3, 1974, when Frank Robinson, one the greatest players in history, was hired by the Cleveland Indians as the major leagues' first black manager. But an even more important milestone of progress occurred June 19, 1977, when the Indians fired him. That was colorblind equality.
" 'Managers get fired all the time. The fact that the Indians felt free to fire Robinson — who went on to have a distinguished career managing four other teams — showed that another racial barrier had fallen: Henceforth, African Americans, too, could enjoy the God-given right to be scapegoats for impatient team owners or incompetent team executives.'
"And how is Barack Obama like Jackie Robinson? I think you can guess. . . "
- Wayne Bennett, the Field Negro: Mr. Will's race card.
- Joe Strupp, Media Matters for America: Black Journalists Association President: George Will Column "Narrow-Minded"
- Mark A. Thompson, Uptown: George Will Says President Obama Is Winning Because He Is Black
- Rachel Manteuffel, Washington Post: PostScript: George Will and firing Obama
State Sen. Ruben Kihuen, D-Nev., left, is among those interviewed in the next "Latino in America" episode. Kihuen had hoped to be Nevada's first-ever Latino U.S. congressman. He dropped out of the race in February. (Video)
CNN's "Latino in America" Back With Look at Voters
CNN's "Latino in America" series returns on Sunday as Soledad O'Brien, CNN anchor and special correspondent, "reports on how Democrats and Republicans are reaching out to the swing voter demographic of Latinos, with a lens on the pivotal state of Nevada, a state with both the fastest-growing Latino community in the nation, and a state that has voted for the last 24 of the last 25 U.S. presidents," CNN announces.
Asked what message there would be for fellow journalists, O'Brien told Journal-isms by telephone on Wednesday, "We take a very nuanced approach to this important population. I was surprised by the degree that both parties have serious challenges. Latinos are feeling very unheard. Some of it is immigration and some is the message carried out in the GOP primaries."
O'Brien, daughter of a white Australian father and a black Cuban mother, was named "Journalist of the Year" by the National Association of Black Journalists in 2010. NABJ called her "the impetus of CNN's acclaimed 'In America' franchise, which began with CNN's "Black In America" in 2008." Later the series looked at "Latino in America" and "Gay in America."
In March, CNN laid off dozens of employees in its two documentary units, including the "In America" unit. But it promised the "In America" series would continue. The last "Latino in America" aired aired Sept. 25, 2011.
"Latino in America: Courting Their Vote" debuts on CNN/U.S. on Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and PT, repeating Saturday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and PT on CNN/U.S.
Kimberly Arp-Babbit is the senior producer. Cameo George, Robert Howell, Tina Matherson, Elizabeth Nunez and Dave Timko are the producers. Jennifer Hyde is the managing editor and Bud Bultman and Geraldine Moriba executive produced the documentary for CNN. Howell and Timko are no longer with CNN.
Short Takes
- "Univision News' award-winning anchors of 'Noticiero Univision,' Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas, were honored with the reputable Lifetime Achievement Award, the first Hispanics to receive this recognition in the News and Documentary category, from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS)," Univision announced on Tuesday. "The 33rd Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards were presented during a ceremony [Monday] night at the Time Warner Center in New York."
- New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and director Spike Lee unveiled a campaign called "Flip the Script" that focuses on "changing the attitudes of and about young black men," Claire Galofaro reported Tuesday for the Times-Picayune. "It is part of Landrieu's 'Nola For Life' initiative to halt the city's murder rate, a rate 10 times the national average with a killing every two days on average." At the National Association of Black Journalists convention in June, Landrieu held up three thick folders containing files on murder victims and implored the journalists to "Tell the stories of these young people who take and are taken for all America to see." Jarvis DeBerry column.
- Valerie Taliman, Indian Country Today Media Network's West Coast editor, received the Native American Women in Leadership Award for her investigative journalism and media advocacy on behalf of indigenous victims of violence, particularly Indian women, Gale Courey Toensing reported Monday for the network.
- Hugo Balta, president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, "says that young Latinos entering the journalism field sometimes fail to see the steps and years of hard work. He advises them to be focused and strategic," Karen Cortés wrote in a profile of Balta for ctlatinonews.com. " 'It's not buying lottery tickets. It's using what's between your ears,' he says. 'You can achieve both short term and long term goals. A mentor can help. A lot of young people say they'll do anything to get a foot in the door, but if you choose a path that is not faithful to your long term plan, you are no closer to your goal. Be strategic at the beginning; you’ll be successful at the end.' "
- "Tyler Perry's new exclusive deal to create programming for Oprah Winfrey's OWN means he is shelving his ambitions to launch his own cable network," Joe Flint reported Monday for the Los Angeles Times.
- José Díaz-Balart, an Emmy Award winning journalist, Telemundo's news anchor, MSNBC contributor and host and managing editor of public-affairs weekly program Enfoque, was to be presented with the 2012 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television by Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable Wednesday at the 10th annual Hispanic Television Summit in New York, Laura Martinez reported Monday for Multichannel News.
- "Activist Jose Antonio Vargas hit a brick wall this morning, as New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan endorsed the newspaper's policy of using the term 'illegal immigrant': 'It is clear and accurate; it gets its job done in two words that are easily understood,' she wrote on her blog. Vargas has been campaigning to get the Times and the Associated Press to drop the term 'illegal immigrant' on the grounds that it dehumanizes the millions of people living in the U.S. illegally," John Hudson wrote Tuesday on his Atlantic blog.
- "The newspapers that make up the Los Angeles News Group have been gradually blending over recent months," LAObserved reported on Tuesday, "and today take a big step toward being a regional news operation with the emphasis on digital — and less on geography. Carolina Garcia, for instance, is no longer editor of the Daily News but managing editor for enterprise and investigations across all the papers. There are new managing editors for digital news, digital operations and the 'content center,' though in each case the new MEs are still involved in 'reader engagement' in the areas where they used to run the newspapers, and editors there will still report to them."
- " 'Transitioning' began in earnest at Dallas-based CW33 Monday, with reporters Dawn Tongish and Charles Bassett notified that they will not be part of the station's drastically revamped prime-time newscast," Ed Bark reported Tuesday on his Uncle Barky's blog. "The dismissals also included roughly a dozen off-camera personnel."
- "Pablo S. Torre is leaving Sports Illustrated for a spot with its rival, ESPN The Magazine," Chris O'Shea reported Wednesday for FishbowlNY. "Torre had been with SI since 2007. At ESPN he will be a senior writer and contribute to the magazine as well as ESPN.com."
- ". . . Touré of MSNBC is the man who has every intelligent black person in America wondering why he's on TV, myself included," Dr. Boyce Watkins wrote for his yourblackworld.net. "There are no credentials in his background which lead you to believe that he should be defining the direction of national thought on serious political issues (the bio I found says that he dropped out of Emory University in 1992). He also seems to say things for entertainment, rather than substantive, value and doesn't seem to take his work all that seriously."
- "Steve Harvey is elated. Just a few weeks into his eponymous new talk show, the former stand-up comedian has wrapped a taping at Chicago's NBC Studios with his biggest and most famous guest to date: first lady Michelle Obama," Karu F. Daniels wrote for the Daily Beast. " 'It was such an unbelievable gift,' he says. 'Of all the shows, she came on mine' . . ." The episode was to air Wednesday, the Obamas' 20th wedding anniversary.
- "President Barack Obama's strong defense of freedom of speech at the United Nations last month was clearly directed at the sputtering young Arab and North African democracies, where violent anti-American protests were ostensibly sparked by a video (Why don't people stop calling it a film?) that insulted the Prophet Muhammad," Charlayne Hunter-Gault wrote Wednesday for theRoot.com. "The president's tough speech followed his late-night call to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, demanding that he get control of the demonstrations by alleged radical Islamists. The big stick that President Obama wielded was America's huge aid to Egypt. And presto, the Egyptian president complied. The same tactic could be used in Ethiopia, where not only is the new leadership continuing the previous government's ongoing repression of independent journalists — including those imprisoned on specious charges — but it is getting even more repressive."
- "Rami Aysha, a correspondent for major international media including Time Magazine, Spiegel Online and GlobalPost, was tortured during nearly one month of detention by Lebanese security forces," Reporters Without Borders said on Tuesday. "Arrested on 30 August, Aysha was freed on 27 September on bail . . . "
- "An $80,000 fine levied against an Ecuadorean magazine accused of spreading political propaganda constitutes a direct attack on freedom of expression," Scott Griffen reported Tuesday for the International Press Institute. "Ecuador's Electoral Arbitration Tribunal (TCE, according to its Spanish acronym) ruled last week that a May 4, 2011 editorial published by Vistazo magazine urging voters to reject elements of a popular referendum held three days later amounted to political propaganda, thereby violating Article 277 of the country’s electoral law, known as the 'Democracy Code.' "
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