Writer says most blacks on show have not been happy; Cold-Weather Super Bowl has firsts for media, Latinos; study details white male dominance of Sunday talk shows; MSNBC staffer fired after tweet on interracial marriages; U.N. rights commissioner says Egypt hampers journalists; Asian Americans split on changing immigration policy; State of the Union ratings lowest since 2000; Asian Americans win pledges from ABC after Kimmel flap; team consults GOP figures in answering "Redskins" query (1/31/14)Writer Says Most Blacks on Show Have Not Been Happy
Asian Americans Win Pledges From ABC After Kimmel Flap
Asian American groups reached agreement with ABC Television officials last week after meeting about an October "Jimmy Kimmel Live" show in which a child joked about killing Chinese people to avoid paying down U.S. debt to the country.
Kimmel asked a group of children how the United States should pay back the $1.3 trillion it owes to China, the world's second-largest economy.
A 6-year-old said, "Kill everyone in China." Kimmel replied: "That's an interesting idea."
OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates announced Thursday that ABC officials agreed on at least these steps at the Jan. 24 meeting:
- "An apology to community leaders for the hateful comments aired;
- "Acknowledgement that such language and material can and do contribute to hate crimes;
- "Removal of the Kids Table segment from Jimmy Kimmel [Live], their website, and all social media;
- "A commitment to neither develop nor air any more skits using the Kids Table format;
- "Cultural sensitivity training for network staff;
- "Ongoing meetings with ABC executive producers to include more Asian Pacific Americans (APA) in their programming and staff, at all levels;
- "The development of a community-network advisory group to develop national programming during APA Heritage Month in May."
OCA leaders identified the ABC executives present as Paul Lee, president, ABC Entertainment Group; Hope Hartman, vice president of corporate communications; Steve Milovich, senior vice president of global human resources, talent and workforce diversity; Olivia Cohen-Cutler, senior vice president of broadcast standards and practices; and Tim McNeal, vice president of talent development and diversity.
The Asian Pacific American Media Coalition also participated.
Team Consults GOP Figures in Answering "Redskins" Query
"This morning, my colleague Travis Waldron published an important and exhaustive account of how the term 'Redskins' turned into a slur and became deeply intertwined with the growth of football in America, and of the forty-year campaign to end the Washington, DC football team's use of the name,"Alyssa Rosenberg wrote Thursday for Think Progress. It's a fascinating history. And in the course of reporting it, we asked the team for comment.
"What we got was more revealing than the team intended. Travis was copied on a series of emails between Tony Wyllie, the organization’s vice president of communications, and a group of men he'd consulted about Travis's question. They included Republican messaging consultant Frank Luntz, former Virginia governor and Senator (and son of a former Redskins head coach) George Allen, and former George W. Bush administration White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.
"Travis was asking basic questions about the origin story the team relies on to justify its use of the name — the organization says they chose 'Redskins' to honor a coach who may not have been Native American at all — and the organization’s reaction to a pending trademark case and public criticism. In response, Bruce Allen, the team's executive vice president and general manager, called those queries 'ignorant.' . . ."
- Amanda Macias, businessinsider.com: The National Congress Of American Indians Releases Video Asking Redskins To Change Name (video)