Story tells of polio victim who survived 10 days in forest; Memphis paper shifts columnist after 10-year run; Pharrell sorry he wore headdress for Elle U.K. cover; Paul DeMain, Native publisher, certified as Wis. candidate; Native American journalists turn to crowd funding; CNN plans to double staff of its political team; media critic Kurtz says Obama has "checked out"; Hollywood diversity report shows "dismal" results; black press group parts ways with its CEO and president (6/4/14)Story Tells of Polio Victim Who Survived 10 Days in Forest
". . . She Stole Our Hearts With Her Determination and Bright Eyes"
Memphis Paper Shifts Columnist After 10-Year Run
Pharrell Sorry He Wore Headdress for Elle U.K. Cover
Paul DeMain, Native Publisher, Certified as Wis. Candidate
Hollywood Diversity Report Shows "Dismal" Results
"UCLA's Ralph Bunche Center for African American Studies has released its 2014 Hollywood Diversity Report — predictably, for women and minorities, the results are dismal,"Phoenix Tso wrote Tuesday for jezebel.com. "And when you break down the minority portion by race, the figures are even more depressing.
"The report analyzes 172 films that came out in 2011, as well as 1061 television shows that aired between 2011 and 2012 for the race and gender breakdowns of Lead Talent, Overall Cast, Show Creators, Writers, and Directors. Minorities and women were significantly underrepresented in each category. . . ."
Among the findings: "Minorities represented by a factor of more than 3 to 1 among lead roles in film.""More than half of films had casts that were 10 percent minority or less.""Minorities underrepresented by a factor of nearly 5 to 1 among film writers.""Minorities fare better as leads in cable comedies and dramas.""Minorities more likely to be leads on Reality and other shows than on comedies and dramas in broadcast."
- Daisy Rosario, Latino USA, NPR: Scoring TV Networks On Diversity (May 23)
Black Press Group Parts Ways With Its CEO and President
William Tompkins, named in 2012 after a national search to the post of president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, the trade organization of black-press publishers, parted ways with the group after the board decided he was costing too much money, Tompkins told Journal-isms on Wednesday.
Tompkins has been working since May 7 as vice president of advertising and marketing at the Philadelphia Tribune, helping President and CEO Robert Bogle"expand the revenue base," Tompkins told Journal-isms by telephone. He said there had been no announcement, but that the Tribune, a member of the black press that publishes five times a week, planned to roll out new digital platforms.
At NNPA, Tompkins said, he raised the profile of the group — the black press is "alive and kicking," he said, contrary to what some believe — but "it was a tough assignment, working around the clock. The board was looking at expenses and what we were doing" and decided to end the relationship, he said.
Cloves Campbell Jr., who chairs the NNPA board, did not respond to requests for comment.
Tompkins had been hired after a nine-month search and was to be charged with developing a new vision for the organization, which consists of 150 active members and another 50 who are publishing but are not in the association, Tompkins said. Before starting his own consultancy firm, Tompkins held positions at Eastman Kodak and the Washington Post.