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| Posted on Friday, September 20 @ 00:00:12 PDT |
Hot Mess With the Black Press by richard on Sep 19, 2019 • 8:08 pm No Comments
Short Takes Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. speaks to the Journal-isms Roundtable in front of a display of black newspapers in 2016 at the Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage in Washington. Chavis is president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association. (Credit: George Dalton Tolbert IV) Lawsuit Seeks to Invalidate June Election
The trade organization representing the black newspaper press has been taken to court by its former chair, Dorothy R. Leavell of the Chicago and Gary (Ind.) Crusader, who asserts that the organization’s president, Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. , and his allies worked behind the scenes to disqualify pro-Leavell publishers from voting for her re-election bid. She lost.
Leavell, who says she has been a member of the National Newspaper Publishers Association for about 50 years, is suing to have the election invalidated. She has led both the board and its foundation. Dorothy Leavell (Credit: Chicago Crusader)
According to the lawsuit, filed Sept. 5 in District of Columbia Superior Court, “elections of the executive committee, at-large Board and regional Board members were held†in Cincinnati at the group’s June 28 annual meeting.
“A total of forty-five (45) ballots were cast at the 2019 convention, a nearly fifty (50%) percent reduction of votes cast in 2017 and consisting of just fifty (50%) percent of the 2019 dues paying members of NNPA. . . .
“Ms. Leavell received only nine (9) votes and lost her seat as Chairperson of the Board to [ Karen ] Carter-Richards by a vote of thirty-two (32) to nine (9). . . .â€
At the time, Chavis told Journal-isms that Richards had “won handily†but did not disclose the vote totals . Carter-Richards is the publisher of the Houston Forward Press and was the board’s first vice chairman.
Attorney A. Scott Bolden of the Reed Smith law firm, who represents NNPA, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and NNPA has not filed a response to the suit. Leavell had sought to terminate Reed Smith’s representation, according to the lawsuit.
Chavis was elected interim president and CEO of NNPA in 2014 (scroll down) and later shed the “interim†title. He was described by NNPA then as “a global business leader, educator, and longtime civil rights activist.â€
Chavis was also a member of the Wilmington 10, pardoned in 2012 after being falsely convicted and imprisoned in connection with a racial disturbance in Wilmington, N.
C., in 1971. Karen Carter-Richards (Credit:/Freddie Allen/NNPA)
However, as Bob Geary wrote in 2014 for Indie Week in Durham, N.C., “ he was fired as national director of the NAACP in 1994 and, after joining the Nation of Islam and serving as second-in-command to its leader, the notorious Louis Farrakhan , left that position under a cloud too. In each job, a female associate accused Chavis of sexual harassment. Chavis denied their charges, but each woman was paid — by the NAACP and NOI — to settle her claims.â€
No such issues have arisen publicly during Chavis’ tenure at NNPA. Still, according to the lawsuit, Leavell asked for Chavis’ resignation, citing “unauthorized signing of NNPA checks, and his failure to seek Board approval on matters requiring such.†She called for “a forensic audit of the 2018 finances.â€
According to the suit, Chavis, assisted by board treasurer Janice Ware of the Atlanta Voice, worked to undermine and defeat Leavell. At one point, Ware issued notices that 42 “Class A†or “primary†members, representing more than 44 percent of the membership, would be “decertified†for voting purposes even though they had paid their membership dues, according to the suit.
Leavell is joined in the legal action by the San Francisco-based weekly California Voice and its publisher, Amelia Ashley-Ward . She ran for an at-large board seat and lost.
In August, board member Carole Geary , publisher of the Milwaukee Courier and a Leavell supporter, was awarded a temporary restraining order reinstating her as a regional board member. NNPA had “unilaterally and illegally terminated Geary’s membership as a Board member,†according to the suit.
Denise Rolark Barnes , publisher of the Washington Informer whose tenure as NNPA chair ended when she was defeated for reelection by Leavell in 2017, told Journal-isms after the recent election that “some members believed we were standing still if not moving backwards.â€
Key issues for the publishers are getting more of them online, gaining more advertisers and partnerships and becoming more engaged with social media, video and other platforms, Rolark Barnes said then.
The roots of the black press go back to the founding of Freedom’s Journal in 1827, in which Samuel Cornish and John B. Russwurm declared, “ We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us. †Video: He told Williams, during a press gaggle at TSU, that he gave a plan to TSU President Austin Lane that addressed many issues including how to develop a more robust infrastructure for HBCUs.
He said the plan will be explained in detail in the next few weeks. #JoeBidenTSU pic.twitter.com/UNogRIENxj
— Serbino Sandifer-Walker (@sswalker) September 14, 2019 Seeking to Cover Debate, Student Cites a Roadblock
Part of the reason the Democratic presidential candidates debate last week was not covered on the student newspaper’s website was that “ We don’t have access to our website at this time! As a result, we were NOT able to provide play by play update s,†(scroll down) according to the news editor of the Texas Southern University Herald.
Tashandra Poullard wrote Tuesday in the Journal-isms comments section, “We were forced to ask ABC News to grant access to this event being hosted on our campus. And as a result, most of us were completely shut out.â€
Poullard also wrote, “We were told by TSU Leadership that we would have press passes and that we would be allowed to (directly) par-take in this monumental, historical debate. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite work out as expected. Most of us were not granted press access. And for those who were — they had limited time and availability to provide any updates as the debate process transpired.
. . .â€
Poullard’s response was part of a robust discussion that followed publication Saturday of a Journal-isms item, “ . †It stated that the Democrats’ the historically black college “didn’t TSU.â€
One of the first to respond was Serbino who asserted that “Our students were everywhere,†and provided a list of tweets that the students used to cover the event.
“Newspapers are battling to exist. We are digital and mobile first,†Sandifer-Walker wrote. “This means we use the Internet, social media, trending hashtags to tell the stories. Our hashtag, which we created, is #DemDebateTSU. It was trending during the debate and is still a popular hashtag. Please reference Twitter, Instagram, etc. We will be reporting on this for the rest of the semester. . . .â€
Apprised of Poullard’s comments about denial of access to the website, Sandifer-Walker said by email Wednesday, “I will take a look at her comments and speak to the advisors.†She had maintained that “Our President, Dr. Austin Lane , is a relentless advocate for the School of Communication and journalism. . . .â€
Using Twitter to cover the event was defended by Roland S.
Martin , who said he used four TSU students to assist his own debate coverage for his digital “Roland Martin Unfiltered.â€â€œPeople are using Twitter and social media as a news distribution platform,†he said.
“Why? It’s far more economical,†Martin wrote. “What the TSU students are doing is going to where the people already are.â€
But other professionals, including this writer, asked why the coverage could not have been on both social media and websites, where it would be seen by hiring editors and picked up by search engines.
“Could not ONE print-hungry student come back and write ONE article that ONE faculty member could edit and post so it can be found by, say, Google News?†wrote Todd Steven Burroughs , journalist and historian on the black media.
Alison Bethel McKenzie, director of corps excellence for Report for America, wrote, “The debate was in the school’s backyard and, thus, the newspaper should have been updating its website in real time. How would I know to follow a hashtag I knew nothing about?†Burroughs and McKenzie have attended or taught at HBCUs.
The means of communication is an issue bigger than Texas Southern.
“Using social media as the primary source of news is becoming the way in which student newspapers are reaching their audience nowadays,†Neil Foote , principal lecturer at the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas, told Journal-isms. “The sad part is that students are barely passive readers of the printed product — no less the website. So the TSU approach was not unusual.†Cokie Roberts reporting on the presidential election for ABC News in 2012 (Credit: Donna Svennevik/ABC) Cokie Roberts Praised by Journalists of Color
Cokie Roberts , the pioneering Washington journalist for NPR and ABC News who died Tuesday at 75, has been praised for “ bringing a tough, knowledgeable voice to the rough-and-tumble political arena at a time when few women had national profiles in the news business ,†as Neil Genzlinger put it in the New York Times.
Journalists of color also went out of their way to praise her.
“I have just heard the devastating news about Cokie Roberts, A Giant of our Profession, joining others who have gone before her to Ancestor land,†veteran journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault wrote Tuesday on Facebook.
“You continued to show us how to stay on the right path and to be undaunted by fake criticism. . RIP Cokie! Long Live!â€
Brenda Wilson wrote, “I was just speaking of her last week. As one who benefited from her kindness on my arrival at NPR, this saddens me. I followed her around for several days and weeks as she showed me the ropes, taking me along on assignments with her, covering an Urban League State of Black America with Vernon Jordan as I recall. Periodically, she would check in and yes, there were the Nina [ Totenberg ], Linda [ Wertheimer ] and Cokie lunches, along with Faith [ Fancher ]. Ever gracious.â€
Lynne Adrine recalled, “She always was a true, gracious daughter of New Orleans. She had a way of offering her hospitality, whether at home or in her office. She was comfortable around all kinds of people, and people were comfortable around her. Remember that when you read all the accolades that will be written about her. I would add that that comfort extended to people of color, and people of different backgrounds. That New Orleanean upbringing shone through.†Adrine is a veteran television journalist who directs the D.C. Graduate Program in Broadcast and Digital Journalism at Syracuse University,
In her 2015 book, “ Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868, †Roberts lifted up the formerly enslaved Elizabeth Keckley , a confidante of Mary Lincoln , seamstress, dressmaker and overall Renaissance woman, and abolitionist Sojourner Truth among her “activist women.
†Reporting Casts Doubts on ‘Native Americans’
“ Federal, state and local authorities are intensifying scrutiny of minority contracting programs across the country in the wake of a Times investigation that found that companies received more than $300 million in government contracts based on unsubstantiated claims by the firms’ owners to be Native American,†Paul Pringle and Adam Elmahrek reported Wednesday for the Los Angeles Times.
“As two House committees prepare to examine the matter, the U.S. Department of Transportation has called for a review of all Native American companies in its minority contracting program nationwide to weed out firms whose owners do not belong to state- or federally recognized Native American tribes.
“At the same time, officials in California and five other states have begun stripping minority status from a number of companies highlighted in The Times report. The newspaper determined that government contracts were awarded to those companies and several others because the owners were members of one of three self-described Cherokee groups that have no government recognition and are considered fraudulent by recognized Cherokee tribes.
. . .â€
Valencia Jones and Kirkland Gee report on the emotional reunion of Bobbi Bowman’s family for WSET-TV in Lynchburg, Va. A Reunion Harkening to Slavery and Freedom
“Last weekend my family met for the first time descendants of the white slave owner who enslaved my great-great grandfather and took possession of his property at his request,†retired journalist Bobbi Bowman told her Facebook friends on Monday. “This act of compassion likely kept Grandpa off the slave market in Campbell County (Lynchburg) Virginia. . . . It was an emotional experience for both families.†Journal-isms: Ancestor’s Choice: Leave Family or Return to Slavery (Feb. 24, 2018) Climate Change Coverage Blitz Underway
“ Suddenly, TV news outlets that have found climate-change coverage difficult to emphasize for prolonged periods are warming up to more ambitious reportin g,†Brian Steinberg reported Monday for Variety. Debra Utacia Krol
Columbia Journalism Review and the Nation are spearheading the Covering Climate Now coalition, CNN’s Brian Stelter has reported for his “Reliable Sources†podcast. Kyle Pope , CJR editor and publisher, said that about had UN Climate Action Summit on Sept.
23.
Andrew McCormick , who works with Pope, told Journal-isms on Monday, “We do have a few ethnic media sites participating, including The Root and Jolon Indian Media, which is a Native American climate-focused site. Univision is also a partner of ours.
“In addition to US-based sites, we have a wide variety of international outlets, in countries from Morocco to India, Venezuela, Turkey, and Togo. Some of these, such as Morocco World News, primarily serve diaspora communities.
“You can see a complete list of partners here,â€
Debra Utacia Krol of Jolon Indian Media said, “I just had a story come out in High Country News about how Northern California tribes are dealing with the ban on fishing for abalone, one of their most culturally – and nutritionally – significant species. The abalone has been really stressed by a variety of environmental factors…â€
Danielle Belton , editor of the Root, said that site is working on a piece on environmental racism.
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