"Fabrice Kanda fled the Democratic Republic of Congo after news stories he wrote charging fraud during the 2011 presidential election made him a wanted man there. A relative helped the 29-year-old journalist secure a plane ticket and visa to Russia. He left behind a wife and two small children," Ann M. Simmons reported for the Los Angeles Times. (video)

"African Migrants in Russia Describe 'Hell on Earth'"

"First they spat angry words at Remy Bazie,"Ann M. Simmons reported Sunday from Moscow for the Los Angeles Times. "Then they struck him in the face with an iron bar, knocking him unconscious.

"The men who jumped the Ivory Coast migrant at a crowded Moscow train station last November did not rob him. But they damaged his jaw to the degree that doctors had to install a metal plate to hold it in place. It took Bazie four months to raise the $3,600 to undergo surgery.

"'Most of the time I'm harassed, but this was the worst experience,' Bazie, 28, said recently as he sat at a parish community center in Moscow where African migrants often seek refuge.

"His story is not uncommon, Russian civil and human rights leaders say. African migrants face widespread hostility and racism that usually go unpunished.

"According to the SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, a Moscow-based advocacy group and think tank, 177 acts of violence against blacks have been reported in Russia since 2010. . . ."

Simmons worked from 1991 to 1994 as a reporter in Time magazine's Moscow bureau after having been a student in the country and had been seeking a way to return to reporting from Russia. "It is not OK that there is a lack of journalists of color, and particularly black journalists, covering the current crisis in Russia and Ukraine," Simmons told Journal-isms in March.

The story's tagline reads, "This report was funded by a grant from the International Center for Journalists."

Apology for Lack of White Men in Catcalling Video

"Hollaback, which disseminated last week's video on catcalling in New York City, apologized Tuesday for the suspicious lack of white men shown in the video,"Evan McMurry reported Wednesday for Mediaite.

"Racial, gender, and class politics is a core part of our work," Hollabeck director Emily May wrote on the organization's website. "While we did not create this video, we did allow our name to be used at the end of it. We agree wholeheartedly that the video should have done a better job of representing our understanding of street harassment and we take full responsibility for that. I'm deeply sorry."

"The video showed an actress walking the streets of New York and experiencing sustained catcalls and harassment, including being followed by one man for over five minutes. The video racked up 32 million views, but came under quick scrutiny for featuring mostly men of color. . . ."

• Kat Chow, NPR "Code Switch": Video Calls Out Catcallers, But Cuts Out White Men
  
  
• Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Catcalls video shows males' ugly side
  
  
• Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald: 'Catcalling' insulting, and certainly no compliment

Short Takes

• "An upcoming film by director Stanley Nelsonwill explore the history and impact of the Black Panthers, released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the controversial civil rights group's founding,"Teta Alim reported Tuesday for Current.org. "Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution will be released in February 2016 as the first installment of Nelson's America Revisited, a three-part series about pivotal moments in African-American history. The original Black Panther Party formed in 1966 to monitor police brutality against the black community. . . ."
  
  
• Broadcaster Ed Gordon, center in photo at right, taped a pilot for "New View," an hourlong political talk show on Friday at Howard University's WHUT-TV in Washington. "New View" is slated to debut as a monthly in hopes of becoming a syndicated weekly offering to other PBS stations, according to General Manager Jefferi K. Lee. Author Sophia Angeli Nelson, left, and this columnist, right, participated, along with pollster Cornell Belcher; Rashad Robinson, executive director of ColorofChange.org; Brittney Cooper, who teaches women's and gender studies and Africana studies at Rutgers University; and The pilot aired on Sunday. (video).
  
  
• The wake for Jonathan P. Hicks, the former New York Times reporter who died Monday at 58, will be held Friday, Nov. 14, at Bethany Baptist Church, 460 Marcus Garvey Blvd., Brooklyn, NY 11216, Elinor Tatum, publisher and editor in chief of the New York Amsterdam News, announced Thursday. Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. A Kappa Alpha Psi service will begin at 7 p.m. and the wake proper at 7:30. Funeral services are scheduled for Nov. 15 at Abyssinian Baptist Church, 132 Odell Clark Pl., New York, NY 10030. The final viewing begins at 9 a.m. and the Celebration of Life service at 10 a.m. The Rev. Calvin O. Butts III is to officiate at the service and deliver the eulogy. [Added Nov. 6]


• "More sad news from the startups-covering-local-crime world. Yesterday, it was Philadelphia's GunCrisis.org that said it would stop daily reporting because of a lack of funding,"Joshua Benton reported for NiemanLab. "Today, it's an even more noted outfit: Homicide Watch D.C. will close at the end of the year, according to a release from cofounder (and friend of the Lab) Laura Amico and a post on the site. . . ."
  
  
• "Sports Illustrated— a pretty solid source when it comes to sports— has picked out the 100 best Twitter accounts to follow,"Chris O'Shea wrote Wednesday for Fishbowl NY. O'Shea wrote that Fishbowl, like Sports Illustrated, enjoyed the accounts of "J.A. Adande (ESPN); Jemele Hill (ESPN); Michael Lee (WaPo); Rachel Nichols (CNN, Turner); Dan Rafael (ESPN); Adam Schefter (ESPN); Adrian Wojnarowksi (Yahoo)."
  
  
• "NBCUniversal is tying its Spanish-language cable channel closer to the parent brand," medialifemagazine.com reported on Tuesday. "The company said Tuesday it will relaunch mun2 as NBC Universo on Feb. 1, 2015, a day before it covers the Spanish- language broadcast of the Super Bowl. . . ."
  
  
• In Turkey, "Some 1,863 journalists have been fired in the 12 years of Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Chair Veli Agbaba said, while releasing a new party report on the issue," the Hurriyet Daily News reported on Wednesday. "The report, titled 'Journalists Whose Pens Are Broken,' has been printed as a book, and includes 42 media workers telling the story of their dismissals, Agbaba told reporters on Oct. 27, adding that 20 of these individuals did not even want to be named, fearing the consequences. . . ."
  
  
• "A journalist in Sierra Leone has been imprisoned after criticizing President Ernest Bai Koroma's handling of the Ebola outbreak, according to news reports and local journalists. David Tam Baryoh was arrested on Monday," the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on Tuesday.
  
  
• "Freedom of information has made important progress in Brazil during the past 12 years under President Lula da Silva and (since 2011) his successor Dilma Rousseff, who was reelected on 26 October, winning a fourth consecutive term for the Workers' Party (PT), but much remains to be done," Reporters Without Borders reported on Wednesday. The press freedom group said the two major challenges facing the government regarding freedom of information were "journalists' safety and a skewed media landscape."
  
  
• "A Burmese freelance journalist killed in army custody may have been beaten before he died, reports say," the BBC reported on Wednesday. "Aung Naing's body was exhumed and has been sent for post mortem examination. He was shot dead in army custody on 4 October after being arrested reporting on clashes at the Thai border. . . "
  
  
• The Committee to Protect Journalists said Oct. 30 that it condemned a raid by Argentine police on the offices of La Brújula 24, a radio station and news website, in which the outlet's journalistic materials were confiscated. 
  
  

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Exception Taken to Abramson Remarks on Women of Color

At last weekend's Journalism & Women Symposium (JAWS), Jill Abramson, former executive editor of the New York Times, defended Times television critic Alessandra Stanley, who ignited a furor in September when she labeled television producer Shonda Rhimes an "angry black woman."

Asked about racial diversity, Abramson said she chose Dean Baquet, who is African American and now executive editor, as her managing editor. She also said retention was a problem, citing Lynette Clemetson, who left the Times in 2007 to become founding managing editor of The Root.

Those comments did not sit well with Tracie Powell, who asked Friday in a headline on her alldigitocracy.org, "Is Jill Abramson right about it being harder to retain women journalists of color than to recruit them?"

Powell wrote, "Abramson's comments at the JAWS Conference fail to paint a complete picture of what's happening in U.S. newsrooms when it comes to women of color. What she didn't say is that women of color are losing ground in the news media. It's not that we choose to leave, oftentimes we can't even get a foot in the door."

Powell went on to quote Dori J. Maynard, president of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. "And if we do, as Maynard said, we're often made to feel as if our voices aren't valued and our stories aren't stories. Abramson proved that, once again, at the JAWS conference when she defended Alessandra Stanley. . . ."

Powell also wrote, "For those who remain in newsrooms, race and gender help shape their perspectives. That's just fact, and it should be valued. And if newsrooms don't provide the kind of atmosphere that allow us to bring these perspectives to the table, then there is very little incentive to stay. But these women have to be there in the first place in order for such a decision to be made; and there can't just be one of them. Even if a Lynette Clemetson leaves, the bench of women journalists of color at news organizations ought to be deep enough so that if one woman leaves, there are still several others left in the room. . . . "

Short Takes

• Reginald W. Ragland, a former journalist and middle school language arts teacher and a lifetime member of the Journalism Education Association, said he has filed an internal, 85-point professional misconduct and discrimination grievance against a key planner of the national high school journalism convention that opened Thursday in the nation's capital. Ragland said he filed the grievance against Carol Lange, a retired Fairfax County, Va., yearbook teacher who is director of the District of Columbia chapter. She has "marginalized and insulted most D.C. media teachers," who are part of "the organization’s most ethnically-diverse jurisdiction of journalism and media teachers," Ragland wrote. Mark Newton, president of the association, said by telephone that he had not received the complaint and could not comment. Lange could not be reached.  
  
  
• "The Committee to Protect Journalists wants President Obama to advocate for more press freedom when he visits Burma next week. He is traveling to Asia for the G20 Summit,"John Eggerton reported Friday for Broadcasting & Cable. "In a letter to the President dated Friday, CPJ executive director Joel Simon said Burma had backtracked after releasing jailed journalists in 2012 following the U.S. decision to suspend sanctions on the country. . . ."
  
  
• "Media outlets are slashing diversity; we are fighting back,"Farai Chideya, a journalist and professor who is crowdfunding "On One with Farai," a podcast that has "included guests who were black, white, biracial, East Asian, South Asian, Native American; gay and straight; U.S. born, immigrant, and non-American. This is our world right now, and definitely our future. We deserve to see ourselves fully represented. We shouldn't have to settle for media that is dumbed-down and doesn't show our true, fantabulous, colors. . . ."
  
  
• "Al Roker is going to attempt to break a Guinness World Record,"Catherine Taibi reported Thursday for the Huffington Post. Taibi also wrote, "The 'Today' show weatherman will try to break the record for longest uninterrupted live weather report broadcast. The current record stands at 24 hours. Roker wants to do it for 34 hours. . . . 'Rokerthon,' as NBC News is calling it, will begin Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 10:00 p.m. ET, and end Friday, Nov. 14, at 8:00 a.m. ET. . . ."
  
  
• " An Associated Press photographer in Cuba, Franklin Reyes Marrero, has died in a car accident while returning from an assignment west of Havana," the Associated Press reported on Tuesday. "Reyes, 39, was driving from the port of Mariel on Monday after working on a story about the Cuban economy. He apparently hit a patch of gravel and lost control of his car, which crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with another vehicle, police and medical officials said. They said he died at the scene. The two occupants of the other car died later. . . ."
  
  
• "Artie Lange, the comedian who for years played braying second fiddle to Howard Stern on The Howard Stern Show, has been banned from ESPN as a result of him tweeting racist and sexist jokes about the moderator of First Take, Cari Champion,"Madeleine Davies wrote Thursday for jezebel.com. "As mentioned in yesterday evening's Dirt Bag, Lange issued an non-apology after going on a long and despicable Twitter ramble detailing a sexual fantasy in which he was Thomas Jefferson and Champion, a black woman, was his slave." The National Association of Black Journalists was among those condemning Lange's remarks.
  
  

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Washington Post Debuts Interactive Project on "N-Word"

"This year the NFL instructed game officials to penalize players who used the n-word on the field of play. David Sheinin and Krissah Thompson, write about how the policy, met by widespread criticism, followed a year marked by several incidents of players deploying America's most divisive racial slur," the Washington Post said in an announcement on Monday.

"As the league wrestled with the issue, a team of Washington Post journalists spoke with more than 70 people over the last eight months examining the history of this singularly American word and its place in American vernacular today. Hear from former NFL players Donte Stallworth and Leigh Bodden; Byron De La Beckwith Jr., Ku Klux Klansman; Neal Brennan, co-creator of 'Chappelle's Show,' and more discuss the nuance of the n-word in an interactive project here. . . ."

• Don Lemon, BlackAmericaWeb.com: Don Lemon Is Tired Of Debating The N-Word, Use It If You Want To
  
  
• John McWhorter, The Root: It's Time We Recognize That 'N--ga' Isn't 'N--ger' 
  
  
• Arielle Newton, Huffington Post: The 'N' Word, Piers Morgan, and the Myth of Black Respectability

Station Owner Forced to Defend #Pointergate

"Communications mogul Stanley Hubbard, speaking at Augsburg College on Thursday, was forced to defend a controversial story that aired last week on one of his Minneapolis stations,"Libor Jany reported Friday for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis.

"About 30 protesters, some waggling large red foam fingers typical at sporting events, stood up and roared at Hubbard, whose television station, KSTP-TV, had come under fire for airing a story claiming that Mayor Betsy Hodges was making a gang sign in a photograph with a young black canvasser. The story, which triggered a wave of criticism across social media calling for an on-air apology from the station, has been held up by critics as an example of racial bias in the media. . . ."

• Samaria Bailey, Philadelphia Tribune: Panel talks image of Black men in the news
  
  
• Mayor Betsy Hodges blog: #pointergate 
  
  
• Tracie Powell, alldigitocracy.org: #Pointergate, the anti-journalism
  
  
• Eric Roper, Star Tribune: Hodges: Pointergate has shined light on police misconduct problems

Ethnic Newspaper Reinvents Itself as Cultural Institution

"While daily newspapers across the country battle for their lives, a scrappy little ethnic newspaper in San Francisco's Japantown is discovering new ways to survive,"Jon Funabiki wrote Wednesday for New America Media. "It is the Nichi Bei Weekly, and it's become my poster child for the special role that ethnic news media can play in their communities.

"The elements of success include the newspaper's deep roots in the Japanese American community, a new nonprofit business model, and an expanded mission that includes a growing set of vibrant, intergenerational cultural programs. A recent example was the Nikkei Angel Island Pilgrimage, which drew more than 600 people, young and old, to honor the 85,000 Japanese immigrants who passed through the 'Ellis Island of the West.'

"All of these elements were evident when the newspaper recently held its fifth anniversary celebration in a cavernous basketball gymnasium in the heart of Japantown. The program featured traditional odori dancers, a UC Berkeley a cappella choir singing songs in Japanese and English, and gourmet food with your choice of pesto mashed potatoes or steamed gohan (rice). The event had a distinctly Japanese American and multigenerational flavor, with awards and honors given to numerous volunteers and organizations who have contributed to the Nichi Bei's success. One award went to Renaissance Journalism — more on this later.

"The newspaper traces its history back to 1899 . . ."

NPR Looks at Asian Motivations for Eyelid Surgery

NPR's "Code Switch" Monday began the first in a two-part series "looking at the history and motivations behind the Asian blepharoplasty, popularly known as 'double- eyelid surgery.'

"Stepping past the controversy — Is it appropriate to get this surgery? What beauty standards are you abiding by or reinforcing? — I wanted to get at the why,"Kat Chow wrote. "Why some of us get the surgery, why some of us don't, or why everyone seems to have an opinion about those who seek it. I spoke with many people who had the surgery, considered it or chose not to get it. But to understand how the surgery became so common, I found it helpful to dig into its history, which goes back more than a century.

"In February 1895, an unnamed special correspondent for the Los Angeles Times wrote about this surgery in Japan.

"'In their efforts to acquire recognition in the civilized world, the Japanese have found their greatest barrier in the unmistakable mark of their Mongolian origin,' writes the unnamed author. 'The prejudice against Mongolians is undeniable, and among the Japs, the slanted eye being its only evidence, the curse is being removed.' . . ."

In 2013, talk and reality show host Julie Chen revealed that comments from a news director led to her developing a complex about her Asian heritage that ended in plastic surgery.

• Vesko Cholakov blog: Rules of Attraction: Why White Men Marry Asian Women and Asian Men Don't Marry White Women (July 29)
  
  
• Kat Chow, NPR "Code Switch": The Many Stories Behind Double-Eyelid Surgery

14 Nigerian Journalists Abducted by Youth Gang

"Fourteen Nigerian journalists were abducted in a speedboat ambush by a gang of youths and beaten in what appears to be part of the rivalry between two communities — the Ijaw and Itsekiri peoples — on the Niger Delta,"Roy Greenslade reported Wednesday for Britain's Guardian newspaper.

"The journalists were returning by boat from an Itsekiri press conference about a $16bn gas project in the Warri area of the delta when the gang came alongside and boarded them.

"Several journalists were beaten when they refused to hand over cameras and recording equipment. The Ijaw gang then demobilised the boat and ransacked the belongings of the journalists and six other people aboard, who included Kiki, an Itsekiri youth leader.

"All were forced into other boats and taken hostage to what appeared to be the gang's hideaway. The journalists were held for six hours, during which the boat driver and one of the journalists, Emma Arubi, senior correspondent of the Daily Independent, were badly beaten. . . ."

• Temidayo Akinsuyi, Daily Independent, Nigeria: Daily Independent Reporter, Arubi, 13 Journalists Kidnapped in Warri
  
  
• Emma Amaize, Vanguard, Nigeria: Untold story of how 14 journalists were abducted
  
  
• Leadership, Nigeria: Leadership Regional Editor, Others Abducted in Warri

Islamic Terrorists Step Up Persecution of Journalists

"As the US-led international coalition continues its airstrikes in Iraq and northern Syria in a bid to halt the Jihadi advance, Islamic State is stepping up its persecution of journalists, either threatening to kill them, kidnapping them or mistreating those it is already holding," Reporters Without Borders reported on Friday.

"Islamic State is now holding at least 20 journalists in Mosul (in northern Iraq), the largest city it controls.

"According to the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO), Islamic State kidnapped nine journalists more than a month ago, six of whom it is still holding and three it released. Then it kidnapped another 14 reporters, cameramen and TV engineers and technicians — most employed by Sama Mosul TV — in Mosul in late October and early November. . . ."

• The Guardian, Britain: Murdered journalists: 90% of killers get away with it but who are the victims? (Nov. 3)

Sierra Leone Citizen Journalists Share Ebola Stories

"The Ebola crisis has been a difficult story for mainstream media to report on as it's often difficult to access areas that are most affected by the epidemic. In Sierra Leone citizen reporters have been sharing updates on the crisis with main stream media — the Guardian, BBC World Service and Channel 4 News,"Caroline Bannock reported Tuesday for the Guardian in Britain.

"In 2012 the citizen journalism training organisation, OnOurRadar ran a training programme in Sierra Leone and it's these citizen reporters who have been sharing news about how Ebola has affected their communities all around Sierra Leone — from cities and mining towns to remote villages. Their reports were submitted using basic mobile phone technology, that's available to them, sharing information via recorded telephone interviews, WhatsApp audio and photo functions, and SMS.

"We wanted to find out more about the citizen reporters who have been sharing their reports from Sierra Leone. Here are some of their stories. . . ."

• Erik Wemple, Washington Post: Time for Bill O'Reilly to make amends for his panicked Ebola commentary

Cronkite School Plans Degrees in Sports Journalism

"The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University will offer two new degrees in the fast-growing field of sports journalism beginning in fall 2015," the school announced on Tuesday.

"The Arizona Board of Regents last week approved new bachelor's and master's degrees in sports journalism. The proposal for the degrees is now pending final approval from the University Senate, with action expected on Dec. 1.

"Student interest in sports media and sports journalism is tremendous and growing,” Cronkite School Dean Christopher Callahan said. “Our new degree program will make Cronkite the first major journalism school in the country to offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sports journalism.' . . .”

Brumsic Brandon Jr., Pioneer Comics Artist, Dies at 87

Brumsic Brandon Jr., a pioneering comic-strip artist whose "Luther" was among the first to run in mainstream newspapers as a result of the turbulence of the 1960s, died in Cocoa Beach, Fla., Friday after battling Parkinson's disease. He was 87.

Morrie Turner's "Wee Pals,""Luther" and Ted Shearer's "Quincy" all debuted late in the civil rights movement and featured black or multiracial casts of children. Adults of color were considered too threatening. With characters such as "Miss Backlash,""Hardcore" and "Oreo," however, "Luther" was more firmly grounded in black life. 

Brandon "started his career in comics at an early age, submitting strips for mainstream publication since the early 1940s," according to lambiek.net.

"He also made caricatures and cartoons, some of which were collected in 'Damned If We Do, and Damned If We Don't' in 1966. It wasn't until 1968 that he came up with 'Luther', a strip deliberately set in the working-class black ghetto and dealing less with race relations than with the universal human aspects of a child's struggle for survival."

"Brandon created 'Luther' for Newsday Specials, then a syndicate in Long Island, N.Y. The feature was later picked up by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate and distributed by them until 1986," according to a family biography.

"With Luther, Brumsic Brandon was determined to 'tell it like it is' . .  . and his daughter Barbara Brandon, who would go on to create her own strip 'Where I'm Coming From', assisted him for a while. . . ."

Brandon's demonstrated interest in children led to appointment as a forum member on the White House Conference on Children in 1970 and work as an illustrator and performer on New York-area children's shows, such as "Joya's Fun School"."He also wrote and illustrated several 'bebop fables' for 'Vegetable Soup,' which were narrated by Dizzy Gillespie," his bio says.

"During this time, Brandon also generated social commentary cartoons for 'Freedomways' magazine from 1963 to 1986 and for black media, later called Black Resources, from 1974 to 1989. 

"From 1992 to 2002, Brandon created editorial cartoons and wrote a regular op-ed page column for 'Florida Today,' a Gannett newspaper. Many of his cartoons were included in 'Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year' from 1996 to 2003. . . " 

Barbara Brandon-Croft announced on her Facebook page that services would take place Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Florida Memorial Gardens, 5059 S. US Highway 1, Rockledge, Fla. 32955. She said the family, which includes Washington writer Ivan C. Brandon, also hope to have memorial service in New York.

Ken Jobe Out as News Director at Memphis Station

"Ken Jobe is out as news director at Cox owned Memphis FOX affiliate WHBQ,"Kevin Eck reported Tuesday for TVSpy.

"Yesterday, we reported the station had a new GM. Today we confirmed that news director Ken Jobe no longer works at the station.

"A Cox spokesperson told TVSpy, Cox is looking for a news director to replace Jobe. . . ."

Jobe messaged Journal-isms, "As you know, WHBQ was a FOX O&O that was part of a station trade with Cox Broadcasting. The Boston O&O and WHBQ in Memphis were traded for Cox's San Francisco duopoly. Cox decided to make a change in leadership and I'm now on the market. Not much else to say."

"Jobe started his career in Nashville," Eck continued. "He has also worked at WCBS in New York and WCPO in Cincinnati. He started at WHBQ in 2003."

NPR's Matt Thompson Joining the Atlantic

"Matt Thompson (@mthomps) will join the leadership of TheAtlantic.com as the deputy editor," the Atlantic announced on Wednesday. "Thompson will work with the site's editor J.J. Gould (@jjgould) to help oversee editorial operations and shape strategic development at a time of record audience growth. Coming from NPR —where he has most recently directed news teams covering race, ethnicity, and culture; education; and global health and development — he will start at The Atlantic in the new year.

"'Matt is a force,' said Gould. 'He's creative about new media and their emerging potential, he's serious about journalism as a public good, and he's super-smart about the requirements of leadership in a digital organization. He's also just a natural fit for The Atlantic personally. Working with him is going to be a lot of fun.'

"At NPR, Thompson started the Code Switch blog, which he oversaw along with several other topic-focused verticals. He previously helped coordinate 12 local websites in conjunction with NPR member stations and coauthored NPR's ethics handbook. . . ."

• Andrew Beaujon, Poynter Institute: Matt Thompson leaves NPR for The Atlantic

Carleton Bryant Leaves Washington Times After 20 Years

Carleton Bryant, assistant managing editor for foreign news at the Washington Times and a 20-year veteran of the paper, left in a round of layoffs, Bryant told Journal-isms on Tuesday. "It was just a round of layoffs. . . . They needed to make some payroll cuts to maintain financial viability. Nothing personal, just business," he messaged.

Bryant told Facebook friends, "My departure was by mutual consent: They asked me to go, and I said OK."

John Solomon, editor of the conservative newspaper, did not respond to a question about how many layoffs took place.

On his LinkedIn profile, Bryant says, "In my 20 years at The Washington Times, I have excelled in a variety of leadership roles that have provided me with expertise in human resources management, strategic planning and resource allocation, and public relations and communication. In addition, I have been involved in the daily creative production of news stories and features, and assumed a back-up role in managing the Web site that has allowed me to develop skills in blogging, online publishing and HTML. . . ."

• Jordan Chariton, the Wrap: New York Times Veteran Exits: Christine Haughney Takes Buyout on Heels of Bill Carter Leaving
  
  
• Gerry Smith, Bloomberg: New York Times Gets at Least 85 Buyout Applications

Black Company Sues AT&T Over Access to DirecTV

"A black-owned media company sued AT&T for $10 billion this week, claiming AT&T shut it out from co-defendant DirecTV, for racial reasons, after buying the satellite company for $67 billion,"Matt Reynolds reported Thursday for Courthouse News Service.

"The National Association of African-American Owned Media claims in its Dec. 2 federal complaint that it represents 'at least one' African American-owned media company.

"It does not identify that company, but says it owns seven channels that produce original content, 32 television series, and a library of thousands of hours of programming.

"The association claims that AT&T and DirecTV refuse to carry the majority of its programming, except for one channel, for which they pay no carriage fees. . . ."

The story also said, "The National Association of African-American Owned Media is represented by Louis Miller with Miller Barondess.

"AT&T did not immediately respond to a request for comment after business hours Wednesday."

Press-Freedom Group Focuses on Jailed Journalists

"Reporters Without Borders (RWB), the Paris-based press freedom watchdog, has launched a fund-raising campaign based around the plight of jailed journalists in Eritrea, China and Saudi Arabia,"Roy Greenslade reported Monday for Britain's Guardian newspaper.

"The Eritrean prisoner is Dawit Isaak, who has been imprisoned without trial for 13 years after being arrested along with other newspaper editors in 2001.

"Isaak is reported to be dying slowly in a prison camp where detainees are tortured by being shut inside steel containers during periods of intense heat. And RWB has used that image of a container to publicise its campaign. . . ."

How Offensive Was That Spanish Word Used on NPR?

Did NPR use an offensive Spanish word Wednesday morning?

Patricia Guadalupe, Capitol Hill editor of Hispanic Link News Service, says yes, and she told her social media friends so. "Because the FCC has no bilingual staff, you can hear MARICON on NPR with your morning coffee without a beep or warning LOL," Guadalupe wrote. "And because NPR is equally clueless they translate that as 'gay.' Excuse me but MARICON does not mean the polite 'gay' but rather the harsh and offensive 'faggot.' Wow and it's not even 7am yet!

The "Morning Edition" story was about "Pelo Malo," a new Venezuelan film described therein as "a rare look into identity politics among Latin Americans, where racism is often a taboo topic."

Isabel Lara, NPR's director of media relations, disagreed with Guadalupe. "We know the word can have a broad range of meanings," she said in an email to Journal-isms, noting that she is originally from Venezuela. "I mentioned this to other native Spanish speakers at NPR and even we had different interpretations. Jasmine Garsd translated it in the context of the film that was being reviewed in her piece."

Guadalupe, who is originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, messaged Journal-isms, "if you ever introduce a gay friend as maricon, you probably going to get slapped. and you can quote me on that."

African Court Rules for Reporter in Defamation Case

"The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliates welcomed today African Court on Human and Peoples Rights' landmark decision last 5 November in the case of the journalist Issa Lohé Konaté against Burkina Faso," allafrica.com reported Wednesday, citing an Oct. 12 news release.

"The Court has delivered that this country violated the right to freedom of expression of the reporter, who was sentenced to 12 months in prison in 2012 after having accused a public prosecutor of corruption. The court ordered Burkina Faso to amend its law and the decision will bind on all African Union member states.

"'We welcome this magnificent victory for press freedom. The African Court has delivered an extraordinary first ruling on press freedom which will have a knock on effect on the legislation in all African countries forcing them to change their law on defamation. African governments should now amend their laws, drop pending criminal defamation charges, and free those jailed under such laws.' said IFJ's President Jim Boumelha. . . ."

Dallas Paper Asks Latino Parents to Help Cover Education

"Editors at The Dallas Morning News knew it was a story: Dallas area Hispanic families were facing a number of challenges in accessing early-childhood education programs,"Justin Ellis reported Tuesday for NiemanLab. "There were a few ways the paper could tackle it, like starting an investigative series or even creating a new beat. But instead of turning its own reporting power on the problem, it decided to give the community tools to report on itself.

"This fall the Morning News launched the Hispanic Families Network, a program that teaches parents some of the basics of journalism in an effort to help spread information about early-childhood education within the community. Staff from the Morning News have worked with a group of mothers on skills like information gathering, reporting, and verification techniques. But rather than publishing their work in the Morning News or on dallasnews.com, the information is primarily shared inside a Facebook group.

"With readers in the role of reporters, and Facebook acting as the distribution channel, the Morning News is mostly removed from the process. That was a purposeful step, said Tom Huang, Sunday and enterprise editor for the Morning News. The goal of the network is for parents to identify the information they need and share it directly with their friends, family, and neighbors. In order for the program to be really effective, it had to operate on a grassroots level, he said. . . ."

How Offensive Was That Spanish Word Used on NPR?

Did NPR use an offensive Spanish word Wednesday morning?

Patricia Guadalupe, Capitol Hill editor of Hispanic Link News Service, says yes, and she told her social media friends so. "Because the FCC has no bilingual staff, you can hear MARICON on NPR with your morning coffee without a beep or warning LOL," Guadalupe wrote. "And because NPR is equally clueless they translate that as 'gay.' Excuse me but MARICON does not mean the polite 'gay' but rather the harsh and offensive 'faggot.' Wow and it's not even 7am yet!

The "Morning Edition" story was about "Pelo Malo," a new Venezuelan film described therein as "a rare look into identity politics among Latin Americans, where racism is often a taboo topic."

Isabel Lara, NPR's director of media relations, disagreed with Guadalupe. "We know the word can have a broad range of meanings," she said in an email to Journal-isms, noting that she is originally from Venezuela. "I mentioned this to other native Spanish speakers at NPR and even we had different interpretations. Jasmine Garsd translated it in the context of the film that was being reviewed in her piece."

Guadalupe, who is originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, messaged Journal-isms, "if you ever introduce a gay friend as maricon, you probably going to get slapped. and you can quote me on that."

African Court Rules for Reporter in Defamation Case

"The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliates welcomed today African Court on Human and Peoples Rights' landmark decision last 5 November in the case of the journalist Issa Lohé Konaté against Burkina Faso," allafrica.com reported Wednesday, citing an Oct. 12 news release.

"The Court has delivered that this country violated the right to freedom of expression of the reporter, who was sentenced to 12 months in prison in 2012 after having accused a public prosecutor of corruption. The court ordered Burkina Faso to amend its law and the decision will bind on all African Union member states.

"'We welcome this magnificent victory for press freedom. The African Court has delivered an extraordinary first ruling on press freedom which will have a knock on effect on the legislation in all African countries forcing them to change their law on defamation. African governments should now amend their laws, drop pending criminal defamation charges, and free those jailed under such laws.' said IFJ's President Jim Boumelha. . . ."

Dick Lehr

Dick Lehr, a journalism professor at Boston University and former Boston Globe reporter, has written "The Birth of a Nation: How a Legendary Filmmaker and a Crusading Editor Reignited America's Civil War" (PublicAffairs, $26.99 hardcover; $26.99 ebook).

In the Wall Street Journal, Glenn Frankel called this "a lively and well-researched book about the film," and said Lehr "focuses his lens on two men: [D.W.] Griffith, the Kentucky-born son of a slaveholder who wrote, produced and directed it; and William Monroe Trotter, the Boston-born son of a slave who, as a fiery editor of a pro-civil-rights newspaper [the Boston Guardian], led the effort to have the film banned. Both were difficult, complicated and blustery men prone to self-aggrandizement and outlandish rhetorical flourishes. Mr. Lehr, a longtime journalist and a professor at Boston University, nicely draws the parallels between them even as he chronicles their bitter divisions over race, politics and culture."

Tom Meek added for Boston's WBUR-FM website, "As with all his works, Lehr tries to put himself in the shoes of his subjects, going to the places they frequented and cherished. 'It's essential,' Lehr says, 'to get the details right to let people know what it was like to be there back then.' The book holds many such nuanced immersions into the time and place. The breadth and depth is great and meticulous, and it captures a righteous occurrence of civil disobedience in our city’s rich past while revolving around an esoteric figure who, thanks to Lehr, should become less so now."

Trotter is the namesake of the Trotter Group of African American columnists, and of the William Monroe Trotter Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Betty Medsger

Betty Medsger, a founding member of Investigative Reporters and Editors and founder of the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism at San Francisco State University, has written "The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI" (Knopf, $29.95, hardcover; Vintage, 16.95, paper).

On March 8, 1971, a group broke into an FBI office in Media, Pa., and stole every document. Medsger told Journal-isms in January, "The racial files that emerged initially and later are, to me, the most important aspect of what we discovered about Hoover's secret FBI. As long as he was alive, black people never had a chance to have their case for basic rights taken seriously."

Medsger, a Washington Post reporter at the time, writes at one point, "It was clear from the documents that black students were regarded as potentially violent and therefore as appropriate subjects to be watched and to have their actions recorded in FBI files. . . ."

Post columnist Colbert I. King is quoted in a blurb, "Imagine a revered despot who believed African-Americans were a threat to the Republic and had to be kept under constant surveillance. That's not a nightmare. It happened, including actions destructively worse . . . The Burglary captures every disgusting and chilling detail. Could it happen again? "

Lisa Frazier Page

Lisa Frazier Page, a former editor and writer at the Washington Post now living in Louisiana, where she is community news managing producer for Nola.com and the Times-Picayune, has co-written with Howard Fuller"No Struggle No Progress: A Warrior's Life from Black Power to Education Reform" (Marquette University Press, $20 paper).

If ever one wonders how the ideals of the 1960s play out in the new millennium, just ask Fuller. As he recounts in this memoir, "I'd worked as a community organizer in North Carolina in the mid- to late 1960s and had been hated by the white political establishment there. I'd also founded Malcolm X Liberation University in 1969 and was a Black Power advocate known by the African name that the university students bestowed on me: Owusu Sadaukai. I got involved in the African Liberation Movement in the early 1970s and later even studied Marxism as a union organizer."

Fuller says this in explaining why in the new millennium he was advising George W. Bush on education policy. Fuller became superintendent of schools in Milwaukee and today is an advocate of school vouchers, which he sees as an extension of his work on behalf of poor black children.

Writing in Education Week, Rick Hess wrote in September that Fuller's book "is as forceful and engaging as its author. . . Part autobiography, part policy treatise, part manifesto, the book is stuffed with telling detail and from-the-shoulder wisdom. The best description I can offer is that it was like spending a half-day listening to Howard tell stories and impart hard-won wisdom. If you know Howard, I don't really need to say any more than that. If you don't know Howard, think of a long conversation with your no-illusions, straight-talking, seen-it-all uncle. Let me keep it simple: read this book. . . ."

Page, who has collaborated with others on memoirs, told a National Press Club audience at the book's September launch that the pair worked on the project for two years. Her task with Fuller was "to push him to remember and take him to places in time that were not always pleasant to visit. He was open and at times very vulnerable. He was not one to point fingers and where there were failures, he took all of the credit."

Fuller said at the press club, "I wanted for young people who read the book to realize that struggle is a long-time proposition. It takes perseverance and you have to have a commitment to something larger than yourself. I'm on a rescue mission now. I want to rescue as many of my people as I can. If I can just rescue one kid — two kids— eight kids, nobody in this room knows what that may mean to the world."

• Milton Coleman, YouTube: Howard Fuller Interview by Milton Coleman (Washington Post) (video) (Sept. 7)
  
  
• Breanna Edwards, The Root: Education: By Any Means Necessary(Sept. 13)
  
  
• Howard Fuller with Kojo Nnamdi, "The Kojo Nnamdi Show," WAMU-FM, Washington: From Black Power to Education Reform with Howard Fuller (audio) (Sept. 9)
  
  
• Dr. Bob Pavlik, Marquette Educator: Tireless Champion for Children: A Tribute to Howard Fuller(2010)

Ron Stodghill

Ron Stodghill, a longtime journalist who is assistant professor and director of diversity, workforce, and small business development at Johnson C. Smith University, has edited "Let There Be Light: An Anthology Exploring How Charlotte's Historic West End Is Shaping a New South" (Johnson C. Smith University, $14.95, paper). Journalists Mary C. Curtis, Eric Frazier, Mae Israel and Mary Newsom are among the contributors.

"I have remained haunted by that abrupt borderline that marks the boundary between Charlotte's two very different worlds," writes Dr. Ronald L. Carter, president of Johnson C. Smith, referring to the haves and have-nots, in the foreword. Carter said he turned to Stodghill, a former New York Times reporter and onetime editor of Savoy magazine, "to oversee efforts to bring the Corridor's forgotten history to light and to give voice to its residents. My belief in necessity of empowering the forgotten and disenfranchised to speak is the inspiration and driving force for this book. . . . In fact, I see this volume as merely the initial effort in a multi-volume series."

Alex Tizon

Alex Tizon, a former reporter for the Los Angeles Times and the Seattle Times who teaches journalism at the University of Oregon, has written "Big Little Man: In Search of My Asian Self" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $24 hardcover; $27 ebook).

Tizon, who came to the United States from the Philippines as a 4-year-old, has written a fascinating book that will be revelatory for those who are not Asian American men.

"In the America that I grew up in, men of Asia placed last in the hierarchy of manhood. They were invisible in the high-testosterone arenas of politics and big business and sports. On television and in the movies, they were worse than invisible: they were embarrassing. We were embarrassing. The Asian male in cinema was synonymous with nebbish. They made great extras. In crowd scenes that required running away, Asian men excelled. They certainly did not play strong male lead roles, because apparently there were no strong Asian males with sex appeal. On the public sex appeal scale, Asian men did not even register. They were hairless, passionless, dickless. Tiny minions. Houseboys. . . .

"At school, it was as much what was not taught. Asians simply did not come up in history class, except as victims who needed saving (Filipinos, South Koreans, South Vietnamese) or as wily enemies who inevitably lost (Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese) or as enemies who managed not to lose by withstanding mind-boggling casualties (North Koreans, North Vietnamese.)"

Tizon articulates the toll that the prevailing while male standard takes on others' psyches. Tizon devotes entire chapters to such subjects as why Asian Americans are shorter than many Asians in Asia, Asian American women's preference for white men, and even a discussion of the size of Asian American men's private parts. He travels to the Philippines and to China, where he finds that unlike in the United States, "the manliest of men were philosopher-warriors, and more philosopher than warrior."

The standard also plays out in the news media. "Television places a premium on physical attractiveness — telegenic appeal — and Asian women and men, as we know, are perceived to occupy opposite ends of the spectrum," Tizon writes. "But you could never get TV news executives to say this publicly. . . ." Yet, he adds, "It remains to be seen whether the widespread acceptance of Asian women in anchoring roles will lead to executive posts with real decision-making power in news organizations."

Tizon's story can resonate with other journalists of color as he turns his "otherness" to an advantage. "My own lifelong sense of feeling invisible, and living with others like my father who experienced the same, somehow became useful. I developed the sensory apparatus to apprehend fellow invisibles. . . ."

Hans Rollman wrote of Tizon in PopMatters, "by telling his own story, he has also told the story of countless others. Or at least, he has revealed the complicated stories lurking within millions of other racialized Americans and immigrants. To have the insight and courage to tell such a story undoubtedly places him among those daring pioneers, the absence of which he felt so acutely in his own childhood."

Joyce Chen wrote in Hyphen, "What is particularly impressive is that what the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist-cum-professor achieves in breadth, he just as effortlessly presents in depth."

• Jay Caspian Kang, New York Times Sunday Book Review: Minority Report (Sept. 5)
  
  
• Maynard Institute for Journalism Education: Alex Tizon Q & A (Oct. 23)
  
  
• Alex Tizon with Tavis Smiley,"Tavis Smiley," PBS (video) (July 10)
  
  

Howard W. French

Howard W. French, an associate professor at Columbia Journalism School who has reported from both China and Africa for the New York Times and Washington Post, and written 2004's "A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa," has produced "China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa" (Knopf, $27.95 hardcover; $13.27, paper, $14.99 ebook)

"In his extraordinary new book 'China's Second Continent,'Howard W. French delves into the lives of some of the one million-plus Chinese migrants he says are now building careers in Africa,"Alexis Okeowo wrote in July for the New York Times Book Review.

"For all the debate about China's intentions (imperialist or not?) and business practices (corrupt or not?) on the continent, the key piece of the discussion, French argues, has been ignored: the actual lives of those Chinese who have uprooted themselves to settle and work in Africa. Even as China has become the world's fastest-growing large economy, 10 of the 20 fastest-growing economies between 2013 and 2017 are projected to be in Africa. As French writes, 'Bit by bit, these facts have become closely intertwined.' The recent Chinese immigrants are the glue holding them together. And the stories French tells are fascinating.

"French's characters range from the mundane to the outrageous. . . ."

Kyle Hutzler wrote June 30 for the Huffington Post, "It is the stories of the individuals who have come to Africa independent of the Chinese state that French tells like no one before him. . . . French also captures well the frustrations many Africans hold against this surge of Chinese attention . . ."

Charisse Jones

Charisse Jones, a travel reporter for USA Today, is co-author with Misty Copeland of "Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina" (Touchstone, $26 hardcover).

Copeland is hot. This month, "Life in Motion" book was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. The Oxygen network has slated "The Misty Copeland Project" as one of four new series for "young, multicultural women,"Tambay A. Obenson reported last month for Shadow and Act. The series will follow "the star ballerina as she trains and mentors talented hopefuls from diverse backgrounds, who descend upon New York City to take on the next major step in their ballet careers. With the opportunity of a lifetime and chance to catapult to the top of the ballet world, these aspiring dancer's passion, commitment and hard work will be center stage in Misty's Master Class.

"This will be one of a small handful of upcoming new Misty Copeland projects in the works," Obenson continued. "Nelson George is already working on a feature documentary on Copeland — the first black woman in two decades to be a soloist at the American Ballet Theatre . . . . And in addition to George's doc, a scripted feature film on Copeland's life just may be coming to a theater near you in the future. Earlier this year, New Line Cinema optioned film rights to Copeland's memoir, 'Life In Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina,' which recounts her early struggles as a young dancer living in a welfare motel with her family. The book provides an insider's look at the cutthroat world of professional ballet, telling a moving story of dreams and perseverance. . ."

Jada Gomez-Lacayo, writing for NewsOne, called the book "a must-read for all women" and offered readers "8 lessons from Misty’s inspirational story. . ."

Jones is co-author of the upcoming "Unlocking the Truth," a memoir of the 8th-grade, African American heavy metal band of the same name that is due out next year.

• ABC News: Excerpt: Misty Copeland's 'Life in Motion' (March 6)
  
  
• Brandis Friedman, WTTW-TV, Chicago: Misty Copeland on 'Life in Motion' (video) (Oct. 2)

Dick Lehr

Dick Lehr, a journalism professor at Boston University and former Boston Globe reporter, has written "The Birth of a Nation: How a Legendary Filmmaker and a Crusading Editor Reignited America's Civil War" (PublicAffairs, $26.99 hardcover; $26.99 ebook).

In the Wall Street Journal, Glenn Frankel called this "a lively and well-researched book about the film," and said Lehr "focuses his lens on two men: [D.W.] Griffith, the Kentucky-born son of a slaveholder who wrote, produced and directed it; and William Monroe Trotter, the Boston-born son of a slave who, as a fiery editor of a pro-civil-rights newspaper [the Boston Guardian], led the effort to have the film banned. Both were difficult, complicated and blustery men prone to self-aggrandizement and outlandish rhetorical flourishes. Mr. Lehr, a longtime journalist and a professor at Boston University, nicely draws the parallels between them even as he chronicles their bitter divisions over race, politics and culture."

Tom Meek added for Boston's WBUR-FM website, "As with all his works, Lehr tries to put himself in the shoes of his subjects, going to the places they frequented and cherished. 'It's essential,' Lehr says, 'to get the details right to let people know what it was like to be there back then.' The book holds many such nuanced immersions into the time and place. The breadth and depth is great and meticulous, and it captures a righteous occurrence of civil disobedience in our city’s rich past while revolving around an esoteric figure who, thanks to Lehr, should become less so now."

Trotter is the namesake of the Trotter Group of African American columnists, and of the William Monroe Trotter Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Betty Medsger

Betty Medsger, a founding member of Investigative Reporters and Editors and founder of the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism at San Francisco State University, has written "The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI" (Knopf, $29.95, hardcover; Vintage, 16.95, paper).

On March 8, 1971, a group broke into an FBI office in Media, Pa., and stole every document. Medsger told Journal-isms in January, "The racial files that emerged initially and later are, to me, the most important aspect of what we discovered about Hoover's secret FBI. As long as he was alive, black people never had a chance to have their case for basic rights taken seriously."

Medsger, a Washington Post reporter at the time, writes at one point, "It was clear from the documents that black students were regarded as potentially violent and therefore as appropriate subjects to be watched and to have their actions recorded in FBI files. . . ."

Post columnist Colbert I. King is quoted in a blurb, "Imagine a revered despot who believed African-Americans were a threat to the Republic and had to be kept under constant surveillance. That's not a nightmare. It happened, including actions destructively worse . . . The Burglary captures every disgusting and chilling detail. Could it happen again? "

Lisa Frazier Page

Lisa Frazier Page, a former editor and writer at the Washington Post now living in Louisiana, where she is community news managing producer for Nola.com and the Times-Picayune, has co-written with Howard Fuller"No Struggle No Progress: A Warrior's Life from Black Power to Education Reform" (Marquette University Press, $20 paper).

If ever one wonders how the ideals of the 1960s play out in the new millennium, just ask Fuller. As he recounts in this memoir, "I'd worked as a community organizer in North Carolina in the mid- to late 1960s and had been hated by the white political establishment there. I'd also founded Malcolm X Liberation University in 1969 and was a Black Power advocate known by the African name that the university students bestowed on me: Owusu Sadaukai. I got involved in the African Liberation Movement in the early 1970s and later even studied Marxism as a union organizer."

Fuller says this in explaining why in the new millennium he was advising George W. Bush on education policy. Fuller became superintendent of schools in Milwaukee and today is an advocate of school vouchers, which he sees as an extension of his work on behalf of poor black children.

Writing in Education Week, Rick Hess wrote in September that Fuller's book "is as forceful and engaging as its author. . . Part autobiography, part policy treatise, part manifesto, the book is stuffed with telling detail and from-the-shoulder wisdom. The best description I can offer is that it was like spending a half-day listening to Howard tell stories and impart hard-won wisdom. If you know Howard, I don't really need to say any more than that. If you don't know Howard, think of a long conversation with your no-illusions, straight-talking, seen-it-all uncle. Let me keep it simple: read this book. . . ."

Page, who has collaborated with others on memoirs, told a National Press Club audience at the book's September launch that the pair worked on the project for two years. Her task with Fuller was "to push him to remember and take him to places in time that were not always pleasant to visit. He was open and at times very vulnerable. He was not one to point fingers and where there were failures, he took all of the credit."

Fuller said at the press club, "I wanted for young people who read the book to realize that struggle is a long-time proposition. It takes perseverance and you have to have a commitment to something larger than yourself. I'm on a rescue mission now. I want to rescue as many of my people as I can. If I can just rescue one kid — two kids— eight kids, nobody in this room knows what that may mean to the world."

• Milton Coleman, YouTube: Howard Fuller Interview by Milton Coleman (Washington Post) (video) (Sept. 7)
  
  
• Breanna Edwards, The Root: Education: By Any Means Necessary(Sept. 13)
  
  
• Howard Fuller with Kojo Nnamdi, "The Kojo Nnamdi Show," WAMU-FM, Washington: From Black Power to Education Reform with Howard Fuller (audio) (Sept. 9)
  
  
• Dr. Bob Pavlik, Marquette Educator: Tireless Champion for Children: A Tribute to Howard Fuller(2010)

Ron Stodghill

Ron Stodghill, a longtime journalist who is assistant professor and director of diversity, workforce, and small business development at Johnson C. Smith University, has edited "Let There Be Light: An Anthology Exploring How Charlotte's Historic West End Is Shaping a New South" (Johnson C. Smith University, $14.95, paper). Journalists Mary C. Curtis, Eric Frazier, Mae Israel and Mary Newsom are among the contributors.

"I have remained haunted by that abrupt borderline that marks the boundary between Charlotte's two very different worlds," writes Dr. Ronald L. Carter, president of Johnson C. Smith, referring to the haves and have-nots, in the foreword. Carter said he turned to Stodghill, a former New York Times reporter and onetime editor of Savoy magazine, "to oversee efforts to bring the Corridor's forgotten history to light and to give voice to its residents. My belief in necessity of empowering the forgotten and disenfranchised to speak is the inspiration and driving force for this book. . . . In fact, I see this volume as merely the initial effort in a multi-volume series."

Alex Tizon

Alex Tizon, a former reporter for the Los Angeles Times and the Seattle Times who teaches journalism at the University of Oregon, has written "Big Little Man: In Search of My Asian Self" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $24 hardcover; $27 ebook).

Tizon, who came to the United States from the Philippines as a 4-year-old, has written a fascinating book that will be revelatory for those who are not Asian American men.

"In the America that I grew up in, men of Asia placed last in the hierarchy of manhood. They were invisible in the high-testosterone arenas of politics and big business and sports. On television and in the movies, they were worse than invisible: they were embarrassing. We were embarrassing. The Asian male in cinema was synonymous with nebbish. They made great extras. In crowd scenes that required running away, Asian men excelled. They certainly did not play strong male lead roles, because apparently there were no strong Asian males with sex appeal. On the public sex appeal scale, Asian men did not even register. They were hairless, passionless, dickless. Tiny minions. Houseboys. . . .

"At school, it was as much what was not taught. Asians simply did not come up in history class, except as victims who needed saving (Filipinos, South Koreans, South Vietnamese) or as wily enemies who inevitably lost (Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese) or as enemies who managed not to lose by withstanding mind-boggling casualties (North Koreans, North Vietnamese.)"

Tizon articulates the toll that the prevailing while male standard takes on others' psyches. Tizon devotes entire chapters to such subjects as why Asian Americans are shorter than many Asians in Asia, Asian American women's preference for white men, and even a discussion of the size of Asian American men's private parts. He travels to the Philippines and to China, where he finds that unlike in the United States, "the manliest of men were philosopher-warriors, and more philosopher than warrior."

The standard also plays out in the news media. "Television places a premium on physical attractiveness — telegenic appeal — and Asian women and men, as we know, are perceived to occupy opposite ends of the spectrum," Tizon writes. "But you could never get TV news executives to say this publicly. . . ." Yet, he adds, "It remains to be seen whether the widespread acceptance of Asian women in anchoring roles will lead to executive posts with real decision-making power in news organizations."

Tizon's story can resonate with other journalists of color as he turns his "otherness" to an advantage. "My own lifelong sense of feeling invisible, and living with others like my father who experienced the same, somehow became useful. I developed the sensory apparatus to apprehend fellow invisibles. . . ."

Hans Rollman wrote of Tizon in PopMatters, "by telling his own story, he has also told the story of countless others. Or at least, he has revealed the complicated stories lurking within millions of other racialized Americans and immigrants. To have the insight and courage to tell such a story undoubtedly places him among those daring pioneers, the absence of which he felt so acutely in his own childhood."

Joyce Chen wrote in Hyphen, "What is particularly impressive is that what the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist-cum-professor achieves in breadth, he just as effortlessly presents in depth."

• Jay Caspian Kang, New York Times Sunday Book Review: Minority Report (Sept. 5)
  
  
• Maynard Institute for Journalism Education: Alex Tizon Q & A (Oct. 23)
  
  
• Alex Tizon with Tavis Smiley,"Tavis Smiley," PBS (video) (July 10)
  
  

Services for Sports Writer Bryan Burwell Are SRO

"I'm sure that Bryan Burwell would have been pleased at the way the Sports Task Force showed its love for him and support for his family during his wake and memorial service Wednesday and yesterday in St. Louis,"Ron Thomas, director of Morehouse College's Journalism and Sports Program, wrote his colleagues in the National Association of Black Journalists on Friday.

Burwell, a longtime sports columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, died at 59 on Dec. 4 after a short battle with cancer.

"I was the STF's official representative," Thomas continued, "and spoke for about 10 minutes at the memorial service about Bryan being a pioneer in our business in so many ways — as a black reporter and then columnist, as one of the first print reporters to cross over to TV, and as a multimedia journalist who mastered the podcast.

"I was so proud of the way black sports journalists showed out for Burwell. From all over the country, here's who I know came to the wake or funeral: J.A. Adande, David Aldridge, James Brown, Mike Claiborne (a St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster), Larry Fitzgerald, Ray Richardson, Bill Rhoden, Stephen A. Smith, Larry Starks, Michael Wilbon and Steve Wyche. In addition, NFL PR directors Tony Wyllie (Washington) and Ted Crews (Kansas City) attended. I apologize if I missed anyone. In addition, many St. Louis sports journalists who are not black, along with Rams coach Jeff Fisher (on a game day), paid their respects.

"There was a long line of Bryan's friends at the wake for several hours Wednesday, and Thursday the chapel, which holds 120 people, was packed, plus about four rows of people standing in the back. Yes, Burwell drew an SRO crowd, and his family truly appreciated it.

"About a dozen people shared their memories of Burwell, some poignant, many hilarious. I want to share with you my closing remark because of all of the comments that were made, I think this is the one Burwell would have been most proud of. It comes from a J.A. Adande posting to our list serve, and it's worth repeating:

"'Just because Bryan has written his last words doesn't mean his voice has been silenced. If you write fearlessly, if you care about the way you craft your sentences, if you can elicit anger, laughs and tears from your readers, if you command the trust and respect of your column's subjects, you'll be writing like Burwell. That's a lofty goal, one worth aspiring to.'"

• Mike Claiborne, St. Louis American: Thank you, Bryan Burwell, a friend in so many ways(Dec. 10) 

. . . Poll Shows Latinos Believe Cops Use Excessive Force

"Unfortunately missing from the raging national debate over recurrent police killings of African American men and boys — defined as an issue pitting blacks against whites — is the question of where other minority groups stand,"David R. Ayón reported Dec. 11 for Latino Decisions, a Latino political opinion research firm.

"This omission is particularly unfortunate in the case of Latinos, who bring their own substantial experience to questions of racial discrimination, the use of force by authorities, and the need for oversight and accountability.

"At the heart of how Latinos view law enforcement are nuanced attitudes revealed by a major new national poll conducted by Latino Decisions for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF). In spite of widespread optimism among Latino adults regarding the opportunities they see ahead, and in spite of the overwhelming majority's belief that local police are there to protect them and their families, two out of three Latinos worry that law enforcement will use excessive force against them. . . ."

• Dana Canedy, New York Times: The Talk: After Ferguson, a Shaded Conversation About Race(Dec. 13)
  
  
• Esther J. Cepeda, Washington Post Writers Group: The rainbow that isn't
  
  
• Tammerlin Drummond, Oakland Tribune: A spike in Oakland killings since Oct. 1
  
  
• Nikole Hannah-Jones, ProPublica: School Segregation, the Continuing Tragedy of Ferguson
  
  
• Allen Johnson, News & Record, Greensboro, N.C.: Pointing out bad cops doesn't disparage good ones
  
  
• Chip Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle: White screaming drowns out black voices at protests
  
  
• Rebecca Klein, Huffington Post: ACLU Lawsuit Says Ferguson School District Discriminates Against African-Americans
  
  
• Rafael Olmeda blog: The right time to take a stand
  
  
• Phillip Morris, Plain Dealer, Cleveland: Stopping the wholesale slaughter will require more than marches
  
  
• Alyssa Toomey, E! Online: Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O'Donnell Scream at Each Other While Debating Racism on The View: Watch the Controversial Fight!
  
  
• Phil Yu, Angry Asian Man: "We Choose Resistance." Join the Model Minority Mutiny.

Florence L. Tate Dies, Pan-African Activist, Ex-Journalist

Florence L. Tate, the first black female reporter at the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, who became a civil rights movement activist and press secretary for such figures as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the late D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, died Tuesday at age 83, her son, writer Greg Tate, told his friends Wednesday on social media.

Tate lived in Sarasota, Fla. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.

Referring to Facebook, the son said, "We know how much her rocksteady FB crew meant to her sense of well-being and global connectivity as a 'retired Pan-Afrikan activist and grandmother'."

A biography posted on the website of Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement says:

"Active with Dayton, Ohio CORE, 1963-66; Dayton Alliance for Racial Equality (DARE) 1966-69. SNCC fundraiser and southern Ohio campus liaison, 1966-68. National info coordinator for first African Liberation Day demonstrations in US organized by ALDCC [African Liberation Day Co-ordinating Committee] in 1972, Washington DC. Press secretary for Marion Barry's first campaign for mayor of Washington, DC and press secretary in his first administration. Journalist at the Dayton Daily News— [1964]-1966. (No problem with conflict of interest in those roiling times!) Director of Communications, National Urban Coalition, 1971-74.

"Organized 'Friends of Angola' a support group for Angolan independence in 1974 and disbanded in 1976 because of Angolan civil war and resultant international political conflict, confusion and acrimony. Press secretary for the 1984 Jesse Jackson for president campaign. Currently a charter member of the National Black Alternative School Organization recently founded in Milwaukee by Dr. Howard Fuller (Owusu Sadaukai), founder of Malcolm X University in Greensboro and national chairman and organizer of ALDCC.

"I am now a board member of Forum 2004: Truth for a Change, a Sarasota-based non-profit organization which was organized during this election year (2004), to inform and educate the citizens in this Florida area. We organize and sponsor public events featuring well-known speakers, writers and activists who address current issues affecting us all: the criminal justice system; civil /human rights; womens' rights; the environment; health and welfare; voting rights and voting fraud; racial equality and justice; unemployment/underemployment; future supreme court appointments; and other political and social issues of national concern.

"Former CORE member and SNCC supporter Florence L. Tate will be presented a LIVING LEGACY AWARD from ASALH (the Association for the Study of African American Life and History) at its 87th annual black history month luncheon in Washington, D.C., February 23, 2013.

"Tate has served as communications director and press secretary for a number of organizations, institutions and political figures, including National Urban Coalition President M. Carl Holman, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry and the 1984 U.S. presidential candidate The Reverend Jesse Jackson. Using her freedom of information file as a guide, she is currently writing her memoir, 'THE FBI'S MOST WANTED PRESS SECRETARY.'"

• J.A. Morton, hopeforwomenmag.com: Women Warriors: Florence L. Tate, Civil Rights Activist, Journalist, and Press Secretary (April 2012)

Lemon, Logan, Breitbart on List of Cringeworthy Blunders

CNN anchor Don Lemon, Lara Logan of CBS-TV's "60 Minutes" and Breitbart.com made the Columbia Journalism Review list of "this year’s most cringeworthy news blunders," CJR's David Uberti reported Monday.

Uberti wrote:

"When life gives you Lemon

"As one of the most recognizable anchors on CNN, Don Lemon has helped lead the cable network's coverage of the biggest stories of the year. Live television is exceedingly difficult to produce, of course, but Lemon's gaffes this year offer a case study in how to choose words wisely — or not.

"On March 20, he asked guests whether Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 could have been swallowed by a black hole: 'I know it's preposterous, but is it preposterous?' He later compared spanking children to training dogs and probed similarities between the release of US Army POW Bowe Bergdahl and the Showtime series Homeland. When an alleged Bill Cosby rape victim appeared on his show on Nov. 18, he lectured, 'You know, there are ways not to perform oral sex if you didn't want to do it…Meaning the use of teeth, right?' Less than a week later, as protests turned violent in Ferguson, MO, he described the scene: 'Obviously, there's a smell of marijuana in the air.' Lemon's job isn’t easy. But he's earned a DART for going there. Obviously.

"Africa is a country

"The foreign correspondent who parachutes into the developing world, only to speak with fellow foreigners, is thankfully an outdated trope — mostly. CBS'60 Minutes deserves a DART for 'The Ebola Hot Zone,' a segment on the virus in Liberia where not a single local was interviewed on camera. Reporter Lara Logan visited an American-run treatment center, speaking to a nurse and four doctors, including a virologist and an infectious disease specialist — all from the US.

"While Logan reported that most of the center's staff were Liberian, none of them were interviewed. Other Liberians chant hymns, quietly disinfect vehicles, and dig graves. Or they are patients, including an infected 5-year-old boy and his father who appear onscreen, but whose story is relayed to Logan via an American nurse. As Columbia Journalism School professor and former New York Times Africa correspondent Howard French pointed out on Storify, there was one African who got to speak: the South Africa-born Logan. . . .

"Loretta who?

"A final DART goes to Breitbart News for its absurd response to the fact that the entire premise of its story 'outing'Loretta Lynch, nominated by President Barack Obama for attorney general, as one of Bill Clinton's attorneys in the Whitewater corruption probe, was erroneous. First, wrong Loretta Lynch — Clinton's attorney by the same name was a California Public Utilities Commissioner. But instead of acknowledging the error and taking down the story, they appended a correction to the bottom of the piece, as though they had simply misspelled Lynch's name.

"Finally, after thousands of shares online, Breitbart took down the article, including the correction, leading readers to a '404-not found' error page. A new story on Lynch that carries the correction remains under a different link — a case study in intellectual honesty. . . ."

• Elizabeth Spayd, Columbia Journalism Review: 2014 editor's picks

What Smart People Are Saying About 2015

"To close out 2014, we asked some of the smartest people we know to predict what 2015 will bring for the future of journalism," the editors of NiemanLab asked a diverse group of thinkers.

Among those included:

• Latoya Peterson: News in a remix-focused culture
  
  
• Robert Hernandez: Los Angeles is the content future
  
• Alisha Ramos: Reporters, designers, and developers become BFFs
  
  
• Raju Narisetti: A thaw in the newsroom glacier
  
  
• Rachel Sklar: Cut the excuses: Diversity takes work
  
  
• Lauren Henry: Encouraging engagement, accepting anonymity
  
  
• Dheerja Kaur: Content creators are users too
  
  
• Dayo Olopade: Learning from mobile-first markets
  
  
• Katie Zhu: The news mixtape
  
  
• Alfred Hermida: The fall and rise of the news bundle
  
  
• Maria Bustillos: A return to subscriptions
  
  
• Mira Lowe: Metrics, smaller screens, and race
  
  
• Matt Thompson: The season of seasons
  
  
• Trushar Barot: The rise of digital India
  
  
• Aaron Williams: Security and subtlety
  
  
• Millie Tran: Smart filters on the rise
  
  
• S. Mitra Kalita: Authenticity, expertise, and intimacy
  
  
• Lydia Polgreen: More is less (or too much)
  
  
• Kawandeep Virdee: Siphoning from social tech
  
  
• Emi Kolawole: The rise of the jacktivist
  
  
• Errin Whack: Race is your beat, too
  
  
• Jason Parham: The rise of the personal-public beef
  
  
• Aaron Edwards: Diversity: Don't talk about it, be about it

How the Right Photo "Unfolded Right Before Me"

"It was another busy day at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Feb. 14, 2003,"Ruby Washington, a photographer who took a buyout from the New York Times, wrote Monday for the Times' Lens blog. "Another day of photographing in a controlled and very restrictive environment. My assignment was to look for a different kind of photograph — to make something interesting.

"That day, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was there to make the case for military intervention in Iraq, even though the arms inspector Hans Blix had cautioned against moving too quickly. I was positioned in a photo booth, just above Mr. Powell's shoulders.

"'How can I make something interesting out of this situation?' I wondered.

"Mr. Powell fiddled with pencils, took notes, watched dignitaries and passed notes. He whispered and conferred with others. I listened to speeches, all the while thinking, 'I don't yet have a picture.'

"Mr. Powell made his speech, a plea to take action against Iraq. As Julia Preston reported that day, he said: 'We cannot allow this process to be endlessly strung out as Iraq is trying to do right now. My friends, they cannot be allowed to get away with it again.'

"When he finished, I watched as someone passed him a note. I waited in anticipation, hoping that he would open it so I could photograph its contents. It unfolded right before me: A rare opportunity had presented itself.

"The note, presumably from the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, read: “Colin You made a good speech. The British media are reporting you and I as 'fighting back' against the ambiguity of the Blix reports. . . ."

The Lens blog also displayed the work of departing photographers Fred R. Conrad, Ozier Muhammad and Chester Higgins Jr.

"In the coming days, Lens will feature the work of five staff photographers who have decided to retire," the blog announced on Thursday. "Together, they represent 189 years of experience at The Times."