Whitaker Didn't Ask Cosby About Sexual Assault Accusations

Former Newsweek editor Mark Whitaker, author of "Cosby: His Life and Times," a new biography of Bill Cosby, did not ask his subject about allegations that he drugged and sexually assaulted women in 2004, television critic Eric Deggans reported for NPR on Friday.

In his report, Deggans said he interviewed Cosby critic Michael Eric Dyson, the academic and social critic. "Dyson says Whitaker's been seduced by Cosby. He notes the biography doesn't mention a jarring accusation from 2004. When several women claim the comic drugged and sexually [assaulted] them."

The transcript continues:

"DYSON: So, how is it that accusations of immorality that have been levied against Mr. Cosby don't make it into a book where the author defends Mr. Cosby in terms of his own attacks on young people?

"DEGGANS: Whitaker, who did write about times when Cosby cheated on his wife said he never asked his subject directly about the assault allegations or interviewed the accusers. As a journalist Whitaker says he wasn't [comfortable] including complex accusations in the book that he couldn't prove.

"WHITAKER: And I just did not want to be in a position of printing allegations and denials and then be in a position as a journalist writing the most thorough biography that's ever been done. If people said to me, well what do you think really happened? And I would say, you know, I don't know. . . ."

• Erin E. Evans, The Root: 12 Life Lessons We Learned From Cliff Huxtable

Fox aired a one-minute ad for the 18th season of “South Park” during Sunday's Philadelphia Eagles-Washington Redskins game. (video)

Takedown of NFL Team Name in the Fourth Quarter

"NFL fans watching Sunday's Philadelphia Eagles-Washington Redskins were treated to a rare sight during a fourth-quarter commercial break," the New England Sports Network reported.

"FOX aired a one-minute ad for the 18th season of 'South Park' that was less a promo for the Comedy Central show and more a thorough takedown of the Redskins’ nickname and the controversy surrounding it."

• Matt Kramer, HuffPost LatinoVoices: It's Time to Rethink Native Mascots
  
  
• Robert McCartney, Washington Post: If Dan Snyder is so sure Indians support team name, then he should visit local ones (Sept. 13)
  
  
• Robert O'Donnell, Washington Post: Stop congratulating yourself for opposing the Redskins' name. You're not helping the real problem.
  
  
• Travis Waldron, Columbia Journalism Review: Why news organizations are abandoning the Redskins

Susan L. Taylor, longtime editor of Essence magazine, explains the HistoryMakers program in a 2010 video.(video)

59 Black Media Figures Reaching Back to Classrooms Friday

"What does service mean in the African American community?" The HistoryMakers organization asked Monday in a news release. "To newspaper veteran George Curry, service means making news accessible to minority communities. To renowned radio personality Frank Ski, service means expanding the reach of urban media, and increasing opportunities for disadvantaged youth.

"To newspaper publisher and editor Amelia Ashley Ward, or television executive Douglas V. Holloway, service means changing the face of media leadership. Service means building a legacy of elite journalism to broadcast journalist Leon Bibb, and redefining television news media to news anchor Barbara Ciara.

"On September 26, 2014, these leaders will join over sixty African American MediaMakers across the nation for a day of service during the 5th Annual Back to School With The HistoryMakers program, as they return to classrooms to encourage students to COMMIT to excellence and finishing their education."

The full list of participating media figures is in the "Comments" section.

The release also said, "Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is chairing the nationwide effort with the goal of having more than 400 black leaders go 'back to school' in 61 cities and 30 states. The program puts HistoryMakers in direct contact with over 25,000 students across the nation, to inspire them with their life's stories and to encourage youth to strive for The theme of the day is 'COMMIT.' The HistoryMakers will personally recount their own school experiences, reflect upon the struggles they encountered on their paths to success and, most importantly, encourage students.  'It makes a difference to hear a message of positive choices from successful, caring adults whom the students can relate to,' says a teacher from the program. . . ."

This columnist will be among the participants. 

• The HistoryMakers' digital archive
  
  
• The HistoryMakers Education page
  
  
• Tanzina Vega, New York Times: Library of Congress to Display Interviews With Blacks, Noted and Unsung(June 23)

[Updated Sept. 23.]

Short Takes

• "Diversity may be the face of America, but behind the cameras there's still little room for women or racial minorities, at least when it comes to directing primetime television episodes,"Jonathan Handel reported Sept. 17 for the Hollywood Reporter. "That's the takeaway from a Directors Guild of America study announced Wednesday, which found that 69 percent of 2013-14 episodes were directed by white males, a figure that’s been virtually unchanged over the last four seasons. . . ."
  
  
• Hugo Balta, a coordinating producer at ESPN and immediate past president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, is one of 32 recipients of an NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award [PDF], the NFL, the Hispanic Heritage Foundation and Verizon announced on Sunday. The awards recognize the contributions of Hispanic leaders in each NFL market. Balta is to represent the New York Jets. Recipients are to select an organization of their choice that serves the local Hispanic community to receive a $2,000 donation. "I'm going to invest the prize towards NAHJ scholarships,"Balta told fellow members of NAHJ. 


• "Prolific writer and playwright J. California Cooper has died at the age of 82, a family friend has confirmed to EBONY.com," the website reported Monday. Cooper passed away peacefully in Seattle, Washington on September 20, with daughter Paris Williams by her side. The [Berkeley]-native was best known for her short stories and plays including Strangers, which earned a 1978 Black Playwright Award. Cooper authored six short story collections including A Piece of Mine, Homemade Love (winner of the 1989 American Book Award) Some Soul to Keep, The Matter is Life, Some Love, Some Pain, Sometime, and Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns. Her short story Funny Valentine was turned into a 1999 TV movie. . . . ."
  
  
• The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, America's foremost think tank for black political and economic research, is "restructuring," Spencer Overton, the center's interim president/CEO, told Journal-isms. As reported in June by Hazel Trice Edney for her Trice Edney NewsWire, the Washington-based center "is struggling with financial problems so serious that its political arm has been gutted and its interim president is working for free." Overton told Journal-isms by email on Monday, "We are doing business, and we're in the process of moving to another address." 


• "The anonymous media watchdogs who have spent the past month accusing Fareed Zakaria of serial plagiarism have been given a higher platform from which to air their concerns: Esquire,"Dylan Byers reported Monday for Politico. "In a new post, Esquire.com News editor Ben Collins writes that 'CNN would rather employ, give airtime to, and defend a plagiarist whose resumé they find easy to personally explain and understand than someone who is doing actual journalism, but who might take more work to reach out to or understand.' He then hands the pen over to the watchdogs — known as 'Crushing Bort' and 'Blippo Blappo'— who target CNN for failing to adequately address Zakaria's plagiarism . . . ."


• "KDFW/Channel 4 reports that weekend sports anchor and reporter Max Morgan has died of congestive heart failure at age 59,"Robert Philpot reported Monday for the Star-Telegram in Fort Worth, Texas. "'The man who greeted viewers with "Hello Dallas-Fort Worth … let's talk sports" has died,' Fox-4’s report begins. 'Max Morgan started every one of his KDFW sportscasts with that saying, along with a smile and a magnificent baritone voice.' Morgan, who had been with the station since 1993, had been in a Dallas hospital since last Wednesday, according to station reports. . . ."


• "The Los Angeles Register, which launched in April as part of Aaron Kushner's bold bet on print newspapers, will cease publication, effective immediately,"Andrew Khouri reported Monday for the Los Angeles Times. "Orange County Register co-owner Aaron Kushner announced the decision Monday night in a memo sent to employees. . . . The memo hints at layoffs, but provided no specific details. . . ."


• "Fusion today announced that it is partnering with the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism to offer recent graduates several working fellowships specializing in digital storytelling, investigative reporting and documentary production," the school announced Monday. "As part of the ongoing career-track fellowship program, three recent graduates will be hired annually to work for Fusion, a news, pop culture and satire network aimed at a young, diverse American audience. Fusion iis a joint venture of Univision Communications Inc., and the Disney/ABC television network. . . ."
  
  
• "We happen to have one of the best African-American journalists writing today, Ta-Nehisi Coates, but also we have three people of color in the entire organization,"Scott Stossel, editor of the Atlantic magazine, told Nieman Reports on Sept. 11. "There's a whole host of reasons why that is, and we have for some years done aggressive outreach to try to rectify that. But it matters not just in terms of equal opportunity and justice, but in terms of the perspective that you bring to different stories. . . ."
  
  
• "In a little over a decade, historical and contemporary black newspapers have been digitized at a rapid rate. Yet a critical body of scholarship of these newspapers' impact continues to lag behind the technological developments, which have made these newspapers available to scholars and students," according to the National Endowment for the Humanities. To address this issue, the Center for Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University and the Black Press Research Collective are planning a two-day workshop Oct. 10-11, funded by a NEH Digital Humanities Start-Up stage I grant. 
  
  
• "Arise Entertainment 360, the popular daily entertainment and culture series, will now be syndicated on BET CENTRIC beginning September 29," the participating parties announced on Monday. "Hosted by veteran journalist and television personality Lola Ogunnaike (formerly of the New York Times and CNN) and Shannon [LaNier](Black Enterprise), Arise 360 covers the top news stories in entertainment, arts, culture and sports." In April, Essence magazine reported such a deal was in the works.
  
  
• "Amie Hudspeth has been named news director at the Victoria Television Group in Victoria, Tex., Kevin Eck reported Monday for TVSpy. Eck also wrote, "Hudspeth was assistant news director at WNCT in Greenville, N.C. She has also worked at WOAI in San Antonio, Tex. and KEYE in Austin, Tex."
  
  
• In the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, "WVEC sports reporter and weekend anchor Brian Smith is recovering from a heart attack and will be off the air for the next few weeks,"Tom Robinson reported Saturday for the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk.
  
  
• In Santo Domingo, "At least three journalists were injured while covering clashes between police and protesters of Haitian origin in the Dominican capital on 20 September," Reporters Without Borders reported Monday. "The street fighting erupted in the neighbourhood known as 27 de Febrero when a policeman fatally shot a man of Haitian origin identified as Yanisel Yan. . . ."
  
  

Follow Richard Prince on Twitter @princeeditor

Facebook users: "Like""Richard Prince's Journal-isms" on Facebook.

Jeter Website to Enable Athletes to Bypass Reporters

"Despite years of politely fending off reporters' questions or offering responses that veered toward the bland, Derek Jeter is joining the news media,"David Walstein reported Wednesday for the New York Times. "On Wednesday, just three days after playing his final baseball game, Jeter announced that he would publish The Players' Tribune, a website that gives athletes a forum to express their thoughts and feelings.

"According to a news release, athletes will be able to share first-person accounts, videos, podcasts, photographs and polls on the site. Jeter said he would be closely involved. . . ."

• Christopher Massie, Columbia Journalism Review: In all the goodbyes, media didn’t catch why Jeter will be missed

Cartoon on India's Mission to Mars Scored as in Poor Taste

"Last week, India became the first Asian nation to reach Mars, and the first in the world to do so on its first attempt,"Sharanya Haridas wrote Sept. 30 for the Huffington Post.

"The spacecraft called Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) in English and 'Mangalyaan' or 'mars craft' in Hindi was launched in November and reached the orbit on Wednesday, to much jubilation from the public.

"India's first interplanetary mission is all the more creditable because, at $72 million, Mangalyaan cost just a fraction of NASA's $670 million Maven, and $2 billion Curiosity Rover. It also cost less than to produce the film Gravity, and at Rs.7 or 11 cents, per kilometer, cost less than the per-kilometer cost of commuting by autorickshaw in most Indian cities.

"So yesterday's New York Times' comic by Heng, titled 'India's budget mission to Mars' seems in poor taste. . . ."

In South Dakota, Oct. 12 Holds Different Significance 

"An unprecedented event happened in South Dakota 24 years ago, an event that has not been duplicated by any other state: South Dakota adopted October 12 as a state holiday to be called Native American Day,"Tim Giago wrote Sept. 15 for the Huffington Post, anticipating this weekend.

"By selecting October 12, South Dakota eliminated, for all intent and purpose, Columbus Day as a holiday. But the ensuing 24 years have proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that old habits are hard to break.

"The Native American Day holiday did not occur by happenstance. It certainly was not anything advocated by the state's largest newspapers, television or radio stations, or by the state's 100 weekly newspapers. It was instead a holiday advocated by the only independent, Indian-owned weekly newspaper in the state, the original Lakota Times (No connection to the current Lakota Country Times). . . ."

Giago also wrote, "But as I alluded to earlier, change comes hard in this state. The state's white-owned media has done little to promote Native American Day. Out-of-state retail chains like Walmart, Target, K-Mart, J.C. Penney's and Lowe's, and others, with their corporate mentality, still advertise 'Columbus Day' sales. And above all, the state government of South Dakota has been woefully negligent in stepping forward to celebrate a day that honors Native Americans.

"It seems to me that the people of South Dakota are not fully aware that what they accomplished is unique in American history. Of the 50 States of the Union, only one has set aside a state sanctioned holiday to honor Native Americans and in so doing has diminished a holiday, Columbus Day, that most Native Americans find offensive. Witness the Native protests that take place across America (except in South Dakota) every October 12. In South Dakota we made this happen without firing a shot.

"If South Dakota's white-owned media had come up with the idea of Native American Day, or of a Year of Reconciliation, perhaps they would be more apt to promote and honor these days, but it seems to me that because the Lakota people and a Lakota-owned newspaper did it for them, they are hesitant, fearful and even envious of promoting this special day. They even neglect to report truthfully about how this day began. They instead credit a white governor and white legislature totally ignoring the all-important instigating role played by me and the Native Americans at the Lakota Times.

"I would say to the Lakota people that October 12 is our day. . . ."

The University of California at San Diego adds, "California Native American Day was established as an official state holiday in 1998. Today, all California schools recognize the fourth Friday in September as the official Native American holiday. . . "

• Michael Arceneaux, Ebony: Columbus Smiles Down on the Culture Vultures

• Jessica Carro, Indian Country Today Media Network: Do Other Countries Celebrate Columbus Day?

• Valerie Strauss, Washington Post: Columbus Day: 'How is this still a thing?'

. . . N.Y. Daily News Mariachi Cartoon Called Stereotypical

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists Sunday denounced a cartoon in the Daily News in New York as stereotypical and demanded a public apology.

The cartoon, a commentary on New York's grading of taxis, was published Sunday. It showed mariachis on a train to illustrate "an example of what some may find annoying," the cartoonist, Bob Eckstein, tweeted to NAHJ member Julio Varela, founder of LatinoRebels.com, according to NAHJ.

NAHJ President Mekahlo Medina said in a statement on the NAHJ website, "Our community, for far too long, has been the subject of these stereotypes for the sake of jokes or entertainment. It's disturbing that a journalism organization like the New York Daily News would allow a negative depiction to be used to engage readers on an issue that is important to citizens. The cartoon, for Latinos, is an example of engaging them on the issue of grading transportation . . ."

• Ruben Navarrette Jr., Washington Post Writers Group: A heckler's reasoning
  
  
• Jose Parra, Fox News Latino: What's in a name pronunciation? For Latinos, plenty
  
  
• Geraldo Rivera, Fox News Latino: Immigration frustration
  
  
• Bob Ray Sanders, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Fort Worth Herd drovers get a lesson in their own culture

No More Mug-Shot Galleries for Missouri Paper

The Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader is dropping its regular publication of mug shots because "Greene County's system to distribute mug shots of daily arrests had gone down, and our system to capture them was as useless as an iPhone in western Kansas."

Moreover, Paul Berry, executive director of news and engagement, told readers Sunday, "I'd been thinking lately about the mug shots and our role as the community newspaper. As I've said countless times since getting here, our success hinges on our ability to produce quality journalism that impacts our community.

"Good journalism seeks to bring clarity to confusion, helps us ask informed questions and provides us with the information we need to make informed decisions for our families, businesses and communities.

"We've been struggling with how these galleries fit into our approach. While they serve as a record of arrests in our area, they raise significant questions. Was the arrest justified? Were formal charges filed? What is the condition of the person arrested?

"Without proper context, the galleries serve as little more than a place for people to gawk at those who have been arrested. Many of those who are arrested need our community's help, not our ridicule. . . ."

Berry also wrote, "We'll continue to report on the serious crimes against people in our community, as you've come to expect from us. And we won't shy away from holding people accountable for their actions, including publishing their photos.

"But for now, mug shots are a machine we won't be turning back on again. . . ."

Pitching the Press, With Diversity

The centerfold of the Washington Post's Capital Business section Monday featured a photo of its diverse staff and an invitation to "learn about how to get your news in Capital Business and pitch to reporters one-on-one, speed-dating style."Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres are to be served at the Post building on Oct. 28.

From left, Jonathan O'Connell, Mohana Ravindranath, Shawn Selby, Madia Brown, Amrita Jayakumar, Dan Beyers, V. Dion Haynes, J.D. Harrison, Abha Bhattarai, Steven Overly, Catherine Ho and Kathy Orton.

Boston Herald Opinion Editor Asks Forgiveness for Cartoon

"For two weeks I have remained silent,"Rachelle G. Cohen, editorial page editor of the Boston Herald, wrote on Wednesday. "And that was just plain dumb. Oh, not THE dumbest thing — not by a long shot. The dumbest thing I've ever done was without a second thought to give my approval to a cartoon — we all know which one — that has proven hurtful to so many people — people I care about. It has also proven hurtful to an institution I love and to colleagues who are blameless.

"And that, in the end, is what forces me to break this utterly uncharacteristic silence of mine. . . ."

As CBS News reported on Oct. 1, "The cartoon shows the president brushing his teeth in a White House bathroom with a surprised look on his face as a white man sits in the bathtub behind him, asking [President] Obama, 'Have you tried the new watermelon flavored toothpaste?' The caption reads, 'White House Invader Got Farther Than Originally Thought. '"

Cohen wrote Wednesday, "it's my job as an editor to see around corners, to look at all the possible meanings and nuances of words and of images. It's my job and two weeks ago I failed at it miserably. And that's all on me and this is why. . . ."

She also wrote, "Yes, a final page proof does go up to the 6th floor where a desk editor will read the editorials, make sure we haven't made some obvious error of fact and in the event a topic has been overtaken by breaking news events will pick up the phone and advise me that we need an update. On the night in question — the night the cartoon appeared on a page proof, the proof was not left in the proper bin. No senior news editor ever saw it.

"And every evening the publisher gets a copy of the editorials sent to his email — not the images — only the words.

"So there you have it. The remarkably simple way in which bad stuff can happen. . . ."

Diversity Lament From Britain Sounds Familiar

"This is an article I swore I would never write,"Nesrine Malik wrote Tuesday for Britain's Guardian newspaper. "First, as a protest against the minority media ghetto where minority writers are limited to writing about minority issues and gripes, second, because it just looks like sour grapes, and finally, because this kind of journalism about journalism can edge into the self-indulgent. But two lists published in close succession have made me break my vow.

"So bear with what may seem like media navel-gazing and look at what these two lists tell us. The first, the 2014 list of nominees for the Comment Awards, has not a single columnist of colour; the second, the list of judges for the British Journalism Awards, not a single black or minority ethnic (BME) judge and only three women out of 18 on the panel. After I tweeted about the latter, Press Gazette got in touch and said there was still 'work to do,' and added one male non-white judge and two women to its panel. . . ."

Malik also wrote, "Protest against this, however, and you are met with cries of tokenism and horror at positive discrimination. Sometimes the blame is shifted onto the excluded for being paranoid or not proactive enough. The comment awards curator Julia Hobsbawm defended the all-white shortlist by saying that people who feel underrepresented should just 'phone me up and ask to be a judge ... Don't put a barrier where there isn't one. That's a mindset.' The selection of the all-white shortlist was 'democratic'.

"To me this is proof that there is still a fundamental misunderstanding of how networks can be hermetic and self-perpetuating without being actively racist, sexist or classist. . . ."

• Jimi Matthews, the Journalist, South Africa: The Complexion of Newsrooms Changed But old norms haunt us

Time Revisits "Model Minority" Stereotype

"Although it was not the first to do so, Time's cover story in 1987 titled The Asian American Whiz Kids is often cited as an example of media coverage perpetuating the model minority myth,'Randall Yip wrote Wednesday for his AsAmNews.

"Now 27 years later, Time has updated its story talking to some of the same people it talked to in 1987. [Its] conclusion:

"'The lack of Asian leadership in tech sheds light on a larger issue: Asians are excluded from the idea of diversity.'

"The most recent example can be found in the diversity reports released by Silicon Valley's largest tech firms. . . ." Time pointed out, "Very little was said of the discrepancy between the high percentage of Asian tech employees and the disproportionately low percentage of Asian leaders. . . ."

Jack Linshi wrote in the Time story, headlined, "The Real Problem When It Comes to Diversity and Asian-Americans":

"The belief in a blanket Asian-American culture is so thick that it has resulted in confusion when Asian-Americans deviate from the model minority myth. Today, diversity is more visible than ever: There is the commanding John Cho, and there is the awkward William Hung; the funny Mindy Kaling and the serious Indra Nooyi; the talkative local launderer and the mum evil villain; the whitewashed American-born Chinese and the perpetual foreigner.

"And yet those who display that diversity are often perceived as exceptions. The rule is the single framework — the model minority myth — that persists as the dominant stereotype for the whole race, especially in the tech sector. . . ."

Boston Herald Opinion Editor Asks Forgiveness for Cartoon

"For two weeks I have remained silent,"Rachelle G. Cohen, editorial page editor of the Boston Herald, wrote on Wednesday. "And that was just plain dumb. Oh, not THE dumbest thing — not by a long shot. The dumbest thing I've ever done was without a second thought to give my approval to a cartoon — we all know which one — that has proven hurtful to so many people — people I care about. It has also proven hurtful to an institution I love and to colleagues who are blameless.

"And that, in the end, is what forces me to break this utterly uncharacteristic silence of mine. . . ."

As CBS News reported on Oct. 1, "The cartoon shows the president brushing his teeth in a White House bathroom with a surprised look on his face as a white man sits in the bathtub behind him, asking [President] Obama, 'Have you tried the new watermelon flavored toothpaste?' The caption reads, 'White House Invader Got Farther Than Originally Thought. '"

Cohen wrote Wednesday, "it's my job as an editor to see around corners, to look at all the possible meanings and nuances of words and of images. It's my job and two weeks ago I failed at it miserably. And that's all on me and this is why. . . ."

She also wrote, "Yes, a final page proof does go up to the 6th floor where a desk editor will read the editorials, make sure we haven't made some obvious error of fact and in the event a topic has been overtaken by breaking news events will pick up the phone and advise me that we need an update. On the night in question — the night the cartoon appeared on a page proof, the proof was not left in the proper bin. No senior news editor ever saw it.

"And every evening the publisher gets a copy of the editorials sent to his email — not the images — only the words.

"So there you have it. The remarkably simple way in which bad stuff can happen. . . ."

Diversity Lament From Britain Sounds Familiar

"This is an article I swore I would never write,"Nesrine Malik wrote Tuesday for Britain's Guardian newspaper. "First, as a protest against the minority media ghetto where minority writers are limited to writing about minority issues and gripes, second, because it just looks like sour grapes, and finally, because this kind of journalism about journalism can edge into the self-indulgent. But two lists published in close succession have made me break my vow.

"So bear with what may seem like media navel-gazing and look at what these two lists tell us. The first, the 2014 list of nominees for the Comment Awards, has not a single columnist of colour; the second, the list of judges for the British Journalism Awards, not a single black or minority ethnic (BME) judge and only three women out of 18 on the panel. After I tweeted about the latter, Press Gazette got in touch and said there was still 'work to do,' and added one male non-white judge and two women to its panel. . . ."

Malik also wrote, "Protest against this, however, and you are met with cries of tokenism and horror at positive discrimination. Sometimes the blame is shifted onto the excluded for being paranoid or not proactive enough. The comment awards curator Julia Hobsbawm defended the all-white shortlist by saying that people who feel underrepresented should just 'phone me up and ask to be a judge ... Don't put a barrier where there isn't one. That's a mindset.' The selection of the all-white shortlist was 'democratic'.

"To me this is proof that there is still a fundamental misunderstanding of how networks can be hermetic and self-perpetuating without being actively racist, sexist or classist. . . ."

• Jimi Matthews, the Journalist, South Africa: The Complexion of Newsrooms Changed But old norms haunt us

Chilling Series Captures Dangers of Women on Migrant Trail

"Beheadings. Modern day slavery. Forced prostitution. Murder. It would seem like something out of a horror movie,"Kevin Olivas wrote Wednesday for voxxi.com. "But it is all too real. One could be hard-pressed to find much in the way of coverage by English-language U.S. media of what so many people are trying to escape in Central America and why they would risk so much to come here.

"But that experience is captured vibrantly and chillingly in the series 'Trail of Fears' by reporter Maria Ines Zamudio and photographer Carlton Purvis, of 'The Commercial Appeal' of Memphis, Tenn.

"'Last December/January, I went to Mexico for a family party. I took a few extra days to do some reporting in Lecheria, a common stop for migrants outside Mexico City. I interviewed some women there and I produced the story for NPR's Latino USA,' says Zamudio. 'During this reporting trip, which I funded myself, I realized that I wanted to look into the story in a more meaningful way. I started investigating the issue of human trafficking and other dangers women face along the migrant trail.'

"Zamudio earned a fellowship from the International Center for Journalists that was sponsored by the Ford Foundation to produce the series. . . ."

• Matt McCleskey, WAMU-FM, Washington: Reporter Armando Trull Reflects On Gang Violence In El Salvador(audio) (Oct. 9)

Willie Levi, now 67, was one of more than 1,000 selected over the years for a for-profit program that took in young men from state institutions and trained them in agricultural work — and some basic life skills. (Credit: New York Times) (video)

N.Y. Times Honored for Series on Underpaid Disabled

"A New York Times story about a group of men with intellectual disabilities who worked in servitude for decades has won top honors in the 2014 Katherine Schneider Journalism Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability," Arizona State University announced last week.

The Oct. 13 release also said, "First place went to Dan Barry, Kassie Bracken and Nicole Bengiveno of The New York Times for 'The "Boys" in the Bunkhouse,' which describes in text, photos and video the lives of men who for 30 years worked in an Iowa turkey processing plant for almost no pay. The story raised questions about the federal law that permitted the men to be underpaid for doing the same work as their non-disabled colleagues, explained how regulators effectively sanctioned the exploitation, and detailed the squalid living conditions and mistreatment the men endured.

"The New York Times team spent most of 2013 documenting the men's experience, which was first revealed in stories in The Des Moines Register in 2009. . . ."

The university also said, "The second-place award went to the Anchorage Daily News. Judges also awarded an honorable mention to the Kansas City Star, as well as to a student-created deaf and hearing newscast at Arizona State University.

"The contest, the only one devoted exclusively to disability reporting, is administered by the National Center on Disability and Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. . . ."

Black Opinion Editor Ties Gay Marriage to Civil Rights

"Some people don't like to equate the issue of gay marriage with the civil rights struggle,"Allen Johnson, a black journalist who is editorial page editor of the News & Record in Greensboro, N.C., wrote Sunday. "But what is it, if not a struggle for civil rights? That's why I suspect more African American clergy have not only turned away from their traditional disdain for gay marriage, but embraced it as a cause.

"Some state lawmakers also have embraced it as a cause, in fierce opposition to a recent federal judge's decision declaring gay marriage legal in North Carolina. They may be as motivated by politics as personal convictions. But, whatever the reason, they won't go down without a fight. And, in the end, they will lose.

"On a personal note, I was born black and raised Southern Baptist. That meant I was taught that homosexuality was wrong because the Bible said so. I also have seen scripture — specifically, 'the curse of Ham'— similarly quoted to defend slavery, discrimination, segregation ... and worse.

"I am older and wiser today, and so, apparently, are more of the rest of us. Our courts are telling us that laws banning gay marriage are unconstitutional. We should listen. . . ."

• Mary C. Curtis, Washington Post: In North Carolina, same-sex marriage goes to church
  
  
• Jarvis DeBerry, NOLA.com | the Times-Picayune: Gay rights vs. religious freedom in Houston 
  
  
• Courtland Milloy, Washington Post: A Maryland church helps members of a black gay street gang reshape their lives (Oct. 7)
  
  
• Mary Sanchez, Kansas City Star: Time for Kansas to move past same-sex marriage hang-ups (Oct. 9)
  
  
• Mary Sanchez, Kansas City Star: As Vatican revisits its stance toward gays, a KC lesbian is left in the cold (Oct. 15)
  
  
• Barry Saunders, News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.: Gays are now marrying in North Carolina — and the sky hasn't fallen (Oct. 10)

Lessons From Boston Herald Cartoon Mistake

"The worst fate of all may be to make a terrible mistake and then learn the wrong lessons from the experience,"Eric Deggans wrote Sunday for the NPR "Code Switch" blog.

"That's the thought I had reading a heartfelt column about the Boston Herald's unfortunate decision to publish a cartoon featuring a White House gate-crasher asking the nation's first black president if he had 'tried the new watermelon flavored toothpaste.'"

Deggans also wrote, "Here's my list of the biggest lessons the Herald should learn from Cartoongate:

• "Lesson #1: Staff Diversity Brings Better Journalism . . .
  
  
• "Lesson #2: In Race and Media, History Matters . . .
  
  
• "Lesson #3: Racial Miscues Are Big News . . . "
  
  

Willie Levi, now 67, was one of more than 1,000 selected over the years for a for-profit program that took in young men from state institutions and trained them in agricultural work — and some basic life skills. (Credit: New York Times) (video)

N.Y. Times Honored for Series on Underpaid Disabled

"A New York Times story about a group of men with intellectual disabilities who worked in servitude for decades has won top honors in the 2014 Katherine Schneider Journalism Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability," Arizona State University announced last week.

The Oct. 13 release also said, "First place went to Dan Barry, Kassie Bracken and Nicole Bengiveno of The New York Times for 'The "Boys" in the Bunkhouse,' which describes in text, photos and video the lives of men who for 30 years worked in an Iowa turkey processing plant for almost no pay. The story raised questions about the federal law that permitted the men to be underpaid for doing the same work as their non-disabled colleagues, explained how regulators effectively sanctioned the exploitation, and detailed the squalid living conditions and mistreatment the men endured.

"The New York Times team spent most of 2013 documenting the men's experience, which was first revealed in stories in The Des Moines Register in 2009. . . ."

The university also said, "The second-place award went to the Anchorage Daily News. Judges also awarded an honorable mention to the Kansas City Star, as well as to a student-created deaf and hearing newscast at Arizona State University.

"The contest, the only one devoted exclusively to disability reporting, is administered by the National Center on Disability and Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. . . ."

Black Opinion Editor Ties Gay Marriage to Civil Rights

"Some people don't like to equate the issue of gay marriage with the civil rights struggle,"Allen Johnson, a black journalist who is editorial page editor of the News & Record in Greensboro, N.C., wrote Sunday. "But what is it, if not a struggle for civil rights? That's why I suspect more African American clergy have not only turned away from their traditional disdain for gay marriage, but embraced it as a cause.

"Some state lawmakers also have embraced it as a cause, in fierce opposition to a recent federal judge's decision declaring gay marriage legal in North Carolina. They may be as motivated by politics as personal convictions. But, whatever the reason, they won't go down without a fight. And, in the end, they will lose.

"On a personal note, I was born black and raised Southern Baptist. That meant I was taught that homosexuality was wrong because the Bible said so. I also have seen scripture — specifically, 'the curse of Ham'— similarly quoted to defend slavery, discrimination, segregation ... and worse.

"I am older and wiser today, and so, apparently, are more of the rest of us. Our courts are telling us that laws banning gay marriage are unconstitutional. We should listen. . . ."

• Mary C. Curtis, Washington Post: In North Carolina, same-sex marriage goes to church
  
  
• Jarvis DeBerry, NOLA.com | the Times-Picayune: Gay rights vs. religious freedom in Houston 
  
  
• Courtland Milloy, Washington Post: A Maryland church helps members of a black gay street gang reshape their lives (Oct. 7)
  
  
• Mary Sanchez, Kansas City Star: Time for Kansas to move past same-sex marriage hang-ups (Oct. 9)
  
  
• Mary Sanchez, Kansas City Star: As Vatican revisits its stance toward gays, a KC lesbian is left in the cold (Oct. 15)
  
  
• Barry Saunders, News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.: Gays are now marrying in North Carolina — and the sky hasn't fallen (Oct. 10)

Justice Dept. Urged to Probe Abuses of Press in Ferguson

"This report compiles 52 alleged violations of freedom of the press during the Ferguson protests," the PEN American Center reported on Sunday. "These infringements contravene a right that is protected under both the U.S. Constitution and international human rights law."

"On the basis of these findings, PEN American Center calls upon the U.S. Department of Justice to carry out investigations into violations of press freedom that took place in the context of the Ferguson protests.

"Such investigations would shed essential light on the factors that drove law enforcement officers in Ferguson to infringe on media freedoms, and on the necessary steps to ensure that in an era of instantaneous transmission, cell phone cameras and citizen journalists, the rights of members of the press and of the public at large are upheld in the context of protests and public assemblies. . . ."

• Charles F. Coleman Jr., Ebony: The Case Against Mike Brown Continues

New York Times photographer Ozier Muhammad weighed how to produce the right image during an event as large as last month's People's Climate March. (video)

A Photographer With Fingers Crossed, Eyes Wide Open

"There are days when everything works out for a newspaper photographer and he or she comes up with perfect photos that waltz onto Page 1," the editors of the New York Times "Lens" blog wrote on Thursday. "But more often than not, the photographer is just doing his or her best to make a good image in less than ideal circumstances.

"For Ozier Muhammad, a staff photographer for The Times, the People's Climate March last month in New York was a big example of one such challenging situation. And the Times video journalist Deborah Acosta followed him to document his day for Lens.

"During the course of the assignment, Mr. Muhammad, 64, told Ms. Acosta that 'it's hard to find a picture' when an event is so large. . . ."

Four-Part Video Series Uses Humor for Social Statements

"The New York Times has launched a really cool four-part video series called Off-Color which highlights artists of color who use humor to make smart social statements about the sometimes subtle, sometimes obvious ways that race plays out in America today,"Phil Yu wrote Tuesday on his Angry Asian Man blog.

"The series features Hari Kondabolu, Kristina Wong, Issa Rae and Lalo Alcaraz. (I had the honor of being interviewed for Kristina's video.) . . ."

From the series:

"Dating in Los Angeles is not easy. Just ask Kristina Wong, a Chinese-American performance artist and writer who says she wants reparations for 'yellow fever,' a common term for the fetishization of Asian women by white men.

"'Even in high school or middle school there would be white boys saying I like dating Asian girls because they're more quiet and submissive and sweet,' Ms. Wong said in an interview. 'It's like they're unable to acknowledge that there is something going on and there's a specific reason they are dating all these women as if they were interchangeable.' . . ."

• Steve Haruch, NPR "Code Switch": The Struggle Of Being Asian-American For Halloween

A multiracial family living in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, one of the whitest places in America. In the third episode of "America by the Numbers," host Maria Hinojosa reported that while whites account for only 8 percent of total U.S. population growth, they make up 73 percent of growth in exurban areas. Coeur d’Alene ousted the Aryan Nations in 2000 but remains more than 94 percent white. (Credit: PBS) (video)

PBS Series on America's Browning Also Showing Online

If you have been missing "America by the Numbers," a series of eight-half hour episodes that examine the demographic shifts that will culminate in the United States becoming majority people of color by 2043, the episodes may still be viewed online.

The series, hosted and led by journalist Maria Hinojosa, premiered the first week of October.

Viewers may watch past full programs on this program page.

The episodes are also are streaming at the PBS video portal: video.pbs.org.

• Carolina Moreno, HuffPost LatinoVoices: Why Maria Hinojosa Is 'Less Afraid' Of How The U.S. Will Deal With Demographic Change(Oct. 9)
  
  
• Jeff Selle, Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) Press: Idaho: A lack of diversity? (Oct. 14)

How Rev. Al Became the Incredible Shrinking Sharpton

"There were 60 candles on the cake — but none of it in Al Sharpton's stomach,"Justin Rocket Silverman wrote Tuesday for the Daily News in New York.

"Even at his own birthday party at the Four Seasons this month, surrounded by the governor, the mayor and Aretha Franklin, the Rev didn’t take a bite of the sugary treat.

"It's not simply that he hasn't had any sweets in years. He hasn't had dinner in years, either.

"Call it 'the Al Sharpton Diet,' but this once-rotund reverend has dropped from 305 pounds to exactly 129.6 pounds. The precise weight was recorded this week on Sharpton’s bedroom scale at 5 a.m., when the man of the (much less) cloth begins his day.

"Sharpton has shed 60% of his much-mocked weight — and he did it without surgery, diet pills or a single Weight Watchers meeting.

"'I could take all the cartoons in the tabloid newspapers, but I couldn't take my daughter punching me in the belly and asking why I was so fat,' Sharpton recalled. 'That was my inspiration to lose the weight. And probably the last time anyone hurt my feelings.'

"That incident with his daughter happened nearly 15 years ago, when she was 12. But it wasn't until more recently that Sharpton devised his strategy to drop the pounds — just stop eating.

"That's only a minor simplification. . . ."

Short Takes

• "Hugo Balta, a Coordinating Producer for ESPN’S SportsCenter since 2011, has been promoted to a new role within the company,"Veronica Villafañe reported Thursday on her Media Moves site. Balta, immediate past president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists "has been named Senior Director, Multicultural Content for ESPN's Digital & Print Media team. He officially starts the new position on December 1. In his new role, Hugo, has been assigned to help raise the quality, profile and delivery of content targeting English and Spanish-speaking U.S. Hispanics for all of ESPN's digital and print properties. . . ."
  
  
• "When an event becomes news, there is often an implication that it is an exception — that the world is mostly working as it should and this event is newsworthy because it's an aberration,"Chris Ip wrote Wednesday for Columbia Journalism Review in a profile of Ta-Nehisi Coates of the Atlantic. "If the race-related stories we see most often in the media are about personal bigotry, then our conception of racism is limited to the bigoted remarks or actions — racism becomes little more than uttering the n-word. If we see each shooting as an isolated case of fear or provocation, without being told that young African-American men are 21 times more likely than their white counterparts to be shot dead by the police, according to a recent ProPublica report, then we miss the real question of why there is a systemic, historical difference in the way police treat blacks versus whites. . . ."
  
  
• "The winner and loser of the lawsuit between Al Jazeera America and former Current TV CEO Al Gore is yet to be determined, but ratings comparisons between the two show a clear winner," Jordan Chariton reported Wednesday for the Wrap. "After buying Current TV in early 2013, and debuting over the summer that year, Al Jazeera has lost almost half of Current TV's audience. . . ."
  
  
• Summarizing the newly published "Respect: the Life of Aretha Franklin" by celebrity biographer David Ritz, Caroline Howe reported Tuesday for Britain's Daily Mail Online that Jet and Ebony magazines were tools the Queen of Soul used to create the image she desired. "Franklin liked to create a narrative about her life, especially in the pages of Jet magazine, the weekly targeted towards African-American readers. It made her a frequent cover girl, but some of the stories were part of how she saw her life as a soap opera," the publication reported. Howe also wrote, "She tried to bury rumors about going crazy and having breakdowns by using Jet Magazine to clean up her image, something she had done for decades. . . ."
  
  
• "A new video ad titled 'No Honor in Racism'denounces the name of the Washington Redskins, comparing it to other racial slurs," the Grio reported on Thursday. "The video is a joint project between Red Circle Agency and the National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media. The 30-second spot was uploaded to YouTube and starts with a black woman staring at the camera and saying, 'I am a N*****.' . . ."
  
  
• "After allegations of rape resurfaced, The Queen Latifah Showhas opted not to have comedian Bill Cosby on the show,"Philiana Ng reported Thursday for the Hollywood Reporter. "Cosby, prepping a stand-up comedy tour, was originally scheduled to appear on the daytime talk show, but has postponed an interview with Queen Latifah two weeks after comedian Hannibal Buress called the 77-year-old comedian 'a rapist' during an Oct. 16 Philadelphia show. . . ."
  
  
• "Edna Schmidt returns to Univision Chicago… but this time, as part of a story,"Veronica Villafañe reported Friday on her Media Moves site. "Starting next Monday, November 3, the station will be running a 5-part series with a half-hour Saturday special about women and alcoholism, and Edna is the centerpiece. Edna, the founding anchor of Univision Chicago's newscast, shares her story about her own struggles with alcohol on 'Mi Verdad: Edna Schmidt.' . . ." 
  
  
• "Veteran broadcaster Rafa 'El Alcalde' Hernández Britowill be doing the play-by-play Spanish-language narration of the Cleveland Cavaliers 2014-15 regular and post-season games,"Veronica Villafañe reported Wednesday on her Media Moves site. "This will mark the first time in club history that Cavs games will be broadcast in a second language. . . ."
  
  
• Sean Jensen, former Chicago Bears/NFL beat writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, was last in this space in December, when he became executive editor of a Minneapolis-based startup sports site, Thrive Sports. Jensen started in September as an NFL columnist for the Bleacher Report and in October as a columnist for RantSports.
  
  
• The French-American Foundation is accepting submissions for its third annual Immigration Journalism Award for best immigration reporting, the first of its kind to honor excellence in coverage of immigration worldwide. Deadline for submissions is Nov. 13.
  
  
• In Mexico, "Jesús Antonio Gamboa Urías, a journalist and editor of the weekly online news site Nueva Prensa, was found dead last week in the north-western state of Sinaloa, considered one of Mexico's most violent regions," the International Press Institute reported on Thursday.
  
  
• "Two Cameroonian journalists face military court charges of failure to report a destabilization plot," Reporters Without Borders reported on Wednesday. "Journalists Felix Cyriaque Ebole Bola of the daily Mutations and Rodrigue Tongue of Le Messager, were charged following a 28 October military court hearing in Yaoundé with 'non-denunciation' of facts potentially endangering state security. Baba Wamé, a former journalist and professor was accused of the same charges. . . ."
  
  
• Reporters Without Borders Tuesday joined Journalist in Danger, its local partner, in calling for a thorough investigation into a shooting attack on a TV cameraman in the eastern Congolese city of Goma on Oct. 25. The local group said reporter/cameraman Philémon Gira"was clearly the victim of a targeted attack because of his work as a journalist. JED calls on the authorities to take this threat seriously in a province that has become a minefield for media personnel, one where ten journalists have been killed in the past decade."
  
  
• The U.S. State Department said it was "deeply concerned by the October 27 sentencing of Ethiopian journalist Temesgen Desalegn to three years in prison for 'provocation and dissemination of inaccurate information.'"Temesgen becomes the first journalist who's accused and found guilty only for what he's written in a newspaper," lawyer Ameha Mekonnen told William Davison of Bloomberg News on Oct. 14. "The evidence was only his writing, nothing else." 
  
  

Follow Richard Prince on Twitter @princeeditor

Facebook users: "Like""Richard Prince's Journal-isms" on Facebook.