After definitive vote, Balta wishes remaining members well (10/22/13); Grambling turmoil snares student editors; Post employees' tribute to Graham includes community ties, NAHJ votes Tuesday on whether to leave Unity; N.Y. Post writer used N-word to describe black colleague; 2 stations refuse to air "Change the Mascot" commercial; TV consolidation called "out of control," FCC blamed; Mathes leaving as GM of "most-listened-to" public station; the day South African papers were shut, groups banned (10/21/13)After Definitive Vote, Balta Wishes Remaining Members Well
TV Consolidation Called "Out of Control," FCC Blamed
"Free Press Research Director Derek Turner wasn't afraid to give away the ending, titling his analysis of media consolidation, 'Cease to Resist: How the FCC's Failure to Enforce its Rules Created a New Wave of Media Consolidation,'"John Eggerton wrote Monday for Broadcasting & Cable.
"According to Turner and Free Press, who are releasing the report Monday, local broadcast journalism has been suffering from the 'rampant media consolidation' of the past two decades, and it isn't getting any better. He points a finger squarely at deregulatory FCC policies, saying that the FCC has been a 'willing accomplice to this destruction of local journalism.' . . ."
A news release added:
"'TV consolidation is out of control, and communities are paying the price,' said Free Press Research Director and report author S. Derek Turner. 'Companies are swallowing up stations at an alarming rate, often through deals that violate the law. If the FCC doesn't start enforcing its rules, the damage to local competition and viewpoint diversity will be overwhelming and irreversible.'
"The report comes as Sinclair Broadcast Group spearheads one of the largest waves of TV consolidation in history. The report also looks at tactics used by Gannett, Media General, Nexstar and Tribune. . . ."
Mathes Leaving as GM of "Most-Listened-To" Public Station
In the nation's capital, Caryn Mathes, general manager of NPR affiliate WAMU-FM, is leaving what she called "the most listened-to public radio station nationally" at the end of the year to be the general manager of KUOW-FM and president of Puget Sound Public Radio in Seattle, WAMU announced on Monday.
"Caryn has led the station since joining in 2005. She's overseen growth of news coverage and original programming, as well as the expansion to new stations and Internet streams," the announcement said.
"WAMU has grown into a $22 million operation from $9 million in 2005 when Mathes joined the station. The station's contributor base has increased 58 percent to 56,000 members. Mathes worked closely with American University colleagues to acquire and renovate WAMU's new media center and headquarters at 4401 Connecticut Ave., which became fully operational in September."
In a memo to the staff, Mathes said, "This was not an easy decision! I am personally and professionally invested in WAMU and I'm proud of each and every one of you. What we have accomplished together over the past nine years is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Together we have created the most listened-to Washington, DC radio station and the most listened-to public radio station nationally with WAMU, a strong terrestrial and social media presence for Bluegrass Country [a second WAMU channel], and significant expansion of programming, news, and digital media.
"WAMU, and its new Media Center, are now among the national standards for high performing public media. It has been my joy to work with you to accomplish this.
"As you know, I am driven by and thrive on building public media organizations. My decision to leave is, in part, because I will have the opportunity to help KUOW build audience and programming. KUOW also offers a progressive model of governance and finance that will allow rapid deployment of resources to build the organization in a highly competitive public radio market. It was an offer I couldn't refuse. . . ."
The Day South African Papers Were Shut, Groups Banned
"One of my favourite writers on writing is an Australian, Mark Tredinnick, who says writers have a duty of care, and they owe this duty to their readers, to the cause or purpose of their writing, to their societies, to their people and to their language,"Joe Thloloe wrote Sunday for the Independent in London.
"The South African Press Code also expresses itself — rather more bluntly — on this duty: 'The press exists to serve society.'
"These are the standards by which we will look at Percy Peter Tshediso Qoboza's journalism and at journalism today, as we remember Black Wednesday — October 19, 1977 — and celebrate the freedom of expression, press freedom and the freedom of other media we inherited from the Qobozas, the Aggrey Klaastes, the Can Thembas, the Casey Motsisis, the Mike Nortons, the Mono Badelas, the Moffat Zungus, the Es’kia Mphahleles, the Nat Nakasas, the Ruth Firsts, the Lewis Nkosis, the Zwelakhe Sisulus— a long, long list of heroes that could take weeks to recite.
"Today, we remember the closure of the World, the Weekend World and the ecumenical publication Pro Veritate on that Wednesday in 1977 and we remember the banning of black organisations like the Union of Black Journalists, the South African Students Organisation, the Black People's Convention and others.
"Qoboza and Klaaste, one of his assistants at the World, and scores of other people were locked up by the security police on that day.
"Today we also reflect on the veiled threats to press freedom embedded in laws like the Protection of State Information Bill.
"But who was Percy Qoboza?
"He was a complex, multi-layered personality, as most of us are. . . . "
The National Association of Black Journalists honors a foreign journalist each year with its Percy Qoboza Award.