Culture

Charles Ericksen Says Media Firms Don’t Deserve Honors The celebratory tone of the closing gala of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention was punctured briefly Saturday night when 84-year-old co-founder Charles Ericksen called it “kind of a farce” for the association to honor Fox News and other media companies when the number of employed…

Griffin Pledges That Show Hosts Will Meet With Hispanics A contrite Phil Griffin, president of MSNBC, apologized again Friday for a May Cinco de Mayo skit on his network that Hispanics found offensive, and he agreed with a wide-ranging list of complaints from Latino journalists. Those concerns included the need for more Latinos behind the…

8 From Fourth Estate Join 400 Honoring African Leaders Members of the media are accustomed to being on the outside looking in when the White House hosts social events, but at least eight were invited guests when the president entertained African heads of state Tuesday night. “I’m way more used to being with the [White…

Grio Columnist Makes Plagiarism Accusation; Howard U. Radio Station Apologizes WHUR-FM Removes Disputed Posting A controversy between the Grio, NBCUniversal’s black-oriented website, and WHUR-FM, Howard University’s commercial radio station, was brewing Monday, closely watched on social media. On Tuesday, WHUR General Manager Jim Watkins issued an apology, telling the Grio writer that the station has…

Al Jazeera America Praised for “Best Practices” The National Association of Black Journalists has given NPR its “Thumbs Down” award for 2014 over its cancellation of the multicultural show “Tell Me More” and NPR’s elimination of 28 positions across its newsroom in an effort to cut costs. The “Best Practices” award went to Al Jazeera…

Meeting Could Assemble Most Journalists of Color Since ’08 The associations representing journalists from the nation’s two largest groups of color — blacks and Hispanics — have signed a memorandum of understanding to hold a joint convention in 2016, Bob Butler, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, and Hugo Balta, president of the…

Study: Advocacy Backfires on Those Who Are Not White Men “Valuing diversity is apparently frowned upon in Corporate America — unless you’re a white man,” Jillian Berman wrote Monday for the Huffington Post. “Women and minorities who promote diversity from corporate leadership positions tend to get lower evaluations from their bosses and colleagues, according to…

In Last 20 Years, Writer Says, Theory Has Been Debunked “When President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama speak to an audience of African Americans, particularly students, they invariably mention the trope of ‘acting white,’ ” Nia-Malika Henderson wrote Thursday for the Washington Post’s “She the People” blog. “That is the notion that one impediment…

In Last 20 Years, Writer Says, Theory Has Been Debunked “When President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama speak to an audience of African Americans, particularly students, they invariably mention the trope of ‘acting white,’ ” Nia-Malika Henderson wrote Thursday for the Washington Post’s “She the People” blog. “That is the notion that one impediment…

Unbroken String of Successful Magazine Images “Michelle Obama has become a top magazine cover celebrity, arguably the top celebrity in terms of breadth and frequency of appearance,” Robert Newman wrote last week for Folio:, which covers the magazine industry. “I can’t think of anyone else who makes such a stylish splash every time she appears…