Alabama Producer

Weekend Meeting on the First Coast Kicks off Three Florida Excursions

2009-12-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

JACKSONVILLE-- Before this weekend, I hadn't done much in Jacksonville except come through this city on the East Coast, either by air or by car. Thanks to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Winter Meeting, I'm spending three days here in Downtown Jacksonville.

Most of our day was spent planning the upcoming AEJMC Annual Convention, which will take place in August 2010 in Denver. But, like many other professional meetings, it's a chance to catch up with colleagues in journalism and mass communication at other institutions.

To make things even more interesting, I am in the Florida Gators' backyard on the day of the big Florida-Alabama matchup for the Southeastern Conference Championship.

Heidi Edwards, a diehard Florida Gator and a graduate of the school dared pose for a photo with me as I celebrate the 12-0 Crimson Tide this morning.

The view of downtown JAX from my hotel room wasn't that bad either.

It was raining here yesterday when I arrived. But, things have cleared out nicely this afternoon and it's pretty Saturday afternoon in this place known as the city "Where Florida begins."

It's interesting to note this is the first of three trips to the Sunshine State I'll be making over the next four months. I'll be driving down to Tampa-St. Petersburg area with a day stop on the UF campus in Gainesville next month. We'll be holding a two-day meeting at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg.

Then in March, the Society of Professional Journalists Regional gathering will be on the University of Central Florida campus in Orlando.

I definitely could get used to the Sunshine State.

Taking a Route to Reno Through Chicago

2009-11-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

CHICAGO-- The much-anticipated Convergence & Society conference at the University of Nevada-Reno is underway, though I am still trying to get there. For now, I am awaiting a last leg of my trip from Alabama to the Silver State from Midway Airport.

For the first time, I have a choice between the chance the airport has free wireless and paying for Internet access at the terminal. Verizon Wireless's mifi wireless hub is working reasonably well. So I can file from the airport. Yeh!

Decked out in my Nevada Wolfpack sweatshirt, I am ready for the grand total of 40 hours I'll be in the Silver State before heading back on Saturday.

Why the Convergence Conference?

"Assessment Models for Digital Reporter Training: Rubric Revelations of Student Perceptions and Journalistic Product Realities"

That's the long title of the paper I'll be presenting tomorrow afternoon. It's a first look at the results of my Rubric for Digital Readiness, which was developed a year ago to measure how well we're preparing students for the multimedia world of journalistic work.

Before sharing the results and the rubric, I'll be talking about my new Journalism on the Go podcast, which went live on University's iTunesU in August. That first presentation is part of a first-of-its-kind "VISUAL POSTER SESSION" that allows people to participate in the Convergence Conference from across the country. Not sure how well it will work.

Kent State Ethics Workshop Kicks Off With Breaking News

2009-09-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

KENT, Ohio-- A reason to make the trip from Tuscaloosa, Ala. to Kent, Ohio is what happened here within the last hour-- a real conversation about what the public thinks about journalists and their work, how we as journalists see our audience and how these all play out in recent news events.

The Poynter Kent State Ethics Workshop, now in its fifth year, began with Kelly McBride (the Poynter Institute) releasing some new data on just how much the public believes what we as journalists are putting out there.

These data, which I will detail in a later posting, are real "breaking news" about the perception of our profession.

From the release of these details, today's workshop moved to McBride arguing for a refined definition of the types of consumers out there and their needs

The idea of "The Fifth Estate" was a big "Take-away" from the session. Those who are not trained journalists, but who are contributing information (i.e. citizen journalists) would fall into this Fifth Estate.

By putting or classifying an organization as the Fifth Estate, we are differentiating between blogs such as HuffingtonPost.com, the Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and news organizations such The New York Times, The Washington Post and Time Magazine.

So, far, we have had some interesting questions from those working journalism such as Doug Opfinger from The Akron Beacon-Journal

The First Energy Lecture Hall is an ideal setting for such an event. You can see the students are packing out the venue for this first panel.

The good news, we out-of-towners got to sit down front.

First Trip to Northeast Ohio Begins

2009-09-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

CLEVELAND-- Even though I lived in the Cincinnati Metro area for two years in the last decade, I never ventured up into the northeastern portion of the Buckeye State.

So I had to get this picture from the Cleveland-Hopkins Airport to show my first view of this city.

It was late. So, practically everything was closed. But, I could tell when I walked outside to get my vehicle, I was not in Alabama anymore.

My first trip along the Ohio Turnpike enroute from Cleveland to Kent, Ohio was an experience.

I'm Getting Used To Indianapolis

2009-08-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

INDIANAPOLIS-- It's one of the newest airports in the U.S., the first one built since 9/11-- and here at the Indianapolis Airport, I'm getting used to the surroundings.

This weekend, I'm taking my second trip this summer as I attend the SPJ National Convention. In June, I was here for the Scripps SPJ Leadership Weekend.

In two weeks, I'll be back for another meeting on the Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis (better known as IUPUI) campus.

Daniels Takes Seat on SPJ National Board

2009-08-30T18:51:00.000-07:00

INDIANAPOLIS-- It's definitely a day to remember for me here in Indiana's state capital. This morning I participated in my first Board of Directors meeting for the Society of Professional Journalists.

It was neat sitting between two veteran board members, Jeremy Steele (who I mistakenly thought was a "STUDENT" rep to the board-- SHAME on me! ) and Scott Cooper. Steele represents chapters in Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Cooper is representative for chapters in the states of Oklahoma and Texas.

Yesterday, it just so happens that the president of the Cincinnati SPJ Chapter James Pilcher, in the market where I used to work at WLWT-TV, officially nominated me for the position. The election and installation during the convention business session Saturday was the culminating event to a relatively short campaign that began on this very blog June 19.

You can read all about the issues that I will be tackling as Campus Adviser At-Large.

Being the nation's largest and most broad-based organization for journalists, SPJ is the top of heap when it comes to being involved in the line of work that I chose more than 20 years ago when I went off to college to major in journalism.

It's been almost 20 years since I received a scholarship from the Washington D.C. Chapter of the Sigma Delta Chi (the old name for SPJ). One of the members of that chapter, Bill McCloskey remembers.

Today I joined McCloskey as a member of the SPJ National Board. We both were elected this weekend. He's an at-large member. I'm one of two campus advisers at-large.

The job of an SPJ Board member is much larger than just attending the semi-annual meetings. It's the work we do with the local SPJ chapters and at our regional gatherings as well as with SPJ committees where we can make the most difference.

In two weeks, I'll be back here in Indianapolis as I am a part of an eight-member search team interviewing applicants for the next executive director of the Society of Professional Journalists.

I look forward to serving those who have elected me to this post. But, I also look forward to using this platform to help encourage the students in my own campus chapter to do even more.

Mix of Familiar and new faces takes part in CNN's "Reclaiming the Dream" discussion

2009-08-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight's initial airing of "Black in America 2: Reclaiming the Dream" panel discussion featured some of the same characters from the documentary that premiered last month.

However, after watching it the first time this evening, I see where some new ground was broken.

Same Cast of Characters

When Radio Host, Comedian and Author Steve Harvey was introduced at the top of the two-hour program, my initial thought was 'the same cast of characters.'

Harvey's Father's Day weekend for boys from single-parent homes had been featured in a story previously reported on CNN.com. The host of the "Steve Harvey Morning Show" also took part in CNN's "Moment of Truth" event July 22 in Times Square on the night of "Black in America 2" premiere.

Dr. Steve Perry from Hartford's Capital Prep (featured in Black in America 2: Leaders) and Dr. Pete Thomas from Chicago's Project Brotherhood (featured in Black in America 2: Pioneers) returned for more discussion.

And, Sheryl Lee Ralph, who was a participant in the 2008 "Reclaiming the Dream" discussion also returned this year.

Some Different Faces

But, Soledad O'Brien and Roland Martin hosted what seemed to be a worthwhile discussion with some new solutions and new faces as well.

This seemed to be more the case in the second hour than the first. I was pleased to see a Public Health expert on behavior science featured in the second hour. The African-American scientist from Louisiana State University helped to put into context some of the behaviors of African American men.

A friend from my days in the Atlanta TV market, Morehouse President Dr. Robert Franklin (who previously served at Emory University's Candler School of Theology) weighed in on several of the education issues along with NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous.

Jealous seemed a little out of his element in the first hour as several of the ministers and communicators were a bit more outspoken. But, he came alive in the second bringing a lot more context to the discussion about health care.

Instead of just talking about charter schools or that black men need to go to the doctor, we heard about some innovative community programs like one in South Carolina focused on AIDS in the African American community.

The Role of Jason Carroll

Having CNN National Correspondent Jason Carroll do "on-location" reports from the Essence Music Festival added a dimension to the co-production. However, some of the earlier segments seemed more like promotion for the festival than contributions to the panel discussion.

In the second hour, he featured students from a new technology school that opens in New Orleans this fall. While the audio in this interview was not great, the students' perspectives added depth to the discussion about education.

CNN set for further discussion about African-Americans Tonight

2009-08-01T16:36:00.000-07:00

In a matter of minutes, CNN is set to premiere its 2009 edition of the "Reclaiming the Dream" panel discussion, co-produced with Essence Magazine.

I believe the program was taped last month at the Essence Music Festival.

The two-hour discussion is part of CNN's Black in America 2 series of programs designed to spotlight the experience of African-Americans, a follow-up to a similar effort last summer.

Looking Back at the 2008 Installment

In its effort to "search for solutions" last summer, CNN invited a blue-ribbon panel of "experts" on the black American experience-- Princeton University's Cornel West, Harvard's Roland Fryer, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Bennett College President Julianne Malveaux and several others.

I missed the program. But, in anticipation of tonight's program wanted to see what was accomplished in the discussion that included questions from the audience.

The main topics addressed seem to be the following

out-of-wedlock births and the number single-parent families
the school dropout problem
AIDS in the black community
suicide among black men

Innovative solutions were spotlighted with some feature stories and interviews with those involved in these programs.

As we look toward tonight's program, I'll be interested to see how much, in any, overlap is there with the individuals in the Black in America 2 documentary that premiered two weeks ago.

(By the way, CNN is now claiming Black in America 2 was the #1 cable documentary)

What's different this year?

One thing that is different tonight is that we have TWO MAJOR CHANGES since last summer:

1) Barack Obama's election

2) Dr. Henry Louis Gates Controversy

It will interesting to see how much attention the first changes will be given in tonight's program. (The program was pre-recorded before the Gates Controversy surfaced)

Also different this year, CNN's Roland Martin will be CO-MODERATING with Soledad O'Brien. Having two minority journalists leading this discussion..two who have very different approaches to addressing race in America..will be interesting.

Well, we're inside of 15 minutes until showtime. So we'll break here and comment more later.

Black in America 2: More Conversation, Reflections

2009-07-28T05:23:00.000-07:00

Even though nearly a week has passed since the premiere of the much-anticipated "Black in America 2" documentary, the program is STILL sparking conversation in my world.

This week, I had a follow-up conversation with a friend who attended both nights of our local "Black in America 2" viewing party and discussion here in Tuscaloosa. We talked about some of this person's observations and found that we were on different sides of issues.

Different Sides

Both African American educators with terminal degrees, my friend and I were still looking at the African American experience through slightly different lenses.

Our different viewpoints about "Black in America 2" were just indicative of how different our lived experiences have been.

Our nearly hourlong phone conversation eventually moved from just talking about "Black in America 2" to the recent incident involving Harvard University's Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Recalling a personal incident of being harassed by police, this friend told me how one
could identify with Dr. Gates' experience.

I had nothing much to say about it. But, it illustrates how the "black experience" is hard to convey.

It's often been said that African Americans, like any other race of people, are not monolithic. In other words, we don't speak with one voice or have a single lived experience that can be represented in a single portrayal.

Black in America 2's Personal Impact

Even after TWO four-hour documentaries last July and last week, we STILL have not completely depicted what it means to be "Black in America."

While I conveyed the feelings of those attending the local viewing party and discussion, I never reported my own personal reactions.

In three words, "MOVED TO ACTION" are what I would use to describe my own personal feelings after watching "Black in America 2: Pioneers."

As one of the charter members of 100 Black Men of West Alabama and a member of a local school dropout prevention task force, I'm already personally involved and invested in some concrete efforts to deal with problems facing African-Americans here in Tuscaloosa.

The stories depicted in "Black in America 2" show me the potential of having an even greater impact.

On a deeper level, as an avid viewer of Tyler Perry's cinematic offerings (especially this summer), I am more educated about the "Man Behind the Movies."

I was raised at Howard University as a journalist with a conscience, empowered to OWN not just work in the media. Tyler Perry reminded me that ownership STILL must be a goal.

I enjoyed hosting the local events here at University of Alabama last week, in part, because they inform the research that I'll be doing in the next few weeks charting the progress (or lack thereof) that we've made in area of representations of the "black" experience in the news media.

Reclaiming the Dream

Still, I am looking forward to the discussions and debate that CNN Will be providing us this weekend (August 1 & 2) as "Reclaiming the Dream" panel discussion pre-recorded earlier this month at the Essence Music Festival will air.

One question we have is what is the true benefit of CNN and Essence teaming up? We've watched their "Making a Difference" segments. But, I believe the panel discussion will add an entirely different dimension to this media partnership.

Until then, I will continue to reflect on all I saw last week and how a television program like "Black in America 2" can shape the very dialogue one can have with a friend.

Second Part of Black in America 2 Wins Praise at University of Alabama

2009-07-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

After not-so-good comments on the first installment of Black in America 2, which aired Wednesday night, the overall documentary is being praised here at The University of Alabama.

Students, faculty and staff were generally positive about the overall effort, which includes another program to air on CNN August 1-- a "Reclaiming the Dream" debate

Lots of ideas and suggestions to process. We'll have a more complete posting on tonight's discussion on Friday.
.

University of Alabama Viewers NOT Impressed with CNN Black in America 2

2009-07-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

After what I thought was an outstanding effort in CNN's documentary Black in America last year," I decided to invite students, faculty and staff at The University of Alabama to watch Black in America 2 with me. About 20 undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff joined in the conversation tonight.

During the hour preceding tonight's premiere, we watched an excerpt from last year's documentary and identified some of the problems this multicultural crowd perceived as the "Biggest Problems facing African-Americans."

Once the documentary began, there was great disappointment in what was presented in the "Journey for Change" story. the students expressed a real lack of enthusiasm for the depth that was given to one experience and the overemphasis of one or two students.

What about the other students on the trip?

By devoting much of the first hour of the program to the "Journey for Change," CNN left little time to provide a more complete report on the type of leadership provided by Dr. Steve Perry.

The administrators, students and faculty in this group identified some holes in the story about the Capital Prep Magnet School. What happens to the 100 percent of students who go to college. Do they actually graduate from college?

While time limits what can be reported in one story, when so much time was devoted to "Journey for Change," it made other stories in tonight's installment incomplete.

As we prepare for Part 2 of CNN's Black in America 2, we are hoping the Pioneers that will be featured will be conveyed in a more COMPLETE fashion.

We'll be watching and discussing the second part tomorrow night here at The University of Alabama's Phifer Hall Room 323.

Discussion on CNN's Black in America 2 set to Wednesday, Thursday

2009-07-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

We're less than a week away from the much-anticipated second year of CNN's highly-acclaimed Black in America documentary project.

Wednesday, July 22 and Thursday, July 23, the Time Warner-owned network's documentary unit will debut two two-hour treatments, which will be hosted by CNN's Soledad O'Brien.

Unlike the 2008 programs, which were criticized by some as being too heavily-focused on the problems of Black Americans and not enough on what's being done to solve them, the 2009 installments are mostly oriented to solutions, with particular emphasis on the next generation of leadership.

Subtitled, "Today's Pioneers," July 22nd installment will focus on community organizers across the country who are facilitating progress at a local level. These pioneers address health, education, and other critical needs of the black community.

Then on Thursday, July 23rd, viewers will see Tomorrow's Leaders" focuses on efforts to develop future African-American leaders.

But, what appears to be the common thread in both of these programs will be the forward-looking, solution-driven approach that they will take.

Early Reviews

Even though the documentaries don't debut until July 22, CNN has hosted a number of screenings of "Black in America 2" around the country.

One of the first reported screenings was at Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte where students participated in a town hall forum hosted by CNN Anchor Don Lemon. CNN Presents Executive Producer Jeff Reid also attended.

FULL Disclosure: Jeff Reid was my former executive producer at WXIA-TV in Atlanta, Ga.

Earlier this month, students and residents in Washington, D.C were a part of the screening that was reported on by THE HILLTOP, the student-daily at Howard University.

Yours Truly is a editor of THE HILLTOP 1991-92.

Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry attended the D.C. screening, which was hosted by CNN's Chris Lawrence.

More recently, CNN.com streamed a panel discussion and screeening from the New York area and a similar community event was held in the Nashville area and co-sponsored by the Nashville chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Gathering at University of Alabama

Here's a preview of what we hope to accomplish with our viewing party and discussion on the University of Alabama campus

Our viewing party and discussion will be held in Phifer Hall Room 323, which is accessible from the rear entrance of Phifer Hall. Take the elevator up to the third floor.

Tuscaloosa's dropout problem takes centerstage at First Community Summit

2009-07-18T17:12:00.000-07:00

Instead of an opening song or prayer, one man's story kicked off a daylong summit on what has been identified as Tuscaloosa Alabama's most critical problem-- the number of high school dropouts.

The opening story was that of Jerry Carter, a native of Tuscaloosa, who instead of graduating from high school received his G.E.D. and is making a living as an employee for a local freight company. Last October, his son was killed in a hail of gunfire outside a sports bar.

His experience as both a high school dropout and the parent of a murdered child caught the attention of this West Alabama's city's mayor.

"What a better place this world would be if we had more Jerry Carters," said Walt Maddox, who is running for re-election in an upcoming August 25th election. Even as his campaign kicks into high gear, Maddox is challenging residents of this college town known most as the home of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide to not be satisfied until there is a 0 percent dropout rate.

After Carter told his story, Maddox and a host of city leaders addressed a sparse crowd of community and business leaders, ministers and a few residents who gathered at the city's newest high Central High School.

Maddox challenged those in attendance to leave the summit committed to solving the problem of dropouts, which he shares with dozens of other Alabama communities.

Statewide, 39 percent of students do not finish high school. Tuscaloosa City Schools' most recent graduation rate was just 69 percent, compared 83 percent in the Tuscaloosa County system

Tuscaloosa City School Board Member Earnestine Tucker and Carter rallied the members of the Westside Community Action Council to present this first ever summit under the theme "Reclaiming The Future, A Call to Action."

The daylong summit took up other problems that are facing the city

Alabama's Best Solution to Dropout

One thing that Alabama has offered to surrounding states and, most recently as far away as Virginia, is its Inside-Out Bus Tour.

Developed by the Birmingham-based Mattie Stewart foundation, the inside of the school bus has been reformatted as half jail cell and half classroom. Students in grades four and higher are encouraged to come aboard the bus where they are shown a video about the consequences of dropping out of school and then allowed to go into the makeshift jail cell and see what happens to many who do not finish high school.

Today the so-called "Choice Bus" was in Tuscaloosa outside of Central High School. Next month, ten more buses are to be rolled out to travel to every region of the United States.

The Choice Bus and a documentary called "Inside Out" were developed by a foundation started by Shelley Stewart, who owns an advertising agency here in Alabama.

Stewart was the keynote speaker for today's summit.

"The problem is we don't admit that there' s a problem. We're comfortable, we're complacent," said Stewart, who challenged the summit attendees to focus less on building programs and more of building relationships.

More Than Dropout Prevention

Teen pregnancy has been cited as a major factor in the dropout rate. In Alabama, the teen pregnancy rate is at 90 per 1,000 girls aged 15-19. That's compared to just 84 per 1,000 nationally.

One solution highlighted during today's summit was a local program, "Dads and Fatherhood project"

After general sessions this morning, summit attendees broke out into smaller groups to tackle such issues as economic and credit survival, juvenile and adult violence, neighborhood and community organizing and the drug abuse.

Daniels meets with senators, senators' staffs on Journalist Shield Law

2009-07-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON-- Later this year when the U.S. Senate passes the Free Flow of Information Act, I'd like to think it was, in part, because the efforts of 12 people, including myself, from the Society of Professional Journalists.

It took nearly two dozen appointments over a two-day period to ensure members of the U.S. Senate and their staffs were aware of how important protecting anonymous sources is in 2009.

While 49 states have laws that allow journalists to avoid reveal confidential sources, there is no such law at the federal level. For the last four years, SPJ has been fighting to change that.

Clint Brewer, our immediate past president for the Society of Professional Journalists played a big role in what happened last year with the bill. Lately, he's been continuing the push as head of our SPJ Government Relations Committee.

It was a pleasure watching Clint and our current SPJ President Dave Aeikens launch our conversations with the various Senate staffers who were appointed to hear our concerns.

Last year a House version of the Free Flow Information Act (H.R. 985) passed the House of Representatives 398-21 vote.

Now, Senate bill 448 is soon to be taken up by the Senate Judiciary Committee. That's the same body that this week held confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

As soon as Sotomayor's confirmation proceedings have concluded,the Judiciary Committee may turn its attention to other matters. We hope S.B. 448 is one of those matters.

In the meantime, this week's lobbying trip was a chance for me to see the work that goes into makes legislation such as the Free Flow of Information Act a reality.

Soledad with Solutions, Don Lemon on Weekends-New Day in Media?

2009-07-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

We're just a little more than a week away from Black in America 2. And, it seems CNN Correspondent Soledad O'Brien has picked up a new name-- "Soledad on Solutions" or "Soledad with Solutions."

That's how anchor Don Lemon referred to O'Brien in introducing an excerpt from the second year of this two-night documentary project focused on the state of black Americans. (See photos of the two broadcast journalists from the CNN talent Web site)

While tonight's piece on African-American males and mental illness was interesting, I've been particularly interested in the apparent emphasis on race & diversity topics in Lemon's weekend program.

Lemon's CNN Newsroom Line-up

Along with Barack Obama's visit to Ghana, the disturbing of Emmett Till's grave, the Michael Jackson death investigation, one might suspect that an usually high number of Lemon's stories (the ones in his newscasts) have to do with African Americans. Even in the interview with a young man allegedly turned away from a swimming pool because of his race, Lemon identified with the obvious racial component of this story.

One has to wonder if tonight's CNN Newsroom line-up is simply a coincidence or if there is some deliberate attempt on Lemon's part as an anchor to ensure that these stories get covered adequately.

It should be noted that a lot of these stories have been on the air all day, not just during Lemon's newscasts. So, it may be just a day for these types of stories.

I think it's "interesting" to note the line-up of stories tonight and even an extended interview coming up on the 10 p.m. (EDT) show with NAACP CEO Ben Jealous, about whom I've written here previously.

I will be watching this evening to see if the interviewer (presumably either Don Lemon or Newsroom Morning anchor T.J. Holmes, an African-American) makes a difference in the direction that interview on the 100th anniversary of NAACP takes.

Black in America: An EVERYDAY Story

A point that I made in my writing on CNN's original Black in America documentary last July was the importance of continuous "everyday" news coverage of the concerns of AFrican-Americans. In other words, the "Black Experience" is bigger than what can be contained in four hours of coverage (or eight hours, if you combine the 2008 and 2009 installments of Black in America)

As a television producer, I know firsthand, it's who's behind the scenes that makes the difference in what gets covered.

Until today I had not paid much attention to Don Lemon, especially since he was moved a year or so ago to the weekend shift (I believe he swapped places with CNN's Rick Sanchez). Some might view this shift as a demotion for Lemon. But, maybe not.

I recall the weekend evening- CNN Newsroom shows a couple years ago when Rick Sanchez would add an extra measure of "culture" to his view of stories that connect with his background as a Cuban American. (Sanchez somehwat pioneered the use of Twitter and Facebook during TV news programs during the most recent presidential campaign.)

Could Don Lemon's "perspective" as an African Americans do the same as Rick Sanchez has done for those of Cuban/Latino/Hispanic descent?

Lemon, who before his current job at CNN, worked as network correspondent and local news anchor in several markets, was written about earlier this week on The Huffington Post, for his defense of the over-abundance of Michael Jackson coverage.

I'll have to admit how surprised I was last Saturday evening to see so much emphasis placed on Jackson. Last Saturday (July 4), I tuned in to CNN looking for live coverage Nashville police neweers (news conferences) about what turned out to be Steve McNair's murder.

Instead, Lemon was tossing to interviews with people at the Essence Music Festival (Queen Latifah to be one) talking about Michael Jsckson.

Now that I've read Lemon's comments on CNN's Reliable Sources, I can see why. Either he's touting the company (CNN) line about a decision to emphasize Michael Jackson or he REALLY sees Michael Jackson as an "accidental civil rights leader." Really?

As a life member of the 100-year-old NAACP and a former NAACP Youth leader, I would take issue with this characterization. It will be interesting to see if Michael Jackson comes up in Lemon's interview with Ben Jealous.

The Bottomline on Lemon and O'Brien

My point in this long, somewhat rambling, post-- Don Lemon and Soledad O'Brien seem to be (however unintentional it might be) taking seriously the goal of reflecting the black experience in "everyday" presentation of the news.

Make no mistake-- O'Brien is all about drawing viewers to the project on which she and her army of producers have worked for more than a year, Black in America 2.

It's a business folks.

And, the data show that we African-Americans watch more TV than other racial groups. So, it's probably not a bad idea to give us a little bit more attention.

More on "Black in America 2" in the next few days as we set the stage for an event related to Black in America 2.

Heading to the Hill With a Purpose

2009-07-11T14:34:00.001-07:00

In just about 24 hours, we'll begin a three-day trip to the nation's capital NOT for a social visit. Yes, Washington, DC is my SECOND favorite city (behind my hometown of Richmond, Va.). But, I'm going there this week with a goal of encouraging members of Congress to take a vote to protect journalists and their sources.

Not since the early 90s have I walked the halls of the verious congressional office buildings. As a reporter for THE HILLTOP, Howard University's weekly newspaper on the Local/National beat, I was assigned to cover stories on the Hill.

Now as a subscriber of the print edition of POLITICO, I am given access to what's happening there through this thrice weekly publication (when Congress is in session).

Nearly two decades after my days as a HILLTOP reporter, I'm a full-time journalism professor and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the organization that is leading the fight for the Free Flow of Information Act. As chair of SPJ's Journalism Education Committee, I was asked to participate in this unique opportunity to meet face-to-face on legislation that directly affects the profession I know and love-- journalism.

On Monday and Tuesday, I'll be joining a dozen other colleagues from SPJ in paying visits to members of Congress to talk up S. 488 and H.R. 985.

“Making this visit to Capitol Hill sends a strong message to Congress that we believe America is not a place where journalists should be compelled to give up their confidential sources,” SPJ president Dave Aeikens said.

You can read more about our trip in this media release produced by our SPJ headquarters this week.

Look for updates on this experience starting tomorrow (Sunday).

Georgia Cousins Turns 100 Years Old Today

2009-07-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

Today is not just a special day because it's the Fourth of July-- Independence Day. It's special because of a special lady-- Georgia Cousins!

100 Years Ago TODAY Mrs. Georgia Cousins came into this world.

She shares a birth year with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).

Even though I'm a member of both organizations and will celebrate their 100th anniversaries, I count the birthday of Mrs. Georgia Cousins to be just as important.

In her own way Mrs. cousins has touched hundreds of people with her writings. As a child at First African Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, I used to hear the pastor talk about the writings of Mrs. Cousins.

In recent years, Mrs. Cousins has served with me on the First African Baptist Historical Commission. This is a group that is dedicated to producing a historical volume on our church, which will be 229 years old in November.

I had the distinct honor to pick up Mrs. Cousins and bring her to our house for lunch in December 2008.

Even then, she was talking about her 100th birthday coming up. Well, it's here and tomorrow the membership at First African Baptist Church will celebrate it in a big way.

Mrs. Cousins joins Calvin Coolidge, who was the only U.S. president born on the 4th of July. The nation's 30th president was born in Plymouth, Vermont on July 4, 1872.

It is worth noting that three other U.s. Presidents are often associated with this holiday not because it was their birthday, but because it is the day they departed this life. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died hours apart on July 4, 1826 while James Monroe died on July 4, 1831.

Today we're not celebrating death, but life. We celebrate the life of this country.. and more specifically the life that began in Georgia Cousins. She is a fantastic lady and I am glad to call her not only a church member, but a family friend too.

I will miss not be at her birthday party tomorrow at Richmond's First African Baptist Church. But I wanted to share her story with the rest of America, who happens to be reading this on my Web site. Happy Birthday Mrs. Cousins!

Could TMZ.com, Twitter Be the News Heroes After All?

2009-06-27T02:11:00.000-07:00

ONE READER of my original posting WRITES:

Who was really doing better journalism here with better sources? It looks like TMZ.com had an excellent source and they beat the pants off of more traditional organizations. I wonder why the LA Times didn't know what was going on sooner. Isn't that their territory? It looks to me like they got scooped in a big way.

The more we learn about what happened at Michael Jackson's home on the day of his untimely death, the more things seem to look better for TMZ.com, a Web site I criticized in an earlier posting.

A missing doctor, questions about prescription drugs, an investigation involving the Los Angeles Police Department's all suggest this story is just beginning.

Today's New York Times calls it a "Twitter-enhanced luminary spectacle"

Pete Cashmore on the Mashable Social Media Guide cited the tracking tool Twist, which reported at one point, about 30 percent of Tweets were remarking in Michael Jackson's passing.

The Tribune-owned newspaper addressed the initial Tweets in a separate posting on its Comments blog.

The Los Angeles Times reports the investigation now focuses on whether Jackson overdosed on prescription drugs as results of the initial autopsy were inconclusive.

If the overdose turns out to be the actual cause of death, it certainly places a different spin on the timing of the events of Thursday.

Looks Like I have company

It is interesting to note that I wasn't the only one who took note of the order of events in Thursday's media reporting.

Peter Kafka of The Wall Street Journal's "All Things Digital" site includes a more-detailed look at the same topic.

Gotta say-- I'm a Wall Street Journal print subscriber (In fact, my Saturday edition has already arrived in the tube outside) and until today I had never heard of Peter Kafka's Media Memo.

About those Facebook Status Updates

Likewise, another blogger, Zack Whittaker, also got into this same discussion as it relates to how much we believe in the Tweets on Twitter. He also include the status updates on Facebook in his discussion.

While I don't think much of those Facebook updates, we certainly can't ignore their role in the larger social networking arena.

The question still remains: to what extent can viewers rely on them in the time of breaking news?

Maybe, that's not as relevant to the discussion about the future of journalism as I am making it.

When people read those updates, they don't expect to get the same credible or reliable information they get from a trusted news source, right?

Michael Jackson Coverage Shows Journalists Are Still Critical

2009-06-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

ATLANTA-- I've been sitting in an Atlanta hotel room watching on TV and online all the coverage of today's shocking news of the death of Michael Jackson.

And, the big thing I came away with -- Journalists are needed NOW more than EVER.

Even as I finish up a three-day return visit here to the same media market where I once worked as a television news producer, I see my old television station doing a ever-so-delicate dance between being careful not to report rumor and not ignore what was happening online. The above story from TMZ illustrates the rumors of Jackson's death and never mentions what has been reported elsewhere-- that he died later after CPR was performed.

TMZ.com breaks the story

Here's what happened: a celebrity gossip Web site TMZ.com reported almost an hour before the rest of the media that Jackson was dead.

But, was he? Or, was that just rumor?

Minute-by-minute the story was changing on the MSNBC, LATimes, KTLA, KNBC and CNN Web Site. I found myself wanting to take electronic pictures of the Web sites as they struggled to keep up with the story that was breaking.

Atlanta's FOX Affiliate, WAGA-TV decided to go with the TMZ.com story putting it on the air during its 5 p.m. newscast.

Likewise, FOX's Los Angeeles affiliate online posted the TMZ.com story that JAckson had died.

Was this responsible journalism?

Is TMZ.com a reliable enough source to go with reporting the death of one of the most highly-recognized superstars?

Reportedly, it wasn't until 3:15 p.m. Pacific Time that Jackson was pronounced dead. CBS Reporter Bill Whitaker made sure to recount the timeline, an important journalistic strategy to convey to readers/viewers HOW It all came down.

NBC Nightly News at 6:20 p.m. did what's known as a "cut-in" (interruption of regular programming) that the pop superstar had died.

WXIA-TV Reports Twitter's Initial Rumors

While it used an NBC Reporter's update at the top of its 6 p.m. newscast that did NOT report Jackson was dead, Atlanta's NBC affiliate, WXIA had its Web reporter Chris Sweigart share Tweets from the micro-blogging Web site, Twitter.

The broadcast media, especially those that own newspapers, have decided that there is such a large audience on social networking Web sites that is NOT watching their over-the-air, scheduled newscasts, that they must showcase these sites in their newscasts.

The ethical question here is-- what if those sites are reporting rumor? Even though you couch your report by saying "This is what THEY are saying on the Web," is it ok to re-transmit rumor?

I applaud the reporters at the Los Angeles Times and the network newscasts-- like NBC Nightly News and CBS Evening News who, as difficult it was to do in the face of gossip and social networking sites, did the RIGHT thing.

They waited until they had verified and independently confirmed information such as the death of Jackson.

Rather than racing to be first, they did showcased for viewers to see how it all went down-- and they did it fast. But, when their stories aired, they were correct and could be trusted.

That's what good journalists do.

The Challenge

Traditional media are losing audience for their traditional outlets. But, the trained journalists who still work there are the ones on whom the public can rely for accurate, well-sourced news and information.

Some may say the important thing is to report that Michael Jackson died. But, after this story moves from the headlines, will some people still be under the impression that journalism is dead?

Quite the contrary-- Journalism is ALIVE and WELL. We saw that today!

Full disclosure: I was once-employed by WXIA-TV (which is mentioned in this report) as a news producer from 1995 to 2000. Ironically, one of my responsibilities in 2000 was updating the station's Web site.

Two Class Reunions, Two Reminders from Dad

2009-06-21T05:29:00.000-07:00

It's Father's Day and when I made my "Happy Father's Day" call this morning to dad back home in Richmond, I was reminded of one of the most important things he and my mother taught us-- the importance of a good education.

Yesterday, my father, Joseph Daniels, 77, attended a high school reunion with classmates of Goochland County, Virginia's Central High School, a former segregated all-black school that later was converted to a middle school.

This morning he shared with me his story of being able to see the valedictorian from his Class of 1948 and one of his teachers who attended the reunion.

He talked about the fact that he and the valedictorian were two of only four from his class who attended the event, which celebrated those who graduated up until the high school merged with the all-white school in 1969.

A College Reunion in May

Saturday's reunion was the second such major class reunion for father, who is a 1959 graduate of Hampton Institute (now Hampton University). As is the custom every five years, Hampton held a reunion for those whose graduating class ended in "4" and "9."

Going to his 50th college reunion (He served several years in the army between high school and college) was a big deal. But, seeing high school classmates after more than a half-century, just made his weekend.

Education as a Family Tradition

I often reflect on how blessed my brother and I are to be THIRD-generation college students. In African-American families that is particularly rare. But my dad's mother, Kate F. Allen, always prominently displayed her degree from Virginia Union University in her home.

As kids, we would see that education was important for her (She was a teacher). And, she passed that on to my dad, who then passed it on to my brother and me.

Grandma never got a chance to see me get my terminal degree and become a college professor. But, I know she would be proud that the legacy continues.

Today, on Father's Day, my dad's sharing his class reunions with me just reinforces one of his most important lessons of life.

Daniels Makes Bid for SPJ National Board

2009-06-19T04:06:00.000-07:00

Like many of the candidates in the most recent presidential election, I have chosen to make a political announcement in an online environment.

This week after lots of thought and prayer, I am launching a bid for the national board of the Society of Professional Journalists, the nation's LARGEST, most broad-based group for journalists.

This has little to do with copying the strategies of Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton and everything to do with recognizing that this medium-- the World Wide Web IS where journalism can and does happen.

What Must SPJ Do?

As a forward-looking organization, the Society of Professional Journalists can no longer turn up its nose at those who present their reporting product exclusively in this medium.

During the upcoming Annual Convention of SPJ in late August, I will be among those on a slate of declared candidates to fill vacant seats on the SPJ Board.

What Will My Role Be?

As Campus Adviser At-Large, I look forward to doing much of what I have already done as a member, and most recently chair, of the Journalism Education Committee: working with other campus advisers to Keep the needs and concerns of campus chapters on the front-burner.

This year, I have enjoyed working with the Vice President for Campus Affairs, Neil Ralston, a journalism faculty member at Western Kentucky. I hope to continue to work with him in the next year as well.

I've watched as my Ithaca College colleague and vice chair of the Journalism Education Committee, Prof. Mead Loop has served in that role and as Adviser At-Large. He and Sue Kopen Katcef of the University of Maryland have been the "go-to" persons for advisers like myself who were new in the position.

While my local chapter isn't perfect, we've had enough bumps and bruises to help other SPJ campus chapters and their advisers.

What Issues Will I Confront?

One of those concerns expressed recently was the method of annual reporting. I'd like to see some discussion about how to refine/update this important system of accountability. Additionally, as a member of the Radio-Television News Directors Association (soon to be Radio-Television Digital News Association), I would like to be actively engaged in discussions about how SPJ can collaborate with our journalism organizations to keep our members on the cutting edge with jointly-sponsored training events and conventions.

As a Diversity Leadership Fellow in 2006, I saw the front end of SPJ's strategic planning process. Now, three years later, I want to have a more active role in making sure SPJ executes its strategic plan-- particularly in the areas of inclusiveness and society operations.

I AM the Future of Journalism & Mass Communication Education

2009-05-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

I AM the Future of Journalism and Mass Communication Education!

How is that for a statement of vanity?

As a journalism professor of six years who has been awarded tenure and promotion for the Fall 2009 semester, I am proud to associate myself with a line of work that is changing ever so rapidly.

I position myself as a example not because I'm the greatest teacher.

Instead, I say I’m the future of journalism because of my willingness to embrace the multimedia shift that has already happened in the nation’s newsrooms.

I say I’m the future of journalism because of my commitment to re-invent myself from a “word” person not concerned about technical production to a teacher who is increasingly (but not totally) comfortable teaching about production.

I understand that teaching in a constantly evolving field means one rarely gets "comfortable" before something changes or shifts. Then, there's a need to learn something new.

A blogger and a podcaster with my own YouTube channel, I taught such a production course this spring (2009) semester.

Digital Media production was the most challenging topic I’ve ever taught—because it took me out of my comfort zone. But, my fabulous students made it a blast!

Our site, Dateline Alabama, is alive and well. I even learned a lot about posting through a Content management system, powered by The Tuscaloosa News.

I had to rely on the tech people to teach me even as I taught my students. There were very few lectures from a Ph.D. who had all the answers.

As the future of journalism education, I know the expert professor (at least in this field) may find him or herself quickly becoming a relic of the past.

I say I’m the future of mass communication education because in 2009 I can see media management education as a kind of entrepreneurial media education.

I say I’m the future of mass communication education I’m capable and empowered to interact just as much with Ph.D. students as they prepare dissertations as I can middle and high school students being exposed to journalism for the first time.

A WORD ABOUT DIVERSITY IN THE FUTURE OF JMC EDUCATION

As the author of the The Black Blogger’s Manifesto, I say I’m the future of mass communication education because of my active engagement online not only as a blogger, but also an African-American blogger who gives voice to a view that may not otherwise be shared in the blogosphere.

With a multicultural mindset and an understanding of both the profession of journalism and the academic study of mass communication, I realize my role now is to mentor others by sharing my experience with a new generation of student scholars already preparing themselves for roles in the college classroom.

These will be the journalism and mass communication educators who will follow me when I decide to move on from the classroom.

I, along with the dozens of my JMC colleagues who share my views about multimedia, multiculturalism and entrepreneurial media, am positioned for a media world filled with uncertainty.

As the media industries find their way in this new digital world, we will find ourselves flexible and ready for whatever twist or turn comes as we prepare forward-thinking mass media practitioners.

Spelling out the Future of J.O.U.R.N.A.L.I.S.M

2009-05-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

If those of us who teach journalism and mass communication are to not only survive but also thrive in our role as educators, we have to be fully-committed to the future of the journalism profession.

I AM THE FUTURE

You can click here to read more about WHY I think I am the future of Journalism and Mass Communication Education.

A VIDEO VIEW OF THE FUTURE

The discussion about the future of newspapers and journalism is one way we can have a forward-looking view of what we do. This video summarizes some of the major points that should guide our thinking about newspapers, journalism and ethics.

I know I’ll survive and thrive because I know 10 THINGS about the future of the J.O.U.R.N.A.L.I.S.M. profession.

First and foremost, the journalism of the future must continue to be
Justice-Seeking. The cliché to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted remains are relevant to what we do today as it has been in the age of dominant competing daily newspapers, three network-affiliated TV stations and large local radio newsteams. Our commitment to make a difference will be stronger than ever.

Originality is and will continue to be our mantra. We want to first on the Web just like we were first on print. The bottomline of breaking news doesn’t go away because the medium in which we are reporting might change. Journalism of the future must be different from the information that one might get elsewhere

Unrelenting is a trait that the journalists of the future must have. The competition will still be there just like the sources who don’t want to tell us the full story. Our commitment to leave no stone unturned will be just as strong in the future as it has been in the past.

Relevant is something we must be in the age of constantly fragmenting audiences. If we don’t deliver the news and information that will help our readers, viewers and online users live their lives, we will quickly become extinct. Journalism won’t be extinct, in part, because it will continue to be relevant.

Nuance is the name of the game. Digital tools allow almost anyone to cover an event or post a story. What the journalism of the future will have to do is find those subtleties and interesting twists that only a trained reporter with a skeptical (not cynical) vantagepoint can uncover.

Accessibility will be even more important than ever for those who are reading and viewing our product. That means good writing will be a critical factor in the journalism of future. The way we present our prose will make all the difference in the experience of our audience.

Layered will just be logical in the Web-driven, hyperlink world of digital journalism. A story, headline, web summary or related element all will be a click away. Therefore, the journalist much structure his or her story so that it's able to be experienced in multiple layers.

Interactivity is an assumption in the future of journalism where layering is a reality. One must interact with the news to find the layers that lie beneath. A story won’t be a story unless it requires the reader to do something.

Strategic is what we as journalists have to be in the way we conceptualize our product, tell stories and market our information. The dual product market of content for audiences plus audiences for advertisers will remain at the center of our work as journalism and mass communication educators in the future.

Multicultural will describe the nature of our audiences who will no longer be predominantly white in the journalism of the future. Thus, journalists (and those educating them) will have to use whatever means necessary to appeal to and attract their racially diverse group of potential news consumers.

IMAGES OF THE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM MASS COMMUNICATION EDUCATION

Beyond spelling out the future of the profession, we can also think about what journalism and mass communication will look like. The following slideshow gives an aural and visual view of the future of journalism:

Headed to Bellamy?

2009-04-26T03:57:00.000-07:00

It's called Word of Life Full Gospel Baptist Church. We're trying to help others find this location in Sumter County, Ala.

Here's a visual depiction using the Google Maps tool.

View Bellamy, Ala. in a larger map

Check My Photo Gallery from Hollywood

2009-04-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

It's Official-- Master Journalism Educator

2009-04-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

PHOENIX-- Less than 10 minutes to post a quick update from "The Valley of the Sun" where my designation as a Master Journalism Educator became official yesterday at the Journalism Education Association Spring Convention.

It's a shame that I was only able to spend about 36 hours here-- time to make two visits to the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State, where I conducted a two-hour workshop yesterday morning.

Then, the highlight of the day came when the hardwood (so to speak) was bestowed --- tangible evidence that I have joined the ranks of the fewer than 100 journalism educators who have been nationally certified at the HIGHEST level.

The certification came down the first week of January. But, not until yesterday were all the 2009 certified educators recognized.

It feels great. And, I suppose, the expectations from students, colleagues will be higher.

More later on this trip latest trip to the Southwest U.S.

Time to board my plane and head back to Bama.

Unconventional Journalism Gathering Provides Encounter, Reporting Experience

2009-04-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

HOLLYWOOD, Fla.-- When most people think of Hollywood, Florida, they probably don’t think of being homeless or mentally disabled.

Tonight I came face-to-face with both types of Hollywood, Fla. Residents working as a journalist on assignment—an assignment that I won’t soon forget.

For a mere six hours, I and nearly two dozen fellow journalists, mostly from the state of Florida became the staff of The Homeless Voice, one of the nation’s largest newspapers focused on those who are without a place to live.

As the culminating event of our Society of Professional Journalists Southeastern Regional Conference, we decided to do journalism instead of just talking about. In the process, we believe did a public service by increasing public affairness of the good things that are happening even among those who might have fallen on hard times.

Thanks to Sean Cononie, the man behind the publication and the Cosac Foundation's Homeless Assistance Center, we were able to quickly integrate into the environment of his operation while learning a great deal about what it means to be homeless.

My role in all of this was to complete a feature on a new art gallery featuring works of arts of those Cosac's clients and those donated by the general public here.

The founder/director of the Cosac Homeless Assistance Center, Sean Cononie, actually did much of the art as an outlet to help him deal with stress.

He has already posted many of the pieces on a Web site promoting the gallery.

After a spaghetti dinner with some of the center’s clients and a brief tour of the facility, I settled into the task of gathering information, conducting interviews and producing the audio for an Audio slide show of some of the art.

As it turns out, another Florida newspaper had already published an article on the gallery. So, the first thing I had to determine was what would I report NEW on the gallery.

I decided to focus my attention on the preparations for an art auction that is later this month.

Thanks to the great work of photojournalist and Gulf Coast University student Carlos Calente, I got most of my work done by midnight.

SPJ "Unconventional 2009" A Big Hit in Hollywood

2009-04-05T05:46:00.001-07:00

HOLLYWOOD, Fla.-- Even as word comes of another metropolitan newspaper's possible demise, the Society of Professional Journalists through several regional conferences this weekend is continuing in its advocacy role for good journalism.

Here in Hollywood, "SPJ" was featured on the marquee of the Midway Party Room, just one of the meeting spots for sessions. Several dozen members of the Society of Professional Journalists and a Florida affiliate of American Collegiate Press (ACF) under the name FCP gathered at a rather unusual venue for a conference-- a restaurant/family gaming facility.

Dave & Busters in Hollywood is normally where we'd go to hang out, eat and have fun. But, for 8 hours here, we talked about alternative media careers for journalists, myths about magazines and what happens when our First Amendment rights are taken away.

Not one of the panels that I attended included PowerPoint presentations. Instead, there were audience-driven, discussion-oriented exchanges, some of which went over time because the interactivity couldn't be contained in the 50-60 minute time slots.

I particularly enjoyed listening, watching and participating in the "Look Good, Talk Good, Be Better" session that helped both students and professionals prepare for the world of online video and television.

Not only did I get a critique from SPJ National Secretary/Treasurer Hagit Limor, who worked at one of my former competitors in the Cincinnati television market,

But Regional Director Darcy Lunsford also had some suggestions for how I can improve
my on-camera presentation.

The participants in this session rotated between three stations where they concentrated on writing at one station while focusing on recording their one-minute video stand-ups at another. A third station was where we all got feedback on how we did.

The funny thing is I had lunch with Dan Grech from the American Public Media's MArketplace program and didn't even realize who he was-- until hours later. What a down-to-earth, personable person who just captivated the mostly student-crowd at his writing session.

Grech co-lead that session with Connie Hicks from Barry University and Lyn Millner of Florida Gulf Coast University.

The "Violent Awards Lunch" gave attendees at the SPJ Region 3 Conference a chance to see one successful First Amendment activity-- the First Amendment Free Food Festival.

It was a pleasure to pick up ten Mark of Excellence Awards for the students from the University of Alabama campus.

Here are the University of Alabama's 2009 Winners of Mark of Excellence Awards- Region 3

Nic Hoch, First Place Television Sports Reporting for "Broken Collar Bone"
Mary Scott Speigner, Third Place, Television General News Reporting for "Juicy Campus"
Jordan Culberson, Second Place, Radio Feature "Wallace Legacy"
Daniel Cherry, Third Place, Radio feature, "Housing Project"
Daniel Cherry, Second Place, Radio News Reporting "Lost Campaign"
R.F. Rains, Second Place, Sports Photography, "Fan Day Brings Excitement"
Caroline Gwaltney, First Place Non-Fiction Article "D.W.: The Bronze Bomber"
Alex Gilbert, Third Place, Feature Photography, "Summer Heat"
Ryan Wright, Third Place, Sports Writing, "Tide Shuts Out All"
Jessie Gable, Third Place, Feature Writing, "Brother Micah Returns to U.A."

BOLD winners advance to the National Mark of Excellence Competition to compete against winners from 11 other regions. Winners will be recognized at National SPJ Convention in Indianapolis, Ind. in August

After a full day of fabulous, timely and useful sessions, the focus of this conference dubbed "Unconventional 2009" shifted to a homeless shelter. For the next six hours (I left at midnight), I saw a training area of the shelter transformed into a working newsroom as dozens of us attendees did what we do best-- Journalism!

Read a separate post on the experience of working on The Homeless Voice.

There are several take-away points from the Southeastern regional gathering here this weekend.

There is a better way to do journalism conferences
It's still about good writing and presentation
Breaking into magazine journalism still takes special skills, but you can do it
Don't be afraid to get out there and do journalism on your own
You can help the homeless and do journalism at the same time

All of these ideas about journalism come on the very day that news reports circulated about the New York Times Company's possible closure of New England's biggest newspaper, The Boston Globe.

The intensity of discussion of what to do IN SPITE OF all the bad news is what is increasing at journalism conferences like this one.

In some ways, these conferences have become a revival for journalism evangelists who are aware that the medium in which we're doing our work is changing, but the importance of it isn't.

At least half of the Society's 12 regional spring conferences were held this weekend. I don't know what happened at the other five gatherings. But, I know this one left an impression on me.

Special thanks to Michael Koretsky, SPJ national board member, who engineered this first "unconventional" conference.

This is certainly something the entire SPJ Board ought to take a look at as it prepares to hold future conferences, both at the regional and national level.

Next March, those of us from Region 3 who hail from the states of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida will be back here in Sunshine state in Orlando as North Central Florida SPJ Chapter plays host. I wonder what newspapers may have folded or gone to an "online only" format by then.

Daniels Talks Diversity at Wilkes U. Conference

2009-04-05T03:46:00.000-07:00

WILKES-BARRE, Penn-- What a day it has been traveling for the first time here to Wilkes University in the Wyoming Valley portion of the Keystone State.

The Tom Bigler Journalism Conference was a big success and I was fortunate enough to be one of the speakers invited to share some insights on covering issues of race, ethinicity and media. I especially enjoyed a session on that topic just for middle and high school journalism advisers.

There are also some top notch students coming from Northeast Pennsylvania. In my student session today, I saw some animated, engaged students tackling real dilemmas as relates to covering race.

Even in a somewhat racial homogeneous region of the Northeast, students recognized the richness the diversity in ethnicities represented in this region. Without much formal instruction, they immediately identified those differences that are not the same as one’s race or skin color.

Along with meeting with high school students and teachers, I had a wonderful rap session with about 20 communication studies students from Wilkes University. With just about 110 in the major, that’s about one-fifth of the students who were a part of my session where we talked about professional development issues, networking, and opportunities that can come from being involved in the Society of Professional Journalists.

Out of this rap session came lots of great ideas for SPJ programming, the beginnings of what I hope will be some networking relationships and potentially some new student members for SPJ from Wilkes University.

I didn’t realize that the SPJ chapter at Wilkes was just operating on a provisional charter, the policy in their first year of operation. I feel fortunate to help play a role in their development as a chapter. So many of the things they are experiencing in starting a chapter, we are also experiencing as we advance in our re-activation of an SPJ chapter at the University of Alabama.

The People of Wilkes University-- especially three of my hosts-- Andrea Frantz, the director of the Bigler Journalism conference, Andrew Seamon, president of the Wilkes U. SPJ chapter and Alissa Lidner, Wilkes Univ. student director for the Bigler Conference, THANK YOU!

Flying in at nearly midnight and out the next day at 4 p.m. is hardly enough time to see and experience Northeast Pennsylvania. But, I now have another reason besides Hershey, Pennsylvania or Penn State University to visit the Keystone State.

Welcome to a True Two-Newspaper Town

2009-04-02T22:41:00.000-07:00

WILKES-BARRE, Penn.-- After passing through Detroit earlier this evening (with its two newspapers, The Detroit News and The Detroit Free Press, our 18-hour visit to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania has begun. Among the many things I learned about the Wyoming Valley here is the story behind THREE newspapers that cover this region, two of them are based in Wilkes-Barre.

Both the Times-Leader and the Citizen's Voice are publishing daily editions here.

Not far up the road in Scranton, Pa., there is the The Times-Tribune, which considers itself the dominant newspaper player in the region with "Northeast Pennsylvania's Largest News Team."

But Wilkes-Barre's Times-Leader also publishes a "Scranton Edition," which just named a new editor, who was on the frontpage of the newspaper today.

And, as if that isn't fascinating enough for followers/fans of news media-- both the CBS affiliate, WYOU-TV and the NBC affiliate, WBRE-TV broadcast from the same studio. The two stations are owned by Nexstar Broadcasting as is PAHomePage.com, a Web portal for this region.

We hope to see it for ourselves tomorrow-- even as we prepare to address high school students from around the Northeast Pennsylvania region attending the Tom Bigler Conference on the Wilkes University campus.

It will be a packed, but exciting day to be in the Keystone State.

Stay tuned!

In The Motor City for Big Week for Newspaper Industry

2009-04-02T21:32:00.000-07:00

DETROIT-- It was only a 75-minute layover between flights, but my stop here at Detroit Metro Wayne County Airport today was long enough to make a 20-minute trek through the airport in search of two newspapers that represent a MAJOR change in the newspaper industry-- The Detroit News and The Detroit Free Press.

After visiting two news stands and finding absolutely no copies of either local newspaper, I went down two levels, three moving sidewalks and another long escalator before entering the new concourse and finding two crinkled-front page issues of the Detroit News and three copies of The Free Press. YES! I had to take a picture (see at left) of these two newspapers simply because what I went through to get them.

It was definitely worth the trouble-- I have both issues today.

Earlier this week, the two newspapers stopped delivering newspapers to thousands of homes in the motor city, putting more emphasis on its online efforts.

With the March 30th headline "The New Free Press Starts Today" Publisher Paul Anger says the freep.com Web site has more updates than ever.

The exact copies of the newspaper online reportedly caused higher than anticipated delays

Meanwhile the newspaper printed more than 500,000 print copies of both newspapers for free at more than 18,000 retail locations where the newspapers are usually sold.

In today's Free Press, a surprise for me to find a former city manager from my hometown-- Richmond, Va. Robert Bobb is now here in the motor city

Meanwhile, the competing newspaper, which is now owned by Media News Group, the Detroit News features several new section likes THINK, EATS & DRINKS and DRIVE. All three debuted today.

But, my favorite article in the Detroit News talks about my end of the news industry, the television business. A story on 2A announces that two of the city's television stations, WXYZ-TV, a market-leading ABC station, which is owned by the E. W Scripps Company, and FOX-owned WJBK-TV are partnering up to share resources on coverage of "general news events."

All these changes in media in Detroit are happening as the eyes of the nation turn there as the site of the NCAA Final Four

Time to Reflect on Day 1 of SND Web Design Boot Camp

2009-03-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

NASHVILLE-- In the music city, I suppose it's appropriate to sing the praises of the New York Times' Tyson Evans and the Senior Interactive Designer at National Public Radio, David Wright-- the facilitators for the Society for News Design's first Web Design Boot Camp.

Thanks to these two guys, I now know more about CSS besides the fact that the letters stand for "Cascading Style Sheets." Nearly 12 years after taking my first class in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), this computer language makes a whole lot more sense to me.

When I took that Web class at the University of Georgia in 1998, there were no applications like Firebug, a plug-in for Firefox that allows us to go beyond just "viewing source" on Web pages, or Coda, which makes writing HTML code and "marking up" text so much easier.

All of a sudden, designing Web pages doesn't seem so intimidating. Well, that was until we started actually looking at the CSS code this afternoon. Can you feel your eyes glazing over? (not sure how to answer that)

By the time we adjourned for the evening at 6 p.m. tonight, I did feel like I have a very basic understanding of the design strategy that utilizes CSS.

I do my share of workshops and seminars (you have to if you're going to teach students multimedia journalism). But, I can't ever remember sitting in a classroom of top-notch newspaper designers from all over the country.

I was told yesterday that 28 people had registered for this first ever SND quick course focused on Web Design. During the introductions this morning, I realized we had those responsible for the design of the Orlando Sentinel, Los Angeles Times, (Florence) TimesDaily and Shreveport Times.

Not only were newspaper designers in the crowd today, but students from Michigan State filled a run in our classroom along with a web designer for NCAA and one of the designers for the kiosks at the Newseum.

If tomorrow is anything like today, the SND Web Design Boot Camp will be worth the drive through rain non-stop from Tuscaloosa to Nashville and the 4 a.m. wake-up call this morning.

We shall see.

Time for Spring Break

2009-03-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again-- when the weather is kind of in between winter and spring and the thoughts of "getting away" are prominent in our minds.

One adult laughed today when I mentioned that I was leaving for "spring break." I can only imagine she was thinking how nice it would be to take a vacation every March.

Spring Break is surely one of the benefits of working in an academic environment. Even though it mostly manages to fall during the third week of March-- allowing me to celebrate my St. Patrick's Day birthday while on Spring Break-- I would prefer it be later in the spring semester. The first week of April is ideal.

At the University of Alabama, where I am a member of the faculty, our break falls this year the week of March 16th.

But, I guess anytime we can take a breather from the day-to-day demands of work and school, we should take full advantage.

For me, it will be a "working vacation" as I do a couple of site visits and attend an academic conference at the University of Mississippi next week.

But, I hope to be providing updates here a lot more often during this next 10-day period as I hit the road and depart Tuscaloosa.

March 1 Snow: Alabama's Big Twitter Event?

2009-03-01T14:38:00.000-08:00

While the short-lived winter weather was not that unexpected here, it was fun to follow thanks, in part, to the Twitter technology.

I haven't gathered any statistics on the use on the microblogging tool. But, anecdotally if James Spann's (Meteorologist at Birmingham's ABC affiliate, WBMA-TV) followers jumped from about 1500 when he started cut-ins at 1 a.m. to 1662 now, that's an indication of just how many people are catching on to this combination of a e-mail and message boards.

Those with Twitter accounts could "follow" Spann and get his updates while also including a symbol "#bhamsnow" that Twitter uses to gather all the comments about this news event.

Like Spann indicated last night, the advantage is that it keeps everyone from being too long, but it also helps you keep up-to-date on what's happening.

I suppose if all of those people with information to share were your Facebook friends, then that would be the medium for this exchange.

With Twitter, I re-connected with all friends and met new people, whose blogs I checked out in the process.

For the last few years, the broadcast, cable and newspaper media have utilized the user-generated photographs as a big part of their coverage.

WMBA-TV's Flickr Photostream gathered more than 2,000 pictures. After a quick check of some of the other media, I think this is BIG WINNER for user-generated content.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution showcased about 30 photos on its site.

Cross-promoting this element helps drive traffic to one's Web site.

While we had the consumer/citizen-driven today, we also have a community around this Twitter technology, a larger one than would probably have been found on a weathercentric Web site.

Some of those who might not read Spann's Weather Blog, will follow those who have something to say about the weather.

In some ways, the Twitter audience online could get things before the over-the-air audience. You were "behind the scenes" listening to Spann as he got ready to go on the air.

As we examine the role that microblogging plays in newsgathering, Alabama's Winter Storm of 2009 will provide an interesting case study. All one has to do is look at the "#bhamsnow" on Twitter.

2 p.m. Last Snowman Standing

2009-03-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

I suppose it's not surprising that today's snow event here in Tuscaloosa was short-lived.

By the time our Sunday services ended at nearly 1 p.m., the snow that had blanketed the church grounds was all gone.

On the way home, I managed to find ONE lingering sign of today's memorable winter weather-- a lone snowman down the street from my house that was still standing, though some of his features were already on the ground, an apparent victim of the above-freezing temperatures.

You can see from the brown grass that the sun quickly melted away our white blanket, the heaviest such blanket in at least a couple of years for our city in West Central Alabama.

While I haven't seen any official snowfall totals for our area, I would imagine 2-3 inches fell in the city of Tuscaloosa.

It's a good thing that I didn't let the winter weather keep me home. Though, a lot of my fellow church members did.

We only had 5 people in my Sunday School class that usually has about 15 or more. And, my quick head count showed only about 120-130 people in our 10 a.m. service that usually has more than 500 attendees.

7:30 a.m. The Ultimate Dilemma

2009-03-01T04:54:00.000-08:00

When they say "If you don't have to travel on the roadways, don't" that's usually good advice.

But, do you follow that when it comes to church?

I don't think the above advice has been given for today. But, it's worth noting as a point of reference.

Like myself, many Alabama residents are pondering that question-- do I go? do I stay home? With 8 a.m. services minutes away, that decision would be a timely one.

Most churches are probably not going to cancel all of their services. A good number will.

Back home in Richmond, Virginia, where I grew up the son of a church deacon and deaconess, that decision was always to hold services for those who could attend.

My father actually played a role in clearing snow from parking lots so that we could have services.

So, it's laughable almost that when you don't even have to clear away snow, churches would not have services.

That said, even experienced winter weather drivers (I drove over snow-paved highways in Northern Kentucky for two weeks during the Blizzard of 1993) can get rusty.

Here are factors we might consider in that ultimate Sunday morning dilemma:

1. Am I using the winter weather as an excuse to stay home?
2. Are conditions bad enough that I would not go to work?
3. What will I miss if I do not go to services today?
4. Do I have a role in today's Sunday School or church that someone else can cover?
5. Are there hazardous areas over which I have to travel (bridges, overpasses) that are likely impassible?

And, then there's the age-old "What Would Jesus Do?" query. Not to mock those who use the phrase as truly an evangelistic strategy, but should we ask that question. There's no reference in the Bible (that I can recall) to snowy conditions under which Jesus had to travel.

The Decision

I live in a cul-de-sac at the foot of a hill. The street is a little wet, but not icy and impassible. If the roads were really bad, this back road deep in a subdivision would be some indication of what I could expect.

And, one other issue that a friend brought to my attention-- will insurance companies assist if you have an accident? That can depend on whether local authorities have declared a certain winter weather emergency.

The roads have not been cold enough to freeze over. There's one overpass between here and church-- and I can take a different roate so I don't even have to go over that overpass.

So, I'll leave 30 minutes early-- just in case-- but to church I will go.

6:30 a.m. Time for a 2008 vs. 2009 snow comparison

2009-03-01T04:30:00.001-08:00

In academic research, we say it's important to always have a comparative element in our studies. Well, here's my attempt at an actual comparative element in reporting on my second newsworthy snow event since moving to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in January 2003.

The 2009 Picture

The shrubery on my front lawn has a tad bit more snow on it this year.

This is the picture taken minutes ago from my sidewalk just out the front door. The branches have a little bit more of the white stuff. Of course, the time of day might be a factor-- and the time when the snow started.

But, at the moment the snow is tapering off here in South Tuscaloosa. So I'm not sure time will be much of a factor.

The 2008 Picture

Here is the shot was taken 14 months ago from virtually the same vantagepoint mid-morning.

Last year, there was a lot more media build-up to what turned out to be snow, but a bit laughable when you come from mid-Atlantic and have lived in Cincinnati. Those are places where we see REAL snow.

My memories of this snow is mostly how it lasted for just a few hours and then melted.

6 a.m. Another Weekend Snow Encounter

2009-03-01T03:57:00.000-08:00

Not quite a surprise, but certainly exciting-- a Sunday morning snow event for those in Tuscaloosa.

Within the last half-hour, I decided to venture out the front and back doors of the house to get a few pre-dawn photos of the white stuff.

Maybe it's a good thing that the news media in Alabama under-played this in the days leading up to the winter weather event. That's always when something really happens.

While we've had a dusting that lasted for just a few hours last January (2008), these are the only memorable snow events for me in this town. Last January's snow was on a Saturday.

Slick roads are being reported here in Tuscaloosa and around the area. But, Sunday morning is certainly about the best time for this to happen. And, by the time, people actually have to be going to somewhere, this brief snow event will have passed us by.

The hazardous conditions on my deck are probably an indication of the conditions on some of the overpasses and bridges in the area.

Has the Snow Threat Been Under-reported?

2009-02-28T23:03:00.000-08:00

It's 1 a.m. on Sunday, March 1 and for the last 10 or 11 hours, I've been combing the wires, looking at news web sites looking for evidence that the Alabama media are getting excited about the forecast for snow.

In the early evening newscasts, most of the Birmingham media were leading with tornado damage from East Alabama.

Maybe we've all gotten geared up for snow too many times and it doesn't happen here.

Within the last hour, the most-watched, trusted, well-known weather personality in the state, James Spann of Birmingham's ABC affiliate WBMA-TV, did his first cut-in on TV.

I'm excited about what he's doing on his blog with this coverage.

And, this will be first winter weather event where TWITTER will be in use.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out over the next 12 hours.

An update on travel in 2009

2009-02-18T10:29:00.000-08:00

This map shows places I have visited thus far in 2009

View Larger Map

Conference Shifts From Speeches to Solutions

2009-02-04T11:02:00.001-08:00

As the afternoon begins, the more than 200 attendees at the Doing What Matters for Tuscaloosa's Children Conference have split into five groups to begin to talk about solutions to some of the problems facing the county's youngest residents.

"Parental involvement is the missing key for us," said Connie Coleman, a counselor at Hillcrest High School and a presenter for an afternoon session on Dropout rates and prevention. "I think parental involvement is the key to student success."

Coleman listed five common characteristics of students who drop out of school

1. Chronic attendance problems
2. Failing one or more courses of reading-language arts and/or math
3. Significant history of discipline issues
4. Being held back in one or more grades
5. Remaining isolated and uninvolved

"A dropout is no an individual problem, it's a societal problem" Coleman said. "Sometimes dropout cannot be avoided. It's our job to provide students options at this point."

Other topics that are being addressed in the breakout sessions: youth depression and suicide, advocacy with legislator, Impact Alabama, Drugs and youth.

Large Crowd Gathers As Children's Conference Begins

2009-02-04T07:34:00.000-08:00

More than 200 people packed the Sellers Auditorium this morning as the "Doing What Matters for Tuscaloosa's Children" Conference kicked off on the University of Alabama campus.

The state's leading advocate for children kicked off a line-up of speakers and sessions that will address such issues as poverty, school dropout and youth depression and suicide.

"I think we need to be able to address the needs of children on a continuum," said Marquita Davis, commissioner for the Alabama Department of Children's Affairs.

Davis talked about the state's 0-5 Initiative, Office of School Readiness, Head Start Collaboration and Office of Family and Policy Issues- areas that her department covers.

While her focus was on students before they get to kindergarten, that was the only population Davis addressed during her 30-minute presentation.

"How can we not at the state level address the needs of parents," she said.

Davis complimented Tuscaloosa on its Jump-Start Program, which prepares students for kindergarten. She cited it as a model for the rest of Alabama.

"I want to take that across the state, Davis said. "Children come ready to learn. Our investment should be on the front end."

ONA Proves Journalism Has a Future

2009-02-03T23:06:00.000-08:00

NASHVILLE-- I realize several days have passed since the Online News Association workshop. But, there's nothing like a head cold to re-order your priorities.

Now that the virus appears to be breaking and I'm not nearly as congested as I was in the hours following the workshop, I can more clearly see the impact of the workshop on what we're teaching students and what's happening in the industry.

First off, it's clear the Journalism DOES Have a Future. But, it's not just because there's the Internet. We have a more sophisticated answer, a fine-tuned vision of that future because of this workshop.

And, what better place for that vision to come into focus that The Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center, which found itself in the Nashville area headlines Friday. A story involving a local judge and some faked invitations made for interesting side story from our gathering.

I think there are five lessons I learned from the workshop:

1) There's a right way and wrong way to blog

I've got to say-- ONA may have saved the best for last. Full disclosure: I missed the keynote speaker, Janet Coats, due to a mid-day conference call. But, I have to say the last workshop of the day on bloggers and journalism was the BEST of the day. Put Tammi Marcoullier and Rex Hammock on a panel together and you have a great combination. It was a pleasure to met the founder of Hammock, Inc. and hear from a blogger from WKRN-TV. Previously, I've always thought of WKRN-Channel 2, the Young Broadcasting Station in Nashville as a distant number-three behind WSMV-4 and WTVF NewsChannel 5. But, listening to BLogger Christian Grantham from the WKRN blog, Nashville is talking, , I have a different impression.

My favorite term of the day-- bloggers are "curators" of the news. I will review my online notes from this session and even change the way I teach my students to blog.

2) Re-purposing video is not just a possibility, but an expectation

Here at University of Alabama, we've operated from the position that most newspaper newsrooms are not investing in high-end video editing software. But, after attending Val Hoeppner's session at the workshop, I'm having to re-think that particular idea. Her three categories of video were a part of my lecture on video editing in class THIS WEEK. But, I have to admit I had not considered talking much about Avid until hearing her story on what's happening at IndyStar.com and lots of other Gannett Information Centers (as they're now called)

3) Building an online audience is just as important as being online

If there's one thing I will remember it is the idea that when we post online, we're not just doing it for ourselves, we are doing for an audience who we hope will come back. Tammi Marcoullier's session on link journalism gave me some ideas for how to augment both my home page and my blog site. But, most of all, she emphasized the importance of Publish 2 tool in allowing you to speak to multiple audiences at once.
As I've picked up more followers at these various gatherings I've attended, I want to give them a reason to continue following me.

4) Taking Twitter seriously is a skill

Along the same lines as Number 3 is the idea that being in Twitter is more than just sending Tweets. It's got to be a conversation. I have to admit I have not used my tweets to do much more than one-way communication. So I'm under-utilizing this online resource. Perhaps some of my Twitter followers will want to comment (respond) to this item.

Speaking of followers, Anniston Star Online Director Justin Thurman's tweet last month was what made me decide to re-up with ONA and come to the Nashville workshop. Thanks Justin!

A big plus of making the trip for gatherings like this is finding out what online editors and web directors like Justin are doing day-to-day. Even though Justin and I work together through UA's Knight Fellows in Community Journalism, we're on opposite sides of the state (a 2-hour drive apart). So Nashville was a meet-up for us.
Checkout the candid shot of J.T. on his cell phone.

5) ONA is cool

I've been a member of the Online News Association before, but never attended one event. Having recently renewed my membership, this $25 workshop was a GREAT value for the money. The speakers/facilitators were well-informed in their area and I walked away with tips that I could immediately put to use. Other journalism organizations to which I belong could learn a lot from ONA about how to put on a workshop that have a maximum "take-away" value.

Speaking of other journalism organizations, I can't forget my encounter with Former Society of Professional Journalists National President Mac McKerral, who is on faculty at Western Kentucky University. Before heading back the icy roads of the Bluegrass, Mac took a quick shot with me.

200 posts in Four Years

2009-02-03T23:04:00.000-08:00

As I am about to post this update, I realized this is my 200th posts. But I've been doing this since 2005.

By most true bloggers' standards, 200 posts in four years is probably not a big deal. In fact, most true bloggers wouldn't let five days past without a posting.

Get I still have a ways to go with this blogging thing.

Occasional postings are not the way to develop a real following.

But, there are only so many hours in a day.

That's the real deal.

Time to Celebrate Life, Work of Lionel C. Barrow

2009-01-25T20:43:00.000-08:00

This weekend journalism and mass communication education lost a giant and a trailblazer in the passing of Lionel C. Barrow, Jr.

Now in my sixth year as an assistant professor here at the University of Alabama, I know neither my career as a broadcast journalist nor my current full-time role as a journalism professor would have been possible were it not for the hard work of Dr. Barrow.

As a cum laude graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and the 1991 recipient of the Lionel C. Barrow Minority Doctoral Scholarship, I know firsthand the impact Barrow had the lives of so many across the fields of journalism and mass communication.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete as of this writing on Sunday evening. Barrow's passing was announced on Howard University's radio station, WHUR-TV earlier in the day. I'm told that plans are now in the works for a memorial service to be held at Howard University in mid-February.

For the last few years, Dr. Barrow has lived in the Tampa Bay area as his wife, Dr. Frederica Harrison Barrow, is on the faculty in the School of Social Work at the University of South Florida.

Most recently, Dr. Barrow and I sat on a panel at the 2008 AEJMC Annual Convention in Chicago entitled "State of the Division and Discipline: Re-envisioning Minorities & Communication."

I had no idea that would be the last time I would get to hear him talk passionately about the importance of opening doors of journalism and mass communication education to people of color.

He was dedicated even in the final months of his life to diversifying the ranks of our JMC professorate.

Even as I write this posting, I recall Dr. Barrow's suggestions about the research I presented on the panel. Even though I only got to know him in the last seven years, he's certainly been a mentor to me and countless oithers like me who work in this field.

Established in 1970, the Barrow Minority Doctoral Scholarship honors Professor Lionel C. Barrow, Jr., former Communication Theory & Methodology (CT&M) Division head and Dean Emeritus of Howard University.

Dr. Barrow earned his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has held a variety of leadership positions in industry, academia, and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC).

His work was noted in a recent article in Diverse Issues of Higher Education on AEJMC's steps to intensify its effort in the area of diversity.

Dr. Barrow was the second dean of the Howard School of Communication, serving from 1975 to 1985, following the tenure of founding dean Tony Brown.

The Barrow Scholarship is intended to aid doctoral students complete their dissertation research and academic studies.

When I received the award at the 2001 AEJMC Convention in Washington, it was my first time meeting the former dean of my alma mater.

Since then, I've become acquainted with his work as Chair of the Commission on the Status of Minorities.

In one of the best ways to honor his work, I recently took a more active role in CSM as the newsletter editor.

It's just one small way I can give back to an organization in which Barrow had such a critical role.

Even now as I await a decision on my application for tenure and promotion, I know that regardless of the outcome, I owe a great deal to Lionel C. Barrow for helping me get to this point.

My life has been richer not only because of my experience as an undergraduate at what is now the John H. Johnson School of Communications in a program Dr. Barrow steered for so many years but also because of the financial support of the Barrow scholarship I completed my dissertation and am making an impact on journalism in a whole other way.

I look forward to the opportunity to continue Dr. Barrow's legacy even as I become more active as a journalism and mass communication scholar and teacher.

Later this year, when AEJMC recognizes the first recipient of the association's Equity and Diversity Award, we will ALL be thinking of Dr. Lionel Barrow. For it was his hard work that helped position the association to bestow such an honor.

Visitors Stop By This Week to See What We're Teaching about Journalism

2009-01-25T17:34:00.001-08:00

The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication is sending a team of five professors and working media practitioners to see if we're doing the right thing by our students.

It's called an accreditation review and most of the best j-schools (journalism schools) go through it every six years.

An ACEJMC Stamp of Approval is the equivalent of the Good Housekeeping Seal for journalism education.

The accrediting council looks for such things as class size, placement, labs and facilities, faculty credentials and qualifications, assessment and diversity in making its decision.

Just 112 programs in the country are accredited by ACEJMC. The University of Alabama is one of three (Auburn University and Jacksonville State are the other two) accredited programs. The University of North Alabama in Florence is planning to apply for accreditation in the next few years.

It will interesting to see what the team of reviewers have to say as they drop in on our classes and chat with us over the next few days.

As if this accreditation review were not enough, we have another team of reviewers arriving at the end of the week to specifically review our Public Relations program. One of reasons that our public relations major is one of the largest in the college is its high-quality program that is reviewed every few years by the Public Relations Society of America.

As a news reporting instructor who teaches public relations majors often in my classes, I'll get a chance to visit with that particular team of visitors as well.

Of course with any review, you always want to put your best foot forward. But, at the end of the day, what these visitors should see is the good work that we're doing every day in our classes.

The week for me will end in Nashville as spend the day at the Online News Association workshop at the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center on the Vanderbilt University campus.

Like those of us in the Society of Professional Journalists and those of us who teach have been saying all along-- JOURNALISM HAS A FUTURE, ONA has made that the topic of what looks to be an exciting day where those in the online world can focus on how we do good journalism in the current environment.

More on "Journalism Has a Future" in future blog postings.

Stovall Does It, Now The Real Work Begins

2009-01-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.-- As I watched him listen to all the exchange between the faculty and industry voices in the room, Jim Stovall, the Edward J. Meeman Distinguished Professor in the School of Journalism and Electronic Media, who organized ICONN, was clearly proud of all that we accomplished in a short time.

Jim has been talking about this idea of a wire service and a network of journalism educators who are teaching Web journalism for a good while. On Friday as the two-day meeting here wound down, his vision was finally coming into view.

We talked a great deal about organizational issues for ICONN-- who's going to be in charge? will students and faculty be working together? What about those who were unable to be here for this meeting?

Those logistical issues are certainly important.

But, equally as important -- and more daunting for most of us without a programming or computer background is getting this web tool, OCHS, to work for us as a content management system. It's an interesting challenge. I often am the person who is considered by some to be the "techno enthusiast."

However, in a room with Joseph Agreda, the Tennessee Journalist operations manager and Jay Baird from Mochi Media as well as Bob Benz from Radiant Markets (formerly of Scripps Interactive), I felt like the one who needed to bone up on his technical skills.

This re-tooling and retraining that we faculty will have to do to make this Web tool work is exactly what makes bringing digital into our teaching such a challenge.

As I leave Orange Country, I will have to say that Knoxville will be the place where I realized I could do this Web thing-- the technical side. I developed a new level of confidence that a Content Management System is no longer something that I leave to "tech staff" to do for me.

iConn represents a new beginning for me as a journalist operating in the multimedia age. And, for that, and to Jim Stovall, I'm eternally grateful.

Let the real work begin. Joseph

ICONN Sparks New Faculty Friendships

2009-01-19T10:51:00.000-08:00

MY NEW FRIEND FROM HARDING U-- The Intercollegiate Online News Network (ICONN) Founders Conference afforded me the opportunity to meet another j-school professor. Dr. Jim Miller, the man behind Jim Miller's Menial Musings, is starting a web journalism class at his university in Searcy, Arkansas.

Harding is not a university I would have thought of first when I think web journalism. Thanks to ICONN, this school is now on the radar as we look at places that are on the cutting edge of teaching multimedia and web journalism.

OTHER FACULTY COLLEAGUES-- Jon Glass, Syracuse University (in the white sweater), suffered through my constant jabs about him being from "Newhouse" (the school I once dreamed of attending as a high school journalist).

Jon has a dual background as a technical staff person who is supporting the digital instruction at SU. (He's also a Florida Gator and a native of Alabama-- who has loose ties to Auburn U., but we won't hold that against him)

Meanwhile at my alma mater, the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia (where I received both my master's and doctorate),there are two advocates -- Mark Johnson (see below) from the faculty and Harry Montevideo (In the gray sweater) from the award-winning student independent study daily, The Red and Black.

Even though I was from Alabama, I was VERY PROUD of my school, UGA, having two very vocal and leading voices in making ICONN go. I look forward to working with Jon, Mark and Harry! I think this gathering was a little heavy on the testosterone. Still there were people like Lyn Lepre, a former UT-Knoxville faculty, who brought insights from her experience at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY.

A CLEAR VOICE FOR DIGITAL JOURNALISM-- I take nothing away from all the attendees at ICONN. But, this guy, Mark Johnson, who is leading the digital news instruction at University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism, was most memorable in his articulation of the challenges we have ahead.

His frank assessment of what is needed as we move forward is something on which I know I will reflect again and again. My only regret is that Mark and I missed each other by two years (He joined the Georgia faculty two years after I completed my Ph.D. in 2002).

Knoxville Brings Memories of What Was My Personal Life

2009-01-16T03:26:00.000-08:00

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.-- As we begin the second day of the Intercollegiate Online News Network (ICONN) Founders Conference, it's as good a time as any to depart from the professional and share some personal thoughts about this city and what it means to me to be part of something new in a place with so many personal memories.

I realized yesterday as I was driving up I-75 from Chattanooga how familiar the road signs and exits were to me. That's because I actually had driven this stretch of interstate so many times in another life.

You see there was a certain female to whom I had taken a great liking and who lived in this city back in mid 1990s when I was working as a television news producer at WXIA-TV, NBC's Atlanta affiliate.

She was a friend from college with whom I had worked so closely and connected so well, I just knew that this was a person who would always be in my life. I consider(ed) her my best friend.

Sidebar: When we teach blogging in our journalism courses, one of the things we have to help our students understand is the opportunity that blogs can play for less formal writing that extends, expands and even personalizes a story.

This posting "personalizes" my whole experience here at ICONN

This was the campus where my friend and I used to hang out. She lived only a mile away from the UT-Knoxville campus. She worked part-time at one of the local hospitals and took classes at both Roane State and Pellissippi State Technical Community College.

I remember driving about 30 miles west of here to surprise her at her graduation from Pellissippi State Technical Community College. I remember driving up from Atlanta on Valentine's Day with a surprise care basket one year. I even remember taking a memorable shopping trip with her out to Sevierville, Tenn. (She worked for a short time in Sevier County, just east of Knoxville).

On the UT-Knoxville campus, she and I would go to the Health Sciences Library and hang out. She would study while I would read periodicals. But, at the time, I had begun to ponder the idea of graduate school.

I had even visited the NBC affiliate here, WBIR-TV, wondering about the opportunities in this television market, which was much smaller than either Atlanta or Cincinnati, the city in which I worked before moving to WXIA.

I attended my first academic conference here on the UT-Knoxville campus as UT hosted what's now known as the AEJMC Southeast Colloquium. (AEJMC stands for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication)

I watched research presentations at the conference at the Knoxville Hilton wondering if I could actually do that one day. (Of course, I eventually did do it lots of times as I worked on a master's and Ph.D. degrees)

Years later-- in this century -- the woman, who I identified as my best friend, married someone else in this town. To this day, I have not met face-to-face with the groom.

She invited me to the wedding. Ironically (or maybe not), I was in Chicago presenting a paper at an academic conference the same weekend.

Some have suggested that I intentionally missed this turning point in my best friend's life.

Perhaps this trip back to Knoxville, the place that holds so many memories, is not only about being a part of something new for my students learning Web journalism, but also about coming to terms with something old that happened in my own life.

As I reflect today, I bring "closure" (that's become a bit of a cliche) to what was and look to open what WILL BECOME in both my personal life and in my work with students in journalism via ICONN.

More Pictures from Day One

2009-01-15T19:12:00.001-08:00

DOWNTOWN KNOXVILLE-- The view of the World's Fair Park is spectacular from our hotel, the Cumberland House Hotel. This is a vibrant campus and its proximity to downtown gives it a unique feel among schools in our beloved Southeastern Conference.

IN CLASS WITH Dr. Stovall-- James Glen Stovall is a legend in journalism and as the adviser for The Tennessee Journalist, the host for this gathering. This afternoon, I had the pleasure of visiting and briefly addressing his Writing for Mass Media class. To my surprise, one of my former students at University of Alabama, who transferred to UT-Knoxville, was there and came down front after class to make sure I knew she was there. What a nice surprise.

VIEW FROM THE TOP-- Mike Wirth, dean of the UT-Knoxville College of Communication and Information addresses the attendees at the ICONN Founders Conference dinner. I had the pleasure of sitting across from Dean Wirth and his lovely wife this evening.

UPI Reinvents Itself With New Generation of Students Online

2009-01-15T17:58:00.000-08:00

KNOXVILLE, Tenn-- That "other" wire service-- the one that you heard about one day in school, but rarely saw- United Press International (UPI) is back!

As the Intercollegiate Online News Network (ICONN) is born this week here on the University of Tennessee campus, it appears an older journalism player is going through its own reincarnation. Tonight, we got a view of that as Michael Marshall, editor of UPI, shared a little bit of the vision for UPI-University, a major initiative of the soon-to-be 102-year-old news agency.

"We're finding a way to adjust our traditional values to a totally different environment," said Marshall, who plans to give more concrete details about UPI-U during his presentation tomorrow. "We're no longer a news agency in a traditional sense."

Today's college students are a big part of an effort by United Press International to shift the focus to more serious journalism.

As what Marshall termed 'a national and international showcase for young journalists," UPI-U is one way the agency is responding to respond to citizen journalism with news and information that is credible and reliable.

Formerly a news agency for afternoon newspapers, which began to go away in the 1980s with the proliferation of afternoon newscasts, UPI has been under serveral ownership changes before its purchase by News World Communications.

According to the mediaowners.com Web site, News World Comunications' owns the American news agency United Press International (UPI), acquired in 2000. Its flagship newspaper is the Washington Times, founded in 1982. Other newspapers published by News World include The Middle East Times (Egypt), Segye Ilbo (Korea) and Sekai Nippo (Japan). It also publishes magazines (Insight, The World & I, and Washington Golf Monthly).

MY TAKE

The one thing that bothered me about Marshall's remarks tonight was his assumption that there's something wrong with Citizen Journalism.

"The problem with citizen journalism is the whole issue of credibility," said Marshall.

I don't happen to subscribe to the view that all or most citizen journalism is unreliable. Instead, I happen to believe that it is our role as journalists in 2009 to embrace the role that citizen journalists can have in our information gathering. Properly trained, they become our co-laborers in the practice.

What some have called the "pro-am" model of journalism is a cutting edge way to re-shape our view of citizen journalists.

To the extent possible, we should help those citizens who want to do journalism to know how to practice it in a ethical manner.

I hope we'll engage Marshall on this issue as we continue or deliberations and discussions tomorrow.

UT-Knoxville Students turn out for ICONN

2009-01-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

KNOXVILLE, Tenn-- The launch of the Intercollegiate Online News Network has provided a place for journalism students in classes to come and have contact with industry professionals.

Follow the live blogging from this event on Twitter!

ICONN Begins with Faculty-Student Exchanges

2009-01-15T12:22:00.000-08:00

KNOXVILLE, Tenn-- My Journey to Orange Country has reached its main destination- the University of Tennessee main campus where already we've seen some vigorous exchange between students and faculty pondering the future of journalism classes.

The Intercollegiate Online News Network Founders Conference is now into its third hour. One panel focused "Web journalism and education: What do our journalism programs need?" has concluded and second panel is about to begin.

So far, I've been reminded that I need to be teaching some skills that I may not feel like I'm the expert. One of the biggest news items-- Gannett has implemented a Furlough program, which mandates five days of unpaid leave for all employees.

The idea that emerged from this first panel-- use this as an opportunity for digital training. In exchange, those journalists who are trained can come back and help our journalism students.

The struggles of academics took centerstage as did a slight philosophical difference between those who believe focusing on the fundamentals/standards (or the lack thereof in students) and those who believe the Web MIGHT introduce a different tolerance for the old standards of journalism.

I think the issues that opened the conference will come back up as we have some more concrete discussions about the establishment of ICONN and those of us who will be member institutions.

The second panel is beginning. Gotta go! (Live blogging resumes)

A Three-Day Trip to The Volunteer State Begins

2009-01-14T21:09:00.000-08:00

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn-- I've been in and through this great city lots of times, but I often don't stop. Tonight I'm parked in Chattanooga, my stopover point enroute to a meeting on the University of Tennessee campus.

I've called this trip my -- "Journey to Big Orange Country" because it's a little weird visiting the home turf of one of the biggest rivals of both my present employer and my alma mater. At University of Alabama, we have the third Saturday in October circled on our calendar. Whether it's in Tuscaloosa or in Knoxville, the matchup between the Vols and the Crimson Tide is always a grudge match.

Likewise when I was at my alma mater, The University of Georgia, we knew The Vols were always one of our biggest barriers to an SEC East Championship.

But, football season is over. The Vols have a new coach and both UGA and UA beat them this past year. (Thanks for that!) So, at least for 11 months, we can be on the same side -- working toward educating students about web journalism and how to deal in a world of journalism that is changing seemingly by the hour.

I've been looking forward to coming to UT-Knoxville for a few weeks. It's actually a nice campus, one I visited even before deciding to go to graduate school.

I'll save the trip down memory lane-- and look ahead to the inaugural meeting of the Intercollegiate Online News Association (ICONN), a group of advocates for and instructors of online journalism.

Our friends at the Tennessee Journalist are hosting us. I'm just in awe at what the Tennessee Journalist has accomplished in a few short years. It will be great to meet some of the students beyond this Web site.

One of the outcomes of this gathering we hope will be the establishment of the Intercollegiate Online News Network, a wire service to which my students at University of Alabama will be able to contribute and draw from as they work on our Dateline Alabama Web site.

Plans for SoCon'09 Announced

2008-12-20T18:05:00.000-08:00

Big news out of the ATL today-- the plans for the biggest social networking gathering in the Southeast were announced. This year's SoCon09 will be held February 6-7, 2009.

It was based on my posts and my experience two years ago at SoCon '07 that this web log is as updated as it is.

SoCon (stands for "Southern Connection") started out in 2007 as the "UnConference" because it wasn't about formal academic presentations or panel discussions. The idea was that everyone who came was expected to participate.

Read more about how it all came together on Jeff Haynie's blog.

Then see all the Reflections from last year's conference. I missed this one. But, it looks like it was even better than the 2007 gathering.

The gathering brings together bloggers and social networking, social media enthusiasts from all over the region.

Election Day- The Voting Experience

2008-11-04T06:55:00.000-08:00

Well, the early morning excitement about the beginning of Election Day has subsided. I've voted and now it's time for a little reflection on the entire experience, which took all of about 75 minutes.

Even though I got there as polls were opening, by the time I got the Bobby Miller Recreation Center and parked and (at an adjacent baseball field), it was at least 7:05 when I got in line.

Still, I could tell the line was moving pretty well. The amount of time it took the mark the ballot-- LESS than five minutes, even with the local races.

But, was it worth it standing in line for an hour- absolutely! At some point, that wait, that one day being late to work every four years is worth it.

In such an important election, the inconvenience of waiting in line an hour is minor when it comes to deciding the course of our nation and its standing in the world.

I awakened before 4:30 a.m. as I was so psyched up for today (and had a lot of things to do this morning). Now, almost 5 hours later, I'm still psyched.

But I feel a sense of accomplishment-- that I've done my part as a citizen.

No matter how much we journalists talk about the election as a news story. There's something different when for a period time (i.e. this morning)you become a citizen and stand in line with other more "high-profile" people in your community. Voting is the ultimate equalizer.

Thank God for the orderly, organized manner that we do our civic duty here in Alabama.

Regardless of who wins, it's already been a good day.

Broadcast Educators from Southeast Tackle HD Radio, Digital Conversion

2008-10-11T16:43:00.001-07:00

COLUMBIA, SC-- Another story of record attendance here in the South Carolina Capital as the biggest Broadcast Education Association District II meeting takes place here for the first time.

As the largest group of electronic media faculty, the Broadcast Education Association has encouraged fall district gatherings in addition to its annual spring convention, which is held each April in conjunction with the National Association of Broadcasters and the Radio-Television News Directors Association in Las Vegas.

The most successful of these gatherings has, by far, been our District II, which includes those from the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida. The first three District II conferences were held on Middle Tennessee State University campus from 2003 to 2005. In 2006, we hosted the gathering at the University of Alabama and last October, it was hosted by Valdosta State University in South Georgia.

Under the direction of the District II board representative Augie Grant, this year's gathering was held in conjunction with the Annual Convergence Conference with a joint banquet last year featuring Daryn Kagan, a former CNN anchor and now operator of a inspirational Web site, DarynKagan.com

While the two gatherings were held on the same weekend, one could come away with a totally different set of outcomes-- things to change and update in his/her teaching.

Today, one full panel of representatives from local television and radio here in Columbia and two research paper presentations focused on the February 17, 2009 transition to Digital Televlsion and the growing audience for Hyper Digital (not High Definition) Radio.

Those were clearly very timely topics and warrant follow-up from those of us in the classroom and in conjunction with those in industry.

I have much more to say as I reflect on the BEA District II meeting. But, I must move on to other pertinent tasks this evening.

More later.

Stephen F Austin State Shows Out

2008-10-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

COLUMBIA, SC-- Much of the academic conference focuses on individual academic paper presentations. In this arena, those presentations have focused mostly on convergence.

But, what we're seeing this afternoon is a divergence of the way convergence is playing out at a smaller state institution. Hundreds of our nation's universities and colleges are just like Stephen F. Austin State.

SFASU brought six members of its faculty for the conference. They've just finished their panel presentation and are taking questions.

This was definitely a unique type of presentation.

Near Record Attendance Here in Columbia

2008-10-10T09:16:00.000-07:00

COLUMBIA, SC-- I'm told about 80 people have registered for this year's Convergence Conference and if I heard nothing else-- I'm gotten an earful on the latest data for what newspapers and televisions are doing with their Web operations.

More details later, but as you see from the photo above, there are more people than we've had before engaging in this type of discussion about what's happening online.

I'm ducking out of that session, Newsroom Practices on Convergence" to make this posting. The photo shows what I could see from the back of Salon A here at Conference Center portion of the Clarion Hotel in downtown Columbia.

It's nice to have wireless so that these types of updates are do-able.

Greetings from the South Carolina State Capital

2008-10-10T06:12:00.000-07:00

COLUMBIA, SC-- It's become a tradition for me-- for the last six years -- except one-- I travel to the Palmetto State to get the very latest updates on multimedia journalism, convergence and cross-media news gathering.

The experts in the field converge on the University of South Carolina campus to talk about their latest research, challenges in teaching in this area and what's likely to happen in the next few months.

Fortunately, the annual convergence conference calls on our Fall Study Break at the University of Alabama and University of South Carolina.

The conference is always a chance to get multiple "take-aways" to carry to my students.

Next fall, the 2009 gathering will be in November and hosted by our friends at the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada Reno

In addition to my postings from my Twitter page, I'll be posting several times this weekend from The Convergence Conference.

2 Million Student Newspaper Subscribers?

2008-09-20T01:07:00.000-07:00

It might seem far-fetched. But, the head of the one of the nation's leading grant-making corporations thinks we could see two million students subscribing to local and national newspapers.

This week in a lecture at Howard University, Dr. Vartan Gregorian suggested that in any School of Journalism, every teacher should have one local and one national paper and students should have one local and one national paper subscription that is included in their student activities fee.

Would that actually work?

As journalism instructors, we work hard to get our students interested in reading the newspaper, any newspaper instead of relying only on what they can find in the online environment.

Some have argued that educational strategy of forcing readership of the print edition is "old school" or a lost cause?

Apparently Gregorian doesn't think so.

Gregorian was the first distinguished lecturer in the distinguished lecturer series hosted by the Howard University Johnson H. Johnson School of Communication's Preparing Future Journalism faculty program.

Full disclosure: I am a proud 1992 graduate of the Howard School of Communications!

Go Bison!

CNN's Rick Sanchez Creates Moments with Social Networking

2008-08-23T20:06:00.001-07:00

Former WSVN-TV (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale) anchor Rick Sanchez has a saying-- "Television is about the moments it creates."

Tonight Sanchez, who's now at CNN, created several of those moments by integrating the technology of social networking with the traditions of a scheduled news program.

Sanchez doesn't have one of the signature spots on CNN yet-- but he is the weekend evening anchor at the Atlanta-based cable news network where he does two editions of "CNN Newsroom."

On the night after the network broke the story of Barack Obama's choice for a running mate, the network moved into a whole new territory of technology by inviting viewers to comment on replays of the major political speeches of the day-- from Springfield, Illinois.

As Obama's running mate, Delaware Senator Joe Biden gave a speech that Sanchez and his staff replayed in its entirety with breaks and interruptions for viewers and a panel of guests to comment.

It was a revolutionary move. While it's obvious to anyone that the goal of interactivity to hold on to one's audience, we cannot discount the significance of tonight's event.

Sanchez (and more likely his producers) are to be commended for going this route in their reporting.

The real challenge will be seeing how well this is replicated next week when the Republicans have their big announcement of a running mate for John McCain.

News cycles and interest shift and change so it's who knows what else might be competing for the media spotlight a week from now.

Nonetheless, Sanchez and his crew at CNN Newsroom have shown that it can be done-- news operations integrating social networking not only in their coverage plans, but in the plans executed for presenting the news.

From Asheville to the "Villes" of Tennessee

2008-08-17T07:03:00.000-07:00

ASHEVILLE, N. Car.-- As the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end." I hate to begin this morning with a cliche. But, it's appropriate as we think about this last day of summer break and the end of my road trip.

I decided to sleep late this last day-- getting a 10:30 a.m. start from Asheville, NC headed west to Sevierville,Tenn then Knoxville, Tenn where I will pick up I-75 and start south.

While we'll certainly make some quick stops in "Big Orange" country (U. Georgia and U. Alabama fans don't like Big Orange Country as much-- it's where "Rock Top" reigns), the only scheduled stop is back in Northeast Alabama where I am scheduled for a late lunch (probably more like early dinner) with a colleague at Gadsden State Community College in Gadsden, Ala.

I've been through Gadsden before, but never done much stopping there.

I'm looking forward to going by the "Smokies" of East Tennessee. It was my first exposure to "The Volunteer State" a decade ago when a good friend of mine lived in Knoxville. She worked in Sevierville and I would catch her at work.

As I depart Asheville and Western North Carolina, I leave with plans next summer to come directly to Asheville and spend at LEAST a full day -- maybe even two at The Biltmore. Time didn't permit me to linger as long as I would like here. But, now I have something to which to look forward in 2009. In addition to my first trip to New England (I have a conference next August in Boston), I will plan to take the long route back here -- and make Asheville a major destination.

Finally, a photo along the banks of Bass Lake in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Thanks to my host, Dr. Calvin Hall for taking this picture.

Reflecting on Rocky Hock

2008-08-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

EDENTON, NC-- The journey to Edenton, NC turned out to be well worth the drive -- the production of "Under His Wings" was great and the people were just fantastic.

Before the 2 p.m. performance of the production of the play based on the biblical story of Naomi, Boaz and Ruth, my brother (in the orange striped sheet) and I posed for a photo with members of the cast and crew at the Rocky Hock playhouse.

The Rocky Hock Playhouse was founded in May of 2000 by Jeff (who stands next to me in the picture) and Gloria Emmerich (standing next to my brother) and has become one of America's most unique full time professional Christian theatres, one published report indicates.

The Emmerichs write and produce five original musicals each year. Gloria Emmerich is the writer of King David, Simon Peter (Fisher of Men), Paul (Fearless Lion of God), Noah's Incredible Cruise, Heaven Came Down, Out of the Darkness, and Jacob, Prince of God. The Emmerichs hire actors from across the United States to perform in their Broadway style Christian musicals.

The Rocky Hock Playhouse is a stock company theatre and is located near Edenton, North Carolina. The Emmerich Theatre Production Company’s first musical in Northeast North Carolina was Under His Wings (the Love Story of Ruth and Boaz).

A Mountaintop Experience in North Carolina

2008-08-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

ASHEVILLE, North -- Tonight I'm back in Asheville after three or four years. I'm been here before as I take the "scenic route" back to Alabama. But, in the process of today's visit, I witnessed some parts of North Carolina I've never seen before.

The communities in the Western part of the state-- are quite exciting to visit.

Still need to produce all the photos-- but today I got the chance to drive up to meet a friend in Boone, NC. In the process, I visited Winston Salem where Winston Salem State University is located. I walked the streets of Boone, NC and the campus of Appalachian State.

Then, after all of that, I drive around some winding roads as I made my first voyage along the Blue Ridge Parkway and Linville, NC. All of sudden I look out the window and realized I was no surrounded by trees-- but look out to seeing the clouds and looking DOWN and seeing trees.. I realized I was in the upper elevations of Mountains.

I've been into the mountains of Arizona-- to tour the Grand Canyon, the mountains of Utah (near Brigham Young University) to the Sundance Resort and the Rocky Mountain State Park in Estes Park, Colorado.

But, I had never seen the mountains with the hiking trails in Western North Carolina.

Excited about Edenton

2008-08-14T06:01:00.001-07:00

RICHMOND, Va. -- From the hometown/homebase for this week, we are setting out on a one-day excursion to Edenton, NC for a family trip to a Christian playhouse.

There is a play (I'm sure what) that my mom has picked out for both my brother and me to see. But, the big story won't be the play, it will be traveling to the Northeastern region of North Carolina.

We've never done this trip from Richmond, Va. to Virginia Beach, Va. (where my brother lives) to Edenton, NC.

You may recall, in an earlier post, I talked about getting lost in Hampton Roads, Va. heading to the Virginia Beach last December. We're hoping for smoother travels today.

The Web site for the Rocky Hock Playhouse says it's in historic Edenton. So, we might even encounter some history of North Carolina.

For me, this will be the first of two trips to North Carolina. The second will be to the Western portion of the state.

Of course, the biggest benefit of today's venture won't be the destination, it will be the fact that my parents and my brother and I will actually do something together that's not on a holiday or a birthday or a special occasion.

And, to God be the glory we have wonderful travel weather (Sunny, low 80s) today.

On to Edenton.

My Second Favorite U.S. City-- Washington DC

2008-08-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON-- I have to say my hometown-- Richmond, Va. is my absolute favorite city. After all, it's where my roots are. But, by far, my second favorite city is Washington, DC.

After spending four years of my life-- some of the best years I might add-- here, there is nothing like being in the media capital of the world.

This view of Pennsylvania Avenue says it all.

To be able to catch a train and in minutes be on Capitol Hill or at the U.S. Supreme Court or sit in on a planning meeting for the next day's edition of The Washington Post, which was only a short walk from my dormitory during Freshman Year.

My rather last-minute decision to attend Howard University was, in part, due to my love for the media-- for journalism, for news and there's a lot of it in this town.

When I was here, I didn't have a car. so, I had to know how to use the Metrobus and Metrorail to get around. Low and behold today, I passed the G2 Bus. It's still called the G2 and it still runs between Howard University and Georgetown University.

I can remember having a couple of dates by bus. We went out for the evening to Georgetown.

Those were the days.

Almost everytime I come home to Richmond, I make time to venture up to my second-home to see what's happenin' -- usually on a Sunday morning for church here at Metropolitan Baptist Church in NW Washington, DC.

This Sunday was no different. After flying into Dulles (from Chicago), I stayed overnight and made my way to Sunday service and Sunday School at "Metropolitan."

Then, I couldn't be walking distance from the Howard U. campus with making a brief stop there. I took just a minute to talk on "the Yard" (a quadrangle on the main campus around which are the major academic buildings in the College of Liberal Arts.

And, wouldn't you know-- the 11 a.m. chime of Founder's Library Bell Tower -- just brought back memories of being here more than 16 years ago-- from 1988 to 1992.

I know I'm home when I'm here.

After brunch back at the hotel, my latest trip to the nation's capital ended with a
visit to the newest museum --- and the most relevant one for me-- the Newseum.

It's the world's biggest interactive museum-- a testament to journalism of the past, present and future.

What a site to behold. I am officially a member of the Newseum now. If time permits, I may even come back here later this week.

For now, I have a video by which to remember my virgin voyage. I posted it on my YouTube Channel.

Working in the Windy City

2008-08-12T15:59:00.001-07:00

CHICAGO-- I came for a journalism educators' conference. But, it was not a relaxing trip. With four presentations over three days and countless people to see, my latest trip to the Windy City has been a lot more work than play.

The Marriott Chicago Downtown is located on the "Magnificent Mile," the "main drag" if you will for downtown -- North Michigan Avenue. I've been here at least twice before and stayed at a different hotel. I think this time, I had the best view of the city-- from the 39th floor.

This is the biggest conference of the year for those of us who identify journalism as our main teaching area. The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication has an accreditation arm and publishes the major academic journals in journalism.

This year's gathering was in Chicago and during that time, I had a chance to visit the Chicago Tribune along with give presentations on ethics and college newspapers, minorities and health communication and technologies and local television news.

It was also a reunion opportunity as one of my high school teachers was given the one of highest honors for diversity in journalism-- the Robert Knight Multicultural Award. I took time to pose for a photo with Prof. June Nicholson from Virginia Commonwealth University and Dr. Calvin Hall, who chaired the Knight Awards committee.

We had beautiful weather. But, other than the meeting down the street from our hotel at the Chicago Tribune, I only managed to get out as far as a few blocks in search of the right dinner venue with some friends on Friday night.

Next time I come here, I will have to leave more time for fun.

A Unique Evangelism Experience- The Billy Graham Library

2008-08-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

CHARLOTTE-- Well, the chance to see the special place dedicated to the career of Billy Graham came at the end of the day this past Monday.

It's taken me two days to get around to capturing the 90-minute experience in a posting. But, it almost requires more than one posting to really recount what it was like on the grounds.

The first mistake I made was arriving too late in the day to have the necessary time to go through all the exhibits. I was expecting a place with lots of books and perhaps a few displays. What I got was by far the most state-of-the-art testimony to world evangelism that I have ever seen.

I stress testimony because that's what the library is really all about. When I went through the entrance, I was directed to an area where five people began to share their testimonies of how Jesus came into their lives.

A talking cow actually greeted me- talking about the days of Billy Graham on a milk farm. Then, the cow encouraged me to proceed to the theatre for the videos.

It turned out to be the first of at least 4 such theatres that are located throughout the library where you can hear the voice of The Rev. Billy Graham as a narrator explains the significance of that phase of Graham's ministry.

The two biggest things I remember from those exhibits were the film ventures that Rev. Graham started (didn't know that he was a filmmaker too) and the story of how he met his late wife, Ruth Bell.

For a moment, I thought -- well if Rev. Graham can have such an encounter that leads him to his wife, what can't I? It's all about trusting God.

At the end of the visit, the five people who shared their testimonies each come back and finish their stories and end with an invitation for those visiting to accept Christ.

We were given cards to express our interest in accepting Christ. I re-dedicated my life to Jesus Christ and there was a prayer partner there to pray with me over my decision.

You can't help but re-dedicate yourself to your own ministry when you go through something like the Billy Graham Library. I came away with a bag of literature to read -- and a couple of CDs.

One of the biggest takeaways was a copy of Graham's latest book, The Journey and the magazine of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

After I have read these resources, I want to go back to the Library for another visit soon.

My first visit to Clemson University

2008-08-04T17:10:00.000-07:00

Clemson, SC-- For more than a decade, it's been just an exit off of Interstate 85 as I commuted between my home in Richmond, Va. and Georgia-- where I both worked (at WXIA-TV in Atlanta) and went to school (at the University of Georgia).

Today that exit was a destination enroute to my lunch venue-- Clemson University as I made my way to Charlotte, North Carolina.

I had a particular reason for wanting to visit Clemson this time. The athletic powerhouse has been a perennial backyard non-conference rival for the Georgia Bulldogs.

But, in less a month, the boys from my present academic home-- The University of Alabama Crimson Tide will have a season opener against the Tigers of the ACC (not to be confused with the Tigers of the SEC-- the ones on the Plains).

No, I didn't visit "Death Valley," the nickname for the Clemson Football Stadium (also the nickname for the LSU stadium).

This short 30-minute walk across the center of campus took me to none other than tha library-- and a gave me a chance to get a few photographs of this nice academic setting that is kind of off the beaten path.

Yes, if you're driving down I-85 or up I-85, you see the "Clemson University" signs. But, then you don't figure out until you're off the interstate that you have to drive 11 miles to get to Clemson and the campus, which is one of two major research universities in the Palmetto State. (The other is its arch in-state rival in the Midlands, the University of South Carolina in Columbia)

Because it hosts a convergence journalism conference each fall, I make the trek to the University of South Carolina at least once (last year I went twice) a year.

Check out one of my last postings from there.

Two big things I learned today on my short trip to Clemson-- it used to be a all-male military school and its location is kind of different-- in Pickens County, SC (I didn't realize there was a Pickens Gounty SC like we have a Pickens County AL) and it's near Sandy Springs, South Carolina.

I had fun visiting this ACC school. Now let's see what happens when the Tigers come down I-85 to meet the Crimson Tide August 30 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Gearing up for Billy Graham's Library

2008-08-03T21:43:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is a day I have anticipated for months-- the day I get to visit the new Billy Graham Library. Last summer, I watched like many Americans as one who is the greatest evangelist of our time, The Rev. Billy Graham, mourned the passing of his wife Ruth.

Her death came just a few weeks after the Billy Graham Library was dedicated in May 2007. In dedicating the library, Graham's son, Franklin, reminded us this is not a monument to Billy Graham, it's a place for ministry.

A few years ago, I wrote about the coverage of Billy Graham's New York crusade, one that was expected to be his last.

Every Saturday night on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, we can see vintage videos of Billy Graham Crusades. His message, some preached 30 years ago are as relevant today as they were then.

There are not many Americans who God has given influence with so many generations of leaders. He's called and deserves the title of "America's pastor."

Three former presidents-- President Bill Clinton ,President George H.W. Bush and President Jimmy Carter-- all attended that dedication.

15 months later, I'll have a chance to experience the ministry of the librsry.

I expect the Library will be a testament to this unique calling and unique ministry.

We'll update you from there tomorrow.

Road Trip Updates Begin Today

2008-08-03T12:12:00.001-07:00

As we start the next phase of Summer Break, we're hitting the road and posting from a number of locations online..

Here's the travel itinerary:

Monday, August 4 Billy Graham Library Charlotte, NC

Thursday, August 6 The Magnificent Mile Chicago, IL

Sunday, August 10 The NEW Newseum Washington, DC

Saturday, August 16 Blue Ridge Mountains Asheville, NC

We'll also do updates at points in between. More later today from our first stop on the road.

The Link Between Domestic Oil and Shield Law?

2008-07-31T10:09:00.000-07:00

Well, it was debated on the floor of the U.S. yesterday. But, to date, there is no Federal Shield Law.

According to the Society of Professional Journalists Web site, the Senators vote to proceed with S. 2035, the Senate version of the Free Flow of Information Act, only received 51 votes. 60 votes were needed.

The 43 U.S. Senators who voted against it, including the two from the Staet of Aalbama, we're told voted "NO" because they wanted to amend the bill for increased domestic oil and gas production.

A federal shield law would give journalists the right to refuse to reveal information and sources obtained during the newsgathering process with a few notable exceptions, including where national security is at issue.

We've got to continue to push for this. I guess I'll go online and contact my two U.S. Senators.

More Progress in Diversity with NBC Appointment

2008-07-29T05:14:00.000-07:00

What a great way to start my day-- with news of NBC's choice to succeed the late Tim Russert-- Mark Theis Whitaker, formerly of Newsweek Magazine, will be assuming the role of NBC Washington Bureau Chief.

The news was actually announced yesterday by officials at the Peacock network. It landed in my e-mailbox this morning in a message from Broadcasting & Cable Magazine.

What is particulary rewarding are the kind of qualities that Mark's superiors see in him, as were outlined in their statement. Here's what NBC President Steve Capus had to say about Mark Whitaker:

"the truth is, he is the ideal candidate for the job, and that was evident the minute we took stock of potential replacements. Mark's got all of the components that will assure his success -- a commitment to journalistic integrity, political savvy, a keen eye for the future and a management style that is inclusive and fair. He is exactly what the bureau needs."

Like many others (including on-air talent) who wear two hats in these lean, mean economic times in our industry, Whitaker will continue as senior vice president at NBC even as he assumes day-to-day management of Russert's beloved Meet the Press and election coverage.

In facts, holding both jobs is probably not a bad idea at all.

The timing of this announcement is uncanny, purely coincidental nonetheless. It came a day after the conclusion of the UNITY Journalists Convention days after results of a survey of 61 network-owned stations was released by National Association of Black Journalists.

Whitaker (at least at one time) was a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. I'm not sure if he still is. (Full disclosure: I am a member of NABJ)

According to the NABJ study, "Among 58 news directors, 17% were non-white: eight were African American, 1 was Hispanic and 1 was Asian. All the news directors of color worked for NBC or Fox."

Let's be clear-- we're talking about LOCAL STATION management and Whitaker will be a network manager. But, there's a related/key point here about diversity in those with decision-making authority-- those calling the shots, doing the hiring and firing.

Last week, the UNITY alliance of minority journalism organizations also launched its "Ten by 2010: Transforming Journalism Through Diversity Leadership" initiative.

The goal of "Ten by 2010" is to have 10 media companies commit to selecting at least one high-potential manager of color and to promote that employee to a senior management position by midyear 2010. Participants will receive customized training to help prepare them for specific senior level positions.

The first two companies to sign on were reportedly Gannett and The New York Times Company.

Technically, Whitaker has been at NBC in senior-level position since 2007. So he would not be counted in this new initiative.

In fact, were it not for Whitaker, NBC might not have committed to a most aggressive weeklong series of reports last November airing on its top-rated NIghtly News program, African American Women: Where They Stand.

While Whitaker certainly was not the only one responsible for a decision about the series, it certainly didn't hurt that he was a part of the discussion.

Value-Added Beyond Skin Color

Caution: This does not mean that just because a news manager is African-American that he or she will automatically push African-American issues.

The real value in Whitaker's ascension to the coveted leadership role at NBC's Washington Bureau is that in an historic election like we'll have this year with an African-American as a likely candidate from a major political party, there will be another African-American heading up the coverage at the nation's top television network.

But, Whitaker's multimedia background is also a value to add. As he described in a 2002 blog posting, Whitaker spent much of his career on the print side as the editor at Newsweek Magazine from 1998 to 2006.

Before joining NBC in 2007, he was VP and editor-in-chief of new ventures at Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive. The graduate of Harvard College, who worked on the famous Harvard Crimson, made history last decade as the first African American editor of major newsweekly in the U.S.

Not only does Whitaker bring this new media, digital ventures background, he also has been tried and tested through some pretty heated fires.

Many will remember the 2005 controversy where Newsweek ran an item in its Periscope section, based on a single anonymous source. The story said the U.S. military had desecrated the Quran in front of Muslim detainees in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba

Whitaker was the one who had to defend his journalists' decision in a barrage of media interviews. But, he got through that experience, landed on his feet.

It's that kind of experience that not a lot of journalists of color in high-profile positions have had. The journalists at NBC will, no doubt, be in the spotlight as they cover this campaign. Whitaker knows how to handle the attention.

Hopefully now you see why this week's announcement at NBC is that much more gratifying and inspiring for other black journalists like myself.

Having worked at two NBC affiliates producing local news programmed around Meet the Press, I considered Tim Russert a colleague. I even got a chance to meet him when he and his son, Luke, came to our Atlanta station, WXIA-TV, to do an edition of Meet the Press a few years ago. So, I was hit REALLY hard by his sudden death in May.

But, the bitterness of Russert's loss is little less painful now knowing that Russert's successor at the NBC Washington Bureau is such a seasoned journalist, who just happens to be an African-American brother.

Already one of at least two African-American VPs at NBC (Lyne Pitts heads up the network's strategic partnerships and production operation), Whitaker won't be the only African-American key manager at the NBC Washington bureau, which shares a building with its top-rated owned-and-operated station, WRC-TV. As I noted in a previous posting last week, Camille Edwards is the vice president of news for WRC-TV.

That's progress!

UNITY Presidential Forum-- What Really Happened

2008-07-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

Since my last posting, I had a chance to view in its entirety a tape recording of today's presidential forum at the UNITY Journalists convention. You sometimes get a completely different view of event after it has concluded than you get if you're reporting -- live blogging or posting as I was during or minutes after it is over.

You know, after watching this 43-minute affair, I've got to return to the same concerns I raised in my earlier posting two weeks ago about the value of an event like this for UNITY Journalists of Color.

During my live blogging this morning, I wondered if the four minority journalists groups were purposely rotating in asking questions. When it ended somewhat abruptly at 43 minutes after the hour, it was quite apparent why.

There was ONLY time for four questions from the audience. When you look at the tape and hear Suzanne Malveaux "tease" he topics of some of the four audience questions, it's quite clear that this was a carefully choregraphed, highly-produced forum, exactly the kind of event that many have criticized when it comes for live, made-for-TV campaign events.

Listening to some of the Barack Obama's answers, it was quite clear he was playing to the cameras, which took his message to the American voters instead of giving frank answers that he would have given in a closed-door, off-the-record session.

Presidential candidates don't have time to do off-the-record sessions, especially not after coming off a whirlwind trip to Europe and the Middle East. I doubt Obama would have bothered to show up if he was not going to be on in a live, televised event.

So, besides asking why John McCain did not agree to partipate, we have to ask what does UNITY Journalists of Color, Inc. get out of this?

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, one of the four minority journalist groups participated in this alliance.

We can answer that question by looking at the topics that were addressed by the "questioners" (designated representatives of NABJ, NAHJ, AAJA and NAJA)

Based on Brian Bull's question, we got one presidential candidate to articulate his position on reparations and apologies to minority groups.

Leonard Pitts' question forced Obama to clarify some of his positions on Muslims in the U.S.

It looks like at least one major newspaper has turned a story based on Pitts' question.

John Yang shined the spotlight on affirmative action and the presidential candidates' differeing positions on anti-affirmative action ballot initiatives.

And, Diane Solis' question about whether we should have more immigration allowed Obama to reiterate his position on immigration policy.

Besides these topics, many of which the hosts also asked follow-up questions, did we learn anything new?

Or, was that even the purpose of this gathering at the UNITY Convention? I'm trying to think if I had gone to the convention, would I have hung around to this forum on the last day of the conference and eventually come away feeling cheated?

The reality is most likely (and I have not spoken with officials at UNITY), CNN, by providing what it called "exclusive" live airing of this event, was in the driver's seat.

In reviewing the videotape, I noticed that Wolf Blitzer, host of the Sunday talk show, Late Edition (in which this program aired) had just enough time to do a quick "round-Robin" with his panel of reporters in the final 10-12 minutes of the hour. The show ended nice and neatly at 1 p.m.

As a TV producer, I am keenly aware of the timing necessary for a news broadcast.

But was that timing the BEST thing for the 6000 journalists of color? Our goal as journalists of color should not be to just ask the same questions that our colleagues ask, harp on the same issues over and over that our colleagues of the lighter hue address.

There's plenty of time for that. We've heard endless debates about immigration and the War in Iraq. The question about apologies for Native Americans began to go into NEW issues, which have received little or no coverage during the campaign.

Will there be a time for this kind of exchange?

Beyond the minority journalists' gathering, many of the American people are asking for more frank and honest exchanges between the candidates rather than made-for-TV network events (i.e. televised debate) that carefully orchestrated to only cover certain issues and, hopefully, win ratings.

Black in America- Obama-style

2008-07-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

Now that the much-talked about and anticipated presidential forum at the UNITY Journalists convention is over, we have to ask ourselves, what did we learn?

Well, at first, my response would be-- NOT MUCH.

Perhaps it was naive of me to think that the black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian-American journalists, who reportedly numbered 6000, at the UNITY Convention would plow some new ground today.

They stuck with the same basic questions any journalist would ask after a candidate returns from an overseas trip. (This I will address more in a separate posting later)

Instead, what we got was a reminder of what it means to be Black in America and run for political office.

There have been blacks in political office since the Reconstruction period. But, never before have we seen a high-profile political campaign involving an African American candidate as we do now with Senator Barack Obama.

That's why I noticed at three (3) times in this morning's questioning the Illinois Senator in answering questions fired back "why am I being asked that question" (Implying that his opponent was not asked that)

It's the whole concept of the double-standard where a candidate is treated differently from his opponent. Obama clearly believed the questions about his shifting positions on Iraq, his overseas trip and constant false reports of his being Muslim were questions that his opponent, Senator John McCain did not receive.

I am not saying that those questions were not fair questions-- but the fact that the candidate suggested he was being asked questions his opponent was not (being asked) raises the issue of how one's racial background influences the direction of a political campaign.

The "unknown" factor plays prominently in the debate about Obama's supposed shifting positions, the crowds and media interest in his trip to Europe and the Middle East and the discussions about his religious affiliation.

When a candidate of color tries to break the racial barrier, he or she can expect the "unknown" factor to bring with it a double standard in how his/her campaign is covered.

The questions by the journalists may be fair questions, but they are being asked because the candidate is different and that exposes the double standard-- treating a candidate differently.

It's just one key observation one can make as a result of today's forum at the UNITY Journalists Convention.

43 minutes later-- it's over

2008-07-27T09:42:00.001-07:00

Well, I thought this would last at least an hour. But, it's appparently over. Malveaux thanks Obama for taking the journalists' questions. And that's it.

Was this over-sold? Maybe CNN oversold it. I was expecting more.

11:40 Obama says "he's too black"

2008-07-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

Suzanne Malveaux asks about an encounter he had with NABJ last summer on whether he's "black enough"

Now Obama jokes that he's "too black"

11:38 On affirmative action

2008-07-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

The last question from the audience-- a member of the Asian American Journalists Association, John Yang (NBC News) asks Obama to respond on an affirmative action ballot issue..

On affirmative action...

Obama says: "It is not just a quota." It is acknowledging and taking into account some of the difficulties communities of color have had to deal with.

Affirmative action is not going to resolve the problems with Race in America.
There have been times when people have viewed affirmative action as a shortcut.
The Ward Connelley initiatives are designed to drive a wedge between people.

(He's an opportunity for aome additional reporting-- research)

11:33 Pitts' first question

2008-07-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

It looks like there is a rotation-- Leonard Pitts from the National Association of Black Journalists queries Obama about his distancing himself from Muslims in order to dispel rumors that he himself is a Muslim.

Obama says:
"This is a classic example of a No Win situation. I try to correct something that is false and people say why"

Obama responds:
"I just don't like the idea of somebody falsely identifying my religion. I suspect you wouldn't appreciate that either. If you were a Muslim and people sais you were a Christian, I suspect you would want to have that corrected too."

EXAMPLE #3- Double Standard. "I just ask that I am treated like other candidates"
when it comes to my religion

11:30 NAHJ gets the next question

2008-07-27T09:28:00.001-07:00

Wonder did UNITY plan the questions so that each of the four groups gets a chance to ask a question, in rotation. THe first question came from a NAJA member. The second from the an NAHJ member.

NAHJ member asks about immigration.

11:25 Should U.S. apologize to Native Americans?

2008-07-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

Wisconsin Public Radio journalist gets the first question. The question of apologies for past wrongdoings to minorities starts things off?

This questioner asked about apologies to Native Americans. This is particularly interesting given the ongoing debate about reparations for African-Americans.

Obama wants to meet regularly with tribal leaders. Obama throws in a statement about Native Americans -- for action, deeds.

"I'm more concerned about concerned about delivering a better life"

Suzanne takes a step further and brings in the reparations discussion.

Obama says schools in inner city and jobs for the poor is best reparations.

Obama: "Dealing with the legacy of discrimination will cost millions of dollars." All Americans need to be invested. How do we get every child to learn (applause)

11:20-- the first segment

2008-07-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

Looks like the moderators (not sure who the male co-moderator is) have focused primary attention on the foreign trip. They're planning to take questions from the audience now. IT will be interesting to see where the first audience (of journalists) questions fall in terms of topics.

11:18 a.m. CDT

2008-07-27T09:19:00.001-07:00

First commercial break-- We have the live feed-- on CNN.com, let's see what happens off-air.

11:16 a.m. Double Standard?

2008-07-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

OK-- from the first few answers, I hear a theme-- something that has come up twice in his answers. Obama's responding to questions about his foreign trip, questions about his remaining steadfast in his position on Iraq-- Why were those same questions asked of Obama? (on position on Iraq) McCain visited the same places after securing the GOP nomination. Obama acknowledges that he did his trip WELL. Audience applause.

11:10 Foreign policy credibility

2008-07-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

The ultimate question from the week-- does this trip make an impact on the perceptions of Obama's foreign policy expertise. It seems that's taken the focus in these first few minutes. Obama's statement that he knows what he's doing draws applause.

11:07 LONG Answer

2008-07-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

He's been speaking for almost 10 minutes just to answer the first question. Perhaps this long-form type of q-and-a is the way things will go.

11:05 What he's wearing

2008-07-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

Is it me, or have Obama moved away from the dark suit and red or blue tie with his appearances? I have seen more and more video of him wearing different colored suits this summer. During the debates (in the primary campaign), he used to wear the same colored suits.

A superficial question, perhaps, but one worth noting. He's wearing a tan suit and burgundy tie today.

11:02 Polite applause, a few cheers

2008-07-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

At least from the way he was received when he took the stage, it doesn't look like this is a pep rally. The first question is asking Obama to reflect on the trip.

10:59 a.m. CDT Malveaux to moderate

2008-07-27T08:59:00.000-07:00

We're minutes away from the start of the forum at UNITY. A familiar face in the presidential campaign, Suzanne MAlveaux (formerly of NBC) will be moderating the forum. She's doing a microphone check even as she hits air.

Obama Speaks At Unity- a Live Blogging Event

2008-07-27T06:41:00.000-07:00

The Timing of today's forum at the UNITY Convention presents an opportunity for storytelling in a format that is more and more common in Web journalism.

It's called live blogging. Instead of waiting until after an event has concluded, the blogger provides commentary as the event is happening.

The goal is not to digest it all, think and then post. Instead, the immediate reactions are sent like text messages. The short entries include time stamps and can provide an interesting reading experience after-the-fact for those who attended the event or those who missed it.

Today we will be live blogging as a viewer of the Obama event at the UNITY Convention.

You will be able to follow the postings as they will have the graphic that appears in this posting.

As the UNITY Journalists' media release indicated, this is one of the first national appearances Obama is making following his whirlwind trip to Europe and Middle East last week.

Obama as Jackie Robinson of our era?

2008-07-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's an Unusual Sunday morning for me. I'm on vacation and not in church as I would normally be heading at this hour-- Sunday School to be exact.

But today I will be watching the live transmission of Barack Obama's forum at the UNITY Journalists convention. What was originally billed as a forum with both presidential candidates has turned out to be an appearance by one of the candidates as the one of the culminating events of the convention.

I commented earlier on the concept of having a live televised forum versus an off-the-record session with minority journalists.

Now, the Associated Press this morning has moved an interesting advancer on the ethical dilemma facing minority journalists-- do we cheer or remain dispassionate, objective observers?

The article posted on Editor & Publisher's Web site quotes Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts (who was honored this week by the National Association of Black Journalists) as saying the following in the A.P. story:

"Barack Obama is the Jackie Robinson of our era," said Pitts, the columnist. "There's no getting around that, there's no asking people not to respond to that. ... Journalists are recruited from the human race. And as long as they're recruited from the human race they're going to have emotions, and they're going to have feelings."

Yes, I know who Jackie Robinson- the baseball player is. But, does the fact that an African-American making history allow us as journalists to step out of our role as reporters and writers, fair and balanced as we cover one of the biggest stories of 2008 or our lifetime?

I say NO, even for those of us who are not working in daily journalists. While some of my professor colleagues- at the university have actively campaigned for one of the presidential candidates, as a journalist teaching students how to objectively cover the news, I can't afford to be a groupie or a political advocate.

I would suggest my colleagues at the UNITY convention, even if they are not turning (or publishing) a story on today's Obama forum, will be wearing their professional journalists hats at today's forum. It's not a pep rally for Obama.

But the issue of race once again has introduced an interesting dilemma for journalists of color-- who might personally carry some pride in seeing a black candidate make it this far while at the same time recognizing the candidate deserves the same objective vetting as any political candidate to be the leader of the free world.

We'll see what happens today.

What We Saw About Blacks in America

2008-07-24T22:48:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of the CNN landmark documentary, Blacks in America, took a different approach than part 1. But, the end result was same-- a more complete picture of an aspect of society that often is uncovered.

Almost the entire first hour of tonight's installment focused on two African-American men who were attending Little Rock Arkansas' Central High at the same time as the school was being integrated.

For those of who did not live during the Civil Rights era, we often think of those figures from that era as being mythic and near-perfect because of their place in history.

What we saw in part two were two men who had the greatest intentions of achieving in spite of the color of the skin. Both eventually have achieved great things, but they are not without their imperfections.

Sometimes in television news, we want to focus on the extremes-- all good or all bad. In these brothers' stories on CNN's "Black in America" documentary we saw the good can also be sprinkled with the bad when the reality of raising a family in an imperfect world hits.

I could see myself in so many of the stories in this second installment. I vividly remember having a very heated discussion with my sisters at Howard University about the possibility of marrying outside of one's race. That issue came front-and-center in the experiences of one of the families features in the second installment.

Multimedia Journalism Milestone on CNN

2008-07-24T02:16:00.000-07:00

Those of us who research, teach, follow closely the area of media diversity have been eagerly awaiting what happened Wednesday night on CNN.

Black in America,a two-part documentary hit the airwaves and broadcast journalism with a slam.

I'm not usually one to lavish a media outlet with praise. But I think CNN's producers and photographers, the entire documentary staff deserve the pat on the back when you look at the breadth and depth reflected in Part I of this journalism effort.

According to Soledad O'Brien (who was interviewed on My Urban Report), the idea for the documentary was the brainchild of her bosses, Mark Nelson (Vice President and Senior Executive Producer of CNN Productions) and Jon Klein (CNN President).

I show those guys pictures because an important ingredient in a major effort like this is the commitment of management of staffing resources, man (or to be more politically correct "person" (hours) for months of reporting.

According to O'Brien the CNN Management felt that African-Americans were featured in coverage that was too shallow.

I agree. That's a problem with coverage of most racial minorities in this country.

The important thing to recognize, as it was indicated in CNN's promotions, this was not a show for African-Americans to see themselves.

It was a production for ALL Americans to see what their fellow citizens experience every day.

The sheer number of stories that were told in the two hours was unprecedented. And, the tensions and troubles that were unearthed in the interviews was exactly what was needed to tell the "full story."

My favorite story was one about the biracial couple-- The Rasmussens (I'm not sure I spelled their name correctly) who had a biracial son who identified with his white father, who told him he is actually both black and white.

The Rasmussens' struggle over the racial identity question is one that our entire nation will struggle with if, in fact, a man from biracial parents is elected to the White House.

While the over-the-air documentary was GREAT journalism-- the multimedia presentation of this story on CNN's Web site is worthy of note. The entire series of iReports from several historically black colleges is worth looking at.

After the special aired on Wednesday, I must have spent a couple of hours looking at the Web-only reports, extended interviews and the feedback.

That's after I watched the preview for the two-day documentary on iTunes last (Tuesday) night.

CNN has set the bar pretty high for part two.

We'll see what happens.

RTNDA: More Minority TV News Managers

2008-07-21T17:16:00.000-07:00

In what's become a mid-summer tradition for those of us concerned about diversity in the electronic news arena, RTNDA is out today with the latest snapshot of racial minorities in our nation's television and radio newsrooms.

The news looks pretty good-- 23.6 percent of local television news staffs are classified as "minority." That's up from just 21.5 percent in 2006.

Last year, African-Americans were the only racial group that saw an increase.

This year, the other racial minority groups showed progress with increases among Asian American, Native American and Hispanic Journalist in the electronic media.

The 2008 RTNDA/Hofstra University Annual Survey also showed the percentage of minority television news directors reached an all-time high of 15.5 percent, up from 10.9 percent in 2006.

This news is exemplified by several high-profile promotions for African-American news managers in major markets.

In Washington, DC, Camille Edwards, an African-American, was recently named VP/News at NBC owned-and-operated station, WRC-TV. She succeeds another African-American,
Vickie Burns (shown at the right), who moved to the nation's number-one Television Mrrket.

Burns is now Vice President of News & Content for WNBC as of March 2008. Burns leads the station's news initiatives and manages the distribution of that content across multiple platforms.

While I don't know either of these sisters. I have to give them props for making their way to top of the decision-making ladder in local news in their top-rated stations.

One African-American woman television manager I do know-- from a previous life as a news producer, Allison Hunter, has recently moved to the nation's number-two media market (from the number-three market, Chicago at WGN-TV) as the interim news director at KTLA-TV in Los Angeles.

Individual accomplishments aside, these recent managerial appointments demonstrate that NBC-Universal (owner of WRC and WNBC) and Tribune (owner of KTLA and WGN) have a pipeline going -- where they are able to maintain diversity in their top level newsroom management.

This is NOT to say that all newsrooms should have minority news directors. But, when you look around the table at that morning meeting-- you should see a diversity of faces that reflects the diversity of those whose stories will be told in the stations' newscasts.

Today's release of the latest RTNDA data suggests great progress. But, there's still a lot more to make.

Hate to See Brothers Acting Like This

2008-07-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

What a sad day for African-American men all over-- to see one of our leaders all over the airwaves having to apologize for disparaging remarks made about another brother.

Yes, I'm casting this in terms of race and gender.

Rev. "Keep Hope Alive" " I Am Somebody" Jesse Louis Jackson (I learned his full name in elementary school) apparently was caught talking privately about Senator Barack Obama when he thought his microphone at Fox News Channel was off, he reportedly made references to wanting to cut off part of the Senator's anatomy.

Conservatives bloggers like Ken Shepherd at NewsBusters have had a field day with this -- as have many of the tabloids.

I watched with interest as NBC first reported this story last night as a developing story (with NO VIDEO) on Nightly News. By the time the Today Show hit the air this morning, they had the sub-titled video so we could hear the remarks for ourselves.

Yes, it is a good story and had I been producing the morning news (as I did for more than five years) I would have prominently played it in my newscast as well. But, that's beside the point. The media are simply doing their job.

This report by Lee Cowan, updates the controversy.

Strictly from the perspective of another black man-- I'm just of the opinion that you don't talk about another brother -- who you supposedly support-- behind his back.

As men, we have to be willing to confront our brothers when we think he's/they're wrong-- and deal with the issue.

I think Rev. Jackson handled this the wrong way-- choosing to gossip about it with yet another man of color in a public place.

I'm all for free speech. But, if you have a beef with a brother confront him on it-- debate him on it-- publicly, even. Then, let it go.

There's a policy difference here between Rev. Jackson and Senator Obama on individual responsibility vs. government accountability.

Should the government (i.e. through faith-based initiatives) be pouring money into churches to solve problems or should be problems be settled from within the communities where they occur?

His political motives aside, Obama's call on Father's day for men to be better fathers was a timely message. His acknowledgement at a predominantly black church that too many fathers are AWOL is the truth. Just look at the number of single moms in our churches today.

But, that's old news. Obama's speech is old news. Even the reactions to his Father's Day speech by people like Dr. Marc Lamont Hill (Temple University American Studies professor)are old news.

"What I don't want Barack to do is let the government off the hook." Hill said in an appearance on The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel.

Hill tried to articulate the position that Jackson has -- noting the "structural and societal issues" and "draconian child support policies" that might explain absentee fathers.

I applaud him for bringing out those issues while trying to see Obama's points about individual responsibility.

This is the way that black men ought to be handling their business. Use the public square-- bring the issues front-and-center.

Don't relegate them to disparaging remarks in private.

I understand why Rev Jackson had to apologize. I'm glad Obama's campaign accepted the apology.

What happened this week reflects poorly on all African-American men. Yes, I know those from other races also bad-mouth, demean and criticize others behind their back.

But, when there are so few of us out here in the spotlight, it behooves us to take the higher road.

CNN a Hindrance at UNITY?

2008-07-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

Just read that CNN is going to broadcast the Presidential Candidates' session at the UNITY Journalists gathering in Chicago this month live.

No, it's not breaking news! That information was provided in a June 4th press release. But, what happens if we take time to think about this for a moment.

For those who don't know, every four years, the National Association of Black Journalists (of which I'm a member), the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Native American Journalists Association and the Asian American Journalists Association meet simultaneously. That allows them to hold some "joint sessions" at times during their respective annual conventions.

Each of the four journalist groups has its own schedule for the week of July 23-27.

This will be the four such gathering of the alliance callled UNITY Journalists, Inc. The practice began in 1994. The organization's Web site has more about previous UNITY gatherings.

In the past, the presidential candidates or sitting presidents have made it point to address these groups of journalists.

But, 2008 is different. We've never had so many presidential debates during a primary season. The candidates ran the risk of "overexposure," if that was possible during that period this past spring.

After watching (and often videotaping for personal playback later) 80% of the debates during Democratic and Republican Party nomination processes -- the primary season-- I'm just wondering how productive an exchange journalists will have if it's a "made for TV event."

While we may not see CNN's Wolf Blitzer moderating, and pauses for photojournalists to get their photos, bringing in the live cameras for wall-to-wall coverage introduces a dynamic that may not allow for the most frank exchange with the two men who want to succeed G.W. Bush in the White House.

The presence of live cameras totally changes the environment for how reporters relate to high-profile sources like presidential candidates.

It would be naive of me to think that an "off-the-record" session with journalists would be useful or even possible at this stage of the presidential race.

The candidates probably only agreed knowing that there would be an audience of millions watching and that they would be in the presence of a highly-intelligent, keen mostly minority group.

I suppose there is benefit in showcasing UNITY to millions of Americans.

But, I'm a big fan of journalists being able to get insights on "background only" sessions. Is that even feasible with such a large group of journalists at once?

So, is CNN a hindrance or a help to what UNITY is trying to accomplish?

The Black Blogger's Manifesto

2008-07-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

Accepting the fact that web logs (e.g. blogz) are not a passing fad but a viable medium for the exchange of ideas, where does the element of race or ethnicity play in these exchanges?

Ever since the early 1800s, the black press has been portraying alternative images of African American life, setting the issues of African Americans on the public's agenda and operating as a catalyst for change. These news outlets were the medium of exchange of ideas.

Even as hundreds of these newspapers still play this role today, the World Wide Web is a 21st century medium of exchange of ideas. Free of charge and easy to launch, Web logs have become one of the most democratic means of exchange on the World WIde Web.

Often these exchanges are over ideas that directly involve, impact or influence African-Americans. What, then, does the African-American participant in these exchanges offer that is DIFFERENT from what might be found elsewhere.

I suggest TEN (10) such things that black bloggers can and should bring to the table in their involvement in the blogosphere:

1. Black Bloggers bring a perspective colored by their own experience as a member of a historically under-represented group.

2. Black Bloggers challenge the stereotypes about the "black" point of view.

3. Black Bloggers set the stage for a rational exchange of ideas.

4. Black Bloggers promote the under-promoted within our communities.

5. Black Bloggers position the issues of the day in the context of history and offer depth where it might not otherwise exist.

6. Black Bloggers strive for the utmost in accuracy in anything they post.

7. Black Bloggers reflect the fairness of those who acknowledge multiple sides of an issue or experience while championing their own posittion.

8. Black Bloggers exercise restraint when passing along information not properly vetted or verified for its legitimacy.

9. Black Bloggers carry the spirit of black Press whenever they post.

10. Black Bloggers see the educational role they play as paramount to their practice.

DEVELOPED by Dr. George L. Daniels
July 5, 2008

Premature Panic on Minority Jobs?

2008-07-05T12:22:00.001-07:00

This week the National Association of Black Journalists, of which I am a member, issued a strongly worded statement -- an open letter to those in the newspaper industry.

"Let this serve as an open letter to the entire industry: NABJ will hold you accountable if you do not consider diversity in your hiring and, particularly, firing practices," the statement read.

Issued the day before the 4th of July holiday, the statement probably has yet to be read by many who have been away for the holiday.

But, will it make a REAL difference? So what the NABJ will hold you accountable.

What about my fellow colleagues in the electronic media? Any day now, the Radio-Television News Directors Association will release its annual diversity census.

A year ago, that census showed overall minority employment in radio and television newsrooms had dropped back to 21.5 percent (from 22.2 percent the year before).

But, the number of black journalists in radio and TV increased.

Will we see the same thing this year? Is the crisis just far worse for newspapers and that's why the NABJ hit the panic button, sounded the alarm or whatever other cliche we want to use?

It seems to me that the NABJ and other sister organizations in the UNITY group-- NAHJ, AAJA and NAJA-- should get a fuller picture of the industry before sounding such an alarm. The strategies used to get the attention of those at the nation's newspapers may have to change. Perhaps this is a topic that will be discussed at the upcomign UNITY Journalists Quadrennial convention in Chicago.

Perhaps it's the organizations' memberships that will have to change. Maybe more of the newspaper/print journalists will have re-tool or re-make themselves to be more multimedia in this multimedia age. I realize this is an ongoing discussion. But, I just have to believe that change from WITHIN may be just as important as change outside of minority journalism groups.

It's a different day, a different time. The tools we use to diversify the media industry have to be different as well.

The Four Pillars of the NAACP

2008-07-05T11:56:00.000-07:00

I thought the way the president-elect of the NAACP articulated the organization was particularly interesting.

He says the NAACP is a house with FOUR Pillars-- the Black Church, the Black Press, the Black businss community and the membership of the civil rights group itself.

Himself a black journalist who once headed the National Newspaper Publishers Association, Benjamin Jealous, presented this picture of the NAACP at last month's NNPA Merit Awards dinner in Louisville, KY.

It seems to me that if the Black press are, in fact, collectively acting as a pillar of the NAACP, then these mostly weekly newspapers, radio stations, and a handful of television stations and cable networks won't be going away any time soon.

Can we define "press" as multimedia in 2008? We should. But, I'm sure there are some who see the "black press" as exclusively newspapers, just as it has been in historical terms.

Increasingly, the online dialogue in places like BlackAmericaUSA.com, blackpressusa, blackplanet.com is really an extension of the Black Press.

Many of these black-oriented newspapers have yet to step full force into the World Wide Web. Yet, they are not reach an audience that goes online to debate, dialogue and get up-to-speed on what's happening to others who look like them.

So, we have to define "black press" more broadly-- and if we link that to Mr. Jealous' definition of the NAACP, these outlets are by definition integrated into the civil rights movement of 2008.

As an NAACP member, a black journalist and a Christian very involved in a predominantly black church, I stand on three of the four pillars.

This latest news from Mr. Jealous certainly further explicates a point he made and I commented on in an earlier posting on the day after his appointment to the top job at the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization.

We'll likely hear more from Mr. Jealous later this month as the NAACP starts its own convention in my old stomping ground, Cincinnati, Ohio.