Experiencing Northern Nevada

RENO, Nev-- As I've posted over on my comjexchange blog, I'm in Reno, Nevada today finishing up a four-day visit to the nothern part of the silver state.

This photo hardly tells the story.

More later.

George Curry heads to Tuscalooosa

After being here in Tuscaloosa for four years, I am finally going to meet one of the town’s most well-known native sons.

George Curry, editor of the now-defunct Emerge magazine, is coming back to speak at the University of Alabama on Monday.

I’ll say this particular visit is one I had hoped we would have years ago when George and I exchanged e-mails right after I moved here from the University of Georgia.

Curry was candid about the history of Tuscaloosa and the lines that in the past have sometimes divided its residents.

His insight gave me a context to understand the recent debates over the location of the new Central High School.

In many ways, Curry and I have had similar paths—not just as journalists or black men who’ve lived (and I assumed loved) being in the nation’s capital. And, not JUST because we both have the same first name.

Back in his days at the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Curry was instrumental in reaching back to high schools. He was the founding director of the St. Louis Minority Journalism Workshop. He subsequently started a similar workshop in Washington, DC.

I frequently sing the praises of these Dow Jones Newspaper Fund workshops because of what I know they do for diversity in the newsroom and specifically for the role one played in my own life.

Of course, just yesterday, I commented on the recent court decision involving the Dow Jones Fund’s use of name “minority” in those workshop names.

Curry realized as I have that as African-American journalists, we have a responsibility that goes far beyond getting the story or putting out a newspaper or television show.

He remembers the role journalists can and should have in making a difference—a lasting difference.

Just ask one of my home girls, Kemba Smith, whose minor role in a drug ring while at Hampton University landed her in prison because of the federal government’s “mandatory minimum” drug policy. With a brother at Hampton University, this story was one in which I had a lot invested. The Smiths were a big part of our community in Richmond.

I could go on and on about why George Curry is one of the best in the business.
In the pre-Viacom days when Black Entertainment Television was owned and run by Bob Johnson, there was a program called “Lead Story,” that featured African-American journalists talking about issues in the news for the week.

Seeing Curry, who now runs the National Newspaper Publishers Association and BlackPressUSA.com, on that show was how I got to know this native of Tuscaloosa.

After Black Entertainment Television became part of Viacom, it was not long before the public affairs programs like Lead Story were canceled.

Richard Prince’s JOURNAL-ISMS recounts more about what happened.

Curry, in fact, commented on the decision to kill not only Lead Story, but also two other public affairs programs in a story on his NNPA News Service.

“An African-American company gains a considerable amount of capital when it sells out to a powerful conglomerate,” said Curry, who was a panelist on “Lead Story” for more than seven years. “But it also loses something important. Regardless of how BET tries to spin it, the loss of these important programs represents a major setback for the Black community.”

Curry has tried to resurrect Emerge magazine, which went under in 2000. I hope on Monday we’ll learn more about those efforts and what he’s doing at BlackPressUSA.com.

Fed Court: Open up minority journalism workshops

It is official: if you’re white and can prove that your race is the only reason you’re not being allowed to take part in a summer journalism program at an academic institution, you can sue and force the institution to admit you.

Yes, the way I’ve stated this is a little inflammatory. But, for good reason. Fortunately, civil rights laws don’t allow discrimination based on one’s race in any scenario.

Last summer, Virginia Commonwealth University clearly erred in disinviting a white student who had been admitted to its Urban Journalism Workshop allegedly because the workshop organizers learned she was not a minority student. Read more about the case in this story from the Commonwealth Times.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported this week that ”the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund agreed to cease operating summer journalism programs solely for minority students.”

Since when has Dow Jones been operating any programs solely for minority students?
While focused on increasing the presence of racial minorities in the nation’s newsrooms, the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund has never PROHIBITED a non-minority student from taking part in the workshops it funds.

Up until now, as a private organization, it could encourage those organizing the 10-day or two-week summer programs often held on public university campuses, to do targeted recruitment aimed at students of historically under-represented racial groups.

According to The Chronicle, “Dow Jones agreed to open up its programs to
members of any racial or ethnic group and to rename the programs to drop
references to minority members.”

The language (i.e. “open up) used in this story assumes that the programs had been closed or exclusionary. It even listed my institution among those that were “involved in the race-exclusive Dow Jones programs last summer.”

If you click here, you will see the photos of some of our students in the 2006 workshop at the University of Alabama . I remember getting to know Nick Persac as we sat together at the opening night banquet as the legendary Merv Aubespin socialized this group of outstanding young journalists into the intensive experience of a Dow Jones workshop.

Nick ended up enrolling here at Alabama for a semester. But, he was not part of a “race-exclusive program.” We don’t run such programs here at the University of Alabama.

Here at the University of Alabama, we renamed our workshop, which is now in its 24th year, several years ago. Since 2003, when we began calling our program the Multicultural Journalism Workshop, we’ve had several outstanding white students like Nick to apply and be admitted to our program.

I know this much because as a co-director of the 2004 workshop, I made the visits to high schools inviting students of all races to come and experience journalism for two weeks at one of the nation’s premiere journalism schools.

I feel a special connection to this whole Dow Jones controversy because I credit the Urban Journalism Workshop at Virginia Commonwealth University with being the SINGLE turning point in my decision to pursue a journalism career. I have to wonder if a white person had sued to force his or her admission into the 1986, would I as an African-American male have had a chance to get turned on to journalism?

I think the answer is “YES.” I had been diligent enough during my freshman and sophomore years in working on my high school newspaper and yearbook and was a strong enough student academically that I would have been admitted regardless of whether white students were in my program.

The point is—this is not about keeping students from any racial group out of a summer journalism experience like the Dow Jones workshop. It’s about how far some will go to push their political agenda under the guise of “Individual Rights.”

The real issue is not one person’s individual rights, it’s the effort to the nation still needs to make to go out of its way to diversify our nation’s newsrooms. The latest figures from the American Society of Newspaper Editors the percentage of minorities working in newsrooms is still only 13.87 percent.

Organizations like the Center for Individual Rights don’t seem to be concerned about that.

“Today's [Feb. 15] settlement saves the taxpayers significant legal expense and
ensures that this summer's programs will be open to all, regardless of
race," said Terence J. Pell, president of the Center for Individual Rights.

Thanks Center for Individual Rights for reinforcing what many Dow Jones Newspaper Fund workshops already do. Now, what about that 13.87 percent of minorities in newspaper newsrooms? How do we increase that number now?

Assuming, everyone has a RIGHT to participate in a Dow Jones Newspaper Fund workshop, where are the funds to increase the number of seats so that the Dow Jones program can have at least equal the impact it has had on the industry during the last quarter century?

The struggle continues!

AJC editor: Blogs don't offer "core knowledge"

The irony in this web log is sometimes the postings speak against the very medium that I am now using to disseminate information, the web log.

The number-two man at one of the nation’s largest newspapers questions the public’s reliance on what we say on Web logs.

Hank Klibanoff, managing editor of The Atlanta Journal Constitution, was in Tuscaloosa Tuesday to sign copies of his new book, The Race Beat: The Press, The Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation. Here's a review of the book.

Along with calling for journalism professors like myself to focus on teaching the core values of the news-producing medium, Klibanoff questioned just how much stock the public puts in what it reads in the so-called blogosphere or what people read on web logs like this.

“The American people will not accept that as core knowledge they need to make decisions,” Klibanoff said.

It was an interesting take on the role of journalists today, which Klibanoff said must be produced by journalists who “write what they see” and aren’t afraid to hold those in government accountable and to “challenge the obvious.”

Klibanoff’s book signing coincided with the opening of a new exhibit at the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library on the University of Alabama Campus.

“They Came.. They Saw.. They Reported: Images from the World Press Coverage of Segregation’s Last Stand” focuses on the storytellers of the 1963 event for which Governor George Wallace is most remembered.

The photos were taken by UA Professor Emerita Camille Elebash, who witnessed Autherine Lucy’s attempt to role in the University in 1956. Elebash’s photos were published in The Graphic, “Tuscaloosa’s County’s Home Newspaper”

From occasional blogger to Power blogger?

I've lost an hour (time I was supposed to working something else) reading through and digesting a posting on another blog about the so-called "Power blogger."

Thanks to fellow blogger and journalism professor Anthony Moretti for the tip.

How is a power blogger defined? And, what makes one blog better than another?

In this article, 12 Posts a day was mentioned-- posting constantly and finding a particular niche.

Last year, I was good if I made 12 posts in a few months' time.

Guess I haven't fully embraced the technology. In order to make a dozen posts in one day, one really has to be almost a full-time blogger like Romanesko whose multiple posts are read by dozens of journalists.

In the process of reading about Power blogging, I just learned that Mark Whitaker has moved from the role of editor-in-chief of Newsweek to the chief of new ventures for The Washington Post.

It's all one big company (Washington Post Company), but this clearly appears to be a real future-looking transition for Whitaker.

He was interviewed by BEET TV at the recent Always On conference.

"The future of journalism whether it's in print or online is everybody figuring out where they add value," said Whitaker.

Based on this statement, I have to ADD value when I'm blogging if this is part of that forward-looking journalism that I'm trying to teach in my classes.

Whitaker described the fact that so many news organizations in the U.S. report the same stuff and thus, add little to the public's overall understanding of an issue or event.

Power blogger? No, not anywhere close. But, adding value-- now THAT's something I think I can do.

Bush visits my home state

It was kind of neat to know that the President of the United States was in my home state today-- not that the White House is that far from Virginia.

I'm looking forward to returning to Richmond for spring break in a little over a month from now. Trouble is, I'll miss all the political fun that those who like to watch the political scene get to engage in when in the former capital of the Confederacy.

During our winter break, we got to read about, be close to the political changeover in Congress.

I miss a lot that working here in the deep South. Alabama has it's own quirks and qualities, but there's no place like the Old Dominion. I miss it and can't wait to get back next month.

Oh yeh, this posting was supposed to be about President Bush visiting Williamsburg. I just read the Associated Press story on the Virginian Pilot's Web site.

Guess I'll have to tune in to C-SPAN to see what else happened in Williamsburg today.

Terry Moran vs. a talking head

My latest analysis of Terry Moran's Web log actually brings to mind a point about the difference between what are often called "talking heads" and a working journalist like Mr. Moran.

If you look at the postings on Moran's web log, you can see serious commentary as he is drawing on his experiences as a journalist, not just spouting off his opinion (as I guess I'm doing on this blog).

In fact, Moran is very careful to leave his opinion OUT Of his web log. Instead, providing just enough depthy (an academic term that says more than "deep") analysis to provoke a reader's response.

This week I've been struck by the discourse on the two black Super Bowl coaches and in particular, the programs on some of the cable networks.

Originally, I was going to do a follow-up posting on that subject, which I addressed a few days ago. But, when I downloaded the transcripts of some of these shows and really read through them, I was unimpressed.

Earlier this week, I had a chance to chat with a recruiter/instructor from the Columbia School of Journalism. She was lamenting the idea of talking about blogs when she's read so many uninspiring blog postings of some of her students. We were chatting about whether blogging ought to be incorporated in our journalism instruction.

I've based my own enthusiasm for this medium on the great things I've read on journalists' blogs and opportunities I've had to report on things I've witnessed, often on events the local media won't cover.

That said, I see that often these talking heads on the cable network shows have very elaborate Websites promoting their books, media appearances and on-air ventures. But, their postings and on-air comments are uninformed, superficial and often not worth my time.

I guess I should just turn the channel right? Well, it's not that easy.

If the discussion is on a subject about which I care a great deal, I want to see people engaging on the subject who have done the research and are well-informed on the subject.. not just there to debate the other side and then go home.

I suppose the reality here is that those talk shows are designed primarily to showcase the extremes in a debate, not provide substantive insight on key issues of the day. For that, I have to go to my fellow journalists, who instead of telling us what to think, tell us what IS and WHY it IS. Then, the rest is up to us.

Before we as journalists (working and semi-working) and journalism professors totally embrace Web logs as a news medium, we have to take a more critical look at what's being offered online. I think that's what I tried to do with Moran's blog.

Perhaps this process goes without saying.

I think it might be worth a mention.

Update on Terry Moran's blog

Well, after a couple of weeks, ABC News' Terry Moran’s online musings are growing on me.

The web blog is called PUSHBACK and it's giving ABC viewers and interested parties additional access to thoughts of this network news anchor/reporter.

Based on previous experiences with ABC News, I was quite skeptical of Moran's move into the blogosphere in an earlier posting.

While he is not engaging with every individual posting, he is reading the feedback and using that as a springboard for further postings.

That’s the challenge with this blogging thing-- what do you write about every day? It’s no different than having a regularly-published newspaper column.

During the month of January 2007, I’ve been posting more to this web log than I did all of last year (2006).

What did I learn from reading back through Terry’s postings today? Well, for one, I picked up on a story I missed about a New York Times reporter who was reprimanded.

That’s definitely an example I’ll use in my journalism class this week. I learned a lot more about War Correspondent Ernie Pyle, about whom I previously knew very little. (Yes, I’ve heard for Ernie Pyle before and been to Ernie Pyle Hall, home of the Indiana University School of Journalism).

So, I think Terry’s pricked my curiosity enough to keep reading his blog and adding to my own.

I’ll admit I didn’t watch ABC Nightline at all last week. Ultimately, that’s why the news networks are encouraging their staffers to enter into the blogosphere. They want to drag interested parties back in front of the TV to watch their shows. It’s a strategy that certainly works on me.

So, Terry Moran, in case you’re reading this—I like the blog, so far!

Tuscaloosa News re-design, TuscTube go live

A big day for the online department of The Tuscaloosa News as its re-designed Website went live earlier today.

Business reporter Matt Hawk did a story about the launch.

It's the second big change this week for The Tuscaloosa News, which launched Tuscaloosa News JOBS TV on Monday. You can watch the video service with job announcements from 7:00 to 7:30 each morning on WVUA-TV or online anytime on the TNews site.

The re-design comes only few weeks after the TNews' North Alabama sister publication, TimesDaily did its own re-design.

More than the re-design, the new Website features-- RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and TuscTube are my favorites. Now if I shoot video of a West Alabama event, I'll be able to share some of it with friends video this local version of the infamous YouTube site.

I think West Alabama news gathering and citizen journalism took a major leap forward today. Earlier on my COMJEXCHANGE blog, I commented on the citizen blogging that one can do on the TNews site. That should only get bigger.

Congrats to the Dwayne Fatheree, Steve Mullen and all the online staffers for successful launch.

Looking for great things from them in the next few months.

Update on Seale Case

After taking such a prominent role in reporting the initial arrest of James Ford Seale last week on federal charges of kidnapping and conspiracy, looks like the Clarion-Ledger has buried the breaking developments on its Web site.

As of 8:30pm central time tonight, the Clarion-Ledger still had a story from Sunday's newspaper prominently displayed in its section of the site on "the Forgotten killings."


But, Jackson's historic NBC affiliate WLBT-TV, reports that Seale was denied bond Monday by a federal magistrate in Jackson as its lead story.

Granted, the hearing happened earlier this morning, but the issue of bond seems to be important enough play it ahead of the Miss Mississippi story that leads the Web site this evening.

Channel 3 actually included a video clip from its 6pm newscast with its story.

Prosecutors said Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee, both 19, were seized and beaten by Klansmen, then thrown into the Mississippi River to drown.

Defense attorneys have filed a motion to get the case dismissed.

Clarion-Ledger Journalist Makes a Difference

I'm still catching up on this case. But, the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi deserves a LOT OF PRAISE today for what happened in a Mississippi courtroom.

A reputed Ku Klux Klansman accused in the 1964 slayings of two black men pleaded not guilty today.

71-year-old James Ford Seale was arrested yesterday on federal charges of kidnapping and conspiracy.

Prosecutors said Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee, both 19, were seized and beaten by Klansmen, then thrown into the Mississippi River to drown. Asked in 2000 if he had anything to do with the crime, Seale replied, "I ain't in jail, am I?"

Tonight he IS in jail. And, reporter Jerry Mitchell is being credited with helping the case through his work as a journalist.

Read more about the background on the case here.

Mitchell was interviewed in a story on tonight's CBS Evening News.

In his only known media interview, Seale in 2000 expressed confidence to The Clarion-Ledger that he would dodge

charges. Asked what he would tell authorities pursuing the case, Seale replied, "Have at me. They don't have any more than you have right now - which is nothing."

Seale blamed the newspaper for talk of reprosecution. "You don't have anything better to do but to stir this stuff up," he said. "You've got to write a story and put a bunch of garbage in it and write a catchy headline so it will sell."

In 2000, the FBI reopened the case after the newspaper reported federal charges were possible since Dee and Moore were beaten in a national forest.

Still following this story. But, it's exciting to see a journalist's work make a major difference in a long-standing civil rights case.

Anniston Star Editorializes on Super Bowl Coaches

ANNISTON-- Time to follow-up on my posting earlier this week about the black head coaches at the Super Bowl.

Even as I post this update from the other side of Alabama in the city named for "Annie's town," I am reading tonight that The Anniston Star on its editorial pages spotlighted the two black NFL coaches that will be on the sidelines next month in the Super Bowl.

In today's editorial, the Star writes "This year's Super Bowl won't stop discrimination. It is, after all, only a game. But maybe it will signify another rung on the ladder to equality, another illustration to those who have high-paid oaches that qualified black coaches shouldn't be considered simply because of their skin color."

Enough said.

Terry Moran is a Blogger: And??

It must be "in" to be a blogger these days. Tonight at the end of his Nightline broadcast, ABC Nightline anchor Terry Moran announced "on a personal note" that he had started a blog.

OK, I'll admit, I've been very skeptical of the trio anchoring Nightline strategy since it began just over a year ago.

More importantly, Nightline (and many of the other network programs)are notorious for feigning interest in viewer INPUT when in fact most of the communication is one-way.

They send e-mails "promoting" their newscasts and then make it clear "WE CANNOT RESPOND TO ALL E-MAILS"

Thus, the online interaction that's supposed to occur really is nothing more than another outlet for ONE-WAY communication (just like TV).

Like many discussion boards, the ABC Nightline discussion boards are notoriously uninspiring. And, most busy people don't have time to wade through all the chatter.

So, I REALLY wonder if Terry Moran intends to offer his comments ON VIEWER comments or if this is just cross-promotion using the Web.

One thing he can start with is a more down-to-earth vocabulary. "Uxorial?" What does that mean?

Pardon my limited vocabulary, but I had to pull out my Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary to figure out that "uxorial" means "of or relating to wife."

It works as his blog posting is about Hillary Clinton's candidacy and its connection to her spouse. But, do we really want to use words that alienate?

About the show, I was not WATCHING as much as I listening to tonight's show as it was going on in the other room-- but I heard the multiple pieces picking over Bush's State of the Union address.

I STILL WONDER if an interview segment would not have been a little more appropriate for tonight?

When Cynthia McFadden, Martin Bashir and Terry took over after Ted Koppel retired, I was not a fan of the EXTENDED ABC World News Tonight pieces. Lately, though, some of them have been quite good. I taped TWO broadcasts recently.

Still, I think even though the cable networks and the broadcast networks had interviews, ABC Nightline would have been well-served to do an extended interview with unlikely figure who could provide unusual insight on the State of the Union.

Much focus was given in the pieces tonight to the alternative fuels discussion and the available of the raw materials for alternative fuels in Alabama. IT might have been neat to have one of the scientists from Alabama do a talkback from Alabama about the reference to these fuels. I realize this was also talked about LAST YEAR in the 2006 address.

I'm not sure anyone will read these musings. But, the jury is still out on Terry Moran as a blogger. He's an experienced journalist. But can he REALLY blog?

As the cliche goes, "only time will tell."

Race Matters: Historic SuperBowl Matchup is BIG!

Much has been said these last couple of days about the historical significance of two black coaches meeting in the upcoming Super Bowl.

Not only did USA Today spotlight the possible match-up between the Indianapolis Colt’s Tony Dungy and the Chicago Bears’ Lovie Smith, but now that the two teams are officially in, there was even talk about it on National Public Radio this morning and the Birmingham-based Paul Finebaum Radio Network.

I actually sat in my car when I got to the University of Alabama campus this afternoon long enough to hear some of the commentary from callers on the Finebaum Radio Network.

It seemed like Paul Finebaum was dismissing much of the hype about the historical significance – as something more important to older folks who lived in a time when such a match-up between two black male head NFL coaches would have been unheard of.

As a 36-year-old (soon to be 37) African-American male, I can certainly say there is a certain amount of pride that comes with seeing Dungy and Smith on the sidelines. They’ve both accomplished something no other “brothers” have done before.

I don’t have to know either of them to know that somewhere along the way they’ve experienced what I’ve experienced as an African-American male in an unusual or unconventional role for others with my skin color.


The pride in seeing Dungy and Smith is no less than my pride when two coaches at my alma mater, the University of Georgia are mentioned. Athletic Director Damon Evans and Basketball Head Coach Dennis Felton also broke the color barrier in their jobs.

Yes, we can be full of pride while appreciating the time that we’re slowly reaching when these differences won’t matter.

Today they STILL matter. Whether Dungy or Smith’s team wins the Super Bowl, the event in my book is ALREADY a WINNER!

Tuscaloosa Kicks Off King Day 2007

Even though it meant starting out a little earlier than I would normally would on a Monday morning, I managed to get up and arrive nearly on time at a 7am breakfast in West Tuscaloosa in honor of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Coming from Richmond, Va., where Community Learning Week is one of the nation’s biggest celebrations of King’s birthday, second only to Atlanta, I find it hard to believe some people will in good conscious do nothing to mark the occasion.

Here in Tuscaloosa, the local chapter of Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King founded, takes charge of a series of activities known as “Unity Day Celebrations” that in addition to the breakfast, include a unity march and mass meeting.

Before enjoying the breakfast of scrambled eggs, grits, bacon, sausage and biscuits, eleven community leaders and elected officials made quick two-minute greetings to the crowd of more than 300 in attendance.

They included representatives from Tuscaloosa’s three higher education institutions, both Tuscaloosa County and City Schools, the NAACP and the local and state chapters of the SCLC.

One of the speakers noted that today is the first celebration of King’s birthday without either the late civil rights leader and his wife, Coretta Scott King, who passed away last February.

“Mrs. King played a major role in why we’re here today,” said Cordell Wynn, special assistant to the president of Shelton State Community College. Wynn was a member of Montgomery’s Dexter Avenue Baptist Church (now Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church) when King was the pastor.

“It was always a pleasure to greet her as much as it was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We honor her as we honor her husband”

It’s little tidbits like that from those who step out of history, who knew Dr. King that make attending events like those held today worthwhile for those of us who were not alive during the civil rights era.


As is the case with so many of these events, the majority of those attending were 50 and up. Granted they are in a much better position to recognize the significance of the stock markets, federal and state governments and schools all being closed to honor Dr. King. But, so many more people should acknowledge the only federal holiday named for an African-American.

It’s not only about what happened in the past, but also what’s to come in the future—some of those events here in Tuscaloosa certainly include an element of race—the line that divided so many in the lifetime of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Today locked arm-and-arm singing the familiar civil rights song, “We Shall Overcome,” Tuscaloosa’s black and white residents and dozens of their elected officials ( Police Chief Chuck Swindol and Mayor Walt Maddox, School Superintendents Frank Constanzo, Joyce Levey to name a few) showed how far we have come in crossing that racial divide in this city.

At the same time, many of those speaking reminded those in attendance of how far we have to go.

“I don’t care who disagrees with me. Times aren’t as bad as they used to be. But, we ain’t free,” said Willie C. Jones, pastor of Tuscaloosa’s Bailey Tabernacle CME Church. “We are in troubled times when youth don’t have hope.”

Jones gave the keynote address this morning, which he entitled “Hold On To Your Hope.” He touched on many issues still facing Tuscaloosa today: teen pregnancy, hunger, homeless, violent, lack of black-owned businesses.

This morning’s breakfast was to be followed by a noon-time march from Martin Luther King Elementary School to Tuscaloosa City Hall where Mayor Walt Maddox was scheduled to speak. Then, tonight Tyshawn Gardner, pastor of the city’s Plum Grove Baptist Church will deliver the main address at a 6 p.m. mass rally at First African Baptist Church.

Ready for King Weekend?

Is it ok to be tired after just one-half week of classes? I wonder because that's about how I feel right now.

Maybe it's the travel back-and-forth to Anniston that's got me whipped. But, these first two days of spring semester have been two L---O----N----G days.



So, while I truly believe Martin Luther King's National Holiday observance is a day ON, not a day OFF, I am looking forward to having the day off from school.

Here in Tuscaloosa, there are several events planned that I hope to experience for myself. While I attend her former church and love her CD, Benita Jones Washington is one gospel artist I have yet to hear. I hope to get that opportunity Saturday at the Moody Music Concert Hall.

A New Year, A New Semester, New Wall St. Journal

It's January 7th and we're back in Tuscaloosa after a wonderful TWO WEEKS at home in Virginia.

What a whirlwind week it was last week in Washington. It was great to be a stone's throw from all the pomp and circumstance on Capitol Hill.

Now, it's down to business..and I have a lot of it to attend to as we begin a new semester with two courses on media management-- one of my favorite topics.

There's been so much happening on this front over the holidays-- I can hardly wait for classes to begin.

Not only was the AT&T merger with Bellsouth completed, by WHNT-TV in Huntsville and its sister stations from the New York Times Company have a new owner.

The Bowl Championship Series moved from ABC To FOX this year-- with the grand finale tomorrow night in Arizona.


And, then there's the new, smaller Wall Street Journal. I get it everyday here in Alabama, but picked up a copy last week in Richmond. It will take some getting used to.

A Saban Note

RICHMOND-- It's not often that the University of Alabama makes the news here in Richmond. But tonight, UA was part of the 6pm sportscast as WWBT-TV NBC 12 reported on the apparent offer made to Nick Saban, current head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

That was old news to me as I've been glued to my parents' computer all afternoon listening to the Paul Finebaum Radio Network as bits and pieces leaked about the coaching search.

I'll admit it, I'm more of a sports fan now that I've been at Alabama-- and even in this land of the Redskins, Alabama football -- or the future of the program-- was high on my interest list.

From the reports in the Sun-Sentinel to a story on the (Louisville) Courier-Journal about Bobby Petrino, I've been monitoring this story very closely at a distance.

We'll see what happens tomorrow.

On A Somber Note

We begin 2007 by marking the end of a life. For me, it's been an interesting last few days.

Today is the National Day of Mourning. But, we've been hearing a lot about Gerald Rudolph Ford since his passing on December 26, 2006.

I only remember Gerald Ford as the guy who was the president before Jimmy Carter. I remember when I was in first grade at Ginter Park School here in Richmond (my hometown) watching the Carter inauguration. (I was just learning what that big word meant)

The whole "Watergate" thing was foreign to me until recently when I really came to understand its significance to journalism.

The kind of journalism that I've seen practiced over the last week is a different kind of journalism-- one that is steeped in historical context.

Our students often ask why we require them to take that two-semester sequence of American history instead just ANY history. It's stories like the passing of Gerald Ford that require a solid foundation in the who's, whats and why's of the past.

As I've experienced this here in at my home in Richmond, I've had the opportunity to talk the things I've seen over with my parents. They've filled in some of the holes.

Much of what you can learn as you watch the televised coverage of the Ford Funerals-- both Saturday's State Funeral at the U.S. Capitol and the National Funeral today at the Washington National Cathedral is enhanced by resources available online.

I videotaped almost six hours of coverage today. Like the Ronald Reagan Funeral in 2005, the ceremony connected with saying goodbye to a U.S. is something we don't experience every day.

Even as I made the short drive up I-95 to Washington for Sunday services at my church there, Metropolitan Baptist Church, I couldn't help but notice all the flags at half-staff -- a site that can be found all over the country, but is much more obvious as you pass embassies, government buildings, and hotels.

Unlike thousands who did file past Ford's casket, which was available for public viewing Sunday, I chose to limit my rememberances to those that were mediated by the electronic and print media.

I'll admit I was not interested in standing in the cold Dec. 31st weather in order to pay my last respects. But, then I just didn't feel as connected to a man who is mostly a figure in history.

At the same time, I downloaded the funeral program today and electronically attended the service at the National Cathederal. It was a mediated experience, but a valuable one nonetheless.

Richmond Marks Emancipation Proclamation

RICHMOND, Va. --Rain, sometimes heavy at times on New Year’s Day is probably to blame for a lackluster turnout at what’s become a tradition for African-Americans in Virginia’s capital city—marking the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

The document signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 set in motion freedom for enslaved Africans in many states.

More than 140 years later, the plight of the descendants of those enslaved was the focus of speeches at a worship service at Richmond’s Fifth Baptist Church, which was sponsored by the Baptist Ministers’ Conference of Richmond and Vicinity.

“So often we forget where we came from,” said Herbert Ponder, president of the ministers’ group that hosts the service each year. “Those of us here are charged with sharing this story with generations to come.”

The story of struggle for civil rights, human right and economic rights was recounted by those representing central Virginia’s NAACP chapters, ministerial leaders and elected officials.


“It was just yesterday that we could not eat anywhere our appetites called for,” said J. Rayfield Vines, president of the Henrico County Branch of the NAACP. The civil rights leader questioned whether African-Americans were better people when they were segregated than they are today and “live in the suburbs.”


His comments were echoed by the keynote speaker, Wallace Charles Smith, president of Palmer Baptist Seminary and senior minister Washington, DC’s Shiloh Baptist Church.

In his message “A World Beyond Babylon,” Smith likened the experience of the some Israelites in Babylon in 587 B.C. to African-Americans today, many of whom became too caught up in benefits of their freedom and may have forgotten the role that God played in that freedom.

“Somebody might give you a new name, but remember who you are,” Smith said.

The audience for Washington pastor’s rousing address was much smaller than that which typically fills the first floor of the Fifth Baptist sanctuary.

It was reported that Richmond received as much as three inches of rain on Monday (January 1). As the audience for this service steeped in its traditions of the black church with spirited traditional gospel music tends to include an older demographic, it’s likely the inclement weather forced many to pass on this annual event.