The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education

Examining Fault Lines in a Time of Political Earthquakes

Roberto Delgado — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 04:22:14 +0000

By Jean Marie Brown

January 16, 2017

By Jean Marie Brown

As journalists continue their post-election coverage review and plot strategies for the first 100 days of the Trump administration they should consider adopting a plan built around covering the nation’s Fault Lines, rather than continuing to obsess on day-to-day conflict.

The Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 inspired the late Robert Maynard to suggest much like geological fault lines, the social Fault Lines of class, gender, generation, geography, and race crisscross the U.S. His work is the basis of the Maynard Institute’s Fault Lines diversity workshops.

The metaphor was doubly appropriate because most of the 63 deaths were attributed to the collapse of the Cypress Street Viaduct (Nimitz Freeway), which hadn’t been structurally reinforced.

Maynard Grad Mistaken Target in Social Media Wars

Roberto Delgado — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 00:26:12 +0000

MIJE Staff

January 14, 2017

This first person account is by Doris Truong, a graduate of Maynard's Media Academy for managers and past president of the Asian American Journalists Association. - MIJE Staff

Trolls decided I was taking pictures of Rex Tillerson’s notes. I wasn’t even there.

By Doris Truong

There’s a joke among Asian Americans that people think we all look the same. That joke became my own personal Pizzagate late Wednesday: I got caught in a terrible case of mistaken identity that was exacerbated by the speed at which false information spreads on social media.

I work as a homepage editor at The Washington Post. Because Wednesday was my day off, I hadn’t been online much. But before I went to bed, I noticed a message request on Facebook. Someone I didn’t know asked: “Any comment on you taking photos of Rex Tillerson’s notes?” When I checked Twitter, I had to scroll for several minutes to figure out what was going on. It seemed to start with this post: “Who is this woman and why is she secretly snapping photos of Rex Tillerson’s notes?”

Read the full article at washingtonpost.com

This first person account is by Doris Truong, a graduate of Maynard's Media Academy for managers and past president of the Asian American Journalists Association. - MIJE Staff

Our Condolences to Brenda Payton Jones

Roberto Delgado — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 00:30:08 +0000

MIJE Staff

November 28, 2016

Condolences to Oakland Voices coordinator Brenda Payton Jones who lost her father, Dr. James Williams, November 23. Dr. Williams was one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

To read more about Dr. Williams, please follow the links below:

Dr. James Williams, Las Crucen who served with Tuskegee Airmen, dies

NM native, Tuskegee Airman dies, age 97

Gwen Ifill: 1955 to 2016

Roberto Delgado — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 01:50:00 +0000

MIJE Staff

November 14, 2016

Gwen Ifill, a pioneering African-American journalist whose career evolved from an internship in a newspaper city room to the pinnacle of national political journalism, died Monday from endometrial cancer in Washington at age 61.

We at the Maynard Institute mourn her loss. She was a generous mentor, particularly to young people, and a great friend of the Institute.

Ms. Ifill was co-anchor of “The PBS NewsHour” and moderator of the PBS “Washington Week” program. She moderated a Democratic primary debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in February, before illness forced her to take a leave of absence from PBS.

From her early newspaper days in Boston and Baltimore, Ms. Ifill was a pioneer, often the only African American woman covering local political beats. The New York City native moved to the Washington Post and New York Times before transitioning her energies to broadcast media with jobs at NBC and PBS.

Gwen Ifill, who overcame barriers as a black female journalist, dies at 61 - The Washington Post

Gwen Ifill, Award-Winning Political Reporter and Author, Dies at 61 - The New York Times

Remembering Gwen Ifill - PBS

Postscript: Gwen Ifill - The New Yorker

The Life and Example of Gwen Ifill - The New York Times

Gwen Ifill: An Appreciation

Roberto Delgado — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 01:27:25 +0000

By Dorothy Gilliam

November 14, 2016

By Dorothy Gilliam

Dorothy Butler Gilliam is a founding member of the Maynard Institute board of directors. She is a pioneering African-American journalist and a retired columnist for the Washington Post.

I was moved to wracking sobs when I learned of Gwen Ifill’s death today. We interacted on so many occasions – she was my friend, former colleague at The Washington Post, my fellow worshipper at Metropolitan AME Church where she used proceeds from her book to help restore the historic edifice in downtown Washington. She was a generous person with brains and heart who made an unparalleled impact on the world of journalism for all women but especially for African American women.

A few years ago, I joined in a roast of Gwen at the National Press Club. I recalled meeting Gwen when she came to The Post in l984. I shared that as the first African American woman hired as a reporter at the newspaper I had battle scars as well as triumphs from inside and outside the newsroom. But Gwen was part of the new young generation—working on the national staff, covering presidential politics—Gwen was Baaad! I joked that she was smart enough to leave the newspaper before her morning paper was delivered by drones and eventually to land in television. I recalled it was many years later before I learned that Gwen and I had something in common—we were both PK’s—Preacher’s Kids—daughters of ministers in the AME Church. Our fathers’ ministries often required us to live in different cities—hard times for the kids because that meant new schools, neighborhoods, playmates. We had to learn survival skills early. I joked that she still shuddered each April when she remembered when ministers like her father learned whether they and their families would have to move to a new city or could remain where they were for another year. I was flattered that in response to my toast she called me a role model.

Gwen was the consummate professional who played the news straight in all her work. But occasionally on the PBS Newshour she could give a guest a quick, slightly incredulous look that to me said, “Oh no, you didn’t go there!” I loved the joy that emanated from Gwen despite the pressures of her work. I loved Gwen Ifill—one of the most successful female journalist in journalism history.

Dorothy Butler Gilliam is a founding member of the Maynard Institute board of directors. She is a pioneering African-American journalist and a retired columnist for the Washington Post.

ACES Editing Boot Camp, Washington, D.C.

Roberto Delgado — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 15:16:48 +0000

Event Date(s):

11/05/2016 (All day)

Category:

Boot Camp

ACES Editing Boot Camp, Washington, D.C.
Saturday, Nov. 5 @ 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
George Washington University,
2201 G St NW, Washington, DC 20052
Funger Hall auditorium, Room 103

If you’re an editor or edit as part of your job, the American Copy Editors Society offers a daylong “Editing Boot Camp” that can help you polish your skills. Each workshop is taught by knowledgeable and experienced presenters.

The Editing Boot Camp workshop covers the following topics:

OV correspondents win SPJ community journalism award

Roberto Delgado — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 13:47:24 +0000

MIJE Staff

October 27, 2016

Four Oakland Voices correspondents were awarded the prestigious Society of Professional Journalists’ NorCal community journalism award for radio/audio for a series of articles about East Oakland artists. The program, called The Sights and Sounds of East Oakland, was produced in collaboration with KALW public radio station.

Angela Scott won for a piece about Eastside Arts Alliance’s program to train young graffiti artists; Sabah Williams won for a story about Yaelisa, a Flamenco dancer, and her East Oakland studio; Aqueila Lewis won for a piece that used her talent as a performance artist to tell the story of her grandmother’s displacement from East Oakland and Bill Joyce won for his story about Laila Espinoza and her project to create art outdoors — a mural of Our Lady of Guadalupe depicted as a mermaid at a tennis court.

The correspondents worked with KALW journalists and editors to create their radio stories, including Hannah Kingsley-Ma, Liza Veale, Jeremy Dalmas and Holly McDede.

The stories can be heard here: http://kalw.org/term/sights-sounds-east-oakland#stream/0. The stories also ran in print versions published on the Oakland Voices website oaklandvoices.us.

Oakland Voices is a community journalism program that trains community residents to find and tell the stories of their neighborhoods, which are posted on the Oakland Voices website oaklandvoices.us. The program is largely funded by The California Endowment and is affiliated with the Maynard Institute of Journalism Education and the East Bay Times.

Meet Our New Voices Correspondents

Roberto Delgado — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 19:07:34 +0000

MIJE Staff

October 19, 2016

Oakland Voices is a community journalism program that gives East Oakland residents basic journalism skills and training to tell the stories of their communities from their perspectives. The stories are posted on the Oakland Voices website oaklandvoices.us and sometimes run in the East Bay Times. This is the fifth year of the program and we’ve just chosen our next group of community correspondents. In addition to the training, they will hear veteran journalists talk about their careers, they will cover a range of stories about the organizations and individuals that make up their communities - from small businesses to non-profit community organizations to local heroes. This group has the opportunity to cover local candidates and issues in the November election. In addition, they will organize two forums on issues of interest to their community. But most of all they will uncover stories that are generally ignored or unseen. - Brenda Payton, Oakland Voices Coordinator

Voices is supported by a grant from The California Endowment.

Marabet Morales, 21, student, administrative assistant American Indian Model Schools

“It is my hope that I finish community college in May with my Associate’s and transfer to SF State to get my Bachelor’s in Creative Writing. To be honest if I could get a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing, Latin American Studies, and Music, I think I would be the happiest person on earth. I myself acknowledge that writing and music are a constant evolution of life.“

“I would like to write about immigrants from all over Latin America who are educated professionals but are unable to be successful here in the U.S. I would interview people who are close to me and would be willing to venture out to meet more people. For example, my mother is a doctor, yet money, time, and the formal examinations in another language can prove difficult.”

Kat Ferreira, 39, marketing and communications consultant

“When I’m not working, I try to stay active in the community by supporting local nonprofit organizations and neighborhood groups. Most recently, I volunteered for the 2016 Eastlake Music Festival.”

“What is the news media’s ethical responsibility when reporting about perpetrators and victims of sex crimes? In 2016, two high profile crime stories presented the Bay Area news media with an ethics test and most failed miserably.”

[Read more]

AAJA demands apology for Fox News report on Chinatown voters

Thu, 06 Oct 2016 22:19:17 +0000

MIJE Staff

October 6, 2016

The Asian American Journalists Association has demanded an apology from Fox News after a correspondent with “The O’Reilly Factor” purported to examine views of Chinese Americans on the U.S. presidential election.

Jesse Watters, a Fox News correspondent and self-described “political humorist,” used his “Watters World” segment on the program hosted by Bill O'Reilly to conduct street interviews in New York City’s Chinatown.

In the clip, Watters focused on people who clearly were not native English speakers. He asked one man if he knew karate. Women were asked, “Do I bow to say hello?” Clips of martial arts movies were edited into the five-minute piece.

[Read more]

ASNE releases newsroom diversity details: numbers show who works where

Roberto Delgado — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 02:49:56 +0000

MIJE Staff

September 20, 2016

Diversity percentages from 733 newsrooms across the United States have been released by the American Society of News Editors. For the first time, the numbers provide newsroom diversity details in every state and community.

To see the ASNE’s coverage of the data, please visit:

http://asne.org/blog_home.asp?Display=2168

Book Review: New York Civil War history highlights journalism scoundrels, heroes

Roberto Delgado — Sat, 17 Sep 2016 00:06:36 +0000

By R.E. Graswich

September 16, 2016

By R.E. Graswich

Two days after the Civil War battle of Antietam, as the bodies of more than 23,000 men lay rotting in the late September sun, a photographer named Alexander Gardner arrived at the Maryland battleground to make photojournalistic history.

Gardner and an assistant worked among the dead for four days, making 70 photographs on glass plates to document the carnage. They transported the plates to New York, where Gardner's partner, Matthew Brady, created albumen prints. Several weeks later, Brady opened a photographic exhibition called "The Dead of Antietam" at his studio on Broadway.

With an eye for financial opportunity that surpassed Gardner's photo-journalistic genius, Brady created a new art form. He sold the horrific images in various formats, from postcards to large prints bound in leather. For the first time in history, he brought the explicit human devastation of war home to the public.

Brady shared no credit with Gardner -- the photographer's name was absent from Brady's prints and displays -- but the exhibition established the power and authority of battlefield photography and photojournalism.

[Read more]

Two days after the Civil War battle of Antietam, as the bodies of more than 23,000 men lay rotting in the late September sun, a photographer named Alexander Gardner arrived at the Maryland battleground to make photojournalistic history.

Gardner and an assistant worked among the dead for four days, making 70 photographs on glass plates to document the carnage. They transported the plates to New York, where Gardner's partner, Matthew Brady, created albumen prints. Several weeks later, Brady opened a photographic exhibition called "The Dead of Antietam" at his studio on Broadway.

George Curry: A Black Man Working

Roberto Delgado — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 00:06:57 +0000

By Wilma Jean Randle

August 25, 2016

George E. Curry, journalist, editor, columnist, activist, educator, mentor and friend, died suddenly over the weekend from heart failure at his home in Maryland. The legendary Chicago Tribune reporter was 69. Among many appreciations of Mr. Curry's legacy is the following tribute by Wilma Jean Randle, a Maynard alumna. She wrote from Dakar, Senegal, where she works as an international media consultant:

I could not believe the news... only because you can't expect something like that... But I know that all is God's will and George Curry did more in the time allotted to him than most of us can hope to do.

He had this way of pushing (getting you) to do things that you didn't even know you had it in you to do.

It is because of George that I got our Twin Cities Black Journalists chapter to start doing the high school journalism mentorship program in St. Paul when I was at the St. Paul Pioneer Press -- and then when I got to Chicago.

[Read more]

Tue, 12 Jul 2016 21:12:23 +0000

MIJE Staff

July 12, 2016

Minority workforce numbers have increased in several areas of broadcast media, but minority news personnel hiring has not kept pace with the overall population growth of non-white residents, the latest research on newsroom diversity by the Radio Television Digital News Association and Hofstra University shows.

The annual survey found minorities in 23.1 percent of the jobs in newsrooms at non-Hispanic TV stations. In radio newsrooms, minority representation fell by 0.4 percent and remained especially low (5.6 percent) at commercial stations. Newspaper numbers are expected later this summer. Minorities comprise about 38 percent of the U.S. population.

The complete report can be found at http://tinyurl.com/wamn16 and a sharable infographic on race and ethnicity in the newsroom at ow.ly/XiiS3026Aq2

Can Media-Shaped Perceptions Be Deadly?

Roberto Delgado — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 01:10:36 +0000

By Martin G. Reynolds, Senior Fellow, The Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education

July 8, 2016

By Martin G. Reynolds
Senior Fellow
The Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education

OAKLAND - The slayings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have shaken the nation and brought to a head the festering tensions between people of color and law enforcement.

Members of the press across the country are hard at work, thoughtfully reflecting how to make sense of this, and how best to cover the slayings of Spencer, in Louisiana, and Castile, in Minnesota, and the five Dallas police officers gunned down after a peaceful protest in that city Thursday night.

We have all been shaken, but we have a job to do.

[Read more]

OAKLAND - The slayings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have shaken the nation and brought to a head the festering tensions between people of color and law enforcement.

Members of the press across the country are hard at work, thoughtfully reflecting how to make sense of this, and how best to cover the slayings of Sterling, in Louisiana, and Castile, in Minnesota, and the five Dallas police officers gunned down after a peaceful protest in that city Thursday night.

NorthJersey.com

Roberto Delgado — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 00:02:42 +0000

Web Producer

Posted on:

July 5, 2016

NorthJersey.com is seeking a Web Producer to help publish breaking news and other content from The Record and other sources in various formats, including articles, photos, videos, audio and more. The Web Producer will use various web-based applications to categorize and optimize breaking news and other content, populate various sections of the site, and promote published material using Twitter, Facebook and e-mail newsletters. The web producer will also create documentation to facilitate the handing off of web site management from one desk to another at certain times of day and night.

C-SPAN

Roberto Delgado — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 23:53:39 +0000

Producer (part-time)

Posted on:

July 5, 2016

C-SPAN is seeking a part-time Producer for its radio station WCSP-FM. This person will be responsible for supporting the production of an air shift, including writing scripts, monitoring live and recorded events and researching and gathering necessary information to execute the radio program schedule. Bachelor’s degree in related field, minimum three years related experience, including radio production experience. Demonstrated knowledge of public affairs, public policy and American political history. Schedule includes evenings and weekends.

Oakland Voices Graduation 2016

Wed, 25 May 2016 02:00:18 +0000

MIJE Staff

May 23, 2016

Oakland Voices correspondents reflect on what they learned during the 10-month program.

Continuing and deepening the work of both organizations, the program is designed to bring together researchers from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to examine the intersection of race, power and media. Their research will be a resource for media organizations, academic institutions, foundations and others.

The program is named for Dori J. Maynard, the late president and CEO of the Maynard Institute who worked tirelessly to push the news media to accurately reflect the diversity of the nation. She died Feb. 24, 2015 in her home in Oakland, CA after a battle with cancer.

She was 56.

The fellowship will be led by Lindsay Green-Barber, Ph.D., CIR’s director of strategic research.

We are pleased to announce the first cohort of senior fellows:

Meredith Clark, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Mayborn School of Journalism at University of North Texas and a graduate of the Maynard Media Academy for managers.

Jana Diesner, Ph.D., assistant professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s iSchool and affiliate at the Department of Computer Science.

Laura K. Nelson, Ph.D., postdoctoral research fellow in the Management and Organizations Department in the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and affiliate at the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems. In September, Nelson will become an assistant professor in Northeastern University’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

Joaquin Alvarado, CEO of CIR, said, “We are excited to collaborate with the Maynard Institute to honor and extend the legacy of leadership, learning and courage the institute has provided in journalism. I can think of no better way to celebrate Dori than by pursuing the mission she was so dedicated to. CIR is committed to these principles and values and models them every day we come to work.”

“We admire the work and the leadership of The Center for Investigative Reporting, and we are thrilled to be partners with them in advancing innovative research and thoughtful discussion of race, power and media,” said Evelyn Hsu, executive director of the Maynard Institute.

Maynard board member Martin G. Reynolds said, “This research collaboration with CIR reflects a new strategy for an invigorated institute that seeks to develop research that shows, unequivocally, the value of achieving diversity in staffing, coverage and revenue.”

Of the senior research fellowship initiative, Jonathan Kaufman, director of Northeastern University’s School of Journalism, said, “This project demonstrates the growing intersection of data, data analysis and journalism. Collaboration between universities, nonprofits like CIR and the Maynard institute and media partners is the future of deeply-reported, high-impact journalism. Northeastern is proud to be at the cutting edge of this new field.”

Starting this month, CIR and the Maynard Institute will host a series of Equity Exchanges with key stakeholders and potential collaborators to discuss the project and get feedback on research questions the fellows will examine.

The Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education is the nation’s oldest organization dedicated to helping the news media accurately portray all segments of society, particularly those often overlooked, such as communities of color. The institute has been the pre-eminent organization working to support journalists of color, while pushing newsrooms across the nation to achieve diversity in coverage, hiring and business. The organization is coming out of a strategic planning process to reimagine itself to serve media in the 21st century. Part of that service centers on research to help support the need for diversity and equity in media.

Founded in 1977, The Center for Investigative Reporting is the nation’s first independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization dedicated to public service journalism. CIR empowers the public through groundbreaking investigative storytelling that sparks action, improves lives and protects our democracy. Over the last three years, CIR has convened academic researchers, media makers and others to undertake collaborative research projects and advance the field.

The announcement of this collaboration coincides with the anniversary of the Washington, D.C., memorial honoring Dori Maynard. Hundreds gathered at the Newseum on May 4, 2015, to remember her as a champion of diversity and a friend and mentor to many. This fellowship is a tribute to her memory and her work.

The Center for Investigative Reporting and The Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education are pleased to announce the launch of the Dori J. Maynard Senior Research Fellows program.

Roberto Delgado — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 18:41:06 +0000

Brenda Payton

March 11, 2016

By Brenda Payton

I was in a meeting with Bob Maynard. It must have been in the early ’80s. When he took over as editor of the Oakland Tribune, he was the first African American to lead a mainstream daily newspaper. But that wasn’t the topic of discussion at the meeting.

“You know, one day people will not be getting their news from newspapers,” he said, holding up a Tribune. “They’ll be reading it on their computers.”

Even 30-plus years later, I remember his words. We looked at him as if he were crazy. No newspapers? News on the computer? What was he talking about? (I thought he might have mentioned the word “Internet.” But looking back, his observation predated common references to that term, first used in 1982, according to infoplease.com.)

[read more]

I was in a meeting with Bob Maynard. It must have been in the early ’80s. When he took over as editor of the Oakland Tribune, he was the first African American to lead a mainstream daily newspaper. But that wasn’t the topic of discussion at the meeting.

“You know, one day people will not be getting their news from newspapers,” he said, holding up a Tribune. “They’ll be reading it on their computers.”